As you know Steve and I are always attempting to stay on the cutting edge of what is happening in the community and this time is no different. We heard about a new restaurant opening on Monday, and two days later we were there to try it out and give you a review. The restaurant is called Urban Plates and is in the Park Valley Center shopping area in Mission Valley. It occupies the space where the Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza used to be, next to Breakfast Republic (which we previously reviewed). The address is 1620 Camino De La Reina.
Urban Plates has many locations throughout California including Del Mar, La Jolla and Carlsbad. We went for lunch and found parking easily. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor covered dining. They advertise food fast, not fast food. The space is very open with an organic and urban vibe. There is a front counter where you order, or you can order from your table via a QR code. We ordered at the front counter where they have different screens to show you the various selections including a large screen with pictures of all the sides that come with various items. No need to squint and try to read small print up on the wall behind the counter. I really liked that feature.
They advertise that they make everything from scratch and the food is craveable, wholesome and clean. All is organic and locally sourced when possible. Their menu includes items that are vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free, and they highlight allergy preferences. I saw garlic on the list of allergens and felt sorry for that person who is allergic to garlic.
The menu includes plates, salads, braises, bowls and soups, sandwiches, combos, burgers, everyday value, kids menu, sides and desserts. Take a look at the entire menu on line.
Among the items we saw that we could eat included fish such as shrimp, ahi tuna, seabass and, of course lots of veggie dishes. Tofu is available for vegans. Among the everyday value menu was a half a portobello mushroom sandwich and a cup of tomato basil soup for $9.99. That sounded like a bargain so I ordered it. Portobello mushrooms are one of my all-time favorites. Steve ordered an Ahi tuna plate which included two sides: he chose grilled Brussels sprouts and seasoned French fries. His meal was a little pricier at $17.95.
After we ordered, we chose our seat and had a chance to look over the restaurant. The kitchen was behind glass so you could watch the food being prepared. The staff were very friendly. For just opening, there were quite a few people there so we assume they knew about it from visiting other locations or they just happened upon it.
The food arrived quickly. You can see from the pictures that Steve’s plate was full. He really likes ahi tuna and said it was done just right. The Brussels sprouts had a nice char and he actually let me taste a fry which was nicely seasoned. My tomato basil soup was one of the best I’ve had. It arrived steaming hot, which is the only way I want my soup. It had a couple croutons and a swirl of pesto on top. Yum! My grilled Portobello sandwich was on ciabatta which was excellent. In addition to the mushrooms, the sandwich contained julienned red peppers, arugula, pesto humus, and perhaps grilled zucchini. Both our lunches also include a grilled slice of Italian bread. This was one of the best lunches yet and I thought the prices were very reasonable. Steve could have gotten an ahi tuna sandwich, but wanted the whole experience.
Signs in the restaurant say you will leave replenished, refreshed, restored and a few other re-things. Don’t know if all that is true, but having just come from the gym, we certainly did feel replenished when we left and relaxed while we were there.
We think you should try Urban Plates. We wish them well in their new location.
LV News Briefs:
—Free STEAM Program for Kids: This Saturday March 22 at 2:00 pm, the Linda Vista Library is hosting a free STEAM activity for elementary school age kids called Blow Cart Beach. Kids will design and build their very own wind-powered car! Using engineering skills and creative thinking, they will craft a beach cart with sails to harness the ocean breeze. They will then compete to see how far their car can go with just puffs of wind! In order to register for this event, please go here: https://sandiego.librarymarket.com/event/blow-cart-beach-419140 . Space is limited!
—City Trash Collection Service Open House: The City of San Diego will hold a public Open House for residents of City Council District 7 to share their thoughts on the proposed fees for trash collection. Attend the Open House and let your voice be heard. The Open House will be held March 27 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Linda Vista Library (2160 Ulric Street.).
—Linda Vista Planning Group: The Linda Vista Planning Group will hold its next monthly meeting on Monday March 24 at 6:00 pm. During this meeting, the organization will hold its annual election of Planning Group members. Check out the flyer below for details.
—Survey on Proposed LV Dog Park: As mentioned in last week’s issue of the Linda Vista Update, a dog park has been proposed by the City’s Parks and Recreation Department. As part of the planning process, the City is asking for feedback on two possible sites for the dog park at Mission Heights Neighborhood Park. Linda Vista residents are encouraged to complete the brief survey by clicking HERE.
—Upcoming Production of Welcome to Wonderland: The Linda Vista Theater Arts Program welcomes everyone to WONDERLAND at the Linda Vista Recreation Center! The production is a retelling of the Alice in Wonderland story. Performances will be held on the following dates: Friday, March 21, 2025 at 6:30pm (Opening Night); Saturday, March 22, 2025 (Double Feature)@ 2:00pm (Matinee) @ 6:30pm; Friday, March 28, 2025 at 6:30pm; Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 6:30pm. Check out the flyer below for details on how to purchase tickets for each show.
—Art & Essay Contest for Students: The Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair/Parade is sponsoring its annual Art & Essay Contest for students in grades 2-6. This year’s theme for the contest is “Food From the Heart.” You can go HERE to obtain detailed contest guidelines.
—Pick Your Favorite SD Native Flower: The San Diego Bird Alliance is sponsoring a campaign called “Your City, Your Flower” that aims to select a native flower to represent San Diego. The current eight finalists— Black Sage, Bladderpod, Blue Elderberry, Blue-eyed Grass, Bush Sunflower, California Buckwheat, California Rose and Cleveland Sage — were selected based on environmental benefits, Kumeyaay cultural significance, drought resistance, native status, conservation concerns and artistic potential. Please cast your vote by clicking HERE. The first round of voting will go on through March 25.
Commentary
Paying More and More for SD Bare Necessities
If you ever saw the classic 1967 Disney animated movie Jungle Book you will no doubt remember the song “Bare Necessities”. In this tune, Balloo the Bear advises Mowgli to better appreciate his fate by enjoying the ‘bare necessities of life” which will easily “come to you.” The song happily infers the “bare necessities” a Disney character encounters in the jungle—like honey and pears—are free and easy to obtain. But I am here to tell you that the “bare necessities” a real life human encounters while experiencing San Diego city life are by no means free and are actually becoming progressively and prohibitively expensive as the years go by.
By city life “bare necessities” I am referring to such basics as water, electricity/gas, and trash pick up service. For example, in the past I have usually taken my water and SDGE bills for granted. I get billed each month and without giving much thought I pay each month because I have no choice. But I recently began to notice an irritating rise in the bill amounts for both water and SDG&E utilities. Worse yet, I have been reading about scary projections in rate increases for these utilities that will in all likelihood be occurring in the next few years. For example, I read that San Diego residents can expect a 5.5% increase on their water bill beginning on May 1. That’s on top of an 8.7% increase that went into effect on January 1, and a 10.2% increase that happened on December 1, 2023. Worse yet, a study forecasted that the following increase in rates will be occurring in the near future:
· FY 2026: 13.7%
· FY 2027: 14.5%
· FY 2028: 11.5%
· FY 2029: 11%
And then there’s the new trash collection fee the City is inflicting upon us. Current plans are to charge us $53.00 a month for this service (after originally touting a $23.00 fee to get voter approval for a fee based service). And that rate will go up to $65.00 in July 2027 (what amounts to a 22% hike). Based on this projection we will be paying over $100.00 for so-called “world class” trash collection by 2031.
Let’s not forget our SDG&E bills because summer and the “bare necessity” of air conditioning in the ever hotter San Diego summer months is coming up. I believe I pay on average about $40.00 – $50.00 a month more on my SDG&E bill than I did just six years ago. That’s a dramatic inflationary rate. I guess we should thank our lucky stars that electric rates will only go up 2.6% this year, and natural gas rates only 1.8%. However, I draw little consolation from the fact that SDG&E profits in 2024 amounted to 891 million dollars (and 936 million the previous year). And I am disturbed by a recent SD Union-Tribune article that mentioned 322,000 SDG&E customers have past-due accounts (at least one month in arrears). Of course, the CEO of Sempra, SDG&E’s parent company, made 27.4 million dollars in compensation last year—the highest of any public utilities CEO in the country. That kind of money can buy a lot of “bare necessities.”
Oh well, it could be worse…it’s not like my cable bill, insurance bill, grocery bills, and the dollar amount required to fill my car with gas are going up! Oh wait…forget what I just said. I was suddenly delusional. It was perhaps a reaction to eating a very expensive egg for breakfast. Or maybe it’s from hitting my head on a City parking meter, a meter whose hourly rates will soon be more expensive if the Mayor has his way.
I guess one can always move to the jungle and get the bare necessities of life for free. We just have to make sure it’s a fantastical Disney jungle. On second thought, prices for Disneyland One Day tickets went up about 6.5% last year.
There just is no way of avoiding price increases. They are a “bare reality” of life.
Bayside’s Kim Heinle Recognized
In observance of Women’s History Month (March), the office of Assemblyperson Chris Ward (Assembly District 79) recently honored four women from across the district who serve the community in their own special way. One of the women was Kim Heinle, who serves as Executive Director of Bayside Community Center here in Linda Vista. As stated in Ward’s web site, “Crediting the amazing staff of Bayside for the work she is able to accomplish, Kim is an extremely dedicated leader who is always involved in Bayside's program management.” You can learn more about Kim and one of the other women recognized by viewing a brief video posted on the Assemblyperson’s Instagram.
The LV Update first wrote about Kim Heinle in the May 27, 2021 issue of this newsletter.
Tecolote Canyon Park Construction Update
Local citizens received an update on the City’s controversial Trunk Sewer Line Project at last night’s Tecolote Canyon Citizens Advisory Committee (TCCAC) monthly meeting. The meeting was held at the Tecolote Nature Center and was well attended.
As explained in previous issues of this newsletter, plans for the Trunk Sewer Line project involve the rehabilitation and replacement of 4.7 miles of trunk sewer pipe in Tecolote Canyon. These repairs and upgrades will prevent sewer line ruptures and provide additional capacity to the sewer system. Concern for the project grew upon learning the City’s plans included the removal of a tree at the entrance of the park plus the removal of trees in a grove of oak trees that provide refuge for endangered birds. Once the City’s plans became known several local groups to include TCCAC, the Friends of Tecolote Canyon, Friends of Rose Canyon, San Diego Bird Alliance, CA Native Plant Society, San Diego Mountain Biking Association, and individual Clairemont and Linda Vista community members began to advocate for reconsideration of the plans.
During last night’s meeting, the City of San Diego’s Engineering & Capital Projects Department was on hand to present updates and take questions about the project.
These representatives pointed out that the City has made the final decision to cut through the Forest Grove location. The stated rationale behind this decision is a function of both the increased cost to go around ($1mil and $290k respectively) and the significant delays of a redesign. However, the good news is that they have agreed to employ engineering solutions that will save both the mature sycamore at the front entrance, and the sycamore further down the trail. In addition to saving the sycamores, they’ve also proactively worked with the TCCAC to spare at least 5 mature coast live oaks at the north entrance of The (Eloise) Battle Trail.
Meeting attendees were pleased by the City’s new plan to save some of the trees originally identified for removal, and seemed to generally appreciate the various engineering and cost challenges faced by the City, and the effort to mitigate several aspects of the project.
As pointed out by Darell Madison, chair of the TCCAC, the recent effort at advocacy carried out by several local groups in support of Tecolote Canyon Natural Park has “helped encourage the City to show greater consideration, better cooperation, and more care for Tecolote Canyon in recent months. I sure wish this kind of cooperation existed during the original planning process, but the positive takeaway in all of this is that we’ve managed to save some valuable natural assets of the park, the City is listening now, and we’re also in the process of scheduling another helpful on-site walk ahead of the next phase. With some luck, we won’t find anything major and hopefully get out ahead of anything else in the current plan that should be reconsidered. The lesson to be learned here is that we must remain vigilant and advocate for our open space parks.”
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The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting, and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities. We welcome ideas for stories. Let us know about any interesting people, places, or upcoming events.
Thanks so much for the recommendation!
Steve Rodriguez
Yay for Urban Plates in the neighborhood, finally! I'm glad you like it, it's one of my favorites. Next time you go I recommend their Pineapple Coconut Lime Replenisher (it's like a virgin pina colada) and their chocolate chunk cookies, if you like to indulge in sweet treats.