The 2 Line

What with 30th being so rad, a lot of us find ourselves mooting the idea of a shuttle of some sort running up and down the street, like Chuck and Green Flash sponsored the night they released 30th Street Pale Ale.

Not that we shouldn't do that, but it's worth remembering that the city of San Diego already runs something similar -- the 2 line. Or what Ron calls "The Coolest Bus in America."

I consider the 2 bus to be the spine of San Diego. For over ten years, I've made a point to live within a few hundred feet of that bus. Being on the 2 was the prime consideration in locating both iterations of the Linkery. It had to be the name of this blog.

I've often dreamed of a #2 pub crawl. It would start at Cantina and end at the Waterfront. I doubt I'd make it past University.

Things that seemed highly unlikely several years ago, for five hundred

Someone at work told me -- and I have no idea if this is true, it may be apocryphal -- that True North is running/has run a free shuttle from PB to 30th Street.

If true, the sheer awesomeness of that is overwhelming.

4 years, 6 casks (at once) at the Link

It's our 4th anniversary at the Linkery today, and we're celebrating with grass-fed California burritos, whole smoked spotted bass, heirloom potato tacos, and German Chocolate cake.

Oh, and six cask-conditioned beers.

Avery IPA, Ballast Point Dorado IIPA, Green Flash Hop Head Red, Stone Levitation, Stone Old Guardian, and Telegraph Robust Ale.

On draft we've got Russian River Consecration, Green Flash 30th Street Pale, Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin, Alesmith X, and Ballast Point Navigator Doppelbock.

Steph put together this killer lineup, mad props to her. We're open till 11:30pm, as always.

20th Anniversary Karl Strauss Cask @ Ritual Tavern

Each Thursday, the Ritual taps into a new cask of real ale. This week we are particularly excited to have an extremely limited release of the 20th Anniversary Karl Strauss Bourbon Barrel-aged Trippel. Only one batch was made, and once it's gone it's gone. Come in early to pair it with some fresh shucked oysters!

Join us, won't you?

Cheers!

Enjoy a little Mardi Gras on 30th Street today.

The month of February has many Ritual celebrations, Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day and this year we're blessed with Mardi Gras. Some people feel the need to collect colorful trinkets/beads and drink to excess this time of year. Here at the Ritual Tavern we feel compelled to eat various fried things served on a French roll.(chased with a tasty beverages) So in honor of Fat Tuesday we'll be serving up tasty po-boys in addition to our famous gumbo. How does a fried Carlsbad oyster and/or shrimp po-boy sound to you? We've also got Niman Ranch andouille sausage with grilled onions on an artisan roll from Sadie Rose. All are served with macaroni or our house sliced Cajun French fries (maybe we'll also throw in a fried pickle or two)

To wash 'em down, we've brought in Abita Jockomo IPA, all the way from Louisiana for your enjoyment.* Our liquor license prohibits us from serving hurricanes, and flashing as well.. So you can bring the whole family in for a wholesome celebration Ritual.

Cheers!
er,
Le Bon Temps Roule!






*"Aside from the fun they obviously had in naming this particular beer, (it comes from the lyrics to a Cajun song, “Iko Iko,” in which they make reference to the saying “Jockamo”) Jockomo IPA is a quality brew that does not overwhelm as much as compliment.

First, Jockomo pours very smooth, but light on the carbonation. The color is a copper/orange and the head is minimal after a few moments. The same goes for the lacing as this IPA doesn’t really keep much head around throughout the beer.

Aroma-wise, Jockamo is more sweet than one would expect from a pale ale. There are hints of honey among the hops aroma and there were even slight smells of pine coming on at first.

But it is the taste where Jockamo made it for me. Personally, I like a bitter pale ale, but it can be overbearing sometimes. So, when someone comes up with an interesting take on a pale ale, I usually ride the wave and try to enjoy it. That was easy with Jockamo.

It’s smooth, relaxing and, yes, a bit sweet. Honestly, it’s a quality brew that goes away from the microbreweries tendency to over-hop a beer for the sake of making it bitter and memorable. This one creates memories on its own without resorting to juvenile tactics." http://www.independentmail.com

Grass-Fed Tuesdays

Did you know that Toronado serves grass-fed burgers? At least on Tuesdays they do. Check it out here. Or check it out tomorrow at the Toronado. The folks I work with have been raving about their draft lineup this week, too. Or maybe they're just drinking more during the day, I'm not sure.

Linkery Anniversary

The Linkery's 4th Birthday party is this Wednesday, details here. It's been a great ride and we are most grateful to be a part of what's going on here on 30th!

Southern Anchor

Congratulations to Alchemy, which is now open! I got a tour from the owners a few weeks back, and between the awesome job they did on the buildout and the concern they have for their food, this will be a real gem on the three-oh.

New Neighbors

According to North Park Scene, CityBeat is moving its offices one block off 30th Street, to the corner of University and Grim. To be in the center of all the good stuff, no doubt!

I love CityBeat. Welcome to the neighborhood!

30th Street Is Where the Action Is

And today that involved a line of police cars chasing the 2 bus. I'm told they caught it at 29th and B.

Thank you to the civic servants who keep this sort of thing highly unusual around here.

Ritual Cask Thursday

Ritual Tavern taps a cask every Thursday at 5:30pm. Cask beers are naturally carbonated in the container they are delivered in. Drink beer the way it was meant to be, free from chemical additives. Benjamin Franklin said "Beer is proof that God loves us, and he wants us to be happy" So drink a naturally fermented and carbonated ale, each Thursday @ the Ritual, and be happy :-)

This week we're tapping into Green Flash West Coast IPA! It's possibly the best example of the World Famous San Diego Style IPA.

"This West Coast-Style India Pale Ale is extravagantly hopped, full flavored, medium bodied and copper colored. A menagerie of hops is combined throughout the brewing process to impart specific characteristics. Hops used include Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade for floral aroma."

We're also serving up fresh shucked oysters from Carlsbad Aquafarm. The best economic stimulus is to support local business (brewers and farmers included)!

True North Preview

True North hosted an event for local bizness owners today, in anticipation of their opening tomorrow (Tuesday).

I had prior plans so I couldn't go, but Michael repped the Link and he gave me the impression (from a couple brief text messages) that they've done some pretty cool stuff in there. I'm looking forward to checking it out...as soon as I get off the wagon!

Redistricting

As of today, 30th is maybe a little less jagged. Because I've redistricted the stretch of Fern between Juniper and Grape to be 30th, too. It just makes more sense.

Long and Jagged

I've always found it interesting how long and jagged 30th street is, and how most of the really interesting restaurants are physically on 30th.  When giving directions, it's always a little more complicated on our corner of 30th and Upas - "turn left, then take an immediate right and you'll still be on 30th street".   Even with the complicated driving directions ; - ), we're stoked to be part of this great collection of places to eat.  --Dennis, Sea Rocket Bistro

You Can Take It If You Want It

This is not a test.

This is a site for a group blog for all the lovely food & beverage businesses on 30th St. We can publish information about the area here, along with promotions for our individual businesses and also any group promotions we'd like to do.

If you're interested, please contribute! Email me and I'll add you to the blog so you can post whatever you want. (I know a lot of you, but I don't necessarily have your email address.)

Also, we'll plan to upgrade the format and such for both this site and the main site. The main site was a quick take based on the website template I had already made, and a photo I took today with my BlackBerry.

Immediate Openings

Mosaic is open, True North opens on the 16th, and Alchemy looks to open soon.