North Park Farmer's Market Growing like a Weed!

Have you been by the North Park Farmers' Market lately? It's under new management and adding new farms and food purveyors like crazy. Maybe you've seen the owl banners on 30th and University streets? Just follow them to the corner of Herman and North Park Way and check out all the new vendors as well as some old favorites. In the past few weeks, they've added organic California olives and olive oil from Good Faith Farm, squash, beans and corn from Kawano Ranch (they're also bringing mushrooms from Mountain Meadow in Escondido), and artichokes, asparagus and dried beans from the Central Coast at Suncoast Farm. Other highlights this week: cherries, peaches, pluots, nectarines, squash blossoms, eggplant, green onions, avocados, grapefruit, green beans, blueberries, and so much more!

Heaven Sent Desserts are simply - heavenly!

Each 30th we serve a different special from our menu at a special price and this 30th on 30th Heaven Sent Desserts offers up an individual Spiced German Chocolate Bundt Cakes. Whether you are a choc-a-holic or a bundt cake aficionado, or simply love desserts, this individual Spiced German Chocolate Bundt Cake will wow you with its rich tasting experience. The Devil's Food chocolate base is rich, moist, yet light; with an interior of Coconut Pecan filling, finished in a smooth and silky chocolate covering - both filling and covering spiced with cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

This delectable dessert is especially priced at $3.50 for the 30th only!

Ritual Open at 2pm Saturday & Sunday July 17 & 18

Thanks to you folks who dropped in earlier this week on your way back from the beach or from your poolside. We'll help you cool off after cooking all day in the sun. Our outside patios have been filling up around sundown, we like to see folks enjoying the balmy summer evenings out there over tasty Ritual food and refreshing glasses of beer.

In recognition of San Diego Pride 2010 the Ritual is opening at 2pm this Saturday and Sunday. Park2Park shuttles will provide transportation service from Ritual to the parade and festival from 10am til 2 pm on Saturday. Here is a great story about Park 2 Park and Pride by Morgan Hurley on SDGLN.com.

Cool off with gazpacho served chilled and featuring organic cucumber from the farmers market. Then go big with an entrÉe of Niman Ranch Prime Rib. The Prime Rib will be roasted, then plated English Cut over Parship Mashed Potatoes with sautÉed organic local carrots and tomatoes, and finished with beef jus.

Another shuttle to catch is the DrinkAbout bus running on Wednesday
the 21st.

Towards the end of the month (July 28th) we are hosting a benefit for Outdoor Outreach. Outdoor Outreach empowers at-risk and underprivileged youth to make positive, lasting changes in their lives through comprehensive outdoor programming.

Have a look at the Outdoor Outreach website

We here at the Ritual Tavern hope the good weather brings you the spirit of
celebration and festivity.

Cheers!

Walkabout Guide for South Park - Sat. 7/17

Click here for a complete stop-by-stop Guide to the South Park Walkabout. All welcome -- Sat. 7/17, 6-10pm, restaurants, taverns, shops and stops throughout South Park. Free walking tours and trolley, too.

Here's a preview from the U-T's "Night & Day".

Ritual Wednesdays at the Tavern in July

Wednesday July 14: Tonight

For all you meat lovers out there, we'll be serving up Niman Ranch Meatloaf tonight! Comfort food in a comfy tavern. We got what you need :-) Vegetarians and Vegans can enjoy vegan shepherd's pie or sauteed organic market veggies every day :-)

Wednesday July 21: Drink About!*

Ritual Tavern and Toronado are at the middle of this free bus route. Busses arrive every 30 minutes starting at Blind Lady (7pm) and Hamilton's (7:10pm) . Last pickup 11:20pm at Ritual Tavern (northbound) and Toronado (southbound) What’s not to love about FREE transportation up and down 30th street, stopping near many of San Diego’s premier craft beer and artisan food establishments? Treat yourself to the ultimate progressive dinner!

Wednesday July 28th: Outdoor Outreach Fundraiser!

A percentage of every purchase will be donated to Outdoor Outreach! You can eat and drink to your heart’s content, free from guilt, knowing that a portion of your tab is going to a charitable organization. “Outdoor Outreach’s mission is to empower at-risk and underprivileged youth to make positive, lasting changes in their lives through comprehensive outdoor programming.” http://outdooroutreach.org/



* On the 3rd Wednesday of each month 2 "Brewery Tours of SD" Busses loop for 4 hours, stopping at 8 craft-beer bars.
Hop on and off FOR FREE at Blind Lady, Small Bar, Live Wire, Toronado, Ritual Tavern, Sea Rocket, The Station & Hamilton's.

Summer in the City - Walkabout Sat. 7/17

South Park's Summer Walkabout is this Saturday, July 17th, 6-10pm. As always, free trolley, bands on streetcorners, shopping specials, and tasty treats from Beech St. to Juniper St.! NEW this Saturday -- FREE guided walking tours (6:30pm and 8:00pm) with neighborhood history and highlights. Gather at Info Booth at The Grove for free tour.

For a complete shop-by-shop guide, sign up for the South Park Scene email newsletter.

First Friday - "Happy Hour" in South Park

Check this out - tonight 4-7pm. 20% off all purchases -- plus surprises galore!

Add the Z

Last week's feature dish from El Take It Easy somehow didn't get on here then, so we'll add it now, too.



This is the egg and squash cazuela: summer squash and egg in a cazuela with mole verde, and some fresh made flour tortillas.

The slow-cooked goodness of the sauce, combined with the rich but light flavors of the egg and squash, evokes to me the wonderful, innovative tacos at Tacos Gus in La Condesa in Mexico City. (Tacos Gus which recently splintered from Tacos Hola, in case you were wondering).

When we explain to people that El Take It Easy is not Mexican food, this is what we mean. I’m not aware of squash and egg cazuela as a traditional dish in Mexico. But surely the kinds of cooking and flavors we experience from being part of an international region, can inform our cuisine in marvelous ways.

Eggs over El Take It Easy

For those of you just getting to know El Take It Easy, here's a dish for you:



That's pork jowl bacon (house cured, natch), local duck eggs, grilled house-baked bread with pork skin butter (yes, I said pork skin butter). Bacon and eggs like you've never had before, I promise. Goes great with a glass of Triennes Rose.

30th Street Blog: Chocolate - Grand Marnier - Cake - must be 30th of the month at Heaven Sent!

30th Street Blog: Chocolate - Grand Marnier - Cake - must be 30th of the month at Heaven Sent!

Chocolate - Grand Marnier - Cake - must be 30th of the month at Heaven Sent!

This month's luscious dessert offering for the 30th from Heaven Sent Desserts is a slice of our absolutely delectable Chocolate Grand Marnier cake; if you like chocolate you will love this, and if you like a "different" taste you will absolutely love it.

Come by and get your "bit o' heaven" for the 30th special price of $4.00 a slice! For that price get two or three or ...

Ritual Tavern Update

Meatloaf is back! It's a little grey and almost cold outside. Wouldn't a nice warm Niman Ranch Meatloaf with blue cheese mashed potatoes and Green Flash 30th Street Pale Ale sauce hit the spot? Or maybe our Vegan Shepherd's Pie would hit the spot. Come on down, have some warm food and cold beer and rest a spell. You deserve it :-)

Tomorrow, Wednesday for 30th on 30th we'll be serving up our nearly famous Niman Ranch Pork Carnitas '30th Street Tacos' and Niman Ranch Beef Sloppy Joe Sliders on the patio only. (Craft beer in environmentally friendly cans available too) Also try Green Flash Matt's Bitter on cask. Curious about Matt, and is he really bitter? Ask him yourself. He'll be here, personally performing random quality checks on the beer engine. (translation, he may have a pint or two with you)

Plenty bottles of beer to enjoy also. We've recently brought in AleSmith Decadence, Slaapmutske 'Triple Nightcap', La Choulette Ambree, New Belgium 'La Folie' as well as Ballast Point Sculpin Ipa.

Hope to see you soon!
Cheers.

Park-2-Park Shuttle: Special service for 30th on 30th

We love being out for 30th on 30th, so despite it being a Wednesday, we are going to operate anyway! The Park-2-Park Shuttle will run from 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., with full Friday/Saturday service for the rest of the summer beginning this Friday, July 2nd from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

Here is the special timetable for 30th on 30th (please save paper and write the times on your hand like it was junior high):

July 4 BBQ & Bike Bash at Alchemy!

This Fourth of July, South Park restaurant Alchemy is serving up a heaving helping of American nostalgia, complete with good neighbors and great food and drinks! San Diego Magazine readers voted Alchemy the Best Neighborhood Eatery, and everyone is invited to the neighborhood to celebrate the holidays with a BBQ and Bicycle Bash. The fun lasts from 11 a.m. To 6 p.m. so family and friends can feast before the fireworks. Attendees are encouraged to cycle to the event in their best bike style for the bike decorating contest – patriotic, chic or just plain crazy, creativity is key.
On the menu are classic BBQ favorites revamped with the unique Alchemy touch. Main dishes include Ancho Chile BBQ Chicken marinated and grilled to mesquite bliss, Texas Style Beef Brisket dry rubbed, apple wood smoked and slow roasted. Brat lovers can sink their teeth into German Brats pilsner bathed and grilled over Julian apple wood, and vegetarians will love the Suzie’s Skewers – fresh, local vegetables grilled to perfection. Each $10 plate comes with a main dish, hot rolls and two side dishes ranging from Corn on the Cob and Cucumber Salad to Cole Slaw and Potato Salad. Drink specials for the event include $3 local drafts and whiskey and cokes, plus a refreshing Watermelon Cooler for just $5.

Grab your friends and family and join us for the party! Hope to see you all there!

Saving Turtles: Tuesday June 22nd at the Ritual Tavern

The Ritual Tavern, located on the corner of 30th/Polk Ave in North Park, has partnered up with Pro Peninsula to fundraise towards sea turtle conservation in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Tuesday, June 22nd
from 5:30pm - closing,
The Ritual Tavern will donate 25%
of their proceeds to The Sea Turtle Fund.

The Sea Turtle Fund is a fund within The Ocean Foundation in which all donations made during June - August 2010 will be directed towards conservation efforts related to recovering sea turtles harmed by the oil spill.

On behalf of Pro Peninsula & The Ritual Tavern, we invite you to come enjoy delicious food and drinks... knowing that at least a 1/4 of your check will support a very important cause!
- Contact gigi@propeninsula.org for questions.
Pro Peninsula is a fund within The Ocean Foundation dedicated to strengthening individual and community efforts to protect the natural environment throughout San Diego and the Baja California peninsula

Late on 30th

I took a quick jaunt from the Link to El Take It Easy late last nite, and even though the basketball game had long been over the streets were still jumpin'. And dancin'.

El Take It Easy

30th Street's newest venue is opening with a big show. A big art show, that is.



The paintings of Enrique Ciapara, at El Take It Easy, 3926 30th St, opening Thursday at 7:30 PM. Enrique works just a few miles away from here, in Tijuana's old roller rink. His work has been featured in group shows at San Diego's Museum of Contemporary Art and elsewhere, and we are proud to present this, his first solo show in the US.

As for El Take It Easy, it is now open every day but Tuesday, starting at 6pm. First-come, first served seating, front and back patios open as well. A little bit about the place, as taken from its its web page:

El Take It Easy is a neighborhood cantina, a place for people to converse and celebrate, eat, drink and enjoy. Our offerings take as inspiration the whole of this city, a city with a wall running through its middle, a city that goes by two names: San Diego and Tijuana.

Chef Max Bonacci, also chef at The Linkery, developed the initial menu in collaboration with Jair Téllez, chef/owner at Laja in Baja California and Merotoro in Mexico City, creating a selection of small plates to convey the essence both of our excellent local ingredients and of our cultural landscape.

Beyond its food and drink, the cantina's ambience, service, music, and aesthetics comprise the intentions and actions of many talented people from both sides of the line. All these folks contribute their skills and passion in order to create space in which it is ideal for anyone to take it easy.

Open every nite but Tuesday, from 6 until late. We hope it becomes a treasured part of your life!

Ritual Drink About, Casked Decadence and Father's Day too!

It's a big big week for 30th Street and Ritual Tavern too.
Copa Mundial de Salchichas 2010 continues today (Tues. 6/15) at the Linkery.

Tomorrow Wednesday 6/16 is Drink About.
What could be better than free transportation up and down the 30th Street corridor? Enjoying some pure Decadence at the halfway point! The Ritual Tavern is crazy happy to have AleSmith's Decadence 2010 on cask. We'll crank up the beer engine it when we open the restaurant at 5:30pm on Wednesday.

AleSmith website explains . . . "In 2005, AleSmith celebrated its 10 year anniversary by introducing a new beer to our line-up: AleSmith Decadence Anniversary Ale. We decided to brew Decadence once a year, each time changing the style. The 2005 version of AleSmith Decadence was an English-style Old Ale, that went on to earn Gold Medals at both The Great American Beer Festival and The World Beer Cup in 2008.

For 2010 we revisit this classic recipe and will soon release AleSmith Decadence 2010, English-style Old Ale. We used an abundance of specialty malts and various sugars to produce a wonderfully rich and malty beer. English varietal hops lend the perfect balance and the four different yeast strains add complexity that is sure to increase as the beer ages."

Sunday is Father's Day! Informal studies have shown that dads love beer :-)
We've got plenty of craft beer at Happy Hour prices all day, every Sunday. Bring the family and have a particularly tasty Sunday dinner at the Ritual Tavern:-)
Cheers!

South Park readies for Old House Fair next Sat. 6/19

Here's the map of what's happening at 30th & Beech St. next Sat., June 19, 2010, 10am-4pm for the (free festival) Old House Fair. Click here to see the schedule of events.

Stone Fruit on 30th

This is my favorite time of the year -- when stone fruit starts to appear in farmers markets and on the Linkery menu.



Today at Smit Orchards' market stand they had delicious Bing and Ranier cherries, and Rosa pluots. Which you'll find here and about the Linkery this weekend, including on a stone fruit salad not unlike the one pictured here.

Sweet stone fruit also copmlements the savory dishes, too.



To read more about stone fruit, read Che's blog post here.

To eat more stone fruit, come in to the Linkery.