South Park Walkabout Sat. Night 10/3

This Saturday night, October 3rd -- South Park Harvest Walkabout, 6 to 10pm. Free trolley, shops open late, free music, specials and sidewalk tastings -- plenty for everyone to enjoy.

Celebrate openings of new businesses including STATION TAVERN & BURGERS and McM GALLERY, plus the 7th anniversary of GRANT's MARKETPLACE. Fun!

For a map with participating businesses, visit www.southparkscene.com. For a COMPLETE WALKABOUT GUIDE with what's happening everywhere -- visit www.southparkwalkabout.weebly.com.

South Park how has a Facebook page, too. Check us out at www.facebook.com/southparkscene.

Taste of North Park hits 30th Street

Lots of 30th Street restaurants and bars are part of Taste of North Park:

Ritual Tavern
Toronado San Diego
The Office Bar
Caffé Calabria
Apertivo Italian Tapas & Wine Bar
Ranchos Mexican & Vegetarian Cuisine
Heaven Sent Desserts
Bar Pink
Urban Solace Restaurant
True North Tavern
Paesano's Fine Italian Food
North Park Panini Place (NP3)
Eddie's Philadelphia Steaks
Mosaic Wine Bar
Uptown Fish Market and Grill
Bluefoot Bar & Lounge
Cardamom Café & Bakery
Zensei Sushi
Sea Rocket Bistro

Plus, other exciting places like the brand new West Coast Tavern (in the old Hawthorn's space) and Splash Wine Bar that aren't technically on 30th, but are in North Park.

Buy tickets here!

The Garden tomorrow at the Whistle Stop

Citizen Video is screening the film The Garden tomorrow (Sunday 27th) at the Whistle Stop at 4pm. The Garden is about the largest community garden in the United States - a 14 acre farm in Los Angeles. The folks from Suzie's Farm - San Diego's newest CSA farm - will join in the fun with us and bring some veggie samples. We will share our recently canned green beans from Suzie's Farm to garnish bloody mary's. Yummmmmmm. What a great way to get your veggies.

VC3

The Velo Cult Fall Social and 3rd Anniversary party was a lot of fun, and the music by Triple Chicken Foot and by Scott McDougal was awesome. (I saw undercurrents of clogging about to break out in audience.)





It was actually a lot more crowded than it looks in these photos; the camera on my Blackberry isn't really good for capturing an audience.

We're really lucky to have many world-class businesses like Velo Cult in our neighborhood. Thanks Sky and crew for a great event and for everything you do for our community.

Velo Cult Fall Social

It starts in 90 minutes! (Although it sure as heck doesn't feel like Fall.)

3 Course Meals under $30? Every Day, Every Week

Here at the Ritual Tavern, we pride ourselves on serving up quality and value every day, every week. Like many eateries in the neighborhood, we offer great locally farmed organic produce, shellfish, locally crafted beer and great value. Also, like many of the other quality restaurants on 30th Street, the Ritual will not be participating in San Diego Restaurant Week. We will, however, continue to be here for you once the glow of Restaurant Week fades :-)

You want a 3 course meal for $30? Just choose from our regular menu: favorite combinations include. . .

100% Organic Crows Pass mixed baby green salad + our famous Saddlebrush Gumbo + Organic JR Farms Strawberries with fresh whipped cream and house baked shortbread for dessert.

A full pound of local Carlsbad Aqua Farm Mussels or Charcuterie made locally by Knight Salumi + Niman Ranch all-natural Beef Burger with fresh sliced french fries, and house made condiments or Vegan Shepherd's Pie + Creme Brulee or Beer Cheesecake.

Shrimp Scampi with Sadie Rose ciabatta + Griddled Jidori Chicken Breast with local organic vegetables and organic long grain wild rice + locally made sorbet or gelato.

Add Daily Happy Hour from 5:30-7:30 Tues-Sat and all day Sunday

($3.50 Pints and $1 off select glasses of wine)

Cask Ale and fresh shucked Carlsbad Aqua Farm Oysters each Thursday. This week 9/17/09 we'll be pouring Pure Hoppiness from local favorites Alpine Brewing. Hope you can join us :-)

San Diego 30th Street Week

Are any 30th Street restaurants doing Restaurant Week? I haven't heard of it (although over at Sea Rocket they are running a great prix fixe menu for a couple weeks).

I think the reason SDRW participation isn't a big deal on 30th is because value isn't created by discounting prices -- value is created when a restaurant delivers high quality, remarkable food time after time. The kind of meals you can eat at a dozen places on this street between Alchemy and Jayne's.

30th Street Cask on 30th

Labor Day weekend has arrived. Why not start the last official big weekend of summer at the Ritual with oysters and cask ale!?! Keep in mind we can help you beat the heat with tasty beverages, air conditioning, and our ever-popular deck seating for the lovers of open air dining and drinking.

Green Flash 30th Street Pale Ale is on cask. One of our most popular draughts ever returns cask conditioned and Crystal dry hopped.

Our entrée special is Niman Ranch Pork Delmonico in a hunter sauce with Wingshadows Hacienda squash topped with herbed ricotta and organic tomato. This plate is a tasty masterpiece and a value at just $16. Later in the weekend we’ll be featuring our every popular Niman pulled pork sandwiches, the perfect holiday weekend treat.

Our stellar draught list is currently highlighted with Green Flash Summer Saison and AleSmith Speedway Stout. We have Lost Abbey Devotion, which will be followed by Lost Abbey Avant Garde. New in the bottle here is delicious Moose Drool Brown Ale from Big Sky Brewing in Montana. All of the above are definitely among the tastiest beers ever and simply not to be missed.

The Ritual Tavern is now officially two years old, and only days remain until the Ritual Second Anniversary AleSmith pairing dinner on Wednesday, September 9th. We are guarding a cask of Nautical Nut Brown Ale and Vande Rose pork for the occasion, AleSmith cheese is on the way, and members of the AleSmith team will be on hand to celebrate with us. Limited seating for the 6:30 dinner remains, and a second 9:30 seating is available as well, so please contact us for your reservation. Secure your table by phoning 619 283 1618 or by emailing info@ritualtavern.com.

As always, the Ritual crew is here to cater to your fine taste in food and beverage, so come on in and enjoy Labor Day weekend and the Ritual Anniversary!

Cheers!

Alchemy's Labor Day Weekend SILENT SUNDAY

Trees Please

About 50 trees were recently planted along 30th and Upas. Ever since the weather got hot, we've been begging for anything to help keep us cool, and trees are really cool! So we'll be holding a little celebration at Sea Rocket Bistro on Wednesday, September 16th at 5pm. County Supervisor Ron Roberts will be there, Liz from North Park Main Street (who made all this happen!), Gordon Carrier of Carrier Johnson Architects, and possibly our councilman Todd Gloria. Come for the celebration and stay for a dinner of local seafood or some of our half priced wines by the glass that we do only on Wednesdays. More info here: http://searocketbistro.com/content/celebrate-trees

Working For Tips at the Linkery

Moonlight Brewing's no-hop beer, which uses California Redwood tips to balance the malts, will be tapped at the Linkery at 5:30pm today. Come and enjoy!

Silent Sunday @ Alchemy this Labor Day Weekend

Silent Sunday's
at
Alchemy
Labor Day Weekend
Sunday, September 6, 8pm - close

Party like it's 1929 this Labor Day weekend during SILENT SUNDAY'S, the first Sunday of each month at Alchemy in South Park. Celebrate with Alchemy this special Sunday as their mixologists introduce a few new (old) Prohibition-age cocktails including the "Princess Mary's Pride" and Georgia Moonshine Jell-O shots (really) along with their traditional absinthe service. Citizen Video will project a full-size classic silent film on the wall while patrons enjoy swingy 1920's era jazz from a live acoustic band. www.alchemysandiego.com

The Station

The Station (in the location of the former Snippy's, next to Velo Cult) is doing their "dress rehearsals" starting this week, open to the public. It looks fantastic (and, uncoincidentally, was packed when I rode by at 5:45 today). 30th gets better and better!

30th on 30th

The Linkery has 30th Street Pale Ale on cask right now, if you want to get the fully meta cask beer experience.

Doings on 30th

One Grill appears to have opened in the old Commonwealth Cafe spot next to Bluefoot. I've heard it's a Yakitori place.

A sign announcing "Fishmarket & Grill" is up at the old Panchita's next to One Grill.

Construction is going on next to Veg-N-Out.


The interwebs say that the market that went in next to Rancho's has closed (and it looked that way when I walked by the other day).

It's a bummer about the market, but I love that 30th keeps bubbling up with new stuff.

Alesmith Cask and Pairing Nite at the Linkery, Thursday 20 August

This Thursday is one of these amazing events that we at the Linkery, on rare and special occasions, have the privilege to offer. We're very appreciative to both the world-class artisans at AleSmith, and to our many world-class local farmers, for providing us this opportunity.

We'll have 5 AleSmith beers on cask, each paired with a farm-driven dish from the Linkery. We'll also have 4 more AleSmith beers on draft. Each pairing is $8 for the dish and a half pour of the beer.


The Linkery visits AleSmith, 2006

If you're not familiar with AleSmith, they are a very small operation in the city of San Diego that ranks very highly on pretty much every list of "best breweries in the world". Their beers are flavorful and often in the West Coast style, but they emphasize quality, balance, and craftsmanship. The folks who work there are friendly San Diegans who happen to be among the best at what they do, and who love great beer and great food.

We are grateful to count them among our friends and colleagues.

And now, to Thursday's lineup!

ON CASK

Old Numbskull West Coast style barleywine
paired with
Numbskull-battered onion rings (onions from Sage Organics) with tomatillo catsup (tomatillos from Wingshadows Hacienda)

Speedway Stout
paired with
House made buttermilk biscuits, red eye gravy, house cured city ham (Berkshire pork from Kelly Biensen), and honey herb butter (herbs from La Milpa Organica, local honey)

Wee Heavy Scotch Ale
paired with
Scotch egg of house made lamb sausage (pastured lamb from Christine & Jim Maguire) and quail egg (pastured quail from Wingshadows Hacienda)

Nautical Nut Brown
paired with
Shiitake mushroom ravioli (organic shiitakes from LiveGreen) with house made yogurt, Pozo Tomme cheese (Christine & Jim Maguire), and chives (from La Milpa Organica)

Decadence 2008 Anniversary Ale
paired with
House made Decadence ice cream sundae with caramel bacon sauce (house made bacon of Berkshire pork from Hilleman Family Farm)

ON DRAFT

X Extra Pale Ale
Anvil ESB
IPA
Horny Devil Belgian Strong Ale

The kitchen opens at 5:30 and stays open until 11:30, as usual. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis, as usual. The Alesmith crew will be on hand celebrating with us.

We hope you can make it!

On Thursday Evenings at the Ritual there is a good chance you can hunt up raw oysters, cask conditioned ale, and the occasional pulled pork sandwich. We are certain you will find Luna and Simon oysters, pints of Stone Levitation from the cask, and the succulent pork in abundance tonight. The Levitation cask has been conditioned with Amarillo hops.

Duck are returning to Tavern country this weekend. The arrival of acase of Peking duck from Maple Leaf Farms in Indiana prompted us to ask Dylan for his advice regarding duck season. His reply was rosemary salt. So we roasted up fresh rosemary in salt and rubbed the duck with it. Next we will braise in duck fat, and by the weekend we’ll be serving Duck Confit.

Just into the bottle cooler is Port Brewing Company’s Panzer Imperial Pilsner. This specialty beer is a lager. The lagering process takes much longer compared to the brewing of ales, and lagering is not often practiced by brewers here in town, so naturally we are pleased to have another local Pilsner to offer you.

Another new bottle is Eel River Acai Berry Wheat. Ted Vivatson was in town recently and we have to say this gentleman is one of the jolliest brewers we’ve ever met. His Eel River Brewing Company is located on the Pacific Coast Highway in Fortuna, CA., and is the nations first certified 100% organic brewery. We are now serving their Acai Berry Wheat, “A light-bodied wheat ale brewed with organic acai berries from Brazil, and a flavorful mix of four other organic berries. Acai berries boast high antioxidant properties too, so drink on!”–Eelriverbrewing.com

Coming up on tap is Blue Frog Grog & Grill’s Blonde Frog Ale. “A copper colored ale made with an abundance of pale malt and a sprinkling of floral hops, resulting in a smooth malty beer of considerable strength. Enjoy the blond in moderation, or you may end up trying to turn a grog into a prince.”
–bigbluefrog.com

We would love to have you in to celebrate our second anniversary dinner on September 9th. Join AleSmith Brewery for a pairing dinner featuring Van De Rose pork, AleSmith cheese, and of course AleSmith Ales. Reservations are now being accepted for this special event.

You may have heard about the A-list from 10news, we're in the running for "best neighborhood bar", currently Pacific Beach is getting most of the attention. The Silver Fox and London's West End are in the lead. Why not show a little love for North Park, and vote for us? Cheers!

Crank Testimonial

Just a note that I love Manivela (it means "crank" in Spanish) -- they deliver Blind Lady pizza to my house in Golden Hill (over 4 miles away) within an hour of ordering. Friendly, easy, inexpensive, environmentally sound, awesome.

Ballast Point Even Keel..

is delicious. It's on cask at Sea Rocket Bistro right now. If you like delicious beer on cask, please stop by for a pint.

Amber waves, and all that.

cross-posted to Casing the Joint.



It's great that the Obama/Gates/whoever "Beer Summit" is calling attention to the companies that actually make the mediocre beers which masquerade as being tied to a specific locale.

* You thought Bud Light was American? Try corporate Brazilian-Belgian.

* Blue Moon is from the Midwest, right? Nope. That would be from a multi-national version of nowhere which includes South Africa, the UK, and Canada.

* Red Stripe, as you know from its commercials, hails from London. I mean, to the extent that a corporation like Diageo can be said to exist anywhere.

What's marvelous about the curtain being pulled back on this charade is that it crystallizes this little-talked-about fact: actual American breweries are simply the world's powerhouse for quality beer. The joke about American beer being like a having sex in a canoe no longer holds -- that canoe now rides the Thames or the Amazon.

Anyway, if the Three Summiteers want to actually enjoy their beers, there are some obvious substitutes -- aka improvements.

Since President Obama drinks Bud, he'd probably really enjoy a quality Pilsner like Prima Pils from Victory Brewing. That's in Pennsylvania...like the Avenue.

Officer Crowley's could indulge his enjoyment of wheat beers by ditching the Blue Moon and instead sampling the witbier from Missouri's leading brewer: Boulevard Brewing.

And for Professor Gates, who strikes me as appreciating aesthetics, there is one very obvious step up from Red Stripe:



That would be Session Lager, brewed by employee-owned Full Sail Brewing in Oregon.

Beer of this quality makes me want caught breaking into my own home to drink some. Fortunately, I don't have to...since here on 30th Street, most of the bars, restaurants, and corner stores traffic in it.