CAVANAUGH: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. Suppose you want to go to an event but you don't know where to go to eat. Or you want to go out to eat but you don't want to go home right after. Well, on this weekend preview, we'll help you solve both those problems, pairing events with eateries. And who better to help us that be these great guests? Barbarella is author of diary of a diva for the San Diego reader, and correspondent for NBC. Welcome back! BARBARELLA: Thanks for having me. CAVANAUGH: And Amy T. Granite, we welcome for the first time today. She's arts and culture editor and food writer for CityBeat, and writer of the column -- GRANITE: The Grubby Bitch. CAVANAUGH: Thank you very much! Let's start off with the Oceanside museum of arts, artists at work. It presents live artist Manuel Cisneros' pin striping demonstration. BARBARELLA: Well, you mostly see this type of artwork on classic low rider cars and motorcycles. It's a process of painting that uses very fine lines of paint to create a pattern or design. And they're usually lines next to lines next to lines. Sometimes there are also thin decals of vinyl type. CAVANAUGH: Tell us about the artist. BARBARELLA: He's a local pin striper. And in addition to creating designs on cars and motorcycles, he uses a technique to create paintings on canvas and wood. So there I'm not sure exactly what material he's going to be painting, but he's actually going to be painting live at this event. That's the creative part. CAVANAUGH: This all compliments an exhibit we've talked about on this show, cruisin' Califas, the exhibit on riding. BARBARELLA: It features fine art derived from the low required subculture, particularly the California low required subculture. There's painted vehicles, pen and sink drawing, cruising, music, hub cap sculptures, air brush work by Victor corders on. I've been in his studio in south bay and seen his work. CAVANAUGH: When you're at this event with Manuel Cisneros, can you see the entire low riding exhibit? BARBARELLA: You can. The price of the ticket which is $15 for member, and $20 for nonmembers, and you can get them there, are including the museum admission. Of CAVANAUGH: This is called a creative happy hour, but it seems to me pairing pin striping with happy hour might result in some devstatingly bad looking cars! BARBARELLA: They should probably not give any of the happy to the artist. [ LAUGHTER ] CAVANAUGH: The artists at work, creative happy hour is tonight at the Oceanside museum of art from 6:00 to 9:00†PM. Now we go to aimo by checking out where to eat. And you're saying the flying big pub and kitchen in Oceanside. Maybe something to do with pork? GRANITE: Absolutely. There are several pork dishes on the menu at the flying pig. One that I highly recommend is the durack pork belly that's served with collard green, caramelized apples, and polenta spoon bread. It gives that whole apple poor fall flavor, but it's summer, that's okay. Still a great combination. And pork also works its way into a desert at the flying pig. There is vanilla ice cream with candied pork belly, and chocolate chips. I haven't had this myself. But I'm assuming that if it's on the menu, that it's a tried and tested recipe. CAVANAUGH: They take that name seriously! It's even in the deserts. What kinds of craft beer do they offer? GRANITE: Plenty of local craft beer. So that's appropriate given that San Diego is the craft beer capital of the United States according to many San Diegans. [ LAUGHTER ] GRANITE: So iron fist, the renegade blonde, I name that I particularly like, is on right now. And green flash, west coast IPA, a very hope, bold brew. And then lost and found by the lost abbey. Avery, white rascal. So plenty of light, refreshing beers. But then also very bold beers to go with that hardy gastropub fair. CAVANAUGH: This is part of the slow food movement. Local, fresh. GRANITE: Absolutely. The chef, Mario, is formerly of 9-ten in La Jolla. And the husband and wife team, they have been part of the slow food movement for some time. It was founded in 1989 to combat the fast food. CAVANAUGH: Fast food! GRANITE: The fast lifestyle movement, which I have to admit I am a part of. So it's kind of a foreign concept to me, but I do love eating the food, and flying pig is the way to go in Oceanside. CAVANAUGH: 626 South Tremonth Street in Oceanside. We move on to a play at signet, dirty blonde. BARBARELLA: Speaking of blonde ale and blonde Amy, we're in a blonde theme! CAVANAUGH: We're in blonde world. What's the premise of the play? BARBARELLA: This was written in 2000. And Tony award winning. It's about an aspiring actress named JO, who admires May west. She meets Charley who got to meet May west when he was a teen anger. And it's basically a love story between these two lonely people who worship the same icon. CAVANAUGH: Oh, okay. I thought it had more to do with May west. But it's about a budding romance? BARBARELLA: Yes, it is a romance. And there is a lot of May west in it. But they're 2†stories tied together by the idea of May west. The cast is small, only three people. Steve gunder son, and David McBean. Each is extremely talented. Our critic said it's their performances that really make the show. Not a lot of props. But the over the top costumes are said to be characters in and of itself. They're extravagant and gaudy and fabulous. CAVANAUGH: Speaking of May west, is this a family friendly kind of a play or no? BARBARELLA: You know, I think so. Be prepared for May west quotes that most kids won't get. She was not the shyest person. Probably more appropriate for children than the hung are games or the next batman movie though. [ LAUGHTER ] BARBARELLA: But it's a family-friendly theatre. So they should be fine. CAVANAUGH: Now, if you want to go to dirty blonde, and you get a little hungry, you might want to have a great meal after the show. You can visit rose doughnuts in Linda Vista. Well, is it more than just doughnut, Amy? GRANITE: It is more than just doughnut. It's one of my favorite places to eat in San Diego. If you want breakfast for dinner, which is a popular way to end the day, this is the place to go. CAVANAUGH: What's the place like? GRANITE: It's your typical hole in the wall. BARBARELLA: Hole in the doughnut. GRANITE: The students from -- CAVANAUGH: USD? GRANITE: Yeah, from USD, all of the college students are going in there in droves in their sweat pants looking like they just got done with cramming sessions lining up for doughnuts, and milk makes. And they have a great combination for $5.85, you get an ultimate breakfast sandwich with ham and bacon on sour dough with eggs and cheese, it's a properly crafted fantastic sandwich. On its own, it's only $3.85. And you get one whole doughnut or six doughnut holes with it, and juice or milk. Of but I say if you're already in a doughnut place and eating doughnuts and pork, sandwiches, just go all the way and top it off with a milk shake. They're real ice cream milk shakes there. Of they have 14 different flavors to choose from. Of and they're just really good, old school. CAVANAUGH: I was going to ask you if you had, a favorite, but it sounds like everything on the menu is your favorite. GRANITE: I am a fan of ice cream and doughnuts, definitely. CAVANAUGH: I think you're completely alone in that! [ LAUGHTER ] CAVANAUGH: 24 hours a day, you can always go in. We're moving on now to the old house fair. It's in south park. What do you do at the old house fair? BARBARELLA: It's a day-long festival. And it's centered around the tours of historical houses. Of CAVANAUGH: Oh, historical houses! BARBARELLA: There's a bunch of them. They're going to have a stage outside all day, entertainment, food stands, arts and crafts for kids of all ages. Outdoor science classroom. Even a pet adoption area. And you can get your pet microchipped for $20. I might get my husband microchipped. CAVANAUGH: That'll be more than $20. [ LAUGHTER ] CAVANAUGH: What kind of tours are there? What are you going to see? BARBARELLA: Well, there are a bunch of different tours. There's the walking tours, which are free. And you can take a 1-hour trolley tour which is $5, which is kind of the outside. But then for $20, you can go in the historic home tour inside homes, and they're all of the, you know, the bungalows, and the older homes of the area. CAVANAUGH: See the craftsmanship -- BARBARELLA: Yes, the details in there, and at least five. There's also gardening. They're going to feature a lot of the gardens in the area too. CAVANAUGH: Now, this is a beautiful neighborhood that I don't know so many people in San Diego are familiar with. Tell us about what people can see in it south park. BARBARELLA: I love going there and just hanging out. I don't live there, but it really is like the perfect compromise between city and suburb. It's pretty little houses and gorgeous gardening, but it's easily walkable to cool shops and restaurants. There's a dog park, a lot of dog owners there, and I love to watch dogs. So I love their chili festival. So with all the bustle and life, it manages to remain quiet and peaceful. Of it's its own small town. CAVANAUGH: The old house fair is in historic south park, takes place on Saturday from 10:00†AM to 4:00†PM, and lots to do for all ages. And if you feel like something to eat, south park neighborhood has a lot of great food. Maybe too many places to choose from. Let's go through a few of the options. What restaurants do you enjoy in south park? GRANITE: Like Barbarella said, south park is just a wonderful place to hang out, and so when I go there, I like to bunch around or go on a gastrocrawl. I can never make up my mind on what I want to eat at any given time. It's better to snack around to different places and eat everything. So Mariscos Jerman is a fish taco trip lobed in the IGA parking lot. And they have fish tacos there that are San Felipe style, beer battered, topped with salsa fresca, crema, cabbage, in a corn tortilla. And the prices seem to fluctuate a little bit. Sometimes I've gotten a taco for a dollar. Sometimes it's a dollar 25. So just be aware -- CAVANAUGH: Depending on what lettuce is going that week. [ LAUGHTER ] GRANITE: Yeah. So I just love that place, and you just perch and eat your tacos. Everything is fresh and delicious. Very good. CAVANAUGH: What about desert? GRANITE: For desert, there is the daily scoop. They serve frank's ice cream, which is a San Diego institution around since 1948, and just make excellent hand-crafted ice cream using a machine that's 78 years old. CAVANAUGH: Whoa, yeah! Okay. Thank you both so much. BARBARELLA: Thank you, this was fun. GRANITE: Thanks Maureen.
Good eats, good drinks, good fun with a Dirty Blonde, craft brews, and flying pigs!
The Oceanside Museum of Art has a “creative happy hour” Thursday, June 14 from 6 to 9 p.m. This “innovative” event is part of their Artists@Work program. On the second Thursday of most months, they will showcase a different artist or artist collaborative by commissioning them to produce an original artwork live in front of guests. Thursday’s featured artist this month is Manuel Cisneros, who will be doing a live demonstration of the art of pin striping. Pin striping is the artwork seen on cars associated with the custom car culture of lowriding. Cisneros’ art demonstration ties nicely into the museum’s exhibit of “Cruisin’ Califas: The Art of Lowriding." Participants can view all the exhibits, engage with the artist and get an intimate look at his creative process, while enjoying complimentary appetizers and an open beer and wine bar.
If you want to incorporate a great meal into your Artists@Work experience, check out the Flying Pig Pub and Kitchen. This Oceanside restaurant offers farm-to-table artisanal cuisine, hand made pasta, carefully paired wines and craft beers. According to its website, the Flying Pig is a member of the “Slow Food Movement," which they describe as a way of living and eating; a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment. The “Flying Pig Pub and Kitchen” is located at 626 South Tremont St. in Oceanside, and opens at 5 p.m.
“Dirty Blonde," a play at the Cygnet Theatre in Old Town, finishes up its run this weekend. The “dirty blonde” refers to the legend Mae West who said, "I made myself platinum, but I was born a dirty blonde." The tagline on the Cygnet Theatre website says “Before Gaga... Before Madonna... There was Mae West!” Director Sean Murray and his well-received cast, made up of Melinda Gilb, Steve Gunderson and David McBean put on a great performance. The show can be seen Thursday through Sunday night, with matinees also available on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
If you want to have a tasty and affordable meal after the show, visit Rose Donuts. This eatery is right off of Morena, in Linda Vista, about a mile from Old Town. They serve great sandwiches, milkshakes and incredible donuts, with equally great prices. They’re located at 5201 Linda Vista Rd., Ste. 100, and are open seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
The Old House Fair in historic South Park takes place this Saturday, June 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and has lots to do for all ages. One of the highlights of the fair is a paid tour of some of the historic homes in the neighborhood. The fair offers lots of fun activities, arts and crafts for kids. Adults will also find lots to catch their interest, with all the great music, food and ideas for homes and gardens. Check out this charming and historic neighborhood while you take in the fair. The main site of the “Old House Fair” is at 30th and Beech streets in the South Park area of San Diego.
Another wonderful aspect of the South Park neighborhood and the Old House Fair is the great food that can be found. Not only can you wander through the fair enjoying all the exhibits and activities, but you can also munch your way through some fantastic food and drinks. Some of our recommendations include the South Park Abbey restaurant, which has tasty chicken wings and even tastier craft beers, Marisco’s German Food Truck for some awesomely-priced fish tacos and for something to satisfy your sweet tooth, The Daily Scoop offers Niederfrank’s ice cream. Enjoy!
