The DJ known as Artistic is putting in the work. We should all be enjoying his labors. Dude already brought out Cappadonna and Abstract Rude this year. This time, Art took it to the stratosphere by bringing in the inventor of Hip Hop, Kool Herc!
Kool came on just after midnight to rock an all vinyl set. His ‘Tools’ he called them. “No monitor”, He instructed. “It gives me a false impression of whats going on on the dancefloor.” Though, the guy wasn’t mixing records per se what else can you say? This guy fucking invented Hip Hop.
Food Factory
Neighborhood: Lemon Grove 7914 Broadway
(619) 463-1919
I’ve driven past this spot so many times, I finally stepped in to get a closer look at this old-school looking little place. Its definitely on the mom and pop, neighborhood diner tip. They seemed to know most everyone in there by name. That’s service you just can’t pay for nowadays.
A burger and fries will set you back $4.75. I had the cheeseburger plate; burger, fries and salad. $6.75. The patties are fresh, not frozen. There is a daily special everyday and they change those week to week. Great, clean atmosphere. Awesome service. Tasty, affordable menu of American diner standards. What are you waiting for?
SD Dialed In 3-year anniversary
Lights On
Swim Party
The Moviegoers
Casbah
11.09.09
We’re letting the cat out of the bag with this one. but with good reason. This show was actually a three year anniversary for the renowned local blog, San Diego dialed in. If you don’t know its because we didn’t tell you. It was our little secret. Our backdoor to getting hip to what’s on the scene. In addition to listing most all of the shows worth their cover in SD, they also throw some good ones as well.
We showed up in time to catch most of Swim Party’s set. Nice tone, well rehearsed. Lights On were next. The first thing that came to mind was Echo and the bunnymen meets Interpol and they wasted no time toughing it up. Anyways, these are real bands that play songs that sound good and make you want to move a little bit. I know San Diego, I know what a fucking crazy idea that is; moving at a music show. Somebody get me out of this cultural shit-hole. And if you can’t, well we have SD dialed in to let us know where a little respite should be. Nice work and good luck.
Jacks Barbeque
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
1290 University ave
619.574.1644
The secret in town this year has been the economy buster/recession friendly/heads are broke pricing at many food spots these days. Jack’s has one; 1/3 lb Angus Burger, Fries and Drink – $5. These guys grill their burgers and the patties are tasty. I haven’t asked where they get their buns (insert joke here) but I will. Possibly the best part of the whole deal.
I had the grilled chicken way back after they first opened. It was competent as well. But it costs more than $5. Also on the menu are; baby back ribs, pork rib tips, beefy ribs, chicken (1/2 or whole), sandwiches, burgers, salads and your typical sides.
Neighborhood: Logan Heights 2802 Ocean View Blvd
San Diego, CA 92113
(619) 239-3782
Neighborhood: Spring Valley
1000 Grand Ave
Spring Valley, CA 91977
There are several locations around SD County. Here at Probe-4 we consider this particular establishment as a paradigm shift, a touchstone, a proverbial life-changing experience. This is the place that will go down in San Diego lore as the place where I was introduced to the Taco Gobernador, a patriotic dish rivaled only by Italy’s Margherita pizza. With its grilled green and red peppers and white onion, melted cheese and grilled jumbo Shrimp this is not a tj taco. German’s take on this Sinaloan treat is a true transcendental culinary experience.
And yet this is no one trick pony. You say you like fish tacos? How about battered and fried fresh when you order? How does $1 sound? No, not in Rosarito. This is San Diego. Here’s an equation for all you math wizards: Taco Gobernador+Fish Taco=$5. If that doesn’t change the world i don’t know what will. Maybe the smoked Marlin taco (also with melted cheese and grilled peppers). Yeah, that might do it. Oh, and go ahead and have the consome. Besides, its complimentary not an obligation.
On our way to this show I realized I had not been in the Disneyland vicinity since 1996. For those keeping score that was when I went to grad night with my high school class. My how the neighborhood has changed. And what a clusterfuck to get around in on a saturday night. Holy shit.
But it was a special night and nothing was going to put a damper on this one. I saw Sunny Day once in 1997 while a sophomore in college. Due to (the bands’) subsequent break ups, I never thought I would ever see them play live together again. Certainly not the original line-up! Also reunited, The Jealous Sound opened up which was a nice touch since I remember running into one of those guys at that ‘97 show.
Precision was the word of the night. The SDRE boys hit the stage promptly at 10pm and proceeded to run through a set that included selections almost exclusively from their first two albums; “Diary” and that pink one (”LP2″). And they sounded just as good, possibly better than, those two records. They played one tune from “How it feels to be something on”(guitar and video games)and one new song. Jeremy Enigk’s voice is still there. The power and the passion were in full effect as well thanks to guitarist Dan Hoerner, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith.
I am smiling a bit reluctantly as I write this. With the lyrics to In Circles echoing in my head, I realize this was one show I did not want to end.
SDRE setlist HoB Anaheim (10/10/09)
Friday
Seven
Shadows
Song About An Angel
Grendel
Guitar & Video Games
Iscarabaid
Theo B
5/4
New Song*
48
Sometimes
-Encore-
In Circles
J’nuh
The Mexican Ramones. That’s what they called them back in the day. Now that most bands are getting back together, we’re glad these guys joined the scrum. With all original members, including one Robert Lopez AKA El Vez, The Zeros took it to the Adams ave street fair. We had missed their last 3 shows in the neighborhood so we couldn’t miss this one. One funny highlight was when they dedicated a tune to everyone who went to Chula Vista high. They played for about 45 minutes which in punk rock time equals about 20-22 songs! Good shit. If they’re playing, catch them if you can before they retreat back to South Bay obscurity.
Tony Bennett
Segerstrom Hall
Orange County Performing Arts Center
09.25.09
Anthony Dominick Benedetto. Tony Bennett. He is THE Man. Wow. I stepped out to Orange County with my Mother to catch this piece of American music history. After his daughter Antonia opened, the 83-year-young Mr. Bennett flexed his incomparable vocal performance skills. The man sang his ass off for 1 hour and 45 minutes. He didn’t even unbutton his jacket. Not a sip of water, he didn’t so much as wipe his brow. The only rest his voice got was during instrumental solos. And those weren’t too bad either. Lee Musiker, Harold Jones, Marshall Wood, Gary Sargent; piano, drums, bass and guitar respectively, were rock solid backing up Mr. Bennett. What a great venue Segerstrom hall is; a serious, acoustically tuned room. So serious in fact that Mr. Bennett flaunted those acoustics by signaled to the sound man to turn the mics off and singing Fly Me to the Moon with no mic and just the guitar backing him! He joked how everyone thinks he lives in San Francisco and played all the songs I was hoping to hear except for Rags to Riches, which I’m sure he’s sick of hearing let alone singing. I think Mr. Bennett summed it up best when he said “What a night!”
Shout out to Z’ Tejas for a surprisingly delicious pre-game meal. I usually don’t dig on mall restaurants, but the south coast plaza appears to be no ordinary mall. baked seafood enchiladas (baked salmon, tuna and shrimp with grilled mushrooms and avocado). Fresh corn bread. even a decent tortilla soup.
Neighborhood: University Heights 4628 Park Blvd San Diego, CA
With this post I think we officially become the soft opening review. That means either we’re that cool or there’s not that much going on in San Diego…
The Hamilton’s crew does round two and thankfully it does not suck. Finally a beer bar with booze (I would go soon while they still have Makers in the well!). The menu is interesting. My well read and well dressed lady friend and I shared the kobe sliders. These fuckers come with no fewer than three dipping sauces which i can’t remember the names of except that one was horseradish-y, one was lemon-y and the last was a sweet bbq type thing. We’ll update this once they get their menu online. The beef (in the sliders) was succulent, juicy and very tasty. The slightly seasoned ’shoestring potatoes’ were nothing to write home about. Keep your eye on this post for updates. There are several menu items that seem worth trying. One note: There is a lunch and dinner menu. The items are identical, only the prices change. Plan accordingly.
They offer breakfast and sunday brunch as well.
*Update* Nothing better after a basketball session than a nice burger. I was craving one and was also due to try the small bar burger after having the smaller burgers (see above). Solid burger. The rosemary bun was especially impressive. The patty was thick and cooked perfectly (medium well) maybe a little bland but nothing some ketchup couldn’t cure.
Also I verified the three dipping sauces on the sliders. They are; Creamy wasabi, lemongrass aioli, and asian bbq. Do it!
Neighborhood: Chinatown 1001 N Alameda Street Los Angeles, CA90012 (213) 628-3781
Obviously this place is not in San Diego. We would only break protocol here for a very good reason. We feel that being open for over 100 years is a very good reason.
The original home of the French dip sandwich and a Los Angeles institution since 1908, few places compare on the nostalgia scale. I couldn’t help feeling like I was in Chinatown. Maybe it was because I was in Chinatown. At any rate, after a quick gander at the extensive menu I settled on a turkey dip, potato salad, a slice of boysenberry pie and a coffee. To top it all off my friend and I split a leg of lamb dip. While it all tasted incredible it is also worth mentioning that the coffee is still priced at $0.10. Yeah, for real. There are some photos below but you should really see and taste for yourself next time you are cruising around the revitalized Downtown LA area. I mean, when was the last time you had boysenberry pie and 10 cent coffee?
