Florida Agenda

By ROBERT ELIAS DEATON

Way back in the mid-seventies, which seems like a lifetime ago, we would go to the gaslight district in downtown San Diego for the sailors who hung out there in all the saloons, tattoo emporiums, porn shops and massage parlors that populated the area. It was a run-down fun place in those days, when the city itself was known for its military population, and its proximity to Tijuana, Mexico.

Now the area has been totally gentrified, is officially called the Gaslamp Quarter Historic District, and is a colorful and eclectic assortment of restaurants, bars, shops, lounges and live music venues, that is a must-see for any visit to the second largest city in California. Yes, there are gas lights on the streets, as well as historical art deco buildings that take you back to the turn-ofthe-( last)-century.

Two things you should know about S.D. right from the start: A) you’ll need a rental car. The gay areas and sights are strung throughout the town from one end to the other. B) There are three main gayborhoods here: Hillcrest, University Heights, and North Park.

Hillcrest is really the center of all things gay, bordered on the north by University Heights and the East by North Park. Stroll along University Avenue to get a feel for the place, with its coffee shops, stores, and assorted bistros.

Rich’s San Diego (1051 University Ave. between 10th and Vermont) is the oldest and most popular dance club in the city. We also love the Brass Rail (3796 5th Ave. at Robinson) with its Latino base and an outside patio, which allows you to take a breather as you people-watch out front. For those who like their action on the dirty side, The Loft (3610 5th Ave. at Brookes) is the local dive where hankypanky and stiff drinks are the order of the night.

While in the Hillcrest area, don’t miss a stop at Hash House a Go Go (3628 5th Ave.). It’s our favorite big-portion restaurant, and a legend for breakfast according to locals who have made it an institution. Our favorite item on the menu is the Hash Cobb Salad, served later in the day.

Balboa Park, which borders Hillcrest on the South, is a 1,200-acre bounty of hiking and biking, museums, historic expositions buildings, and the world-famous San Diego Zoo (home of the Giant Pandas). Get to it via public transportation or the Cabrillo Freeway. Go early and spend all day exploring this green haven. For the rougher side of gay San Diego, head to North Park, where you’ll find the only real leather bar in town. The San Diego Eagle (3040 Park Way at Ray Street—one block parallel to University) is small, sexy and exactly what you’d expect, which is a good thing. At Pecs (2046 University Ave. at Alabama), there’s no indication you’re at a gay club. Just look for the “Open” sign and march right in to find the hottest cruising in all of San Diego. Want to find a date? This is the place.

If you’re young and posing is your thing, head immediately to Bourbon Street in University Heights (4612 Park Blvd. at Madison). There’s something adorable about watching 22-yearolds trying to look cool. Okay, maybe it’s not so adorable, but this is the place to find it in any case. Regardless of what turns you on, this land of sunshine 300 days-a-year has a bit of it available somewhere or other. San Diego— guaranteed fun.

SAN DIEGO, CA – On May 22, San Diego officials renamed the city’s Blaine Avenue “Harvey Milk Street” during a formal ceremony. Officials say the thoroughfare is the first in the nation named to honor the late LGBT rights activist, who would have turned 82 on May 22. In 1977, Milk became of the country’s first openly-gay elected officials, when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. In 1978, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were murdered in city hall by a disgruntled and mentally unstable former supervisor, Dan White.

By PAUL RUBIO

There’s a lot of talk about “foodies” these days. This relatively new entry to the urban dictionary has become one
of American society’s most overused words, albeit with good reason. Finally we have a politically correct term that accounts for our unapologetic indulgence in our greatest fat kid fantasies, extra reason to go Paula-Dean-heavy or Mary-Kate-Olsen-light on the butter, and an excuse to take meticulous note of the ingredients and preparation of food (without being classified as clinically food obsessed). It’s no longer shameful to travel distances far and wide with the sole purpose of a personal feeding frenzy; in fact, it’s now trendy and almost mainstream.

That said, in my global travels and 365-days-a-year restaurant lifestyle, I’ve found only a handful of cities anchored by such great eats to warrant a foodie pilgrimage – none more so than the San Diego area. It seems that central and northern California’s farm-to-table revolution has trickled down to the state’s southern reaches, gaining some extra personality, audacity, and robustness on the way. Think: blow-your-mind experiential gastronomy with drink lists to match.

Below are three restaurants that should headline your foodie bucket list and will send you packing your loosest jeans for a west coast eating and drinking orgy.

Flavor
(www.flavordelmar.com, 858-755-3663, Del Mar). Doling out breathtaking views of the SoCal coastline through its panoramic glass windows, this Über-creative restaurant plays up the yin and yang elements of gastronomy, with acclaimed Chef Brian Redzikowski engineering some wildly new taste sensations. The meal begins with house bread and butter accompanied by a quarta of rotating salts (e.g. black garlic, honey jalapeno, sage, and basil). Next up, “raw,” and “warm” starters like the “Tartare of Hawaiian Ahi” with yuzu aioli, black garlic, and chili oil and “braised local baby beets” over a citrus-beet puree, Maytag blue cheese and toasted macadamia nuts. For the main course – divine interventions of “surf,” “turf,” and veg, such as the “local halibut en sous vide” over rock shrimp and “Meyer lemon risotto, pancetta, pea tendril salad, and saffron hollandaise.” Flavor’s idyllic upper story location means a front row ticket for the best sunset in town, and naturally a few sunset libations not to be missed, like “Salt & Pepper,” grey goose, yellow bell pepper, lime, agave, sprinkled salt and pepper garnish and “Tangerine Jalapeno,” tequila, Cointreau, tangerine, lemon, lime, house made jalapeno puree, and a chili-lime salt rim. Bursting with Flavor, this is American’s raging “foodie and cocktail revolution” at its best.

Grant Grill
(www.grantgrill.com, 619-744-2077, Downtown San Diego). Grant Grill proves that you don’t need to be a newbie to be a foodie favorite. For six decades, the renowned restaurant of The US?Grant Hotel has consistently reinvented its menu with each approaching season, letting the creative juices simmer through the season’s top produce and ingredients. The 3, 4, or 5 course monthly tasting menu (with or without wine pairings) offers varying degrees of indulgence, and a divergence from other seasonally returning favorites like the “Dungeness Crab Risotto,” the “Grant Grill Mock Turtle Soup” and the “Frontiere All Natural Buffalo Loin” with Butterball potatoes, Maui onion rings, King trumpet mushrooms, and Marrow gremolata. Despite an evolving menu, the restaurant stays delightfully true to its circa 1951 roots, with the dark and elegant feel of a gentleman’s club that transforms into an old school speakeasy on weekends. It should come as no surprise then that the Grant Grill serves as a drinking institution in San Diego. Manager-Sommelier Jeff Josenhans is regionally famous for his wine and cocktail menu. Josenhans says the trick to a fabulous cocktail is “ingenuity and balance,” followed by a process of “sketching and experimenting.” Josenhans reveals that a major synergy of forces merits the Grill’s house of libations reputation; but house made syrups, reductions, and daring ingredients don’t hurt. This holiday season, Josenhans brings back the “Smashing Pumpkin” from the Grill’s Food Network fame – pumpkin infused rum, all spice liqueur, Ginger liqueur, Meyer lemon, Grand Marnier, and cardamom bitters. Now, I’ll toast to that!

Searsucker
(www.searsucker.com, 619-233-7327, Downtown San Diego). It’s a magical equation of originality plus calories at Searsucker – the colossal, vibrant, and trendy eatery that’s still commanding a hefty wait nearly a year after opening. The menu breaks things down simply into categories of: “bites,” “smalls,” “greens,” “ocean,” “ranch,” “farm,” and “milk + sugar,” further revealing pithy descriptions of the dishes themselves, like “farm bird lollipops + snake oil + blue fondue” and “crab cake ‘carb free.’” Yet these short descriptions are loaded like a one pound baked potato!

The “crab cake ‘carb free’” is indeed rich in protein, but it’s also coated in lemon aioli, tomato jam, and cilantro reduction. It’s more than a nice surprise; it’s heaven
on a plate! Similarly, the “butternut” arrives as rich, squash lasagna; and the “mahi mahi” as a beautiful presentation of fresh fish over a bed of fried onions and chipotle, topped with balsamic reduction and blue cheese. No matter what you order, Searsucker is an all out love affair with food and all things caloric!

SAN DIEGO, CA – The two leading contenders for the Republican nomination for San Diego, California’s mayorial race are both gay.
Neither of the two candidates, City Councilman Carl DeMaio nor District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, are known to be LGBT activists but neither have they made a secret about being gay.

San Diego has elected Republican mayors since 1992 so the odds are whoever wins the Republican mayoral primary could easily make San Diego the nation’s largest city to ever choose an openly gay GOP leader.

SAN DIEGO, CA – Target Department Stores has filed a suit against a San Diego pro-gay marriage organization to get them to stop protesting in front of its area stores claiming that that the protests are driving away customers.

The trial against an organization named Canvass for a Cause began last Friday and will most likely further strain relationships between the LGBT community and Target, which began when it was disclosed last summer that Target made a $150,000 donation to a business group backing a Republican Minnesota candidate opposed to same-sex marriage. Target, however, claims they remain committed to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and its lawsuit has nothing to do with the political agenda of the organization.

Canvass for a Cause says it is using shopping malls, college campuses and department stores, including Target, to collect signatures and donation in support of gay marriage.