In San Diego we talk a lot about North Park and Little Italy, La Jolla and Ocean Beach, Encinitas and Hillcrest, but in this city of villages, there are so many more, often-overlooked neighborhoods to explore. For the latest issue of San Diego Magazine, I share a round-up of my favorite places in City Heights, a mid-city nabe that has a garden nursery with animals, a delightfully divey concert venue, Hummingbird Huddle (above), the farmers market coffee stand with an activist mission, and plenty more food, drink, and activities to explore. Like a beekeeping class!
Lately I’ve been thinking about why weekends in San Diego feel so different from my weekends in New York. For starters, now that I’m self-employed, I’m working way more hours than I ever did, so Sundays are usually spent working at home. But there’s something else.
Being the pedestrian-friendly city that New York is, I would usually wake up in my Nolita apartment, grab a coffee from my favorite Gimme Coffee, and walk. Walk and walk and walk. I’d start in Nolita, make my way through Soho, turn a corner to the West Village, and somehow by the end of the day, I found myself in Central Park. I do miss that sort of random weekend that walking encourages. And that’s not to say it’s impossible in San Diego, but it’s not the same. Neighborhood-hopping here typically requires a car.
So this Saturday, we did the next best thing. We spent most of the day in one neighborhood—Mission Hills, which has recently blossomed with buzzy restaurants, cafes, and more—and walked from garage sale to coffee shop to garage sale to boutique to The Patio on Goldfinch, an upscale American restaurant with lush plant walls, a Venissimo cheese cave (!), and a dog-friendly patio.
I had been before for dinner and loved our small plates, but going with Teddy during the day was a totally different (and I think more fun) experience. The light flooding in is gorgeous, they offer a complimentary dog treat made from table scraps, and a daily happy hour from 3-6pm with 50% off all glasses of wine is pretty spectacular.
Coffee naps, when you take a 20-minute nap immediately after drinking coffee, will make you more alert. Great! Except for the fact that I will have to get up 20 minutes earlier in the morning.
If you love Friday Night Lights, then you will love Amy Schumer’s send-up on her Comedy Central Show.
Ann Taylor Loft is killing it, and I’ve snatched so many great pieces—including these shorts, this maxi dress, and this top—at ridiculous discounts during their recent friends and family sale. Not sponsored, just awesome.
Cosmo UK turned the tables by asking Mark Ruffalo all the sexist questions women typically hear on press junkets, while Scarlett Johansson was asked the more thoughtful questions. I like the idea, but it’s viewed as a joke when he gets asked. Women are asked those questions seriously! Blergh.
So excited try this spinoff eatery from my favorite San Diego Thai restaurant, Sab-e-Lee. It’s going to be a cloudy weekend here, and I can’t think of anything more comforting than a spicy tom yum soup. And coffee followed by a coffee nap.
I went to the Surf & Sand Resort back in 2010, as part of our weekend getaway to San Diego. It was during that trip that we got the idea to drop everything in New York and move to SoCal, and part of that inspiration came from a day spent in Laguna Beach, the dreamy, prototypical SoCal destination. At the top of my list was brunch at the oceanfront Surf & Sand property to try pancakes with lavender butter (or syrup, I can’t remember) with the Pacific by my side. (It’s also where the kids of Laguna Beach had their black and white party.)
Cut to five years later, and the resort invited me and a few other bloggers to check out the resort, its restaurant, and Laguna livin’. We had a beautiful and luxurious two-night stay at the Resort, including oceanfront rooms, dinner at their excellent restaurant, and a hybrid body scrub-massage at their spa. Funny how things can come full circle like that.
Staycation or getaway, it’s a treat of a vacation, and I’m going to show you why:
In the last few weeks, I’ve bought sandals, shorts, and sunscreen. Even though San Diego has perennially perfect weather, a definite summer vibe has set in. And now that my friends in my old stomping grounds of the East Coast and Chicago have finally gotten warmer temps, too, I feel like less of a schmuck talking about it!
Today I’m rounding up some fruity and fizzy mocktail ideas. Drink up! ‘Tis the season.
Today I’m profiling Sarah Grossman, the San Diego Museum of Art‘s manager of special events and stylish lady behind some of my most favorite events in the city, from Culture & Cocktails, the quarterly soiree themed to a new exhibit (i.e. “Havana Nights for new Cuban artwork acquisitions), to the upcoming Art Alive, a weekend-long exhibit during which florists reinterpret works of art via plants. I attended Art Alive’s opening event, Bloom Bash, last year, and it was one of the coolest events I had ever been to, and not just because the floral works were impressive. People go all out with their ensembles, which makes for great people-watching. I remember seeing a svelte, near-octogenarian shimmy around the dance floor in a tight sequined dress. Go, mama!
With an eye for all things artistic and fashionable, I wanted Sarah to share a peek into her museum-planning life. Today she talks about wearing heels constantly and her favorite vintage shop…among other things.
April is a good month. Not only does it include my birthday, my dating anniversary, and the anniversary of when we brought Teddy home, it’s also the first full month of spring. In these last few years, April has felt like the perfect time to reflect, celebrate, and enjoy nature.
I turned 30 this year, and to enter a new decade, I knew I wanted to travel somewhere. But being on a tight budget, I stuck to Southern California locations within driving distance. I thought about Joshua Tree and considered San Luis Obispo but ended up choosing Ojai. The hippie, community-driven town 30 miles east of Santa Barbara covered my most important extracurriculars: good food and beautiful outdoor opportunities. We also wanted to take Teddy with us, and finding a dog-friendly Airbnb in our price range was incredibly difficult. The cabin we found in Ojai was just perfect.
It might sound intense, but 2.5 days in the Ojai Valley were enough for me to get attached. In fact, I got emotional about leaving! Ojai is such a beautiful, positive, friendly, and accommodating place. I don’t want to pretend like I’m an expert, but I connected with Ojai and could feel just how special it is. Part of the reason could be that it was a full moon weekend, and I am all about that full-moon power and pull. I’d be so, so, so happy to do this same trip on an annual basis.
Since I’m a Type A planner, I did research before visiting, made us a rough itinerary, and took copious notes. So here, a guide to Ojai, including where to eat, shop, play, and more:
A 30th birthday dinner at Cucina Urbana. It was my first time at the Bankers Hill Italian restaurant, and I loved it! Along with the burrata vasi (a cheese and bread appetizer platter), the mushroom pizza and mushroom pasta were my favorites. In true Tracy Borkum style, the restaurant is beautifully decorated and makes for an excellent special-occasion dinner. For my birthday sweet, Eaman surprised me with passionfruit cakes from Azucar bakery in OB, my favorite dessert spot in the city.
