Art lovers of all ages will enjoy the Mission Federal ArtWalk.

Enjoy art? Next weekend, April 27-28, Little Italy is the place you’ll want to be.

White tents and an array of booths are taking over 17 blocks of Little Italy for the 29^th annual Mission Federal ArtWalk. More than 350 artists will exhibit and sell their work – and tens of thousands of art lovers will be buying. Admission is free – but festival goers will spend about $1 million during the event.

Visitors will find a wide range of visual arts – from pottery to jewelry, sculpture to basketry, art glass to digital media, photography to oil paintings. And we’re not talking schlock. A selection committee reviews artists’ works before participation is permitted.

Watch artists doing their thing at ArtWalk in Little Italy.

The two-day event has become the city’s largest art festival – with live music and dance performances on six stages, a wide selection of food vendors offer everything from wood-fired pizzas to chocolate-covered strawberries – while Little Italy restaurants do voracious business.

There’s also lots of artsy hands-on fun for children. Youngsters will even have the opportunity to create their own art to take home.

About 100,000 are expected to visit ArtWalk. Avoid the parking frenzy by taking the MTS Trolley. Get off at the “County Center/Little Italy” stop, between Cedar and Beech streets. Walk east to the festival – which stretches along India, Kettner and Columbia streets between Beech and Grape. Festivities run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.

Learn more at www.MissionFederalArtWalk.org.

]]> http://sandiegoessentialguide.com/?feed=rss2&p=1833 0 http://sandiegoessentialguide.com/?p=1817 http://sandiegoessentialguide.com/?p=1817#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:46:48 +0000 alison http://sandiegoessentialguide.com/?p=1817

Carlsbad Flower Fields. (by Joanne DiBona)

Each spring, Carlsbad’s flower fields come alive with spectacular blooms – more than 50 acres of vibrant petal power.

From early March through mid-May, visitors can get lost among vibrant rows of flowers on a gentle hillside overlooking the Pacific.  Families can find their way through a sweet pea maze, ride an antique tractor ($5 for adults, $3 for kids 3-10) and stroll through a greenhouse to inspect more than 20 varieties of poinsettias.

The season is short – and filled with special events. Enjoy everything from concerts to photography workshops, depending on the day you choose to visit. There’s even a day just for kids.  Check out the calendar of events on the Fields’ website: TheFlowerFields.com

Flower Fields general admission costs $11, $10 for those 60 and older. Kids 3-10 years old get in for $6, those 2 and younger get in free. Season passes cost $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $14 for kids.

This toddler is awed at La Jolla's Birch Aquarium.

February is Museum Month in San Diego – and everybody gets a gift: half-price admission at 42 county museums and cultural attractions.  You’ll need a pass available this month at Macy’s stores throughout the county; they’re free as long as supplies last.

Pass holders get half-price admission for up to four guests per visit at most of San Diego’s top museums – everything from downtown’s New Children’s Museum  to the USS Midway aircraft carrier to the historic Marston House.

Enjoy exploring Balboa Park's Natural History Museum.

It’s a chance for the family to visit La Jolla’s Birch Aquarium, the fascinating ships at the bayfront Maritime Museum and more than a dozen museums in Balboa Park — from The Fleet Science Center to the Museum of Photographic Arts to the San Diego Museum of Art – all for half price.

The annual promotion was launched in 1989 by the San Diego Museum Council. Get a full list of participants at SanDiegoMuseumCouncil.org.

The Whaling Bar at La Valencia

The legendary Whaling Bar at La Jolla’s La Valencia will serve its last cocktail on Valentine’s Day.

The venerable watering hole will be stripped of its dark, clubby maritime décor – to become part of an expanded Café La Rue.  Construction crews will remove the wall that separates the bar from the existing restaurant. The new look will be lighter, in a French Art Deco style.

The beloved Whaling Bar mural depicting a whale hunt, along with model ships and scrimshaw, will be stored until they’re eventually installed in a new hotel boardroom, said Mark Dibella, the hotel’s managing director.

Since the 1950s, the Whaling Bar has been a sanctuary for artists and writers.  Raymond Chandler was a regular; Gregory Peck frequented the place when he acted at La Jolla Playhouse.  Beloved local newspaper columnist Neil Morgan drank there with pals like Art Buchwald and Walter Cronkite.  Nearby bookstore owner Dennis Wills brought visiting authors, including Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Christopher Hitchens, Maureen Dowd, Jill Abramson and Beat-era poet Michael McClure. Even Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) hung there.

Writer Mary Duncan, who splits her time between La Jolla and Paris, is among those mourning the bar’s end:  “I think what I’ll miss most about the Whaling Bar, and bars like it, are the auras of those past occupants sitting at the bar lost in contemplation or immersed in interesting and diverse discussions. Those moments will now be lost forever. “

Try the Third Corner in Ocean Beach.

San Diego Restaurant Week ended Friday, Jan 18.  Round 2 starts on Sunday.

About 160 restaurants have agreed to an encore, which will run through Friday, Jan. 25. (There were 211 participating eateries during the first week.)

The rules are the same: Enjoy a two-course lunch for $10, $15 or $20.  Choose a three-course fixed-price dinner for $20, $30 or $40. Reservations are highly recommended.

Enjoy a "taste" of Malarkey at Searsucker.

Among top-tier restaurants still in the game: 1500 Ocean at the Hotel Del, all of Brian Malarkey’s fabric restaurants, the Cohn restaurants, Donovan’s steak and seafood restaurants, Ruth Chris and Fleming’s steak houses, Bertrand at Mister A’s and Mille Fleurs.

Learn more at SanDiegoRestaurantWeek.com.

Enjoy a $20 lunch or a $30 dinner at George's Ocean Terrace in La Jolla.

Eager to try one of the new top-tier restaurants popping up all over our city – but aren’t so sure your post-holiday budget can take another hit? Your timing is perfect: San Diego Restaurant Week runs Sunday, Jan. 13, through Friday the 18^th.  It’s a great opportunity to try someplace new at a discounted price. More than 180 restaurants, including many award winners, are participating in this year’s event .

Restaurants are offering two- or three-course fixed-price lunches for $10, $15, or $20 and/or three-course fixed-price dinners for $20, $30, or $40. Go to SanDiegoRestaurantWeek.com to search by cuisine, neighborhood, price or by restaurant name.

Dine on Asian Fusion dishes at Nobu downtown.

Reservations, especially at top restaurants, are a must. But don’t despair if your favorite place is already sold out. Many restaurants plan to extend their participation an extra week.

Download the new San Diego Restaurant Week iPhone app in the iTunes store ; find the app for Android devices in the Google Play store.

Anthology in Little Italy

Anthology, the intimate three-level, 300-seat supper club in Little Italy, has closed.

After previously reporting that the club would close temporarily during January for refurbishing, Anthology owners have permanently shuttered the multimillion-dollar concert venue and dismissed all employees.  Just weeks ago, club spokeswoman Casey Puki said there was no truth to speculation that Anthology had reached the end of the line. She was among staffers who say they were surprised by owners’ decision to shutter the business.

Co-owner Howard Berkson announced the closing to staff on Friday afternoon, Jan. 4.  He said he and his wife, co-owner Marsha Berkson, are divorcing.

A former staffer says the Berksons started a national search in November for a club buyer. There’s no word on how that search has progressed.

The Dazz Band had fans dancing in the aisles during a late December performance at Anthology. (Photo by Kim DaRosa)

The Dazz Band had fans dancing in the aisles during a late December performance at Anthology. (Photo by Kim DaRosa)

The 5-year-old India Street venue was known for its intimate setting and excellent acoustics for jazz, R&B and classic rock concerts. It had a $1 million audio system and five video cameras that captured on-stage action and projected it on a large screen at the rear of the stage – and on smaller screens throughout the venue.

The club had about 20 full-time employees and 60 to 70 part-time food and beverage workers and servers.

Ticket prices ranged from $5 on nights the popular house band performed, to $100+ for headliners such as Natalie Cole. There’s was a $15-per-person food & beverage minimum.

Anthology in Little Italy

Anthology, the intimate three-level, 300-seat supper club in Little Italy, will be dark throughout January for refurbishing.

Anthology spokeswoman Casey Puki says there’s no truth to speculation that it may be the end of the line for Anthology. No shows are booked in the new year in case renovation takes longer than expected, she said. (The club pays artists a 50 percent deposit to confirm dates.)

The Dazz Band had fans dancing in the aisles during a late December performance at Anthology. (Photo by Kim DaRosa)

The 5-year-old India Street venue is known for its intimate setting and excellent acoustics for jazz, R&B and classic rock concerts. American Idol’s Season 9 winner, Lee Dewyze performed on Dec. 27; the Grammy winning Dazz Band (“Let it Whip”) had fans dancing in the aisles during two shows on Dec. 29. The Trip, a classic rock band, shook the house during two shows on New Year’s Eve.

Ticket prices range from $5 on nights the popular house band performs, to $100+ for headliners such as Natalie Cole. There’s a $15-per-person food & beverage minimum.

Kristen Burman, long-time sous chef at Anthology, has replaced Todd Allison as the venue’s executive chef.  (Allison is now at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.)  Dishes are full of fresh ingredients and reasonably priced with a good selection of small plates and starters.

Chef Robert Hohmann (Photos by Alison DaRosa)

Chef Robert Hohmann, who trained with some of the world’s greatest chefs – from Jaques Pepin to Thomas Keller – is now at the helm of the Hotel Del’s signature restaurant.  (His previous gig was Chef de Cuisine at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega Ristorante in the Napa Valley.)

Hohmann traces his roots to Germany and Sicily; his first cooking teachers were family members from the old country.  Those lessons, along with the tutelage of Master chefs, give him a unique take on SoCal farm-to-table cuisine.

Wild Sea Bass

His dishes combine hearty German and contemporary Mediterranean flavors – sometimes paired with deliriously creamy French-style sauces. His “Caramelized Brussels,” for example, are a scrumptious jumble of sprouts, pancetta, pecans, ricotta and apple mostarda.

Veal Tonnato

His “Veal Tonnato” is served on a bed of arugula, drizzled with a sauce of preserved lemon, caper berries and butter. Sides include “Veal Tripe Siciliano,” based on his grandmother’s recipe.  His seafood is wild – and he grows his own herbs.

The beachfront setting doesn’t hurt, either. Dine inside or on the patio.

December Nights photos by Richard Benton

Balboa Park’s December Nights – the city’s annual holiday gift to the community – promises to be bigger and better than ever this year.

The two-day celebration, the 35^th annual, is set for Friday, Dec. 7, from 5 until 10pm, and Saturday, Dec. 8, from noon-10pm.  It’s the city’s largest free festival, expected to draw at least 300,000 this year.

December Nights is as close as San Diego gets to becoming a winter wonderland. Balboa Park is decked in twinkling lights and silvery garlands. Fanciful Christmas trees abound – and the aromas of multi-cultural holiday treats waft through the air.

In the spirit of the season,  park museums open their doors to the public, free of charge, from 5 until 9 PM both evenings. Many present special holiday programs.  (Kids will be awed by the elaborate gingerbread constructions at the Mingei Museum – and can join in holiday-inspired craft projects at the Air & Space Museum. All ages will be enthralled by the amazing bell ringers who perform at the San Diego History Center. )

The Organ Pavilion

Festivities are family friendly, multi-cultural and staged throughout the park.  The San Diego Civic Youth Ballet will perform excerpts from “The Nutcracker” on the Casa del Prado Stage. Steps away, on the California Quadrangle near the Museum of Man, revelers can see the Santa Lucia Procession and children’s choir performances.  Dozens of singers, dancer and musicians will take to the stage at the Organ Pavilion.

Youngsters will have the opportunity to visit with roving Santas – and they can pose for a photo in the Old Globe courtyard with Dr. Seuss’s Grinch who stole Christmas. At the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater, they can see puppets come to life in an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and they can join with Junior Theatre students singing holiday songs. A series of children’s holiday movies will run nonstop both evenings in the theater at the Hall of Champions. There also are plenty of carnival rides to keep the younger set entertained.

December Nights at House of China

Hungry?  December Nights is known for its mouth-watering range of food and drink offerings. The International Cottages of the House of Pacific Relations offer traditional holiday foods from a smorgasbord of nations: Think empanadas, eggrolls, aebleskiver, samosas, fried plantains, pierogi, bourekas, baklava, paella, even mashed potato stew.  Many museums offer tasty treats: Find roasted chestnuts at the San Diego Art Institute, yakisoba at the Japanese Friendship Garden, hot toddies at the Hall of Champions. In addition, numerous food vendors sell an array of yummy holiday delights – from melted Swiss raclette to fresh-baked gingerbread cookies.  The 21+ set can sip a locally crafted brew at one of several beer gardens.

December Nights are prime time for holiday shopping.  Find great gifts at museum stores, from Spanish Village artisans and at a wide range of arts and crafts booths.

December Nights can get frosty. (Alison DaRosa photo)

With so many attending December Nights, parking can be tougher than fitting down a chimney. Shuttles are provided from PETCO Park (where parking will cost $5), the County Administration Building and several City College Parking lots offering free parking.

And be sure to bundle up.  While San Diego may better known for sandmen than snowmen, it can get downright chilly here on December nights