By Amy Wallen, South Park resident<\/p>\n
Ten years ago this past August, I moved to South Park from Point Loma. My realtor kept bringing me over to the neighborhood and saying, \u201cYou\u2019ll love it. You\u2019ll see.\u201d I had lived in North Park 25 years before, and this neck of Downtown just was not ventured into.<\/p>\n
When I did fall in love with a 1928 house on a canyon, with a rental cottage in the back, I had already started to see the quaint benefits of living in this neighborhood. When I bought my house, a corner store had painted across their big windows, \u201cNew Home of Rebecca\u2019s Coffee Shop Coming Soon.\u201d That sign stayed up for at least three years.<\/p>\n
The local establishments were Big Kitchen for breakfast and lunch, and Mazara\u2019s for pizza to pick up, because no one ate in the restaurant. Snippy\u2019s bar stayed open later than any place else and the last to leave would spill into Sombrero taco shop across the street. I was thrilled when South Park Grill opened and I could walk the few blocks to dinner, like a true urban dweller.<\/p>\n
When I told friends I\u2019d bought a house in South Park they would say, \u201cSouth Park? Where\u2019s that?\u201d No one had heard of it. I joked and said, \u201cSouth Park; it\u2019s east of the Park, that\u2019s why they call it South Park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most folks would say, \u201cYou mean Golden Hill?\u201d And I\u2019d have to explain. Everyone got lost coming to my house, including me. With all the canyons and parks and golf courses, directions are never a direct shot: a hidden enclave.<\/p>\n
Then one day, a storefront on the corner of Juniper and 30th streets, just before it turned into Fern Street, was renovated. Then a sign posted out front read \u201cVagabond.\u201d International cuisine was advertised. Word spread that the owner was French or Belgian or Moroccan, depending on who was telling the story and whether it was the moules frites, or the tagine, or the coq au vin that were touted.<\/p>\n
From the day Vagabond opened its doors and began serving food, the wait was two hours long. That lengthy wait continued for three years \u2013 the new place thrived. I live three blocks away and it took me at least six months to get in the first time.<\/p>\n
The food was divine, the wine list spectacular and the environment warm and eclectic in its worldly decor. Everyone in San Diego County was talking about the new restaurant in South Park, opened by Jerome Gombert.<\/p>\n
Vagabond brought people from the restaurant meccas of North County to try our little village out. Gradually more restaurants and shops began opening up. Snippy\u2019s became The Station where families and dogs had a place to enjoy a good burger. Sombrero even got a facelift.<\/p>\n
South Park Grill had some competition and had to up the ante on their menu and decor. 30th Street warehouses got revamped, and hairdressers and nail salons and The Rose Wine Pub came in. Parking became a problem, and IGA got smart and repaved their parking lot. Other restaurants have come and gone; some are here to stay.<\/p>\n
About a year ago, I sat next to someone having a burger at The Station and she told me she was visiting from New York City: \u201cI heard about this neighborhood, and they said it\u2019s like Soho.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another day while buying cat food at South Bark, I overheard a group of young hipsters say to the cashier, \u201cWe\u2019re from New York, but we\u2019d heard about this place that does dog baths. We just had to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And one night, sipping a glass of wine at The Rose, a group of tourists came in wearing name tags. South Park was a stop on their bus tour of the city.<\/p>\n
But this past summer the sign went up that Vagabond is changing owners. It\u2019s going to be a Belgian Beer and Bread Co. restaurant. I\u2019m looking forward to finding out what they offer, but unless the person who greets me at the door has a French accent, shakes his head and berates me for not making a reservation, it won\u2019t hold the same place in my heart that Vagabond does.<\/p>\n
Another restaurant may be just as tasty, and just as wonderful of an atmosphere, but it will always be Vagabond who put South Park on the map.<\/p>\n
I asked Jerome what he was going to do next, and he replied in that great accent, \u201cI\u2019m going to run naked on the beach.\u201d You deserve a break, Jerome.<\/p>\n
We still have delicious and adorable Madeleine\u2019s, another of Jerome\u2019s brainchildren at the corner of 30th and Juniper. Until your next endeavor, thank you, Jerome and all the staff, for the delectable years in our little village.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Letters<\/strong><\/h2>\nRules of War?<\/b><\/p>\n
How angry Britain\u2019s leaders are,<\/p>\n
And those of France and the USA.<\/p>\n
An upstart country\u2019s breaking the rules!<\/p>\n
\u201cWe signed the accord,\u201d each spokesperson chides.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe agreed to eschew such weapons of war.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBut our sanctions financial have been ignored.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re calling a session at the UN,<\/p>\n
As we weigh our options,<\/p>\n
All on the table,<\/p>\n
Including military strikes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, we may kill a civilian or two,<\/p>\n
Part of a village or some city blocks.<\/p>\n
But it cannot be helped.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must show them that they are wrong,<\/p>\n
And that they have brought this upon themselves.<\/p>\n
We believe in treatment humane.<\/p>\n
Our weapons of war are much more polite.<\/p>\n
Why can\u2019t they take lives lawfully,<\/p>\n
As other enlightened nations do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Terra Lepore of Normal Heights, via email<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sequestration, two sides<\/b><\/p>\n
Please stop sequestration. This is not the answer. It is destroying our economy and our defense department [see \u201cSequestration, furloughs & Head Start cuts,\u201d Vol. 5, Issue 19].<\/p>\n
This may have seemed like a good idea at one time but the unintended consequences are too dire.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/i>Kathy Prout, via sduptownnews.com<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\nI was laid off in 2009, unemployed for approximately two years and spent the next three years working part time with no benefits at all. So, as sad as I find the sequestration, everyone that you listed is still doing better than I am [see \u201cSequestration, furloughs & Head Start cuts,\u201d Vol. 5, Issue 19].<\/p>\n
Our number one priority as a country should be to stabilize the economy so companies will be more inclined to invest money. This means more production and putting people back to work to help create that production.<\/p>\n
I know a few people that have millions of dollars in cash but are afraid to invest it because they are afraid that the economy is going to slide backwards again.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re finally starting to move in the right direction. If we revert to the programs that got us in this problem in the first place then there is a danger that this recovery will reverse itself.<\/p>\n
With more private sector jobs comes more income tax that the government can use to pay for programs for people that need help. Of course, more private sector jobs also means less people that need help.<\/p>\n
If a couple of more years of sequestration will help, then let\u2019s keep it going.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/i>Bob Crider, via sduptownnews.com<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the holdup?<\/strong><\/p>\nClearly, Uptown Planners is trying to stall and eventually kill any bicycle infrastructure in Uptown [see \u201cBike infrastructure on hold?,\u201d Vol. 5, Issue 19].<\/p>\n
BikeSD is right; they are out of touch.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/i>Jeff, via sduptownnews.com<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019d really like to hear Mat Wahlstrom explain the difference between \u201cessential traffic,\u201d \u201cincidental traffic\u201d and \u201cregular traffic.\u201d He just should have said, \u201cI don\u2019t like bikes,\u201d and saved us his pseudo-technical jargon [see \u201cBike infrastructure on hold?\u201d Vol. 5, Issue 19].<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/i>Rick, via sduptownnews.com<\/i><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cartoon<\/h2>\n
I was laid off in 2009, unemployed for approximately two years and spent the next three years working part time with no benefits at all. So, as sad as I find the sequestration, everyone that you listed is still doing better than I am [see \u201cSequestration, furloughs & Head Start cuts,\u201d Vol. 5, Issue 19].<\/p>\n
Our number one priority as a country should be to stabilize the economy so companies will be more inclined to invest money. This means more production and putting people back to work to help create that production.<\/p>\n
I know a few people that have millions of dollars in cash but are afraid to invest it because they are afraid that the economy is going to slide backwards again.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re finally starting to move in the right direction. If we revert to the programs that got us in this problem in the first place then there is a danger that this recovery will reverse itself.<\/p>\n
With more private sector jobs comes more income tax that the government can use to pay for programs for people that need help. Of course, more private sector jobs also means less people that need help.<\/p>\n
If a couple of more years of sequestration will help, then let\u2019s keep it going.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/i>Bob Crider, via sduptownnews.com<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What\u2019s the holdup?<\/strong><\/p>\n Clearly, Uptown Planners is trying to stall and eventually kill any bicycle infrastructure in Uptown [see \u201cBike infrastructure on hold?,\u201d Vol. 5, Issue 19].<\/p>\n BikeSD is right; they are out of touch.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/i>Jeff, via sduptownnews.com<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d really like to hear Mat Wahlstrom explain the difference between \u201cessential traffic,\u201d \u201cincidental traffic\u201d and \u201cregular traffic.\u201d He just should have said, \u201cI don\u2019t like bikes,\u201d and saved us his pseudo-technical jargon [see \u201cBike infrastructure on hold?\u201d Vol. 5, Issue 19].<\/p>\n \u2014<\/i>Rick, via sduptownnews.com<\/i><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\nCartoon<\/h2>\n
![\"web](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/web-sb092113dBP.jpg\")
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