We’ve lived in San Diego for more than 20 years and to this day, we still get a kick out of discovering cool, unique places. So imagine our delight when we came across a brand-new neighborhood pub called Monkey Paw located on 16th and F streets. Longtime San Diegans will probably recognize this address as the former Jewel Box. Scot Blair, the man behind Hamilton’s, Small Bar and Eleven, said he is excited about his newest bar. “This will be what a pub downtown should be,” Blair said. “There are no velvet ropes, no gimmicks and nothing is pretentious. It’ll be quality in a nice, neat package. Everything will be high end, other than our attitude. We’re going for a colorful old world feel, with the monkey character, plus the crests, shields and chalices.” San Diego resident Melani Miron couldn’t agree more. “I’m a huge fan of what Hamilton’s and The Small Bar have done,” she said. “The Small Bar’s bloody Mary is one of my favorites and I hope it’s also featured at this new downtown bar.” The bloody Mary looks like a drink that you could eat, with shrimp, olives, celery and other great garnishes. Football fans will be especially pleased as the Monkey Paw offers up some killer deals like 50-cent chicken wings and $3 chips and dip on Sundays and Mondays during NFL games. “You can’t get any better than this,” said patron Jason Swanson. “The ambience is great and it’s nice and open. It doesn’t have a cluttered feel. And the cheese steak sandwiches are the best!” In addition to good comfort food, Blair said the 30 taps will feature rotating brews and a small brewery will be part of the scene later this year. Interesting tidbit: in some cultures, monkeys are considered good luck. Looks like their cute little monkey is working its magic! Speaking of magic, chef Deborah Scott has come up with another winning combination at Indigo Grill. “Brunch, Boards & Bloody Mary’s” is Scott’s newest mouth-watering brunch menu. “There are so many wonderful people who enjoy walking around Little Italy early in the morning and going to the farmer’s market, so it felt only natural to launch a brunch menu,” said Michelle Kveen, operations manager of Indigo. Kveen said it took about a year to develop the brunch menu, but now that it’s done, they’re “thrilled” with the finished product. Judging by some of the guest’s expressions as they sampled the popular pineapple upside down French toast, they looked pretty happy! The French toast platter comes with dark rum syrup, cardamom ice cream and Jimmy’s Chicken Sausage. Need we say more? If sweet dishes aren’t your thing, there’s always the trout BLT, featuring several great tastes that taste great together. It’s served on a roll with apple wood smoked bacon, tomato, arugula, horseradish aioli and herb fries. We also tried Scott’s “chocolate bacon pancakes” with sweet maple syrup, fried egg and fresh fruit. It was a perfect blend of a sweet and salty treat. Our favorite was the jalapeno cornbread skillet with chipotle butter — yum. As for their brunch cocktails, there’s a whole array of morning libations from the Crater Lake bloody Mary charcuterie to the blueberry pomegranate margarita or the lime coconut caipirnha. Bottoms up! — Marc & Darlynne Menkin are the co-owners of Where You Want To Be Tours. Many of their tours and teambuilding scavenger hunts feature secret Downtown areas. www.wheretours.com