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Thumbnail image for The “Self Appointed Mayor of Golden Hill” Holds Court in the Big Kitchen

The “Self Appointed Mayor of Golden Hill” Holds Court in the Big Kitchen

by Jim Miller 05.20.2013 Activism

By Jim Miller and Kelly Mayhew

Judy Forman is a Golden Hill institution. Her restaurant, the Big Kitchen Café, has served as a center of community life and activism for many years. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine the neighborhood without her or her place. I first went to the Big Kitchen myself in the eighties when I met with folks involved in the protest movement against Reagan Administration policies in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

More recently, Judy helped Kelly and me out by playing the role of Emma Goldman in the 100-year Anniversary of the San Diego Free Speech Fight when local labor and Occupy folks took over the intersection of 5th and E downtown. Over the years Forman has been active in LGBT politics, helped out with fundraisers for the Center on Policy Initiative’s Students for Economic Justice Internship program, started the New Play Café (a company devoted to helping playwrights develop their work), and offered up her “kitchen,” as she likes to say, to far too many people to name here.

Thus, to make a long story short, Forman has had her hand in much local activism over the past thirty some odd years and the Big Kitchen has always been one of the progressive hubs of San Diego and the heart of the neighborhood. It was our pleasure to interview her for this Golden Hill series.

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Thumbnail image for Big Food, Big Heart: The Big Kitchen

Big Food, Big Heart: The Big Kitchen

by Source 05.20.2013 Culture

The Big Kitchen Café
3003 Grape St.
San Diego, CA 92102
(619) 234-5789
Web: http://bigkitchencafe.com/

Review by Emma Goldman

“Kindness Matters.” The sign tacked above the doorframe leading into the kitchen caught my eye as my 9 year-old and I took a seat at the horseshoe shaped counter that hunkers down in the center of the main dining room of the Big Kitchen Café, a Greater Golden Hill/South Park institution.

As we waited for one of the bevy of young servers to come get our order, we couldn’t keep from scanning the heavily festooned walls—customers’ family photos, progressive bumper stickers, band flyers, necklaces, cartoons, feathers, pastel teapots, mandalas, salt and pepper shakers in funny shapes, kids’ art, magazine covers touting the restaurant, plaques of appreciation, etc.

There is no other place in San Diego like the Big Kitchen, a community center and diner that has anchored Greater Golden Hill since the early-‘70s. And at its helm, of course, is its warm and irrepressible owner, Judy “the Beauty on Duty” Forman, who is the very soul of kindness.

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Thumbnail image for Restaurant Review: Giorgino’s

Restaurant Review: Giorgino’s

by Judi Curry 05.19.2013 Food & Drink

By Judi Curry

Giorgino’s
1237 28th Street
San Diego, CA 92102
619-234-9141

Giorgino’s is run by three brothers – Mario – who has owned the restaurant for 6 years; Giovanni and Gabriel. In addition, friends and other relatives work there at various times during the week, and it is a truly family run business. Unfortunately, Mario was not there this evening.

The menu is very extensive. They boast of the “Best Cheesesteaks in Town” and they feature Amoroso Rolls – so soft an succulent they melt in your mouth; Dietz and Watson Meats and Cheeses, along with John Taylor’s Pork Roll and Wise Chips and Tastybakes. They also have beer on tap. Because there are so many items on the menu, I would like to mention only a few besides those listed above, there are hot sandwiches, pork rolls, cold sandwiches, wings, tenders, burgers and dogs with salads, antipasto, pasta dishes, and desserts. They also do catering.

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Thumbnail image for Restaurant Review: Gloria’s Taco Shop

Restaurant Review: Gloria’s Taco Shop

by Judi Curry 05.17.2013 Culture

Gloria’s Taco Shop
1233  28th St.
San Diego, CA 92102
(619) 239-8093

By Judi Curry

For many months after I joined online dating services, Joe and I went out to try new restaurants in a variety of areas. Although Joe and I have remained good friends, he has another lady friend and I asked the two of them to join me in reviewing  Gloria’s Taco Shop.  

This restaurant is part of the “Golden Hill” area that the San Diego Free Press is highlighting this month.  If you have been reading SDFP this week, you may have noticed that Emma Goldman has also reviewed several restaurants in the area, bordering the same streets as Gloria’s.

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Thumbnail image for SD For Free: Golden Hill Recreation Center

SD For Free: Golden Hill Recreation Center

by John P. Anderson 05.16.2013 Culture

By John Patrick Anderson

A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

Golden Hill Recreation Center

Address: 2600 Golf Course Dr, San Diego, CA 92102

Date and Time: Monday – Friday 2 PM – 9 PM, Saturday – Sunday 10 AM – 3 PM

Best For: Exercise, relaxation, walking, getting outdoors

Increasingly, when you mention the neighborhood of Golden Hill you will get a reaction that indicates the person you are talking to either knows where it is or has a pretty good idea (e.g. “Somewhere south of Balboa Park, right?”) instead of a blank stare. However, even those who know where the neighborhood is likely don’t know where, or what, the Golden Hill Recreation Center (GHRC) is.

Located on the south-east portion of Balboa Park (just east of Golden Hill Park), the GHRC is nestled between 26th Street and the Balboa Park Golf Course, just north of Russ Boulevard.

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Thumbnail image for The Golden Hill Vibe: Over Forty Years of Grit, Grace, and Gentrification

The Golden Hill Vibe: Over Forty Years of Grit, Grace, and Gentrification

by Jim Miller 05.13.2013 Columns

By Jim Miller

This week I move from interviewing a recent arrival to Golden Hill to a longtime resident.

Peter Zschiesche and his wife Pam Clark have lived in the Greater Golden Hill community since 1971 and have seen the neighborhood change quite a bit over the years. Peter was involved in anti-war movement politics in the early seventies and later became a leader in the Machinists Union and played a key part in the strikes at NASSCO in the 1980s. He is the Founding Director of the Employee Rights Center, which began in 1999, and he currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the San Diego Community College District. Thus most of Peter’s adult life has been spent fighting for social justice in the service of workers, students, immigrants, and others in Golden Hill and San Diego at large.

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Thumbnail image for Eating 25th Street in Golden Hill

Eating 25th Street in Golden Hill

by Source 05.13.2013 Culture

Part I: Breakfast

By Emma Goldman

“MOM! I’m hungryyyyy!”

It was 9:00 AM on a Sunday morning. I was still in my Wonder Woman jammies finishing my coffee.

I looked at my nine year-old who was lounging on our couch watching cartoons, clutching his belly, and said: “Golden Hill Café or Los Reyes?

Eggs, bacon, and hash browns? Or a breakfast burrito? Or donuts and pastries at Panchitas? A Wonchi with bacon at Krakatoa? Or we could wait for lunch and get a slice of pizza at Luigi’s or a falafel wrap at the Kabob House….”

You see, we are surrounded by food places where we live in Golden Hill. And more places have been opening up to keep things interesting. Later on, as my son was devouring his massive egg, bacon, potato, and cheese burrito from one of our taco stands, I decided to do a three part series on eating in Golden Hill with a special focus on 25th Street, as that has the greatest concentration of places to go in this historic neighborhood.

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Thumbnail image for Field of View: Golden Hill

Field of View: Golden Hill

by Annie Lane 05.12.2013 Field of View

By Annie Lane

Among other amenities, the historic Golden Hill neighborhood boasts a community garden on Russ Boulevard, which was started in 2004 and now has 26 plots tended to by individual gardeners. There’s also the 25th Street Musical Bridge, a piece of public art hidden in plain sight that can be found where 25th Street crosses over the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, or SR-94.

Designed by artist Roman de Salvo and funded by a $39,000 grant from the City of San Diego Arts and Culture program, the Musical Bridge is a series of chromatic bells that plays Crab Carillon when struck with a pipe or stick while walking the length of the bridge.

But various works of art can be found in nearly every direction of Golden Hill, from the brightly painted flower shops to the rich and extravagant architecture — much of which predates the 1900s. Even with its steep inclines, wandering around Golden Hill is worth every minute.

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Thumbnail image for On a Slow Ride from Golden Hill to South Park

On a Slow Ride from Golden Hill to South Park

by Ernie McCray 05.11.2013 Culture

By Ernie McCray

Often when I tell someone I live in Golden Hill they say “Oh, yeah? Where?” 30th and Cedar is my reply and then they say “That’s South Park.”

“No, Golden Hill,” I say and they, like we’re in a debate competition, and they’ve got me on this one, start quoting passages from a map to prove that I’m not a Golden Hillian. And then I have to explain to them, in a nice friendly “home is where the heart is,” kind of way, that no matter what some chart has to say, I live in Golden Hill.

And I don’t say that out of any animosity towards them or South Park. Not at all. It will be a slow ride if it happens but I might claim to live there some day since I do “officially.” It’s just that I’m a Golden Hill O.G.

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Thumbnail image for Book Review: In Praise of Tomatoes A Year in the Life of a Home Tomato Grower

Book Review: In Praise of Tomatoes A Year in the Life of a Home Tomato Grower

by Anna Daniels 05.10.2013 Books & Poetry

A Golden Hill Vegetable Chain Letter that Knits the Neighborhood Together

By Anna Daniels

…It is Shepherd’s passion for growing tomatoes, resulting in his tomato patch close to the sidewalk in one of San Diego’s mid-city neighborhoods, that provides the framing “story” for his book. The story encompasses numerous connections that begin with soil and seeds and soon include family, neighbors, friends, a neighborhood and strangers past and present whose interests have also been ignited by the tomato.

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Thumbnail image for The Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation: Striving to Emphasize Community over Corporation

The Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation: Striving to Emphasize Community over Corporation

by Jim Miller 05.06.2013 Activism

By Jim Miller

When we at the San Diego Free Press decided to turn our focus to the community of Golden Hill, one of the first people I thought it would be good to talk to was my friend, neighbor, union brother, and colleague Judd Curran.  Judd and his wife Victoria both teach at Grossmont College, live in Golden Hill, and sit on the board of the Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation Board  and are quite active in the community.  I know Judd and his wife as smart, progressive, compassionate people who want the best for their community.  Thus Judd is uniquely suited to speak to the issues of community identity, gentrification, and the past, present, and future of Golden Hill. 

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Thumbnail image for Golden Hill: “Tis a Picture Worth Seeing”

Golden Hill: “Tis a Picture Worth Seeing”

by Jim Miller 05.01.2013 Columns

By Jim Miller

May is Golden Hill month here at the San Diego Free Press where we will do our collective best to spotlight one of San Diego’s oldest and most dynamic communities. 

A particularly interesting question we will be engaging is how the imagined community of Greater Golden Hill that is shared by many long time residents as well as entities such as the Golden Hill Community Development Corporation conflicts with the official separation of Golden Hill from South Park.

The more narrow designation of Golden Hill’s boundaries sets Interstate 5 as the western border and 34th Street where A, B, and C Streets end as its easternmost limit.  To the south, the Martin Luther King Jr. freeway separates Golden Hill from its neighbors in ShermanHeights and Grant Hill while Russ Boulevard and A Street mark its northern border.

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line — Study Paints a Stark Picture of Economic Reality in San Diego

The Starting Line — Study Paints a Stark Picture of Economic Reality in San Diego

by Doug Porter 09.21.2012 Activism

An analysis released yesterday by the Center for Policy Initiatives based on recently released census data shows more than a third of San Diego County residents are living with economic hardships. The report says that across most industries in San Diego County, the spending power of the average paycheck is dropping, with inflation-adjusted earnings decreasing in 10 of the region’s 15 largest industries, compared to 2007, and more people falling into poverty in last year.
Other Stories in Starting Line Today: The Art of Park(ing) Day, San Diego’s Largest Rally Ever Against WalMart , Lim(p)baugh Blames Shrinking Penis on ‘Feminazis’, Imperial Beach MediPot Supporters Beat the Bushes, Quail Brush Power Plant Foes to Rally, North Park Officially Hip Now and so much more! Come on inside and catch up!

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line – NY Times 9/11 Revelation: Bush had even more warnings about Al Qaeda

The Starting Line – NY Times 9/11 Revelation: Bush had even more warnings about Al Qaeda

by Doug Porter 09.11.2012 Columns

According to a report published in New York Times today, President George W, Bush received numerous intelligence reports well in advance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, but failed to react to them based on advice from neo-conservative Pentagon advisers.

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