Miguel’s Restaurant
2444 San Diego Avenue
San Diego, CA 619-298-9840
Stephen Sondheim’s “COMPANY”
Cygnet Theater
4040 Twiggs St (at San Diego Ave)
San Diego, CA (619) 337-1525
By Judi Curry
Candy, one of the members of a Widow’s Support Group that I belong to is the only one of us that is not a Pisces or Aries. Works out fairly well for the rest of us, because all of our birthdays seem to fall in February and/or March and although we do not need a celebration to get together it makes it more fun.
Ro, a member of my other support group, volunteers as an usher for many of the playhouses in San Diego, and she had 4 free passes to see “Company” at the Cygnet and generously offered to “donate” them to us for Candy’s birthday celebration. As we frequently do, we decided to go out for lunch and take in the 2:00pm matinee.
Candy chose Miguel’s restaurant because the last time we tried to get together there they were too busy to seat us. All of us have eaten at one or another of the “Miguel’s” in Coronado and/or Pt. Loma. We have eaten at the Old Town restaurant also, but never as a group.
The vegetarian enchilada
It was Sunday, at noon. Surprisingly we were taken to a table right away, and Ivan, our waiter gave us the regular menu as well as the special Sunday Brunch menu. The “bus boy” – who could no longer be called a “boy” told us he would bring us our chips, salsa, and jalapeno sauce in a minute.
I thought it was interesting that I was the only one that ordered from the special menu – and had machaca with corn tortillas, rice and beans. ($10.) Both Ro and Candy ordered the classic fish taco’s from the regular menu. It was described as “batter fried white fish, with red cabbage, shredded cheese, salsa, ranch dressing and served with rice and beans. The cost was $9.50. Candy had the vegetarian enchilada for $9.50 and the tortillas were stuffed with mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, onion and cheese. It was topped with salsa and avocados. It, too, was served with rice and beans.
All of us were very pleased with our selections, and we all left items on our plate. The total bill, including the tip came to $47. We did not order drinks.
And the best part of all: Candy was given a birthday “Mud Pie” with 4 spoons. Take a look at the picture!!!
Fish Tacos
Before we left we decided to visit the ladies room. This is the second restaurant that I have reviewed in the past week where the bathrooms left something to be desired. In the handicapped stall, which also had a changing table for infants, there were no toilet liners. (Interesting, because I just read a review from researches that found that the cleanest place in a public bathroom is the toilet seat!)
They were out of toilet paper; the sinks were dirty; and the trash cans (2) were overflowing. Also interesting was that for a restaurant the size of this one, there were only 2 stalls. Fortunately, one of us was in each stall and were able to give toilet paper and liners to the woman in the stall where these things were lacking. When we left, Irene talked to the manager and told her about the conditions of the bathroom. She assured Irene she would take care of it immediately.
We then walked back to the Cygnet to see the play.
“The story is about “Bobby”, an unmarried man, thirty-five and afraid of commitment, who observes his married friends from a loving yet cautious distance.”
During the preview performances in Boston, some critics described the play as a “bitter and cynical tone” and this was softened before it was ready for Broadway. The write up by a New York Times critic was devastating. He “acknowledged Sondheim to be ‘one of the most sophisticated composers ever to write Broadway musicals,’ praising his lyrics for their ‘sparse, elegant wit’” dismissed the rest of the show. A second critic acknowledged the reviews were mixed, but the ones that were favorable were violently favorable and that sent playgoers to stand in line at the box office.
The play would eventually run for 690 performances; won 6 Tony Awards, including best musical, best original music, best original lyrics, best book of a musical, and best direction of a musical and best scenic design.
It was truly a thought provoking afternoon; the actors that all danced and sang were wonderful, and I would see it again, even if I had to purchase my own tickets.
One line that really hit home for me was, and I may be paraphrasing – “to live life alone is not really living.”
A great day; you can’t go wrong by going to Miguel’s; you can’t go wrong by seeing “Company”.
The show at the Cygnet runs through August 18th.
Judi Curry
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