Monday at the Cat Café

When Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) visits me in San Diego, she typically goes along with “D-Tours” and lets me plan our adventures. Last month, she had a suggestion of her own: The Cat Café. The what?!? I’d never heard of this place, which isn’t all that surprising since I’m more of a dog person. Still, I was  intrigued, and wanting to be a good host, I drove her downtown to see if this place matched the hype. From their website:

Operating since January 2015, The Cat Café is the fourth oldest continuously operating kitty café in the United States. Our menu features award-winning espresso and coffee from Café Virtuoso, pastries from Bread & Cie, cookies from The Cravory, and sandwiches from Sunshine & Orange. The cats are available for adoption, should you fall in love during your visit. These furry friends are from The Rescue House, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless kitties find loving homes.



The outside and interior spaces looked semi-promising. To be able to play with the kitties, you have to pay $20 per person. This also includes one complimentary treat and beverage. OK…that sounded semi-reasonable…



until we met the staff and got a closer look at the offerings. All of the staff appeared semi-catatonic or drugged, like they’d wandered off the set of “The Stepford Wives.” The wrapped-in-plastic items…yeah, not sure about expiration dates or cleanliness or any of that, so I took a hard pass. A bottled water? Sure…that works. I wasn’t about to ask the audio-animatronic at the counter to make me a beverage.

Before seeing the cats, you have to pass through the double security doors and then get briefed by another employee who appeared to have had their personality sucked out with a vacuum cleaner. They robotically spouted out a long laundry list of dos and don’ts; no way I was going to remember them all. Melissa was excited to pour all her love into her soon-to-be-best-feline-friends. This photo pretty much sums up her expectation.



The cats had different ideas. The website says:

Enjoy Local Coffee in the Company of Some of San Diego’s Friendliest Felines!



The first few cats ran away as fast as they could when Melissa approached them with outstretched arms. However, she flew from one coast to the other and was not going to leave without a photo. Note the semi-death grip on this cat’s neck. The things we do for a smoke-and-mirrors memory.



We didn’t stay long. The concept sounded cool, but the execution was depressing. I truly felt sorry for these cats, as the employees didn’t seem to care too much about them. There were a few customers hanging out there, but again, didn’t see a lot of interaction with the cats. This poor feline; in its eyes, I could see, “Help me get out of here!”



This place will not remain on the D-Tours Itinerary and Melissa is now strictly forbidden from making any suggestions.

See more San Diego photos at my main website.

R.I.P., El Dorado

I was in shock after I read this post on the Instagram account of El Dorado Cocktail Lounge:

“It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.” As of today, El Dorado is closing its doors.



How can that be? After walking by this place every week for almost fifteen years to catch the bus to work, I finally went inside a month ago and fell in love. It is (was) the kind of place I adore: dark, kitschy, great service, ecclectic in decor, slightly retro, and classic cocktails that were crafted to perfection.



What took me so long to visit? First, it is not in a great area. Barely a block from the San Diego City College transit station on Broadway, every day you need to avoid eye contact with cracked out addicts shouting out profanities and sometimes exposing themselves. Keep moving. That’s my motto. However, after all this time, the glass block and neon at the entrance beckoned me in. I am so glad they did.



I’m even happier that I took my camera. Twice.



The reason the bar closed is still unknown to me. According to SANDIEGOVILLE:

No reason has been given for the reason behind El Dorado's sudden closure. We reached out to the company for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.

They also gave a little history of the establishment:

In 2008, Nathan Stanton (then co-owner of Consortium Holding Hospitality Group), his younger twin brothers, Marshall and Matthew Stanton, and Ryan Kuntz took over what was then Hong Kong Nite Club on Broadway in San Diego's East Village and opened El Dorado Cocktail Lounge. Under the Consortium Holdings umbrella of bars and restaurants, the establishment hired some of the finest barkeeps this city has to offer and soon became respected as innovators and educators in the cocktail world. Last fall, news broke that Glendale, CA-base Pouring With Heart restaurant group, which also owns Seven Grand and Bar Three Piece in San Diego's North Park, took over the establishment. The new owners closed the bar early this year and transitioned it to offer a more classic cocktail experience. Less than a year later, the company has announced that El Dorado is permanently closed.



A “Karen” on Instagram posted this comment on IG on the El Dorado account:

Y'all deserved to get shut down. It was f#$%^d up to tell employees y'all were closing THE DAY OF just so your workers wouldn't quit on you. DESERVED. Pretty sure they were trying to make as much as they still could to afford the costs of a failing business. I'm also sure they didn't wanna risk people quitting without notice, bc what's the point of staying at a job that can't even give a reference later? They've left many people jobless and without income, and let people work a full shift before doing so. Time that would've been spent finding another job was stolen from them.

How a person who lives in Virginia knew the behind-the-scenes story about a downtown San Diego bar is beyond me. Rarely are things as simple as they appear.

I don’t recall the previous Hong Kong Nite Club iteration at this location, so can’t speak to that one. Possibly another reason for the El Dorado failing was its hours. How does a bar downtown not open until 6pm? You immediately lose the happy hour business to other establishments. On the three occasions that I visited, the place was empty. I’m sure the hipsters arrived much later.



One of the restroom signs; guess I won’t be able to get a shot of the other sign.



A shy maiden forever stuck in the rain hung over the bar.



Lots of taxidermy.



My favorite cocktail, the El Diablo. It was delish. I raise my glass to the good times at El Dorado.



Moral of the story:

Don’t rely on the fact that there will always be a next time. Live your life NOW!

Oh yes, and take the photos that you want at that moment.

I guess I better get myself over to the Chee Chee Club down the street and check it out. At least that one opens at noon!

See more El Dorado Cocktail Lounge photos at my main website.

Wandering Wednesdays

Last Friday, the quote “Not all those who wander are lost” by J.R.R. Tolkien came to mind as I had about an hour between appointments. Knowing this in advance, I brought along my trusty camera and wandered through the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego, which is only fitting since I’m 50% Italian.



The Old Fire Station #6 sits on the edge of this neighborhood.



The sun was directly behind the tower, just waiting for me to take the photo.



The building now serves as a museum.



I have mixed feelings about the semi-recently added Piazza della Famiglia.



The food court, fountain, and seating area join together for a beautiful meeting spot; at night though, the ever-changing color LED lights on the fountain look a bit tacky.



A bit further down is the Piazza Basilone, with its tiled globe and fountain.



The Piazza Basilone was created in November of 2003 to honor GySgt John Basilone and the “Boys That Never Came Home” from the wars in the 20th century. From the Little Italy website:

GySgt John Basilone was a United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II. He was the only enlisted Marine in World War II to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. He served three years in the United States Army with duty in the Philippines before joining the Marine Corps in 1940. After attending training, Basilone deployed to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the Solomon Islands and eventually to Guadalcanal where he held off 3,000 Japanese troops after his 15-member unit was reduced to two other men. He was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima, after which he was posthumously honored with the Navy Cross. He has received many honors including being the namesake for streets, military locations and a United States Navy destroyer.



Near the roof of the Civico 1845 restaurant one finds this interesting face nestled in the fake greenery. He’s looking straight ahead to avoid the plastic that surrounds him.



Did I take a selfie in the “That’s Amore” chair? What do you think?



Brunch was at the Farmer’s Table restaurant near the Piazza della Famiglia.



If you are craving dry french toast that tastes like it was leftover from the week before, this might be the place for you. Thankfully, the cocktails were good.

See more Little Italy in San Diego photos at my main website.

Monday Miscellany

Today it’s back to the Palm Springs Biltmore Hotel, with a 1950’s color shot of singer/actor Tony Martin and his dancer/actress wife, Cyd Charisse. Get a load of that watch/jewelry on her wrist! Like any MGM star, Charisse was glamorous even off hours. Note the perfect manicure!

Martin was first married to Alice Faye from 1937-1941. His 1948 marriage to Charisse lasted until she died in 2008.

Back in San Diego, I found myself downtown near the Hotel Churchill and shot a few of these ground level shots. Here’s the vintage postcard I posted previously:

…and my contemporary shots. Not surprisingly, the surrounding area has changed and been built-up over the years.

It’s all in the details; for me, at least.

See more photos at my main website.

Touring San Diego

When your good friend who’s a photographer comes to visit, the best part of hanging out is geeking together around town with the cameras. To onlookers, this first shot probably appears strange; to a photographer who likes to look at life in different ways, it’s our oxygen.

It’s always fun to walk around downtown and pay attention to the things I would normally ignore as I either drive by or briskly walk by because I’m on a mission. Below is one of my newer favorite buildings in San Diego, the former Police Headquarters which has been repurposed as an outdoor mall.

They have kept enough quirky touches from the original building to remind you of what it once was.

Nearby is the 25' tall “Unconditional Surrender” J. Seward Johnson sculpture in the Tuna Harbor area that commemorates Alfred Eisenstaedt’s legendary August 14, 1945 photograph taken in Times Square on V-J Day. Art critics are about as laudatory on this piece as the they are about the Rocky/Sylvester Stallone Statue in Philadelphia. The tourists love it.

Bob Hope is just a few steps away.

Also nearby is the Midway Museum, which is located aboard...The Midway. Commissioned a week after the end of World War II, The Midway was the largest ship in the world until 1955.

Heading towards downtown on Broadway we came upon the former 1920s YMCA building, which is now The Guild Hotel. My mom once told me that she played the piano here during WWII for servicemen.

An eclectic mix of buildings in downtown:

They should have a before and after mug for the logo. This does not look appetizing.

The sunset was a bit mild at Pacfic Beach, but still beautiful.

A multitude of captions came to mind when I saw this:

Who knew there were Hidden Mickeys on Crystal Pier?

See more San Diego photos at my main website.