Sunday, February 18, 2007

"Little Italy" in San Diego has the Charm of the Old Country

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Little Italy in San Diego has the Charm of the Old Country

Though neighborhood is small, it's big on dining and shopping

Dallas Morning News
By ERIC NOLAND
Los Angeles Daily News
Sunday, February 18, 2007

SAN DIEGO  Late on this Saturday morning, the three older men had commandeered wire-mesh chairs on the sidewalk in front of Pete's Quality Meat and arranged them to face the street, presumably so they could bask in the sun and take in the scene.

They chatted in Italian, laughed a great deal and didn't seem in any hurry to go anywhere.

From the doorway behind them wafted delectable scents of grilling sausage and frying peppers and onions. Next door, the candy-stripe pole of the barber shop turned slowly; both chairs were occupied.

It might be startling to hear that this scene, right out of Rome, was playing out on a downtown street in San Diego.

A Little Italy district here? It's true. And this neighborhood is as richly ethnic as Boston's North End or New York's Mulberry Street. It has existed since the 1920s, fueled by San Diego's once-robust tuna-fishing fleet.

"It was a quaint little community," said Danny Moceri, general manager of Filippi's Pizza Grotto, the oldest Italian business in the neighborhood, begun by his grandparents as a grocery store in 1950. "From the bay up, it was all Italians and Portuguese. It was so much like Italy."

The idyll was shattered in the late 1950s and early 1960s when San Diego's Crosstown Freeway, today known as Interstate 5, cut the neighborhood in half, sealing off walking lanes with a massive, elevated concrete thoroughfare. This was followed by a body blow: The tuna-fishing industry went into a period of decline.

Families began moving out. Businesses closed. And the neighborhood descended into blight.

A rebound began 15 years ago, however. Antiques stores and furniture boutiques moved in. Former fisherman's cottages were turned into shops or offices. Restaurants opened and cordoned off parts of the sidewalks for outdoor seating. High-rise condos began to sprout, this being prime real estate on the north edge of downtown.

Now a revitalized Little Italy is one of the most popular hangouts in the city, both day and night, as the parking crunch will attest.

Much of the neighborhood's appeal derives from its authenticity. The city didn't completely evacuate the neighborhood before redeveloping it. So amid the cafes and art galleries are radiator repair shops, dry cleaners and little grocery stores selling homemade pasta. Where cottages haven't been torn down for high-rises, morning glories engulf walls and fences, and citrus trees flourish.

The sounds, meanwhile, are enchanting: a train whistle, the chimes of Our Lady of the Rosary Church, the clanging bell at a trolley crossing, snippets of spoken Italian.

The Little Italy of today is a sliver of what it once was. It lies along India Street from Ash Street to about Laurel Street, hemmed in on the west by the train tracks, on the east by I-5. Its northern reaches have emerged as the Art & Design District.

In this clutch of easily walkable blocks, a visitor will find eclectic shopping and will be in no danger of going hungry.

Step into Filippi's (1747 India St.) if only to savor the wonderful scents from its grocery store and deli. In the back rooms are red-check tablecloths and Chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling.

For nontraditional Italian fare, try Sogno DiVino (1607 India St.) or Buon Appetito (1609 India St.), two bustling trattorias with sidewalk tables.

In the morning, one of the most popular gathering spots is Caffe Italia (1704 India St.), which serves espresso and pastries and has tables indoors, on the sidewalk and in a pleasant courtyard.

But dining options aren't culturally monolithic... there is also Pacific Northwest, Japanese, English, and New Orleans fare....

The shopping in Little Italy, meanwhile, is first-rate.

A charming enclave for getting started is the Fir Street Cottages, a row of former homes just off India Street. Shops carry children's wear, jewelry and fashion accessories, fine clothing and accessories and home decor.

At Architectural Salvage (1971 India St.), owner Elizabeth Scalice has collected all the stuff from old houses that no one would have considered valuable 30 years ago: windows, doors, heater grates, bathtubs, door knobs, garden gates, fireplaces. Retro rules, and all that weathered wood, chipped paint and rusty iron is now prized.

India Street Antiques (2361 India St.) specializes in oak furniture and religious icons. Antiques on Kettner (2400 Kettner St.) displays midcentury collectibles.

Mixture (2210 Kettner St.) hopes that you'll step in to peruse its modernist furniture made from contemporary materials. Disegno Italiano (1605 India St.) carries stainless-steel Italian kitchen appliances and furnishings.

While strolling in Little Italy, you can't miss the many colorful murals painted on the sides of buildings, some of them depicting tuna fishermen at work or memories of the neighborhood or Italy.

WHEN YOU GO

WHERE TO STAY

Two moderately priced options:

La Pensione Hotel (606 W. Date St.; 1-800-232-4683; www.lapensionehotel.com), a European-style guesthouse in the heart of the district. Rooms are small; $80 per night for bookings made by phone or e-mail. Rooms at the rear catch breezes off the harbor.

The Little Italy Inn (505 W. Grape St.; 619-230-1600; www.littleitalyinn.com), with 23 rooms from $79 (shared bath) to $199 (two-bedroom suite). It's in the flight path for Lindbergh Field and a bit noisy.

RESOURCES

Little Italy Association, www.littleitalysd.com. Site has a walking map.

San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, www.sdcvb.org.

 

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