Sunday, May 20, 2007

A Piece of Italy Survives in San Diego- Authentic, Not Tourist Trap

The ANNOTICO Report

 

A piece of Italy survives in San Diego

AREA IS AUTHENTIC, NOT TOURIST TRAP

By Eric Noland
MediaNews
San Jose Mercury News

May 20, 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 in a row facing the street, presumably so they could bask in the sun and take in the scene.

Oh, come on, let's be serious: They were girl-watching. They chatted in Italian, laughed a great deal and didn't seem in any hurry to go anywhere.

From the doorway behind them, delectable scents of grilling sausage and frying peppers and onions wafted forth. Right 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 was playing out on a downtown street in San Diego. A Little Italy district here? In a city generally, if unfairly, known for its white-bread homogeneity?

It's true. And this neighborhood is authentic, 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, 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. Everybody came here. Oh, I remember the smells of everyone's cooking as I walked the streets."

"We knew every household, and all the parents knew who all the kids were," added Lou Palestini, a San Diego National Bank manager who also grew up here.

The idyll was shattered in the late 1950s and early 1960s when San Diego's Crosstown Freeway - today known as Interstate 5 - was cut south to downtown. It cleaved 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, resulting from the import of inexpensive tuna from Japan, restricted access to Latin American waters and the mandate for dolphin-safe fishing techniques.

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

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

Now a revitalized Little Italy is one of the most popular hangouts in the city, whether by day or by night (as a chronic parking crunch will attest).

It has authenticity

Much of the neighborhood's appeal derives from its authenticity. This isn't Seaport Village, which was planted wholly and solely for tourists. It isn't the Gaslamp Quarter, which is in a historic part of town, yes, but today has the feel of a theme park for the spring-break crowd.

No, Little Italy is organically grown: Amid the cafes and art galleries are radiator repair shops, dry cleaners and little grocery stores selling homemade pasta. Where cottages haven't yet been torn down for high-rises, morning glories engulf walls and fences, and citrus trees flourish in the back yards.

The melange of sounds, meanwhile, is nothing short of enchanting: a train whistle, the chimes of Our Lady of the Rosary Church, the clanging bell at a trolley crossing, snippets of Italian spoken by restaurateurs, shopkeepers and strolling residents.

Because the city's terrain slopes here, you can also gaze down upon San Diego Bay from many of the side streets, or from Piazza Basilone, a memorial to war victims who grew up here.

The Little Italy of today is just 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 that infernal I-5. Its northern reaches have emerged as the Art & Design District.

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

Step into Filippi's (1747 India St.) if only to savor the wonderful scents from its grocery store and deli. This is the kind of place that stocks marinara sauce by the drum.

For Italian fare that strides beyond the traditional, try Sogno DiVino (1607 India St.) or Buon Appetito (1609 India St.), two bustling trattorias with sidewalk tables. Both have extensive antipasti menus, innovative pasta dishes - many featuring fresh Pacific seafood - and extensive wine selections.

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 an interior courtyard.

But lest you think the dining options are monolithic in Little Italy, there is actually quite a cultural mix here. ....

The shopping in Little Italy, meanwhile, is first-rate and all over the map.

A charming enclave for getting started is the Fir Street Cottages, a row of former homes just off India Street, today painted in such vivid colors as cardinal and mustard, pea green and cobalt blue, bright yellow and purple, brick-red and canary. The cottages house shops carrying children's wear, jewelry and fashion accessories, fine clothing and home decor, but our favorite was Che Bella, a jungle of potted plants and garden decorations.

India Street Antiques (2361 India St.) specializes in oak furniture and, incongruously, religious icons. Antiques on Kettner (2400 Kettner St.) presents a time-travel moment for baby boomers, displaying midcentury collectibles such as kitchenware, figurines and children's books.

Mixture (2210 Kettner St.) hopes that you'll step in to peruse its geometric, modernist furniture made from contemporary materials and fabrics - Dwell magazine come to life - but you might find yourself just admiring the classic brick warehouse building it occupies.

Italian appliances

Disegno Italiano (1605 India St.) carries sleek, stainless-steel Italian kitchen appliances and furnishings. There's also a gleaming Vespa motor scooter that appears plucked from the streets of Rome.

And at Assenti's (2044 India St.), the pasta is made fresh on a noisy contraption in the back room. Roberto and Luigi Assenti will not only sell you any one of 44 varieties, but their brochure will also let you in on some classic sauce recipes - pancetta e pomodoro, for example.

While strolling in Little Italy, you can't miss the many colorful murals painted on the sides of buildings, some of them dramatized depictions of tuna fishermen at their labors, or wistful memories of the neighborhood - or the home country.

The streets are also dressed up with lamppost banners. During one recent visit, Italian-American baseball heroes were being celebrated: Joe DiMaggio, Joe Torre, Sal Maglie, Ron Santo. Another time it was figures from the entertainment and political worlds.

It is easy to linger in San Diego's Little Italy. In fact, it's encouraged. The Little Italy Association decided against benches and instead sets out metal chairs on the sidewalk each morning. "We want people to move the chairs," said Moceri, who is vice president of the group. "They can gather them in a circle, move them across the street so the sun doesn't hit you."

Palestini, who no longer lives in the neighborhood, chuckled when asked about the chairs. "I took my father down there before he passed away," he said. "He would sit there with all of his friends and complain about how things had changed. They would talk about the fishing, have their wine, sometimes start singing."

And watch the girls, no doubt. Just as the fellows in front of Pete's were doing.

http://origin.mercurynews.com/travel/

ci_5942215?nclick_check=1

 

 

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed and are Fully Archived at:

Italia USA: http://www.ItaliaUSA.com (Formerly Italy at St Louis)

 

The ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed at

 

Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net