Little Italy in San Diego

 On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in March, I took my mom to the Embarcadero.  She hadn't been to downtown San Diego in several years, and was she surprised.  First, with the beautiful modern architecture of the big commercial buildings, second, with the beautiful new apartments and condos dotting the area, and third, with outdoor sculpture and art that seemed to be everywhere.

What I really wanted to show her, however, was the new restaurants next to The Star of India.  The Brigantine restaurant group bought the property that formerly was Anthony's several years ago, and you wouldn't believe what they've done with it.  They actually have 4 restaurants there, one more beautiful than the next.  They have both The Brigantine and Miguels, their two signature restaurants which you may have eaten at in other areas of San Diego.  They also have a tapas restaurant called Topside, above Brigantine.  What I liked so much was that the interior made you feel like you were on a cruise ship.  I don't know if that was their intention, but you feel just like you're on a luxury ship.  Go check it out.

For lunch, we walked to India Street, where most of the action was.  We got a ringside table at Mimmo's, one of the many Italian choices for lunch and dinner.  I had a most delicious lobster bisque, while mom had a pear salad with gorgonzola cheese and candied nuts.  Great dipping sauce for foccaccia bread, and we were all set to people watch.

Oh, my, thousands of people must have walked by.  My takeaway for the afternoon of people watching?  Most were poorly dressed in clothing that didn't look so good.  Ripped jeans (I know that's the style), untied tennis shoes (I know that's also the style),  most looking rather sloppy.  Almost everyone was wearing tennis shoes of some sort, so I can see why athletic companies are doing so well during the pandemic.  All anyone wears is a pair of workout pants or shorts, and long shirt, and tennis shoes!  Even if the people weren't neatly groomed, their dogs were.  Many, many, dogs, and all had on expensive collars and sweaters.  I just found it funny that most of the dogs looked better groomed than their owners.

In all, an afternoon in Little Italy is safe and fun.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.