PUERTO NUEVO STYLE MY ASS!

Everytime when I get that craving for Mexican style lobster I go to the Bonita Store or Rockin Baja Lobster and every single time I go I’m always disappointed. Then why even go? They are the only 2 Mexican style lobster places that I know of without having to go South of the Border. Also, maybe I think something magical will happen and they will change and prepare Mexican style lobster the way its suppose to be prepared. Their lobster is overcooked; dry, had no garlic at all and not enough butter. In addition too dipping the lobster in the butter there’s also something about basting it with lots of butter when cooking on the grill; it makes the lobster very tender and not overcooked.

I use to get Mexican style lobster at 3 places before they folded, two places were located in CV one on Bonita Rd & the other on E. St and there was this place in Mission Valley. These places prepare Mexican style lobster the way its suppose to be prepared; grilled and basted with garlic, lots of butter and Mexican spices. The lobster is so tender that it comes out of the shell easily.

One thing I know about lobster is that Vietnamese & Mexican style are the best. American/English style is just boiled in water and dipped in butter but doesn’t have any flavor. Vietnamese style is my favorite, they sauté theirs and prepare it so many ways. I’ve had it sautéed in butter, garlic, salt & pepper, green onions, onions, ginger and tamarind sauce (not all at once of course). I’ve never been disappointed with Vietnamese style lobster, it’s always tender. My first taste of Vietnamese food was when I came across this restaurant on Fairmount and University Ave, it folded years ago and I ordered a whole crab. The crab was prepared fried or stewed with brown gravy, green onions and lots of garlic; boy was it good. It had so much garlic in it that I left the restaurant reeking with garlic.

Can anyone please tell me where I can get some good Mexican style lobster without having to go south of the border?

INDEPENDENT MOVIE THEATRES

Was craving Mexican food, so I went to a small Mexican restaurant in downtown CV and noticed that there was a for lease sign on the Vogue Theatre.

I don’t know how long the lease sign has been on the Vogue Theatre, but I’m noticing that more independent theatres are folding and this is also the case for Drive-In Theatres.

This takes me back to when Mann theatres were popular and started slowly folding. The Mann Theatres existed before Regal and were more popular than AMC, Pacific and United Artist. At the Mann Valley Circle, Cinema 21 & Loma Theatres was where I saw blockbuster films such as ET, Star Wars, Close Encounter of the Third Kind, Saturday Night Fever and others.

I remember other smaller independent theatres that I use to go to that no longer exist; they were the Fiesta Twin in downtown CV and Century Twin on 54th & El Cajon Blvd.

Many years ago I took my cousin to see a horror flick at the Palm 3 in IB, was it called Studio 3 or Palm Studio 3? Anyway, at that time the theatre was slowly going down hill and was already in the process of folding. I never forgot her exact words when we walked into the theatre and that was “Are we walking into Hell!” It was so dark, dingy and grimy in that theatre and the walls were painted a very dark color, I think black or red. That was my last visit there.

There were also the ones located in Downtown San Diego, the Balboa, Casino & Aztec where I saw all of the Bruce Lee films & some “B” Movies; before they became XXX movie theatres. To re-develop downtown and develop the Gaslamp District, these theatres have later turned into food and clothing stores or under construction for another project.

The Spreckles in downtown San Diego use to be a movie theatre then it closed years ago and re-opened as a playhouse. This was also the case for the California on 5th Avenue in downtown San Diego in which they closed years ago and is not in renovation at this time. I remember seeing the Exorcist and American Hot Wax along with other “B” movies at these theatres.

Then there were the others, the La Jolla Cove, the Park on Park Blvd and the Guild on 5th Ave in Hillcrest in which I saw the movie Hairspray.

I noticed that although some of these theatres have folded they don’t tear down their signs since some of them are historical landmarks.

There’s an artsy-fartsy side to me where I also enjoy Landmark Films. There are still some Landmark theatres left, but not many; the Ken, La Jolla Village, Hillcrest Cinemas and the private own one, Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills on Goldfinch.

With Drive-In’s you saved a bundle of money because admission was based upon a car-load of people; not per person and you got to bring in your own food. The last time I went to a Drive-In was in the 70’s with my family; it was the National City one where the swapmeet is now located. I think there are only 2 left, Santee and South Bay in IB.

You couldn’t beat the price deal of these theatres; although the movies were a bit older you still got to see 2-3 films for one low price. The food there wasn’t all that great but still cheaper than the regular theatres.

Why are these theatres folding? I read an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune years ago which said that most people now like the idea of multiplex theatres which they have more of a variety. In addition, people like the idea of having theaters in a mall; this way they have the flexibility of shopping, dining and seeing a movie.