“Living In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A with downtown San Diego residents. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who live here. This is number 59 in an ongoing series.
Name: Anna Heydari
Neighborhood: Discovery at Cortez Hill condos (atop Cortez Hill). My favorite thing about this neighborhood is the lack of commercial property. It’s mostly residential in this area, and the streets are lined with beautiful Jacaranda trees, which are in bloom right now.
Personal deets: After living in Connecticut for 25 years, I moved to San Diego nine years ago and have been downtown nearly eight years. I live with my husband, Nima, and our black cat, Techno, who loves to hang out on the patio.
Work deets: I have been at The Blind Burro in East Village for eight years and am currently the bar manager. The Blind Burro is an awesome place to work. The location is always entertaining, its close proximity to Petco Park and the convention center keeps us busy.
Describe Downtown SD in 3 words: Sunny. Liberal. Happy.
Working from home: Nima works from home. He uses our tiny spare “bedroom.” He types on the computer and tries to get things done while Techno sits on his desk.
Worst aspects of living downtown: Homelessness. Downtown stinks. It’s filthy. It’s hard to walk a direct path to your destination, because there are certain streets and blocks that are completely taken over.
Best aspects of living downtown: The vicinity to so many things like restaurants, Balboa Park and the airport. We’re also close to restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and Little Italy. And we’re close to Comic-Con!
Comic-Con memories: My favorite Comic-Con moments both occurred last year. Our theme at the restaurant was Beetlejuice. At 2 p.m. each day, we did an all-staff conga line to Harry Belafonte’s song “Jump In The Line.” On Saturday, we had a dozen “Mrs. Ropers” come in dressed in caftans, curly hair and big sunglasses. We put on the Three’s Company theme song and they danced hysterically around the restaurant.
Fave coffee shops: It was the Roast Coach Coffee Cart, but it just moved to Pacific Beach! 😒
Best breakfast Bonjour Patisserie bakery on Cedar Street. I order pastries and coffee. It’s a small space that’s clean and cute and has a friendly staff.
My lunch place: Lucky’s Lunch Counter near Petco Park. I’ve tried most of the menu and everything is delicious – pancakes, club sandwich, breakfast burrito and salads. It’s counter service with no frills, but delicious.
Top dinner spots: I love Bencotto, but you can’t go wrong in Little Italy. Everything is good in that area. I also love La Puerta for Mexican food.
Go-to bar: The Invigatorium in East Village. I like their offbeat style, decor and menu. It’s a fun atmosphere, with coffee options for those who don’t imbibe.
Reliable take-out place: Falafel California (807 F Street) is tasty and consistent.
Fave shows, movies, streaming series: The Studio (Apple TV+), The Rehearsal (MAX), The Big Lebowski (Cohen Brothers), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino) and Clueless (Amy Heckerling).
Hot podcast: “Omnibus” with Ken Jennings and John Roderick.
Best downtown place(s) to take visitors: Petco Park! It’s voted America’s favorite ballpark and it really is. My favorite Padre will forever be Manny Machado. That goes way back to his days on the Baltimore Orioles (my old team; now I’m a diehard Padres fan)! Also: the USS Midway Museum. It’s a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Diego Bay that was in the war!
What does the city need more of: Public bathrooms. (Here’s a recent San Diego Sun story about the issue.)
What does the city need less of: Dogs. Please stop bringing your dog to Whole Foods and Target and the post office and restaurants. Curb your dog!
Best insider tip for downtown: Watch your step. SDSun
