“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 51 in an ongoing series.
Name: Ron Donoho
Residence: I’ve lived in the Marina District, Little Italy, Cortez Hill and now East Village.
Personal deets: I’m from Baltimore (Go Ravens! Go Orioles!). I moved to downtown San Diego from New York City in 1995. My wife, Jules, who I met at Dobson’s, still has me listed in her phone as Downtown Ron.
Work deets: I’m the founder/editor of thesandiegosun.com. After editing 50 other profiles, I decided to take my own medicine and fill out the “Living In The City” Q&A. I’m also a freelance writer and do a lot of profiles and travel stories for Ranch & Coast Magazine. Before my current gigs, I was executive editor of San Diego Magazine, and editor of two publications that have folded, San Diego CityBeat and San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles.
Working from home: I have a home office that looks out over the city. A few times, I’ve witnessed things from my window involving homelessness that I’ve reported on and turned into stories that day.
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Best aspects of living downtown: Accessibility to all the stuff that makes life interesting: restaurants, events, gatherings, etc. Plus: I don’t have a lawn that has to be mowed or landscaped.
Worst aspects of living downtown: Frustration about the cycle of homelessness–more directed at the policy makers than (a large percentage of) the souls experiencing life on the streets.
Describe downtown SD in 3 words: Endearing. Expensive. Mismanaged.
Most surprising part of living downtown: How often a condominium’s bank of elevators has to be repaired. And how long it takes to repair one.
Transportation breakdown: 75% walking, 20% biking, 5% driving. Annually, I fill my car’s gas tank about 5-6 times.
Coffee shop: I adore the sunny and flowery Adore Coffee House at Cedar and Fifth. The name’s inspired by a love story and a Harry Styles song. Ukrainian ownership. I got the super-sugary, blue-and-yellow-colored “Brave Latte.” And an astoundingly satisfying prosciutto toast with various well-mixed accouterments and a fig glaze.
Fave take-out places: Call me old fashioned, but I’ve never done GrubHub or the like. I call for takeout and pick it up myself. Our regulars spots: Urban India, The Taco Stand and Tajima Ramen East Village.
Best breakfast: Little Italy’s The Waterfront Bar & Grill, with the oldest continuous liquor license in town. It’s OG spectacular for food (a ginormous breakfast burrito) and drink (a bottle of champagne and mimosa mixers is just $15).
Fave lunch places: There’s a fairly new Swami’s at 611 B Street. All their sandwiches are stuffed; salads are treasure-laden. I just went bonkers for the steak hash that comes with two eggs any style (get sunny-side-up), melted pepper jack cheese and pan-roasted potatoes.
Fave dinner spot: When Jules and I want to go out and can’t think of the right place we always fall back to Barbusa in Little Italy. Great pizzas and pastas, and servers who treat you like you’re their favorite cousin.
Fave bar: Stout Public House on Sixth Avenue. A pitch-perfect dive for a Guinness, good Irish pub grub and the NFL Sunday Ticket (for weekends when the Ravens aren’t on network TV).
All-day dining: For breakfast, lunch and dinner, park yourself in Garage Kitchen & Bar on Fourth Avenue. One of the best appetizers in town: Ahi nachos. There’s a Buddha Bowl for vegetarians (Jules) and a Butcher’s Burger (blend of bison, wild boar and beef) for us carnivores.
Fave streaming series of 2023: Lessons in Chemistry, The Afterparty, The Bear, The Last of Us, Perry Mason and The Diplomat.
Fave podcasts: Conan O’Brien Need A Friend, Smartless, Fresh Air, The Daily and Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.
Best place to take visitors: A roundtrip ride on The Coronado Ferry and then dinner at Portside Pier.
Funniest downtown memory: A group of three Croatian women were standing in front of a Gaslamp Quarter restaurant (that’s gone now). One woman asked me in broken English what the name of the place was. Dick’s Last Resort, I told her. She translated to her two friends. I’ve never seen three Balkan-state tourists laugh so hard for so long.
Best annual event: The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival. Hundreds of the best local chefs and restos serving bits and bites, and plenty of adult beverages to wash them down. Happens every November. Held on the bay-kissed Embarcadero Marina Park North.
The city needs more: Neighborhood groups like the East Village Doers, which regularly schedules block cleanups and has a fund to thank police officers by giving them free burritos.
The city needs fewer: Empty storefronts in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Padres: Petco Park is stunningly beautiful. It was the backdrop last year for the ugliest flop season in team history. Stay tuned for: the results of a highly questionable renovation of Gallagher Square Park.
Love or hate Comic-Con: Learned to love the crush of Comic-Con and the costume dedication of cosplayers who pack Fifth Avenue and pose in character for every photo.
Homelessness: A day shouldn’t go by when politicians aren’t planning with smart folks, savvy business owners and good-hearted community members to productively activate both short-term and long-term solutions.
Mayor Todd Gloria: The mayor’s communications staff does not respond quickly, or at all, to requests for comment on stories I write about downtown. His #ForAllofUs hashtag could be replaced by #DontAskQuestions.
District 3 City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn: Ditto. Requests for story comments go in. Cricket noise comes out. Anybody in there?
Parting advice: If you’re having a bad day, there’s always Cali Cream Homemade Ice Cream on Market Street. SDSun
