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Apertivo
Tapas are usually associated with Spanish cuisine, but who doesn't want to taste a little bit of everything when you are at a restaurant with great food? That's where the idea of Apertivo, an Italian restaurant that recently moved to El
Cajon Boulevard, derives from. From noon to 10pm, seven days a week, customers can taste over 50 small plates, all for under $10. Just like all great Italian food, Apertivo evokes the true spirit of Mediterranean flavor – clean, fresh
and simple.
Ken and Janie, the owners of Apertivo, recommend the handmade ravioli, which is Ken's Nona's (Italian for grandma) recipe. Another stand-out dish is their osso bucco, a lamb shank braised in red wine. Apertivo offers over a dozen pasta
sauces to choose from, including uncommon options such as gorgonzola cream sauce topped with pecans and carbonara, made with egg, prosciutto & olive oil. Ken believes that Apertivo has a better selection of fresh vegetables than any other
restaurant in town. On any given day, you'll have the choice of exquisite organic seasonal vegetables, sautéed, grilled or roasted. The choices include baby carrots, potatoes, asparagus, portobello mushrooms, broccoli, green beans,
yellow squash and swiss chard, which is Ken's favorite!
Two very special women in Ken's life influenced him to pursue cooking. His Nona was an excellent chef, and Ken greatly enjoyed watching her make traditional Italian recipes. Then there's his mother, who has always been an awful cook,
which is the reason why Ken did so much cooking while growing up. Since he was 14, Ken has worked in restaurants throughout the west coast, the core of which were Italian.
The drop in economy, the strain on parking, and the fact that their landlord dramatically increased the rent, led them to move out of their previous location on 30th Street. Now that Apertivo has settled onto El Cajon Boulevard, customers
have more great things to look forward to. With the addition of lunch seating, from noon to 6pm, Apertivo offers a discounted happy hour menu along with glasses of wine and beer for $3. In San Diego, it isn't easy to find a good
sandwich, but at Apertivo you can count on a great selection of Italian favorites on focaccia bread that Ken bakes fresh every morning. Plus, they cater!
Apertivo – 2322 El Cajon Boulevard
Gary Rose Weber, Land Use Consultant for the El Cajon Boulevard BIA talks about his upbringing, local history and working with San Diego's business districts. Video by Carlos Solorio, Interview by Beryl Forman.
Savor the Taste of Little Saigon
By Blanca Iniquez, Little Saigon Foundation Intern
On Saturday, May 14, 2011, the Little Saigon Foundation, San Diego KPBS, and the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association hosted the first annual "Taste of Little Saigon" event in City Heights. Seven Vietnamese businesses
participated in this event, including A Chau, Pho King, Minh Hoa Supermarket, Song Huong Food To-Go, Hoai Hue, Cali Baguette Express and Maxim Seafood Restaurant. Every restaurant showcased their best Vietnamese recipes, each presenting a
unique look into Vietnamese culture; exactly what the event organizers were striving for.
The taste event took place from 1-4 P.M. on El Cajon Boulevard between Euclid Avenue and Highland Avenue; easy to locate by the bright red, Asian-themed lamp posts marking the "Little Saigon" district and beautifully designed event signage
by SDSU interior design students. The Little Saigon Foundation hosted this event as part of its ongoing initiative to recognize the six-block stretch as a "Little Saigon" Vietnamese business district.
The streets were packed with over 200 attendees from all areas of San Diego, who were looking to explore the culture of San Diego's unique Vietnamese community. "Little Saigon" tours took place every half hour, which told the story of
Vietnamese businesses and immigrants who have resided in City Heights. The tours also highlighted unique destinations like Minh Hoa Supermarket with its savory aroma of fried fish and Pho King, a restaurant known for its delicious soups
and noodles. Attendees sampled specialties like Song Huong Food To-Go's Thai Tea and A Chau's Banh Mi baguette sandwiches and eggrolls.
Minh Hoa Supermarket served a variety of unique fruits found throughout the Asian-Pacific region, including dragon fruit, Korean melon, rambutan, Asian pear, star fruit, durian, and assorted rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves (some filled
with coconut while others had banana, mung bean, shrimp and pork). "Minh Hoa had a package of strawberries that went untouched because all of the attendees wanted to try the exotic fruits," said one of the attendees at the Minh Hoa taste
table. The "Taste of Little Saigon" event brought visitors from all over San Diego and opened their eyes to a new world of delicious foods that had always been in their backyard.
Click here to view more event pictures.
Yelp About the Boulevard
Hoai Hue - 4660 El Cajon Blvd
Yelper:
It is pointless to order bun bo hue at any other Vietnamese restaurant in San Diego. I've been a huge fan of Hoai Hue's food for over 15 years, so I was beyond ecstatic to know they finally moved to a bigger establishment. The quality and
genuineness of both the food and the people remain at its best. The new place seats more, is cleaner and brighter and they offer even more traditional central Vietnam (Hue) dishes on the menu now.
Click
here for more yelp reviews.
Featured Art and Events on the Boulevard
Alexander Jarman, Public Program Manager at the San Diego Museum of Art and active artist in the San Diego community, incorporated a public art installation at Bike the Boulevard this past month. Alexander's 'picnic blanket' stretches
one block in length and was developed from found pieces of cloth in an effort to organize a public gathering of people. In partnering with SD Bike Union to create a 'Bike Oasis' on a vacant lot at the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and
Fairmount, Alexander's art installation served as a great space for resting, socializing, and crocheting.
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