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Best of San Diego in Pictures

A look at the stories behind 15 of our favorite images
Photo COURTESY OF US SAILING/ KATE SHEAHAN

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo COURTESY OF US SAILING/ KATE SHEAHAN

Photo COURTESY OF US SAILING/ KATE SHEAHAN

The bay is great for sailing, but competitive kiteboarding is exploding, especially in San Diego. “You get the same west wind every day,” says former Master World and Master North American champ Ty Reed. He explained that riders can jump as high as 50 to 60 feet, or in his estimation, “stupid high.” Pictured here are the 2013 U.S. Kiteboard Nationals on San Diego Bay, which we bragged about in “27 Reasons to Love San Diego,” February 2015.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Robert Sanchez

Photo by Robert Sanchez

Jazz is alive and well in San Diego, and we tracked the heat map—from back-room speakeasies to poolside hotel patios—for the October 2014 feature, “Scat! San Diego Jazz.” The burgeoning scene has drawn high-level talent, including accomplished tenor saxist Robert Dove (above). It took just one powerhouse performance at North Park’s Seven Grand to lure him out west, explaining that nothing he had experienced in New York came close to the fire coming off the bandstand in North Park. “I feel like I’ve landed at the front end of the new San Diego jazz scene,” he said.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by ROBERT BENSON

Photo by ROBERT BENSON

Few people grasp how impressive mariachi is in South Bay schools. The Sweetwater Union High School District alone is home to 12 mariachi programs, and has graduated the all-female mariachi group, Mariachi Divinas. They’ve been performing together since 2012 and they were one of the “27 Reasons to Love San Diego” in February 2015.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Chaz Cruz

Photo by Chaz Cruz

Chula Vista residents Gillianne Santos and Neil Dandekar said “I do” twice on the same day at their stunning wedding, whose colorful photos we ran in our sister publication, Exquisite Weddings (Spring/Summer 2015). In total? Two ceremonies (Hindu and Christian) and three of the US Grant’s four ballrooms for their 262 guests.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by SAM WELLS

Photo by SAM WELLS

“I had been wanting to do a stacked sandwich on the cover for months, and this was the perfect issue to do it,” creative director Laurie Nicoud said about selecting the cover subject—in this case Supernatural Sandwiches’ shrimp and bacon grilled cheese—for our June 2015 Best Restaurants issue. “We shot three different hot cheese sandwiches and used croutons to hold them up. We also used a lot of oil and butter to make the food shine—so much so that you wouldn’t want to eat anything after we photographed it!”

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Jamie Fritsch

Photo by Jamie Fritsch

In the last few years, the Baja region has gone from a virtual dead zone to one of the globe’s top food and drink destinations, and much of the credit goes to Tijuana chef Javier Plascencia, who nudged the local government to create the Distrito Gastronómico, a restaurant row with a well-paved walking route. “People ask why I bring all these gringo chefs down,” he told food critic Troy Johnson in the November 2014 cover story, “The Baja Moment.” “Because they spread the word.”

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Paul Body

Photo by Paul Body

For our neighborhoods issues, it’s always important to see streets, retail, people, life. For the March 2015 Best Neighborhoods feature, photographer Paul Body took this picture from the roof of Nelson Photo on Little Italy’s India Street. The image ran on the cover and we deepened the blue in the sky using Photoshop, added in the dog walker from a different image, and brightened the neighborhood sign.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Paul Body

Photo by Paul Body

San Diego owes much of its craft beer cred to Scot Blair, the beer-preneur behind Hamilton’s Tavern, Monkey Paw Brewing, and Small Bar. But beyond the beer bars, he’s been a torchbearer of craft beer education. Blair sits on the San Diego State University Business of Craft Beer Advisory Board, is a certified cicerone, and has appeared on DRAFT Magazine’s list of America’s 100 Best Beer Bars. “People tell me how much they enjoy spending time in my bars—that’s the best part,” Blair said in our May 2015 Best New Breweries feature. “Those are the biggest awards.”

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Corey Miller

Photo by Corey Miller

The staff debated this photo of El Cortez for this January’s “Inside the Icon” page. Some said it conjured memories of 9/11. But the image of the hotel, built in 1927 for $2 million, was dark, cool, and gritty. Some of our staffers, who worked in the Manhattan publishing world right after 9/11, thought the shot was worth the inclusion. Besides, in San Diego we see planes aiming at downtown every day.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Jamie Fritsch

Photo by Jamie Fritsch

Located 40 minutes northeast of Ensenada, Valle de Guadalupe lays claim to more than 100 small-scale, independent wineries and a newly thriving food scene. Javier Plascencia’s Finca Altozano (pictured) was one of the catalysts of this culinary change, according to writer Troy Johnson in the November 2014 cover story, “The Baja Moment.” In spite of all the buzz about the food scene, we loved the quiet beauty of this photograph.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Sam Wells

Photo by Sam Wells

The 8,000-square-foot Bottega Americano, featured in the December 2014 “10 Best New Restaurants” cover story, was among San Diego’s first to embrace the nation’s food hall concept. Past the gourmet market and full espresso bar is the restaurant with a bit of everything, prepared in the open kitchen in front of guests, including pizzas and house-made pastas.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo Joanne Barratt

Photo Joanne Barratt

Writer Ashtyn Douglas followed professional surfer Josh Kerr and his seven-year-old daughter, Sierra, for “Like Father, Like Daughter” in February 2015. “I like to inspire girls to skate and to surf,” Sierra said. We couldn’t resist this girl’s pluck and style. Plus, we love a good action shot.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Allison Burgos

Photo by Allison Burgos

As part of her job, Oceanside resident and 1st Lieutenant Allison Burgos collects photo submissions from combat correspondents and photographers. But on this day, she stepped in to document an operation and lucked out with an amazing photo, which ran in our May 2015 issue. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force practices a fast-roping technique, where Marines slide down a rope attached to the UH-1Y Venom helicopter at the Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Sam Wells

Photo by Sam Wells

Ornate peony or artisanal dessert? It was hard to tell with our July 2015 Sweet Spot, Kearny Mesa’s Iceskimo, where they make their own giant tubs of flavored ice (no syrups or powders, just all natural ingredients), then shave it in perfect, thin ribbons of gourmet shaved ice. The cool, melt-in-your-mouth result will give any cup of fro-yo a run for its money.

 

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Best of San Diego in Pictures

Photo by Sydnie Goodwin

Photo by Sydnie Goodwin

For our fitness-themed February 2015 feature, “Get Fit & Have Fun in San Diego,” associate art director Sydnie Goodwin found cover model Gillian Gibree of Paddle Into Fitness, shown here leading a SUP yoga class at Kellogg Beach, via Google. As it turns out, Gibree was a Roxy SUP Athlete who just happened to be very photogenic. Photographer Jay Reilly (foreground) captures her here in a headstand, but her shirt was falling down, so we used a different image for the cover and story.

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