Creating the Best

THANKS TO THE MULTITUDE OF READERS who helped us discover what’s best in San Diego. Hundreds of you filled out suggestion ballots that ran in previous months’ issues. You clued us in about plumbers, branch libraries, estheticians, gyms, yoga teachers, wine bars, feng shui experts and even the best hospital waiting room. And then some.

It took us months. But we followed up on your suggestions, added picks from the editors and enlisted the help of some local well-known faces. Gracias to Chula Vistan–cum–Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzales for adding his expertise, as well as the members of the media at KNSD, KGTV, KFMB, XETV, KSON and XTRA who chipped in.

Collecting the items in this chapter of our annual “Best of San Diego” issue fell largely to associate editor Julia Beeson. “Even as a native San Diegan, I found a lot of hidden jewels in parts of town I’d never known about before,” she says. Indeed. Who’d ever heard of the Just Peachy produce market in Leucadia? And what a delight to hear about Hot Shots Eyewear Repair shop in Carlsbad. If the proprietor deems a job “too easy,” he does it for free. He also collects used glasses and donates them to the needy. Cool stuff.

JUNE IS ALSO WHEN our quarterly Travels magazine-within-a-magazine appears. The theme this time is Las Vegas. We’ve covered a lot of Vegas angles over the years, but somehow we forgot about shopping. Until now. Special projects manager Kathleen Gurnett tackled the task, and added a fun twist: She paired her shopping excursions with fine wine. Hey, why not?

We also covered the trendy poker room scene, talked to gossip columnist Norm Clarke about his A-list material, got some manly advice from a Little Black Book, sent a postcard from Mandalay Bay’s THEhotel, visited nearby nature and took in the sights at Lake Las Vegas.

As a bonus, we added the “San Diego Summer Guide” to Travels. It includes up-to-date information on what’s new at the major attractions. And while Tom Blair takes you “Up on the Roof” to visit downtown’s up-and-coming rooftop bar scene, Julia Beeson—her again—explores 10 spas at coastal resorts. We figured she needed such an assignment after researching “Best of San Diego.”

Enjoy the issue.

Ron Donoho
Executive Editor

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