Anatomy unleashed

Since the dawn of Homo Sapiens on the planet, they have always been fascinated with the human body. It is always thrilling to know what happens inside us, what we are made of and how the different parts of the body work in harmony to maintain the most complex organic life form on earth. That's why Biology and Medicine are such engrossing subjects as they expose our knowledge banks to some of the most complicated interactions even taking place. How would it feel if common people who have had no exposure to the study of human bodies get a chance to quickly learn and nurture their curiosity?

Bodies...The Exhibition is created exactly to address this inquisitiveness of human mind. This exhibition makes several globe-trotting trips; San Diego, Las Vegas, New York, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buenos Aires and Framingham being the current stops. Real life bodies and organs are chemically treated to create permanent polymer preserves. The San Diego exhibit features 21 whole-body specimens and more than 260 organs meticulously displayed with pertinent text to educate. The exhibition consists of several partitions/rooms, with each room pertaining to a theme based on functional systems like digestive systems, circulatory system, nervous system, respiratory system, excretory system, skeletal system, reproductive system and so on. There is at least 1 whole-body specimen and several smaller dissected sections on display in each room providing an in-depth view and understanding of the different organs and their interactions. Enthusiastic kids and adults are fascinated as med-students and other physicians in-house de-mystify their perspective on the human body.

As much as the displays induce valuable knowledge about our human body, certain displays also encourage us to follow healthy living habits. Displays of diseased organs are showcased to discourage people from indulging in over-eating, smoking and the like. Fetus displays are though-provoking as several stages of pregnancy are taught in one of the most practical methods. The complete network of nerves spread on the display table mimics an intricate thread work and is awe-inspiring. The final exhibit hall displays several cross-sections of the complete human body laminated in a glass sheet. This MRI-eye view is mind-blowing to say the least. This hall also leads to a gift store stocked with numerous books, models and multimedia paraphernalia. It is a must-see for all the curious minds out there.

Bodies...The Exhibition in San Diego is in UTC Wesfield Mall.
(Displays from May 8, 2007 to January 13, 2008)
4425 La Jolla Village Drive
San Diego, CA 92122
Ticketing over phone: 1-877-BODIES5
Sunday - Thursday (10 am - 7 pm)
Friday - Saturday (10 am - 10 pm)

* No photography and food allowed inside the exhibit halls
** AAA discounts offered

Grilling fine food in Sorrento Valley

The Sorrento Valley hi-tech area gets a brand new eatery in the form of Skewers, the brain child of Ahmad Sakha. Having spent 10 years of professional life in corporate finance and global business development of a wireless semiconductor company in Sorrento Valley, and over 4 years in privately held companies, Ahmad always looked for fresh, healthy and tasty eating options. That motivated him to bring healthy and quality food to the market place and corporate clientele in the area.

He started working on a concept a couple of years ago while earning valuable experience in the food industry with a Quiznos outlet. His ideas finally formed shape on October 1st 2007 as he opened Skewers to the general public. With a strong focus on offering a healthy food with rich flavors, Ahmad and his wife Latifa have worked on an innovative menu with infusion of Greek, Persian and Afghan tastes. Ahmad's globe-trotting to land of exotic food and spices coupled with an Mediterranean connection further helped him perfect the tastes. He has also taken great care to hand-picked chefs well-versed in Greek and Persian cooking.

Ahmad and Latifa have a strong commitment to using only the freshest ingredients. The food at Skewers is cooked fresh at the time of order. The patrons who dine here can be rest assured that Skewers never uses frozen/caned produce or artificial coloring and flavors in their cooking. Even the meat is trimmed by the chefs everyday.

Skewers also caters to guests with varied food habits by offering a huge selection of vegetarian appetizers, entrees and sides. Skewers even alters spice levels to suit individual tastes. Early next year, patrons will also have an opportunity to taste some specialty dishes as part of Skewers' daily and weekly specials. There are plans to add wine and beer to the menu in the near future. Breakfast will soon be served between the hours of 6 am and 10 am .

In terms of the setting, Skewers is spacious and aims to provide a close-to-fine-dining experience in its ambiance and tastes, but at very reasonable prices. The decor is chic with HDTVs and soon-to-be added wifi hot spots. Apart from dine-ins, Skewers is also fully equipped to handle catering and hosting parties/events. With the patrons already appreciating the tastes and quality, Ahmad aims to expand Skewers into a popular restaurant chain to continue offering the same high-quality food at reasonable prices.

Skewers is located in
9254 Scranton Road, #106
San Diego, CA - 92121
Phone (858) 658-0109
Fax (858) 658-0107

Hours of Operation
Monday through Friday - 10 am to 7 pm
(Breakfast coming shortly - 6 am to 10 am )
Saturday - 11 am to 4 pm
Sunday - Closed
Available "after hours" for private events

Food Photos copyright: Skewers
Decor Photos copyright: Bhadri

Presenting "Skewers coupon" for your savings !!

Trip to the gardens

A 30 minute drive from San Diego downtown takes you to Flinn Springs, the location of Summers Past Farms, an enchanting garden nestled in its foothills. Summers Past Farms is a owned by the Lozier family who have had a rich tradition in farming. This farm spreads over a decent sized area with specific portions marked for a herbal garden, a vegetable garden, a children's garden, Shakespeare garden, a secret garden, special event area, lavender fields and various shops.

The herbal garden is a delight as fragrances of basil, mint, dill, rosemary, thyme, sage and lavender fill the air. Kids have a great time playing in the children's garden or with the friendly cats, Yarrow being the friendliest. The natural lounge by the Green Bean Coffee Bar is a nice place to relax and enjoy the gardens while sipping hot coffee or savoring mango flavored iced tea with flower petals.

The farm has a couple of charming shops; The gift shop in the timber barn is a 3500 square foot garden and retail store stocked with gardening paraphernalia, cook books, aroma candles, fairy items, organic spices, jams and jellies, soaps and more. The herbal shoppe and factory is an instant hit among visitors as they are immersed in the aromatherapy of handmade herbal soaps, fragrance and massage oils and natural skin care products. Spa accessories and soap-making kits are some of the other items found in the store.

Summer and Fall days are filled with events ranging from antique and craft fairs to pumpkin patches. Visiting the farm's website or browsing the newsletters is a great way to keep informed about the numerous special events. The annual soap making week attracts large number of visitors who gather to learn the art of making herbal soaps; a nice holiday gift. Summers Past Farms is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm and on Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm.

Summers Past Farms
15602 Old Highway 80
Flinn Springs, CA - 92021
(619)390-1523

Aerial route

San Diego residents turned their eyes skyward on October 12th, 13th and 14th as military and civilian performers blazed the Miramar skies with some astounding maneuvers and complex formations in their aircrafts. Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar plays host to supposedly the largest air show in the country every year.

This 3 day mega event boasts a number of exhibits, a consumer fair, marine air-ground task force demonstration, twilight demonstrations with pyrotechnics and fireworks, jet fueled trucks, Guinness recorded 'wall of fire' and various civilian and military demonstrations.

Flight enthusiasts are enthralled by some of the coolest flying machines like U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, F-117 Nighthawk Stealth fighters, USN F-18 Super Hornet, AV-8B Harrier, MiG 17-F and F-16 Falcon in action here. The list doesn't end without mention of special effects hang glider, radio-controlled aircrafts, aircraft carriers and sail planes as well. Miramar Air Show returns again in October 2008 for more action and excitement.

A historic landmark in the heart of San Diego

San Diego considered as America's finest city is known for its beaches, golfing and abundant sunshine. However, it may come as a real surprise to imagine that a San Diego neighborhood could have actually been the birthplace of California. 'Old Town', a San Diego landmark is shrouded in rich history and culture and is believed to be the spot where it all began.

Today, 'Old Town' stands as one of the premier tourist destinations in San Diego with its 3 historic parks (Presidio Park, Heritage Park and Old Town San Diego Historic Park), numerous other historic sites, over 2 dozen ethnic restaurants, 100+ specialty shops, art galleries and boutique hotels. A walk in the Old Town transports you to charming Spanish ambiance with a cosmopolitan San Diego flavor; Aroma of fresh Tortillas fill the air as curious onlookers appreciate a local artist's masterpiece. Colorful old town trolleys criss-cross the lively streets even as the announcer educate and entertain the guests with interesting facts and Old Town folklore.

Old Town with a historic backdrop plays host to several weddings. Saturdays come alive as musicians dish out some exciting live numbers and artisans display jewelery, clothing, photographs, pottery, hand-painted glass and more in the popular 'Harney Street Old Town Saturday Market'. Ghostly haunts welcome visitors to the world-renowned 'Whaley House', a great example of mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival architecture. This historic museum is also an officially designated haunted house with a footfall of over 100,000 visitors every year.

The exciting Old Town trip doesn't end without sampling spicy Mexican food, wine tasting, creating candle art, visit to the candy shop and gawking at fossilized gems and road-side scrap-metal insects and robot creations.

Race in the sky

After leaving its footprint in about half a dozen international destinations like Abu Dhabi (UAE), Rio De Janeiro (Brazil), Monument Valley (USA), Istanbul (Turkey), Interlaken (Switzerland), London (UK), Budapest (Hungary) and Porto (Portugal), 'Red Bulls Air Race 2007' descended on America's finest city, San Diego. This thrilling air race with some of the best pilots in the world competing against each other in a display of speed, precision and skill was conceived by Red Bull sports in 2001. After planning for alamost 2 years, the first race of it kind was held at Airpower in Zeltweg, Austria in 2003. Since then, it has travelled around the world leaving its audience with a sense of awe.

The Red Bull air race debuts in San Diego for the first time. The San Diego leg had 2 rounds of racing; qualifying round on September 21, 2007 to shortlist the 12 fastest pilots for the actual race day on September 22, 3007 at the picturesque San Diego bay near the downtown. The race was attended by thousands of spectators at the 2 ticketed locations in Embarcadero and multiple other locations spread around the bay like Coronado.

These locations offered vantage view points to feel the planes swish by at 400 kmph close to the ground in pre-set race paths. The high-fly excitement with incredible maneuvers, naval display and parachute drops, all lasted about 6 hours. After a scintillating display in San Diego, this competition races to Perth (Australia) next.

Creamy indulgence in La Jolla - Gelateria Frizzante

You cannot miss 2 things when visiting the charming village of La Jolla in San Diego. One is the Ocean and other is Gelatos. Gelato in Italian literally translates to 'Frozen' and can be thought of as an Italian equivalent of modern day ice creams. In fact, the traditional milk-based Gelato has its origins from the Northern Italian regions while the water-based Sorbettos owes its existence to Southern Italy. With its rich flavor and a creamy texture, Gelatos have been the way of Italian life for many years now. 'Gelateria Frizzante' brings that piece of Italy right into the heart of San Diego.

Gelataria Frizzante is the brain child of the husband-wife duo Eric and Christine who is passionate about serving fresh and authentic Gelatos to San Diegans. Eric, her husband, is a lively personality who is always keen on talking about Gelatos. He loves to share information about it and a conversation with Eric on a lovely Sunday morning revealed lots of interesting facts.

The shop
Gelateria Frizzante opened its first shop in La Jolla in October of 2005. This shop is managed by Eric. His wife, Christine runs the newest location in the Gaslamp Quarter. The La Jolla shop with its colorful array of Gelatos and a casual ambiance truly adds to the vibe and feel of the locality. The guests are often seen sampling the new flavors and browsing the various pictures of Italy and a number of interesting Gelato facts that decorate the wall.

Gelatos in Gelateria Frizzante
Gelatos here, is made from a base material that consists of fresh whole milk, sugar, dextrose, non-fat dried milk powder and a 'bag of magic' from Italy as Eric puts it. This bag of magic contains the natural emulsifiers and stabilizers, necessary to give Gelato that unique texture and flavor. Unlike ice creams that contain a lot of butter cream, the only cream present in Gelato is the cream found in whole milk, serving as a much healthier choice. Also when compared to ice creams, very little air is beaten and blown into the Gelato which is also served much warmer. However, Gelato is more dense and creamy in texture than the ice creams.

Gelatos from Gelateria Frizzante is made right at the shop here and most of them are consumed within 24 hours. No Gelato sits in the freezer for more than 96 hours. Care is taken to maintain the same consistency and smoothness, as in the original Gelatos made in Italy. Many Italian expatriates visit Gelateria Frizzante and give their thumb of approval for authenticity. In fact, a lady professor teaching Italian studies in UCSD (University of California, San Diego) feels right at home sampling the Gelatos.

Now to the favorite part; Flavors
Gelateria Frizzante prides itself in its ability to create 125 different flavor mixtures. The shop in La Jolla has room for about 40 offerings at a time. About 80% of the flavor choices are made on a regular basis and the rest are influenced by seasonal, staple foods and customer requests. Most of the flavoring ingredients are procured from Italy including certain nuts and chocolates. Christine has worked with executive chefs from Italy who visit the West Coast occasionally. Eric and Christine have also been a part of a few international gelato conferences. Many ideas are invented and brainstormed in the conference and Gelateria Frizzante tries to bring in such flavors as well; the most recent addition 'Lychee' being one among them.

Talking of flavors; Children love the Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon and Strawberry gelatos. Other popular picks are Pistachio, Mocha nut, Bananas Foster, Chocolate Carmel and Yoghurt forest berries. There are certain flavors like Rice that take up a lot of work and are not made often. It is also interesting to find that there is a marked difference in the preference and tastes of La Jolla visitors versus the Gaslamp visitors.

All this must have set your taste buds racing. Without wasting another moment, rush to a Gelateria Frizzante nearest to you.

La Jolla shop
1025 Prospect Street #130
San Diego, CA 92037
(858) 454-5798
(Open - noon, till late evening)

Gaslamp Quarter shop
435 Island Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 876-4203
(Open - noon, till late evening)

Help yourself with some Gelateria coupons !!

A village by the bay

San Diego with its 365 days of sunshine, an ocean to die for and a resort-type ambiance provides the perfect setting for a waterfront paradise. One such spot is Seaport Village conveniently located in downtown San Diego, by the bay. Flanked by San Diego Convention center and a number of resort-type hotels, Seaport Village offers 14 acres of themed waterfront shopping, dining, galleries and entertainment.

Opening its doors to the general public in 1980, Seaport Village has been one of the premier tourist destinations in San Diego ever since. Sun, fun and water can be found in abundance here. Over 50 shops dotting the lush landscape attract the curious visitors with its various trinkets, unique gifts, collectibles, souvenirs, clothes and beach-themed items. Kites, wind Chimes, hats and figurines feature among the most sought-after list. Waterfront fine-dining restaurants and a number of fast-food styled eateries ensure that you'd never leave the place hungry. Finger foods like chilly cheese fries, nachos and cheese, popcorn, ice cream and cotton candy seem to be the largely popular picks.

Visitors craving for entertainment have plenty to look forward to, in Seaport Village. Kids have their field time in the large carousel that was hand-carved in 1895 and featuring 54 animals. A number of children-friendly activities like brush-art, face-painting, caricatures and balloon art keep them busy. Parents and children alike are thrilled by the live music and magic performances. Couples in love are often spotted in a horse-drawn carriage. With all this and more, a visit to San Diego doesn't go complete without a visit to Seaport Village.

Where do the Indians meet in San Diego?

... Well, within 'San Diego Desi'. What exactly is it? In the contemporary world, when almost everything; from teaching to trading happens online, meeting people and communicating with each other is no exception. It started with an idea to create a forum to bring all the desis in San Diego together under one roof and 'San Diego Desi- an online portal' was created just for that purpose. It aims to establish connection between the different people of Indian origin scattered around the San Diego county.

The opening page invites the first time visitor to join the growing online community. This page also gives a good idea of what to expect from this portal. It has neatly laid out sections for the different categories. Though still under development, a number of 'recent' postings under the various sections suggest that the web-site is being utilized quite well.

'San Diego Desi' proudly displays being America's finest Indian community and also manages to sustain enough visitor interest because of the diverse nature of areas it covers. For the curious buyer and seller, there is the Classifieds section; rentals and accommodation taking the lion's share of posts. Google maps assisted Yellow-pages is an interesting concept that has a decent coverage of Indian business listings along with the pinpoint location in a Google map. It is a fair assumption that this section will be updated as new businesses mushroom.

Indian events in San Diego have always generated good public interest and having a specific section for that is a definite plus. A bit of work however to cover all the Indian events in San Diego will ensure this page being bookmarked by most people. For people who love to write columns and express their thoughts, there is a Soapbox section and for others, who are more of a discussing type, there is a Discussion section as well.

With few other miscellaneous sections, a current weather display, a search engine feature and links to other network sites, it aims at being literally a one-stop shop. For all the San Diego Desis out there, 'San Diego Desi' definitely warrants a visit !!