We came for Tuscan wine and basil mojitos, though we ended up practically drinking the Gorgonzola sauce as well.

Festooned in vintage Italian bric-a-brac, Buonissimo 2 in Hillcrest has everything going for it in terms of ambience, alcohol and food. Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily, the happy hour affords visitors a menu tailored exclusively to reduced-price consumables. Forget having to squint at sloppy chalkboards or memorize the bargains scattered across main menus. The choices here are neatly categorized on a single sheet by wine, cocktails and “dishes,” which equate to decent servings of luscious gnocchi, assorted bruschetta and a smattering of other Italian delights that reward the belly for eating a light lunch.

Wines by the glass range from $4 to $5.50, served in short, peasant-style glasses. The usual Italian varietals arise: Lambrusco, Chianti, Sangiovese and a terrific Super Tuscan red blend by Centine ($5.50). When you hear seasoned winos utter adjectives like “cherries,” “tart plums” and “young blackberries” to describe certain labels, they might collectively be talking about this one.

                                        

Scripps Mercy to stay, grow in Hillcrest

Scripps Mercy Hospital’s trauma center, the county’s busiest with morethan 2,500 patients treated in fiscal year 2009, is poised to become even busier upon completion of a three-phase, multimillion-dollar expansion.

The hospital, located in the heart of Hillcrest at 4077 Fifth Ave., is more than doubling the existing size of its emergency department from 12,000 to 27,000 square feet and adding 16 beds to its severely undersized, 27-bed facility. The department will enlarge to 43 patient exam and treatment areas — a 79 percent increase. Level 1, its most comprehensive, two-bed trauma center, is expanding to three spacious bays capable of treating up to six patients simultaneously.

                                        

Stepping Stone's Cheryl Houk.

“The buildings were in terrible shape. It was the worst in the county and really the worst I had seen,” she said. “And that wasn’t acceptable to me because in the gay and lesbian population we had had a long challenge for acceptance. This (lack of appropriate housing) just perpetuated that we don’t belong.”

So Houk, then Stepping Stone’s executive director, set out to improve its residential component. Although the organization had never sought funds from private donors before, she was cautiously certain she could secure $1.2 million to create a suitable structure. But as time passed and costs increased, the budget more than doubled to $2.6 million.

Still, Houk raised every penny.

“I meditated on what I wanted and went for it,” she said. “We had a board who believed we could do it too.”

                                        

Add Comment (0)