Fresh Gossip, Rumors and upcoming charitable events!

September promises to be delicious, the California Restaurant Association will run their extremely popular Restaurant Week! Many Gaslamp restaurants will feature three course specialty menus for one low price. This is a great way to sample local dining. If The Taste of Downtown is like speed dating then Restaurant Week is like a intimate second date! The San Diego Padres are back in town for a nice home game stretch at the top of their division. The Friars are red hot right now so we know you'll all be down here for a night at the ballpark and stop by to see us here in the Gaslamp before AND after the game, we are right next door after all. Check our Sport Page for info on great Sports bars and special offers. 

Speaking of The Padres - If you are looking for an exclusive opportunity to see Padre's All Star Adrian Gonzalez and his teammates work as chefs, waiters and bartenders all for charity! We have the info!! They will be partnering up with Gaslamp's Acqua al 2 for the 5th annual Celebrity Staff Night in support of the Adrian and Betsy Gonzalez Foundation.  The gossip is that the Bullpen will be behind the bar and the Friars are still trying to decide who the best athletes are to send into the Kitchen. Tickets include a hosted dinner, live entertainment and photo opportunities with your favorite baseball players.  The Foundation works to empowering underprivileged youth through Athletics, Education & Health, so you get to rub elbows with the players and do the right thing for San Diego kids! WIN-WIN!  Also In local dining gossip this week, Donovan's Prime Steak & Chop House has a new Gaslamp addition.  "Circle of Fifths" is now completed and officially open! It boasts room for 120 diners and their gorgeous patio makes for a really nice addition to 5th & K St. They feature small bites and martinis, along with live music. Right now. .. you can be the first of your friends to try it! And. . .Those of you waiting on Ocean Beach burger legend "Hodad's" to open their second location at Tenth & Broadway will be sad to hear about another stall in that project. Your Gaslamp Insider is placing bets that the Burger Lounge people will fire up their grill at a new 5th & Market location before the long-awaited Hodad's II opens doors.

Volcom's GIVE BACK series is at it again! Volcom is collecting jeans for donation now thru Sept 30th. They'll donate them to the homeless, thru local shelters. Every donation you bring to Gaslamp's Volcom San Diego location at 631 5th Ave. enters you to win a year's supply of Volcom Brand jeans and a $1000 prize pack! They collected 5000 pairs of jeans in 09 and can double that with your help. Why not? You weren't planning to make them into cut-offs were you? Really!?  Industry Showroom, around the corner at 6th & J, is really starting to take shape as downtown's fresh Bohemian marketplace. They have a nice mix of personal services, retail and cool people. Look for Arts Shows and Unique Special events too. Gotta like that.

Automobile enthusiasts will want to learn more about our Fifth Avenue Auto Showcase. The show will feature a wide variety of auto types and makes all along historic Fifth Ave. If you have a special vehicle you may want to consider bringing it down and participating in the show. We’ve been fortunate to partner up with local artist Scotty Ziegler through our friend at Michael J Wolf Fine Arts, and he’s done an incredible painting for us called Fifth & Ariel to represent the event. The painting will be on display and for sale at the gallery during the show

Arts & Culture updates? Watch for "Flesh Fold" to open at Alexander Salazar Fine Art Gallery on 9/24.  It's an interesting series of Paintings - Mixed Media with Panties, Bras, Underwear, Socks, Corsets, Leather Gloves and Lace.  The works both "seduce and repulse the viewer", asking the question, "who did these belong to and what stories could they tell?" Alexander Salazar always has something provocative to share with you and his gallery is high on the Insider's list of must see places.  He's also hosting new works from Chris Trueman and the Artist's Reception for him is on Sept 3 & 4th.  CJ Gallery also hosts an Artist Reception this weekend. On Saturday 9/4 Peter Frank will make the opening comments on Wally Gilbert's "Vanishing" Exhibit. As a Nobel Prize winning scientist, he examined the world in its smallest details, and now through his photography, he enlarges small visual elements around us to reveal the world in his unique and beautiful vision. Enjoy this intriguing exhibit thru 9/11.

Put a lid on it! Another little hidden gem in our neighborhood in the Western Hat Works. A myriad of toppers from traditional to silly. It's and old school shop with smiling help and tons of inventory stacked to rafters. if you can't find a hat here you really didn't want one.  Our good friend, Diana Cavagnaro is a very busy bee! She prepared more than a dozen fashionable hats for elite guests at Opening Day for the Del Mar Racetrack and local response has been so great that's now she has decided to open her private studio on a regular basis.  Her "Designer Millinery" loft at 4th & K Street is the ultimate stop to create a custom chapeau but now you can also swing by to investigate her incredible inventory without an appointment [MWF - Noon to 6pm].  If that wasn't enough, she's also offering ECO-friendly tours of downtown's finest fashion haunts.  Look for her Chic Fashion Tours! They highlight locally owned businesses carrying innovative fabrics such as bamboo, hemp, and organic cotton. The 4-hour jaunt stops at unique boutiques and independent stores in Gaslamp and beyond.

We know your wallet is finicky right now, so we are making sure to share some good values with you when we can. Our newest special features great values at one different place each week. We call it Happy Hour of the Week!

We've also heard about a yummy deal from The Melting Pot. They are kicking off Summer Double Date Nights. That means that every Sunday night through Labor Day, its only $99, per foursome, for a 4-course Fondue dippage-fest. If you're okay with sharing, go ahead and make some plans but note that reservations mentioning the special are required.

Thanks for checking in - The GASLAMP QUARTER INSIDER!

The Gaslamp Insider showcases the special, one-time only or seasonal events and promotions happening in and around the Gaslamp Quarter. This page is ever changing! For information on the primary Special Events that occur annually in Gaslamp - visit the Special Event Page.