Denny's | The Che Underground

There to Here: Mark Stern, Soup Nation

March 28, 2012March 13, 2012 by Mmrothenberg

(In the first installment of a series, Che Underground: The Blog considers how a young San Diego show promoter became a Eugene, Ore., soup titan. Plus: a bonus after-party recipe from Mark! If you’d like your story told, e-mail cheunderground@gmail.com!)

The last time we were in the same town, you were playing in the Frame and promoting gigs in SD and Orange County at spots like Greenwich Village West, Big John’s and Club Cult. How did you move from there to the culinary arts?

I started at a steak-and-seafood joint as a dishwasher in Mira Mesa when I was in 10th grade, moved into doing salad station. There were all these “college” girl waitresses who would flirt with the new kid.

After that I got a job across the street at Chuck E. Cheese, doing pizza, and I would go out and do promos as the rat. My favorite was when they had me do an event for kids with Daryl Strawberry, then a Padre, who took me aside roughly when he thought I was upstaging him and whispered, “Take it easy, Chucky.”

Then and now: Topsy’s

December 11, 2017August 15, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, Topsy’s becomes a bear sanctuary! Photos by Kristen Tobiason; text by Kristen Tobiason and Matthew Rothenberg.)

In the pantheon of 24-hour, Formica-countered restaurants of early-’80s San Diego, Topsy’s was the Rolling Stones to El Cajon Blvd. Denny’s’ Beatles: less-polished and slightly tougher than its competitor to the east.

But like “Gay Denny’s,” Topsy’s’ after-clubbing hours and proximity to San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood also put a queer spin on the mix of patrons.

Reborn as Brian’s American Eatery, the restaurant at 1451 Washington Ave. expands on Topsy’s’ tradition of diner fare and a mix of gay and straight clientele, with special affinities for the “bear” subculture of the former.

Then and now: El Cajon Blvd. Denny’s

January 1, 2011July 13, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(In the first installment of a series, roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, a daylight visit to “Gay Denny’s,” 2008!)

Denny’s on El Cajon Blvd.: A night-time hang-out spot? I don’t see many hipsters hanging there today. Maybe pimps and their respective employees … but for us it was another after show/party place to kill time and wait for the sun to come up.

I recall sitting in front of a plate of hot French fries with a side bowl of brown gravy, cigarette in hand … Across from me, you might find Tom Ward with his classic shaded spectacles, Chris Negro wearing his black revolutionary coat, a couple of Gravedigger V members, Jerry Cornelius, Denise, Alena … among many others.

Lemons Are Yellow: “Thousand Island”

January 1, 2011May 4, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

A true Che Underground supergroup — comprising David Fleminger (guitar, vocals); Kristin Martin (bass guitar, vocals); Paul Kaufman (guitar, vocals); and Ed Meares (drums) — Lemons Are Yellow first formed in high school, then regrouped in the San Francisco Bay area in the early oughts to create an amazing CD titled “Destroy All Music.”

“Thousand Island” off that 2006 album is a rip-snortin’ salute to El Cajon Blvd. Denny’s of early-’80s San Diego legend and to the waiter there who was rumored to provide patrons who requested “coffee with” a little something extra on the side. How’d you like your coffee with?

(N.b.: Che Underground: The Blog does not condone the use of illicit substances, except to propel a good lyric. The views expressed in “Thousand Island” are humorous and reflect neither Che Underground’s zero-tolerance house policy nor any verified menu practices employed by the Denny’s restaurant chain past or present. Please keep your comments theoretical.)

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