Served by Shake and Muddle

So, as an aspiring blogger who set out to explore my hometown’s foodiness, by way of Chula Vista, I’ve failed to get off the stump. Blame it on work, family, COVID, blah, blah, it’s time to get started and no better time and place then the Taste of Third, which is a $45 ticket to get a taste of what the Third Avenue Village has to offer. And if you are a native like myself, you remember watching movies at the Vogue and eating what my kid memory recalls as giant burgers at Fuddruckers. Now neither of those are there any longer, replaced by the Tavern at the Vogue and Culichi Town. The breweries, tasting rooms and eateries that have popped up over the last few years have made the Third Avenue Village a place to be, and with the backdrop of hair salons, trophy shops (not to mention the giant mural in Thr3e Punk Ales) it feels like a place for us. Locals. While there are some good points and some not so good points with the Village, locals should be stoked to have a place to hang out that’s not a mall.

Now back to the Taste of Third, and if you want to take a look, since it’s easier to show you than tell you, here’s a quick vid of some of the stuff we tried:

And to answer the question, yes it was worth the $45 spent to eat drink and basically get full while seeing forward progress being made in the city I love on a cool spring evening surrounded by likeminded folks with the smell of hops and tacos in the air. I would do it again and you’ll see me there next year.

The highlight of the event was seeing Third Ave post pandemic breathing full breathes without a ventilator. Who knows whats going on behind the scenes but the scene itself looks promising. Now if your coming in from out of town, like National City or El Cajon, you may feel overdressed or under bearded buts its one of those places where you can actually socialize or stay to yourself. Nobody cares, and nobodies watching you so this can feel strange to the thirstier variety, but if you can’t get comfy here on third, I don’t know what to tell you.

Served by Groundswell Brewing Co

The next best thing I noticed was the addition of food. The Balboa South has burgers, Culichi Town and Shake and Muddle have full course meals, and of course La Bellas and Italianissimo Trattoria have the pizza pasta on lock. Hint: Get the pizza at La Bellas and the pasta at Italianissimo. Famers Table occupies the old Marie’s Calendar and if you head towards the Chula Vista Mall, Las Tres Catrinas has the modernized Mexican cuisine with the Dia De Los Muertos theme that is pretty cool.

Served by Culichi Town

The ultimate highlight for me was Caluchi Town. They seemed to really want to be there. There presentation and customer service was warm and inviting which is my ongoing gripe about the South Bay. Yes you make an amazing taco and have some outstanding brews but the South Bay puts the “hospice” in “hospitality.” Culichi Town felt good, tasted good and as we walked out thanked us for coming in and it felt sincere. Hopefully they keep that same energy. Maybe it will spread. Fingers crossed.

Ok, that’s all I got. Sorry to end it on a South Bay has sucky customer service. More like low energy. But that’s all good. From one local to another, its better to talk to little than too much.

I’m out!

Written by Dave (Cavey Davey) Billups for

Manfood Certified.