Little Italy, San Diego, CA

India Street is the spine of Little Italy, the downtown San Diego district where Italian and Portuguese fishermen once crewed the city's tuna fleet. The canneries closed in the early 1980s and Interstate 5 cut away part of the old neighborhood, but owners and longtime businesses rebuilt it block by block starting in the early 1990s, and the Italian names over the doors are still there. Housing grows taller toward the south. Mid-rise and high-rise condo and apartment buildings fill the blocks near Ash and Beech Streets, while the northern streets toward Laurel are lower, with some older bungalows left between newer buildings. New construction keeps filling the remaining lots, and some older buildings have been renovated. Food is the main reason people come down here. Filippi's Pizza Grotto on India Street is the old-fashioned standby, with an Italian market at the front. Mona Lisa Italian Foods, a few blocks north, is the deli counter for Italian groceries, wine and hefty sandwiches. Ballast Point Brewing pours on India Street as well, and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters at Kettner and Juniper has garage-door windows where you can watch planes drop toward the airport over your espresso. Outdoor time here happens in plazas more than parks. Piazza della Famiglia, paved in cobblestone with a tiled fountain, links India and Columbia Streets and works as the neighborhood living room on warm nights. Amici Park on Union Street adds a patch of green, and the Little Italy Dog Park sits on West Date Street. The bay sits a few blocks west, past Kettner. Weekly life runs on the Mercato. The farmers market takes over West Cedar Street on Saturday mornings and West Date Street on Wednesdays, with produce, flowers and prepared food. For a bigger haul, the Ralphs on G Street near the Marina is the closest full grocery. The County Center/Little Italy trolley station on California Street sits at the western edge, with Blue and Green Line service, and the airport is a short ride away. Popularity has a cost. Saturday market crowds, the October Festa and a steady flow of visitors mean closed streets and full sidewalks. On a weekday morning, though, when the cafes are setting out tables and the plaza is still quiet, Little Italy feels like a small village inside a big downtown.