As I write this article, daily Facebook memories remind me of what I posted five years ago as we were becoming acquainted with the looming threat of the COVID-19 virus.
Roast beef sandwich from South Shores Meat Shop. (photo: Sanam Lamborn)
Schools were going online, many were switching to remote work, and restaurants were closing for what we initially thought would be a short period of time. By mid-April 2020, I had to accept that COVID-19 was not going away within a few short weeks of social distancing.
My daily human contact opportunities with the outside world were gone. The types of social activities I enjoyed were not possible, like outings, concerts, group exercise, sharing a meal with friends, whether out at a restaurant or hosting people for a homemade meal. Being unable to gather with friends like I used to was one of the most challenging aspects of the pandemic.
Penne alla Norma from La Siciliana. (photo: Sanam Lamborn)
While I felt incredibly fortunate that as an educator, I still had a job, and so did my longshoreman husband, I couldn’t shake off the worry that I felt for all the workers who had been unable to keep their employment. In particular, I worried about how the closures were affecting our restaurant owners and their employees, most of whom live locally.
Inspired by the Los Angeles Times food writers, who at the time were having mukbang sessions together—eating while broadcasting—on Instagram to support the local restaurants, I decided to do something similar. Mukbang usually means consuming large quantities of food for shock value. However, in this case, it was regular portions with the purpose of keeping restaurants afloat while their dining rooms were closed.
I reached out to local friends to see if they could pick up lunch at the same time from a mutually chosen San Pedro restaurant and then hop on Zoom to eat our food together. The original rotating crew was Geri Gioiello, Army Feth Linderborg, Ana Jelenic, Diana Roman, and Janet Tawa. Kate McLaughlin from San Pedro Sourdough suggested sharing our adventure on social media. And that’s how Eat in San Pedro began. Every Friday, we picked a San Pedro restaurant and ate together on Zoom for a couple of months. Whoever could joined in.
Potato taco from the Enchilada House. (photo: Sanam Lamborn)
Eat in San Pedro has been a labor of love to highlight our eateries and my desire to support our local economy. In fact, during the first couple of years, I predominately ate in town. In the past five years, I have eaten at many different places in San Pedro and documented it on my social media channels.
In 2021, I took it a step further. I pitched the idea for this food column to San Pedro Today. For the past four years, I have written about 108 unique eateries, some more than once.
I love hearing from restaurant owners that they notice a boost in sales after appearing in this column. It is such a great feeling to have readers and social media followers inspired to try the places I feature.
A croissant and coffee from Distrito Coffee. (photo: Sanam Lamborn)
So much has changed since the beginning of the pandemic in the local restaurant scene; many spots have come and gone. Inflation has also shifted how people spend their money on dining out. Truthfully, my accountant still questions my common sense about spending as much money as I do on eating out in town to maintain social media platforms without earning a dime from it.
A popular social media trend is, “I tried it, so you don’t have to.” I have reframed it into my own motto, “I tried it, so you should too!” Thank you for joining me on this hyperlocal foodie journey, San Pedro! spt
