Jennifer Ianni

Pacific San Diego • 28th December 2021

Looking back at 2021's top moments in pop culture

2021 was uncharted territory in so many ways. After a tumultuous 2020, many were hopeful that 2021 would bring with it more stability and a return to normalcy. And it did! For a little while anyway.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage, there were glimpses of “normal” in 2021. Live events started to come back. The Oscars were held in person. Talk shows slowly brought back live audiences and in-person guests. Sporting events continued. We had a Met Gala.

And while we’re clearly not out

Pacific San Diego • 3rd December 2021

JK: Jo Koy is "Just Kidding" at two Pechanga Arena shows

Comedian Jo Koy is gearing up for an extremely busy 2022.

There’s his next Netflix special, which will tape in March at The Forum in Los Angeles.

There’s his new movie, “Easter Sunday,” which is loosely based on his experiences growing up in a Filipino-American family. It’s set for an April release and is directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (“Super Troopers,” “Beerfest”), produced, in part, by DreamWorks Pictures and stars a few of Koy’s friends like Tiffany Haddish and Jimmy O. Yang.

Then there’s

San Diego Union-Tribune • 29th October 2021

John Mulaney hopes to start 'From Scratch' on new tour

Comedian John Mulaney has had one hell of a year.

In September 2020, Mulaney, who has a history of substance abuse issues, checked into a rehab facility for drug and alcohol abuse. In October 2020, he hosted “Saturday Night Live,” the show that made him famous — and for which he’d served as a writer and producer, off and on, from 2008 to 2018.

At the time of his hosting, the audience and general public was none the wiser about his rehab stint.

In December 2020, after an intervention staged by

San Diego Union-Tribune • 5th October 2021

Spirit of "CrazySexyCool" lives on in TLC

UPDATE: TLC’s San Diego concert has since been canceled. Their show in Los Angeles will still take place on Oct. 9.

This Thursday evening, don’t go chasing waterfalls — instead, please stick to the TLC concert at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, where the girl group will be joined by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for a special ‘90s-themed show, a celebration of TLC’s iconic album, “CrazySexyCool.”

“CrazySexyCool,” TLC’s sophomore album, was released 27 years ago in 1994. At the time, TLC was co

San Diego Union-Tribune • 27th August 2021

San Diego Loyal Soccer Club: A rookie’s guide to kicking it at a game

If there’s one thing you can say about fans of the San Diego Loyal Soccer Club , it’s that they’re, well, loyal.

But even if you’re just a casual sports fan — or, if you’re like me, which is less than casual — the SD Loyal wants you to know that you are welcome at its games — and you can still have a ball, even if soccer isn’t your thing.

The SD Loyal SC was founded in 2019 and officially debuted in 2020. No big deal, but Landon Donovan, probably the most famous American soccer player of our t

San Diego Union-Tribune • 11th May 2021

Rubio’s and Richard Blais team up for a culinary adventure

The Rubio’s brand is all about adventure. So says Rubio’s Coastal Grill co-founder Ralph Rubio , who first brought Baja-style fish tacos to the masses in San Diego in the early ‘80s.

Inspired by his spring break trips to Baja as a college student, Rubio wanted to share the culture and cuisine with his hometown of San Diego. He opened the first Rubio’s in Pacific Beach in 1983, and since then, he’s expanded his empire to include more than 200 locations offering the original award-winning fish ta

Los Angeles Times • 5th April 2021

International students create an app to prevent food waste

Till Hartwig , 24, and Till Kuehn, 23, have more than just a home country and a first name in common.

The two were both students at Germany’s Berlin School of Economics and Law when they applied for an exchange semester at San Diego State University. The men, who met during the application process, were both accepted into the program in the fall of 2019.

The two immediately bonded over their shared passion for business and entrepreneurship. In fact, it was during an entrepreneurship class taug

Pacific San Diego • 25th December 2020

The pop culture moments of 2020: Everything’s fine!

Last year, in a roundup of my favorite pop culture moments of 2019, I wrote: “Another year has come and gone and as we get ready to bid it farewell, we reflect on the tumultuous year known as 2019.” Then 2020 came along and asked 2019 to hold its beer — and here we are a year later, reflecting on what the word “tumultuous” truly means.

Let’s start with the basics: In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic shut the world down. and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, an economic collapse and mil

San Diego Union-Tribune • 17th October 2020

Iliza Shlesinger brings ‘Iliza’s Comedy Tailgate Tour’ to San Diego

The year is 2020. The world as we knew it just a few months ago has changed. And it’s here, in the midst of a global pandemic, that comedian Iliza Shlesinger is hitting the road and embarking on a socially distanced drive-in comedy tour.

But is there anything funny about a global pandemic?

“There’s something funny about everything,” Shlesinger says during a phone call.

The nine-city tour, called “Iliza’s Comedy Tailgate Tour,” kicked off on Oct. 2 on the East Coast and hits San Diego on Oct.

San Diego Union-Tribune • 16th September 2020

The reimagining of the Riviera

Lance Felix and Derek “D.J.” Mull are both East County natives and hospitality industry veterans. Together, the two friends have joined forces to bring back one of their favorite East County spots: the Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Room, which closed back in March due to government orders to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Now reopened for indoor dining at a reduced capacity, Felix and Mull want people to know that their favorite cook-your-own-steakhouse is back — with an updated look and menu t

San Diego Union-Tribune • 23rd July 2020

Get ready, Beliebers: Justin Bieber announces rescheduled tour

If you believe that life will return to a sense of normalcy in 2021, you better “Belieb” Justin Bieber does, too.

The pop star announced on Thursday that his rescheduled tour, “Justin Bieber World Tour,” will kick off June 2, 2021, at Pechanga Arena San Diego and continuing on with dates through August 2021. The new tour includes rescheduled shows, with some new ones added as well. In addition to San Diego, stops on the tour include New York City, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Tickets will

San Diego Union-Tribune • 18th June 2020

For La Mesa shop, proof is in the pudding

Toran Grays knew he had something special in his great-grandmother’s banana pudding recipe. It had been passed down through generations in his family, and when he inherited it, he realized how high the demand for it was, just among his family and friends, and it inspired him to think bigger.

You might say that, for Grays, the proof was in the pudding.

“I started with one flavor,” he says. “(My great-grandmother) started with banana only. I experimented with all the other flavors. Now I do 25 d

Pacific San Diego • 17th April 2020

Comedy specials that remind you it’s okay to find the humor

It feels like a long time ago, but once upon a time, we used to gather in confined spaces (basements, usually) with other folks to listen to someone with a microphone try and make us laugh. We’d buy the two drink minimum and settle in for an evening of keen observation designed to make us chuckle.

Whether it’s slice-of-life commentary or political humor, comedy has always been there to lighten the mood and provide some much-needed levity in trying times.

The greatest example of this I can thin

Pacific San Diego • 3rd April 2020

The (reality) shows must go on

In times like these, we rely on entertainment to distract us from the harsh realities of the world. And while different people take comfort in different things, sometimes all you need is a good, old-fashioned reality TV show binge in order to (momentarily) relieve stress.

Reality shows are like a soothing balm to slather over your emotional wounds, wrapping you up in comfort. They are the sweet, frothy cotton candy of entertainment, and right now, cotton candy tastes good.

So sit back, fire up

Pacific San Diego • 30th January 2020

Get 'Fancy AF' with Vanderpump Rules’ Tom and Ariana

Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix are used to serving up cocktails (and drama) on Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules. Now the real-life bartending couple are helping their fans serve up their own cocktails (drama optional) with their new book, Fancy AF: Drink Recipes from a Couple of Professional Drinkers, co-written by Danny Pellegrino, host of the Everything Iconic podcast.

“We’re coming to San Diego, which I’m really excited about because I love San Diego,” says Sandoval.

PACIFIC chatted with Tom and Ari

Pacific San Diego • 2nd July 2019

Getting into the spirit with Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh knows how to tell a story. Whether it’s on the big screen, as the Academy Award-winning director of films like Traffic, Out of Sight, Sex, Lies and Videotape and Erin Brockovich, or it’s sitting in a speakeasy in San Diego, telling the story behind his involvement with Singani 63, a Bolivian spirit brand that Soderbergh founded to bring singani to the masses.

It’s not uncommon for a celebrity to start schilling products. Instagram is clogged with #sponsoredcontent and a celebr