Comments on: La Jolla’s Bird Rock Sip n Surf or Hungry Horse Bar

By: Bill Sowles

Bill Sowles — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:33:43 +0000

Eric, I do remember the ‘Pour House.’ Do you remember, even tho it wasn’t exactly in Bird Rock, the “Upper Cellar” on Pearl Street on the south side just up from the Blvd? Boy, how the cops hated that place too.

By: Steve Gallagher

Steve Gallagher — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:42:16 +0000

In the early seventies, during one of it’s many facelifts, the paneling was removed from the north wall. Underneath was a mural painted in the late 50’s or early 60’s. It showed a group of people gathered around the hut at Windansea. I don’t remember who was in it. I may have been drinking.

By: when crabs roar

when crabs roar — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:16:10 +0000

Hey Eric thanks for the post about the Pour House, Bob Madrone (aka Bob Atkinson) and myself used to sit outside to listen to the music, I have fond memories of those times, as a footnote about the Trinidad Steel Band it seems they had some visa problems and the cops raided The Pour House and arrested the whole band.

By: Harry Marriner

Harry Marriner — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:43:37 +0000

Dean Carlson was one of the early managers/bartenders at the Sip n Surf. Around 1963-64 at Halloween they’d give away free beer if you could squeeze your body through the door and make it to the bar. The music was so loud that during the hot summer months when they kept the door open, I could hear it from my open bedroom window about three blocks away.

By: Hoyt Smith

Hoyt Smith — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:01:40 +0000

Burt Alderson told me that Maynard Heatherly wasn’t too fond of his bird rock bar.

“Oh that damned Sip `n Surf,” Maynard would lament. Not that he harbored any animosity toward Alderson. like you say, the two were close friends. It wasn’t the competition that bothered him either. Maynard’s bar, a few miles south in Pacific Beach, had a large enough drinking crowd of its own.

No, by Alderson’s account Heatherly said, “I hate that joint because you can’t get in. Then you can’t get to the bar. Then you can’t get your arms down to drink.”

The problem with the Sip `n Surf was that it was frequently way too crowded. According to Alderson, the legal capacity was 49. One night, he recalled, the fire marshal counted 250 people congregating elbow-to-elbow, all having a good time.

These days, I enjoy the occasional weekend scene at Beaumont’s; but it is a pale shadow of Bird Rock’s colorful past. I doubt we will ever see times like those again.

By: jamie

jamie — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:29:55 +0000

Max Ruffcorn part 2.

Max died in early spring 1989. Oklahoma billionaire Jim Milligan threw a memorial service for the big guy at Shelby’s, a swanky sort of place, across the street from Su Casa. Jack Macpherson was a guest speaker.

He came to pick me up wearing this: I’ll say this for Jack — he did wear an Aloha shirt. Cut off, powder blue cordoroy shorts, blue Nikes that had oil on them from changing the oil in his car…and 2 white socks, neither of which matched and had no elastic left…they were sort of bunched around his killer ankles.

“Jack,” I said, “you can’t go to Max Ruffcorn’s wake dressed like that. You’re the guest speaker!” And he informed me that this was it…and off we went to Shelby’s.

When we got there…here came Pell Mell. Another guest speaker. And dressed exactly the same…down to the mismatched white socks with no elastic.

It was a great afternoon…everyone was there…from high La Jolla society…to the beach crowd…to the bartenders from the Same Ole Place in Bird Rock.