Ed discovers a bar in the middle of nowhere, packed with the IT in-crowd

I guess it’s because I’ve been dreaming, looking over the bridge rails of Los Peñasquitos (“The Little Cliffs”) river, watching the white heron watching for fish in the sunlit pool among the reeds. When I come in here, I’m thinking …

AleSmith alum setting up shop in Grantville

The first time I interviewed long-time AleSmith brewer Matt Akin about the brewery he’s building was last March. Nearly a year later, his Benchmark Brewing Company (6190 Fairmont Avenue, Suite G, Grantville) is getting much closer to opening its doors. …

New restaurant for North Park outdoes itself for happy hour.

Despite the fact that it’s right up in my neighborhood, I seldom travel Park Boulevard south of University. What can I say other than that it’s just not an appealing couple of blocks...until now! Oscar-worthy dramatic flair aside, Heat Bar …

And this HH is specially hard to beat when it includes free crab legs

Good news you forgot you knew: I was on Kettner around six in the evening ''t'other day and heard the crowd before I saw them under the black awning. It was the happy hour crowd at The Waterfront, this town’s …

New brewery brings Solana Beach’s design district customized suds

I believe in multi-tasking and love killing two birds with one stone. The evening I ventured to Pizza Port Solana Beach to interview brewer Devon Randall about taking over the brewpub’s system, I followed up that session with a short …

A charming wine bar on an unexpected stretch of El Cajon.

Next Door Wine Bar is almost all the way out at the end of El Cajon Boulevard, past the college and into La Mesa. That’s a long way to go from North Park for a glass of wine -- even …

Neighborhood bar brings out the (Mexican) musician in you. And the appetite

The little cream stucco building shines out into the dark. From across Dewey Street you can hear the crack! of pool balls, laughs, and somebody singing a ranchero song. A few cheers and claps, and then another one starts. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/26/40768/ …

Downtown Japanese hole-in-the-wall is "good enough."

It was probably some form of internet advertising that led me to Ai Sushi and Teriyaki on Sixth Ave downtown. At least, I assume it was the internet’s fault since I was grossly misled, something which happens often online. I …

The new brewer (wo)manning one of San Diego’s classic brewhouses

One of the county’s eldest brewhouses resides below-ground in an inauspicious picnic-tabled pizza joint—Pizza Port Solana Beach (135 North Highway 101). The first of the Southern California chain’s locations, it’s been turning out craft beer since 1992. Over the years, …

"Build your own pizza" lands at 4th & University

Fourth and University is a tough piece of Hillcrest real estate to make a restaurant stick. Project Pie is the newest contender with that corner in mind. According to the internet, James Markham, the mastermind behind the operation, has been …

Surprising food and drink deals at language students’ downtown hangout

This place right next to the Converse language school for foreign students is great to hang out at, partly to get an international feel, mostly to catch the bargains they always seem to have for the often hard-up students. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/25/40632/ …

Ballast Point taps its homebrewing component for a new line of suds

Home Brew Mart (5401 Linda Vista Road, Linda Vista) is one of the most significant locales where San Diego’s craft brewing renaissance is concerned. Opened in 1992 by homebrewing entrepreneur Jack White, it is the supply outlet where many of …

Debuting a beer with personal local ties from Sierra Nevada

Yes, this is a feature all about local beers…usually. At face value, spotlighting a beer from Chico, California’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Company may look like an outright deviation from that formula, but there’s most definitely a local tie-in. Actually, the …

Bay Park's drive-through coffee is as good as most full-sized shops and twice as convenient.

Cruising up Morena Boulevard in Bay Park the other day, I decided it was finally time to check out the suspiciously convenient drive-through coffee stand in the parking lot at the corner of Ingulf Street, just South of Clairmont Drive. …

Do South Koreans make the best burgers in California?

“We would kill for winters like this,” says Rick. He’s from New York City. “You call this cold?” The truth? Hell, yes. Specially up here in the high sierra of Santee, at nine o’clock at night. The killer-chill breeze bites …

This restaurant may not have changed much in recent years, but it doesn't seem to need it.

I got some great service the other day at Piatti (2182 Avendia de la Playa, 858-454-1589) in La Jolla Shores. It was that all too rare kind of evening where the entire staff at a restaurant is courteous, professional, lacking …

Ice hockey season brings the annual pilgrimage of puckista fanatics

Why does Stout always look crowded these days? Ice. And we’re not talking immigration. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/20/40481/ ’Tis the season for San Diego fanatics to do what it takes to find a screen, a stool, a stout (preferably Guinness) and hopefully a …

Stick with the silly drinks and you'll be OK.

Martini’s Above Fourth (3940 Fourth Avenue) and I disagree on what, exactly, constitutes a “Martini.” I’ll argue in favor of gin, a splash of vermouth, and an olive or two. They seem to think that anything served up in a …

El Salvador's Gastro-Embassy's right by the pier...

Aphrodisiacs at a farmers’ market? That’s what they say about pupusas with the loroco flower buds in them. Seems loroco only grow in Central America. So I keep looking wherever I see the word “Salvadorean” pop up. And here, paydirt! …

Local Habit hosting homebrew-driven fundraiser for service dog trainers

On Saturday, February 23, the statement “this restaurant’s gone to the dogs” will take on new meaning when Local Habit (3827 Fifth Avenue, Hillcrest) holds an event benefitting New Leash on Life, a non-profit organization raising puppies to serve as …

Enduring Kearny Mesa BBQ spot is long on portions, short on excellence.

Seeing as how it’s next door to the legendary Min Sok Chon karaoke emporium, and how it’s been operating successfully for 30-odd years, I figured the Korea BBQ House (4620 Convoy Street) would be all right. The building’s blue, mock …

Harry’s reinvented the BBQ sauce, and the nation's most SW farmers' market is richer (in aromas) for it

Was at my favorite farmers’ market. It's the one in IB (Imperial Beach Pier Plaza, 10 Evergreen Avenue, Imperial Beach, 619-397-1917) where the market’s tent city springs up right by the ocean.You see tents, surfers, dolphins, Coronado islands, ocean, Japan, …

New brewers for Modern Times Beer and Monkey Paw

Over the course of the past few months, more and more questions have been answered about upcoming San Diego craft brewing company Modern Times Beer (3725 Greenwood Street, Point Loma), as owner Jacob McKean has piece-mealed out details. It’s been …

North Park's new "concept" restaurant is here, but it's a tough meatball to swallow.

I can’t pass binding judgment on Soda and Swine since it’s only been open for three days, but I did sneak in, grind a sandwich, and sip some pop out of sheer curiosity over the high-profile renovation and replacement of …

Monkey Paw brews up a beer for Hillcrest farm-to-tablers

Of late, I’ve been writing a lot about breweries crafting beers for specific bars and restaurants. Typically, the impetus for this is a venue’s anniversary, but in the case of this week’s featured San Diego craft beer, it was mutual …

New North Park brewery has all but one element for success

The last stop on my latest San Diego brewery tour was a recently opened spot called Thorn Street Brewery (3176 Thorn Street, North Park). Nestled in a mostly residential area away from the 30th Street fray, the venue resides in …

Expect noise. Acoustic Ales Brewing Experiment about to rock old Mission Brewery

Actually it was the nose, not the noise. Started twitching as I walked up Washington from the trolley. That sexy, sweet, rich malty smell can mean only one thing: someone is brewing inside the old Mission Brewery Plaza courtyard again. …

An update on the "bread CSA" that I found out about last year.

I don’t know if anybody remembers, but I was clued in to a secret sourdough bread baking operation last fall and I promised to keep tabs on it. When I first found out about the “bread CSA,” it was in …

Off-island offshoot offers expanded look at Crown City operation

Coronado’s a beautiful place, but unless you live in the Crown City, it’s someplace you don’t likely frequent. The lure of the island’s namesake brewpub, Coronado Brewing Company, has sent me across that big blue bridge a number of times, …

Dark side of the equation is brightest at Kearny Mesa newbie

The first time I had a beer from Helm’s Brewing Company (5640 Kearny Mesa Road, Suite C/N, Kearny Mesa) was at a Japanese craft beer tasting event at downtown sushi den, Ogawashi. It was the only local product provided that …

New pizzeria occupies long-empty building and brings Neopolitan style gusto.

The building across Beech Street from Alchemy sat empty for years until Buona Forchetta moved in with a wood-burning pizza oven and a guarantee of certifiable Neopolitan pizza. Now, South Parkers can’t seem to get enough of the place and …

Happy hour opens the gates to another swank eatery

Above: Bartenders James and Ron rock this place So the search for Chinese at Red Pearl Kitchen (see blog below) didn’t work out so well. But what it did was open another door, The Oceanaire Seafood Room (400 J Street, …

Hollywood-style Chinese eatery closes just before Chinese New Year

Heading by the Mardi Gras party downtown. Folks are rattling around with a ton of beads round their necks. Russian girls on their pedicabs are doing great business. But, like, $50 to get in? Gimme a break. Me, I'm thinking …

New Vista brewery offers more than nomenclature would suggest

For over a year, there have been over two-dozen work-in-progress breweries for me to monitor at any given time. And that’s in addition to the 45 to 60 existing companies I’ve also had to keep up on. This means I …

The coffee's super serious, but the atmosphere is pretty chill.

The Better Buzz “Coffee Lab” in Mission Beach is yet another entrant in the melee of next-level coffee purveyors. They boast pour overs and “Kyoto drip,” the excruciatingly slow preparation of room-temperature coffee over hours and hours. The descriptor “single-origin” …

Persian food and games at Cedar and Fifth

Ah. So this is the place where the tea’s free. I’ve been climbing up Fifth heading for this place, at Cedar, near where Balboa Park starts. And here it is, double the size from what I remember, Darband Fifth Avenue …

A progress report on Escondido’s other craft brewery

My December excursion to Europe to visit craft breweries left me thirsty for tasty San Diego beer, which I indulged in as soon as I got off the plane. Still, due to the all-consuming holidays and some post-New Year’s catch-up, …

Downtown restaurant was nicer than I'd expected...and a little snooty.

Chaplos is far enough removed from downtown’s hubbub that parking isn’t impossible, although the nearby pay lot ends up looking pretty good after a few trips around the block. The glass walled building’s colored lighting shifts along the color spectrum …

Move over wine, beer is looking for a place at the table! Paon Restaurant in Carlsbad hosted a pairing dinner this past week with beers chosen by the Stone Brewing Company. I attended not as a beer connoisseur, but as …

Fifty years of sirloins and booze breakfasts in Hotel Circle.

With dreams of steak and eggs I set out for Hotel Circle and Adam’s, home of the eponymous specialty and sister restaurant to the legendary Albie’s Beef Inn at the Travelodge. I don’t think they’ve changed much at Adam’s since …

Green Flash’s brewmaster explains his renowned namesake beer

There are a lot of “special” beers out there. That descriptor can mean many things. Sometimes it signifies a brew’s exceptional taste, but usually it comes down to nothing more than limited availability. Many are the times when I open …

Both local eateries host separate Crawfish Boils this weekend complete with signature beers and music by Euphoria Brass Band.

Two 5th Avenue eateries are celebrating Mardi Gras a touch early with the time-honored Louisiana tradition of a crawfish boil. Paying homage to his Louisiana roots, Chef Nick Brune will cook up 500 pounds of crawfish to be served Saturday, …

At last! Red Rooster’s specialty: Toad in the Hole-in-the-Wall…

Yes! Just frog-marched myself back to Euclid after discovering Frank in his hole-in-the-wall Louisiana food kitchen last week. He's behind Market Creek Plaza in Lincoln Park... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/07/39738/ His business: Red Rooster Catfish, 404 Euclid Avenue, in the rear of the …

If in doubt, tortilla soup will fill you out

Downtown can be daunting if you just want a pick-me-up but don't want the big deal of a full-on meal. One of the coziest... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/07/39727/ ...places if you just want a quick bellyfiller is The Local (1065 Fourth Avenue, downtown, …

Pizza’s the focus, but its upstaged by unexpected stars

Italian in Little Italy—what a novel idea. Nowadays, with trendy ramen joints, second-story comfort food perches, and burger joints popping up and fitting in just fine along India Street, the arrival of traditional Italian is a bit less expected. At …

For forty years, people have been trekking here for the steak-avo-cheese sandwich

Oh man. This steak of Alfredo's is da bomb. Has avocado, pepper jack, and a raft of sautéed onions. I'm in lunch heaven... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/06/39673/ ...Got vinegar on the fries, and Lori pouring endless refills in my $2 cawfee, and even …

San Diego Public Market fundraiser realizes chef’s makeshift resto concepts

Last year, farmers market maven Catt White and business partner Dale Steele went the Kickstarter route in search of funds to bring a central, grand scale public market to San Diego. The campaign was successful, raising more than $146,000 in …

Point Loma coffee shop might be a little weird, but it has a certain kind of charm.

As my server battled with errant extension cords and flounced about the mostly empty dining room in a state of controlled chaos, I thought back to my last visit to Red’s and I realized something: the place is a certifiable …

Hidden bargain at the palace built for Richard Nixon

They say this Westgate Hotel building was built to accommodate Richard Nixon and a hoped-for Republican National Convention back in 1972. For sure, it shouts ’60s architecture, the New Rome, with all those 30-foot columns. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/06/39622/ What you don’t notice …

The old Brian's building is finally getting a makeover after a long dormancy.

I mourned the loss of Brian’s American Eatery like I’d experienced the passing of someone who was almost, but not quite, a friend. It was an abstract sadness, a recognition that a void opened in the world and an uneasy …

A call for an end to an ill-advised yet ubiquitous service question

Good service can turn even a bad meal into something with redeeming memory hooks, and can turn a great meal into the stuff of enduring personal legend. I often talk about how, for me, the food always comes first—and it …

Looking for best bang for Le Buck at Hillcrest's French wine bar

I’m not the first to burst into this cubby-hole of cool. Ian Pike gave a connoisseur’s four-course breakdown last year that says it all. That said, I came in here, spent a short time, and left wanting to love it …

The Vietnamese food place that's Actually on University Avenue

Finding an available parking meter in the heart of Hillcrest is like finding a stiletto in Ocean Beach. Fortunately, there's a parking lot few people know of beneath Saigon on Fifth, which is accessed off of Fifth Avenue (despite the …

Newly arrived veggy-vegan chain committed to speedy delivery

A new restaurant just opened in Encinitas and its staff is officially on the clock. I’m not talking about 15 minutes of fame or the brief window a debuting eatery has to make a success of itself before it fades …

Ocean Beach sushi bar is best when things get weird.

A Newport Street hotspot, the Joint is a weird place. It appears appropriately seedy and OBecian from the outside, promising the beachy awesomeness of a Hodad’s or South Beach, but the interior had an aura of North Park hip courtesy …

Endless array of tastes at Grandma Tofu & B.B.Q. on Convoy

I thought Tofu House was the only Korean boiling chili tofu pot joint in town, but this week, David proved me wrong by bringing me to Grandma's Tofu & BBQ. David had dined there a week before with our fellow …

It’s a hole in the wall, but the word is out: for catfish, frogs’ legs, call Frank

You’d never find Frank in a thousand years, if you didn’t know where to look. Like, get off the Orange Line trolley at Euclid Avenue, walk through the shopping center with all the domes and towers... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/02/39433/ ...turn right, cross …

California Kebab and Papa Luna's Empanadas pay homage to 49ers and Ravens

Two Pacific Beach eateries are celebrating the Super Bowl this Sunday with special dishes inspired by the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Mediterranean restaurant and bar California Kebab (4150 Mission Blvd.) will have a creamy San Francisco Bay …

Vista’s Latitude 33º goes ‘nuts over PB’s SD Tap Room

I love it when I effectively spot a trend. Granted, trends, by their very nature, are relatively easy to spot so long as you’re looking. I’m always paying attention to beer, especially the varieties produced in San Diego County. A …

Romeo and Julieta's Wine Cafe is open for business.

I Followed a tip out to Talmadge’s sleepy neighborhoods and the unlikely corner of Monroe and 47th. There, lo and behold, sat Romeo and Julieta’s Wine Cafe, new (and only) kid on the block for wine, espresso, and Polish-inflected tapas. …