Osprey nests facilitated by San Diego Unified Port District
Lucy D. Barker 6:13 p.m., May 23
Marine Room: The restaurant that time forgot
Fine dining tradition keeps on keeping on for the better part of a century in La Jolla
The Marine Room doesn't try to keep up with the new kids. This 70-year-old restaurant sees no need to trade ...
The Lobby: Happy hour in a museum?
This must be the most historic room downtown, and I’m munching $3 fish tacos in here.
You kinda hesitate before you come in here. The building’s this big-arched monumental pile of stone with brass historic plaques, ...
The Rocking Tanuki
Mission Valley Japanese restaurant has a cute name, but it's no hidden gem.
I wanted to go to the Rocking Tanuki (6110 Friars Road, 619-294-4404) because I liked the name. “Tanuki” means the ...
Baja nights: At Los Cristales you eat while you're riding the wave
The restaurant on the rock serves the rich, the famous, and Ed
I happened on this burger totally accidentally. Never meant to come here. Had never heard if it. I’m way down ...
Box'd
It's a box! With waffles!
Box’d (430 Carlsbad Village Drive, 442-333-9071) is just that, a box. Actually, it’s more of a shipping crate, cut open ...
In the Hopper, Part 2: The Next Best Things
More new local craft breweries I’m excited about
Recent conversations with fellow craft beer fans recently got me to thinking about which of the 30-plus work-in-progress San Diego ...
Swordfish at a gas station? El Venado, Chula Vista
Down by the Otay river, swordfish plays with Ed’s taste buds
I mean, come on. It’s a gas station. So how come I’m eating the most scrumptious swordfish taco I can ...
Beer of the Week: Aleman/Two Brothers/Stone DayMan Coffee IPA
Stone’s first collaboration of 2013 yields bizarre breed of IPA
From 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, I can be found at a desk within the headquarters facility of ...
One piece at a time at Sushi Tadokoro
Ordering Edo-style sushi in an Old Town mini-mart at $4/bite is a beautiful thing.
Few would think, “I’ll head down to Old Town and poke around in mini-malls between liquor stores and hair salons. ...
Intergalactic Brewing invading Miramar
New nanobrewery set to blast off this spring
When Arizona State collegian Alex Van Horne was discovering craft beer at Tempe’s Four Peaks Brewery, he had no idea ...
Monkey see, monkey brew: Center City’s Monkey Paw
For Guinness’ sake: Straight burger and no monkey business!
Yeah yeah yeah. It was the Jewel Box and now it’s Monkey Paw. Apart from that, same crowd, same sunset ...
Las Morelianas Carnitas Estilo Michoacan
Michoacan-style carnitas in City Heights
Las Morelianas (3645 University Avenue, 619-521-2891) is just into City Heights, but it feels much more removed than that. Everything ...
Beer of the Week: The Lost Abbey Sede Vacante
Papal Conclave inspires San Marcos breweries’ strongest beer to-date
March Madness is in full swing, but it’s a different kind of third month tumult that consumed the staff at ...
Little cookies, long story at El Cuervo
Hillcrest taco shop serves shortbread cookies with history baked in.
I don’t usually go to El Cuervo (110 West Washington Street, Hillcrest, 619-295-9713) because it’s very average and on the ...
Snooze you can use: Ping Pong tonight at Snooze, Hillcrest!
The breakfast eatery is staging its 2nd annual ping pong face-off. No food, plenty of booze
Hot news tonite! 5:00 p.m. [Friday 3/22] at Snooze, the pretty-new Hillcrest breakfast place (3940 5th Avenue, Hillcrest, 619-500-3344)... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/22/42388/ ...
Phuong Trang
Inexpensive Vietnamese family-style dining in Kearny Mesa.
Following a tip from a friend of mine (he’s a scientist!), I took a little group up to Kearny Mesa ...
In the Hopper, Part 1: The Top Five
The upcoming local breweries I'm most excited about
With over 30 brewing companies opening their doors or constructing new locations, there's a lot to look forward to in ...
Golden Hill’s Kafe Sobaka: What size borscht? Communist or Socialist?
Mark Djugashvili’s latest Georgian eatery has a funny take on East Meets West.
The happy hour deals (5-7pm daily) at Mark Djugashvili’s latest Georgian eatery, Kafe Sobaka (2469 Broadway, Golden Hill, 619-297-4007) are ...
Coronado: Healthy burgers at the hospital?
Well, there is plenty of lettuce...
On the island a lot recently. Carla’s seeing somebody from her childhood who's been in hospital here a couple of ...
Cauliflower ceviche at the Vegetarian Cuisine & Arts Festival in Tijuana
The second bi-annual veggie fest at Margarita's Village offered clever Baja Med cuisine
If the words “Tijuana vegetarian food festival” evoke images in your mind of, at worst, rows of bean and cheese ...
Ignoring family ties at Monello
Taking the sister act next door to Little Italy's Bencotto
When an eatery is a sister operation to another restaurant, it’s hard not to associate it with its sibling. That’s ...
Dinner at Heat
Working through a very full meal from the new Hillcrest restaurant.
Having enjoyed the happy hour menu enormously, I vowed to return to Heat Bar and Kitchen for a full meal. ...
Last call for Mission Valley Craft Beer & Food Festival
Sunday's MVCBF will be the last, but The Handlery's not done with beer
It’s the end of an era, albeit a relatively short era. After hosting the Mission Valley Craft Beer & Food ...
East Village: Pakistani food has landed!
Chicken tikka masala competes with pizza at 10th and Broadway
The floor tiles at the entrance read “Broadway Linoleum and Carpet Co.” That must have been a long time ago. ...
Tartine and the two coffee cakes
Remembering the weirdest fight over food I've ever had at a most precious Coronado cafe.
My roommate and I once got into an epic fight over coffee cake. I am not kidding. His mom sent ...
Coronado: Red corned beef, green beer
Crazy St. Paddy's day at McP's, but the Irish food's still good, and it's always on the menu
Had to stop at McP’s Irish Pub (1107 Orange Avenue, Coronado, 619-435-5280), just to check out the party going on, ...
Huevos de toro at Café Europa downtown: Thanks for the tip!
Ed eats meatballs, drinks Chianti for $10.15 -tip included
Aah. Flamenco guitar. Guy’s playing it just inside the door of the Gran Tapa. This time I don’t just hang ...
Oani shoring up The Shores
Former Roy's La Jolla chef fills clogs at The Shores
Yesterday, I shared the news that gastronome Amy DiBiase is heading back to Paradise Point Resort & Spa, where she ...
Beer of the Week: Gordon Biersch Vienna Ale
San Diego's number one lager guy heads down the ale trail
The name Gordon Biersch doesn’t get much play among San Diego craft beer fans. To them, the central San Diego ...
Duck Dive and the duck fries
Fries so good they make strangers friendly at a Pacific Beach bar.
I’m sure I saw an advertisement for Duck Dive somewhere, in a circular or someplace like that. “Home of the ...
A return to Paradise for DiBiase
The Shores chef sets sail for familiar digs at Paradise Point
She’s been out of the spotlight since her 2011 move to The Shores Restaurant at the La Jolla Beach & ...
Green Flash taking SoCal brews to the other coast
Mira Mesa brewing company opening second brewery in Virginia
I first heard about it last year from a brewing industry insider whose contractor filled him in. Green Flash Brewing ...
California Kebab announces SDSU location closure
Mediterranean restaurant focuses on newer beer garden & eatery in Pacific Beach
California Kebab announced yesterday that they have closed their location next to San Diego State University in order to focus ...
Breakfast at El Borrego
City Heights Mexican eatery may be best known for barbecued lamb, but don't overlook the early bird specials.
El Borrego has been garnering praise over its lamb barbacoa for years. It’s not famous for breakfast. Nevertheless, as I ...
Mad Lab feeling perfectly at home
San Diego’s southernmost brewery adding home brew supply store
It wasn’t a year ago that Mike McFarland was a homebrewer. Now, the founder, owner, and brewer behind Mad Lab ...
Zia: Pizza is a wrap unrolled
Son of an Afghan immigrant creates fusion pizzas: Taste the old country in his toppings
“How’s your dad?” I’m asking Khaled Waleh. Last year his dad Zia decided to return to his farm in Afghanistan ...
Gaslamp: Desperation eats at Ciné Café
When all else is closing down, you can rely on Haitham
The chairs are going up all down Fifth Avenue. I’m in the bowels of the Gaslamp. It’s late. Like, okay, ...
More Bang for Your Buck on International Restaurant Row
Wine Vault & Bistro Offers a Deal You Shouldn't Refuse at the Foot of Mission Hills
It seems David and I only get to Wine Vault & Bistro when our friends Hannah and Allard invite us, ...
Calculated first steps for Stumblefoot
One year and double the space for young San Marcos brewery
San Marcos’ lofty place in San Diego’s craft brewing history is firmly cemented. It was home to Stone Brewing Co.’s ...
Party 'til your belly aches at Alchemy's 4th Anniversary Bash
For a small fee, Alchemy promises booze, photos, music and a lot of food at their birthday party on Thursday.
Since opening in 2009, Alchemy has made sure their food could be described by those delicious buzzwords – sustainable, free-range, ...
Swoon is brilliant
At the new dessert bar in North Park, the pastry cooks are doing some smart things with sweets.
Where once stood Caffe Carpe Diem (an ill-fated coffee shop that closed several outlets across town at once), now we ...
Normal Heights: Chicken, wine, custody battles
At Proprietor’s Reserve, Ed finds wine, HH deals and a warning: Don't bring your ex. It's too small for hissy negotiations
No, not talking about me. Carla and I are fine. And when she has an issue, an entire school cafeteria ...
Three-Way Dinners' inaugural meal at Cusp
The first of three dinners from this new chef series has the head chefs from Jsix, Cusp, and Saltbox cooking together.
Peas are often that vegetable you corral to the side of your plate, walling it in by mashed potatoes so ...
Prodigy-to-protégé hand-off at San Diego Brewing Co.
A changing of the brewhouse guard for long-time local brewing bastion
Visiting San Diego Brewing Company (10450 Friars road, Mission Valley) in the late nineties was my first experience tasting beer ...
Afternoons at Brooklyn Girl
The popular, Mission Hills spot has a quieter, more reserved lunch scene.
Partly because everybody’s been charmed by her cheeky, chic-y design and partly because the food is pretty good and she ...
Sustainable Seafood Week swims into San Diego; swims out March 15
Over 75 regional restaurants offering sustainable seafood options during week-long event to benefit San Diego Oceans Foundation.
Everyone's gotta eat but finding eco-friendly choices, especially when it comes to seafood, can sometimes prove difficult. Non-profit ocean stewardship ...
Allen's Alley Cafe
Vista breakfast spot has longevity and charm to spare.
No restaurant in Vista has been open longer than Allen’s Alley Cafe. In the restaurant world, sixty years is practically ...
Belching Beaver migrating south
Belching Beaver Brewery using tasting rooms, bottles to reach consumers
Despite my best efforts to be clear in my communications, the messages in my articles get misconstrued from time to ...
PB: Drink your greens!
Greenfix is the pause for your pores at all the farmers' markets
“Filler up.” Matt plonks his growler on the counter. Phil grabs it, goes back to the tap, and starts pouring ...
Taking salt and pepper off The Counter
Fried avocado and olive spread are fun, but salt and pepper are burger essentials
I just have to ask: what’s the deal with burgers these days? In a day and age where the “gourmet” ...
Checking out the Heights Tavern
Normal Heights gets its very own giant sports bar/nightclub.
Man, I am hitting all the spots right now! I had to poke my head inside the new Heights Tavern ...
Fiji Yogurt and Ferran Adria
Finding molecular gastronomy at a Hillcrest fro-yo parlor.
I remember watching videos of Ferran Adria explaining spherification and how elBulli’s kitchen could make any kind of liquid into ...
Just for the halibut: Chip's Beach Eatz makes PB fish delish
Locally sourced, locally sauced! This halibut was trawled 100 yards offshore. Now Chip works his saucy magic
You know those trawlers you see drifting up and down off the coast, from IB to La Jolla? They’re catching ...
First look at Great Maple
Hillcrest's new eatery has red light specials and a sprawling menu, but does it work?
I had to be the first to eat at Great Maple because there is no restaurant in San Diego that’s ...
Eureka! I've found a Grade F veggie burger!
A disappointing experience at UTC’s posh new burger and beverage den
Typically, I plan out where I’m going to eat and what I’m going to write about in advance, but every ...
Mission Beach’s Better Buzz: But from oatmeal?
While Mad Scientists from The Lab make your coffee, ask about their jar of oatmeal.
Huh. Wandering up Mission Boulevard when I pass by a bunch of laptoppers sitting right next to me at a ...
Amaya's chance to shine in The Jewel
The Grand Del Mar’s hidden gem stepping out of Addison’s shadow
Despite being sequestered far beyond the guarded gates of luxury property, The Grand Del Mar, any local foodie worth their ...
Shattered prejudices against OB Noodle House
This is me admitting to being wrong about a restaurant based solely on not wanting to believe the hype. I stand corrected.
Sometimes, I like to think that I know better than everybody else. Sometimes, I do. Sometimes, as with the OB ...
Reading the coffee grounds: Breakfast in Mission Beach
Olive Café has all-day breakfasts, and Turkish coffee, so you can read your future…
I’m looking deep into my Turkish coffee cup. The grounds have about three bumps up the left side, and a ...
A Late Saturday Afternoon Lunch at Mikko in Carlsbad
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/05/41168/ Mikko, an “authentic sushi and Japanese cuisine” restaurant, sits just off the 5-freeway, at Carlsbad Village Drive (Elm Avenue ...
Sloppy's Burritos opens in Hillcrest
The plaza at Fourth and University is exploding with new restaurants (sorry, Subway!) and the newest one is an alternative burrito place.
When I was eating at that new pizza place in Hillcrest, workers were putting the finishing touches on yet another ...
Beers of the Week: Churchill's Pub's Renaissance Brews
North County pub puts on six custom-made, high quality craft beers
Over the past two months, I’ve written a lot about San Diego breweries creating beers for local bars and restaurants. ...
Eat hearty, eat arty: gyros hit Coronado
Salah learned his art in Baghdad and Damascus. Check it out as you chomp cheap
Salah Jamel learned his art in Baghdad and Damascus. Now he’s bringing it to life in Coronado. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/04/41086/ I come ...
International Women's Day
Festa Della Donna at Cucina Urbana in Bankers Hill
First, a bit of history. It was in 1945 that the Union of Italian Women declared March 8 as Festa ...
9 + 2 + 6 = Yum!
PB’s Table 926 solves elusive equation for producing a complete restaurant
I’ve been writing so much about our vibrant craft beer scene of late that it’s been awhile since I’ve let ...
Bailiwick Brunch
Downtown San Diego's new hot spot is long on booze and short on food.
I’d stopped by Bailiwick--a new cocktail bar downtown at 756 5th Avenue--a while ago and had a good experience with ...
Amplified Ale Works announce Sunday beer & bacon brunch
Pacific Beach brewery at California Kebab and Beer Garden pairs farm-to-table meal with flight of beer.
Since opening shop in November at California Kebab and Beer Garden (4150 Mission Boulevard #208 - Pacific Beach), Amplified Ale ...
Animalized! First Bar Downtown delivers $1 IPAs, sensational sprouts
Happy hour deals in the finest bar you’ve never heard of.
I thought I knew downtown. But here I am walking up First Avenue from Broadway, heading past the Bristol Hotel ...
Beer of the Week: Karl Strauss 24th Anniversary Flanders-Style Ale
Uncle Karl celebrates the big two-four with a celebratory sour
As we age, we start to pay more attention to time…or at least the passage of it. Such is the ...
Whole horse mackerel, you say?
Seeking conciliatory sushi in Liberty Station, I found some true delights at Sushi Mura.
After my trip to AI Sushi, which was more disappointing than thrilling, I followed a tip from a reader (thanks, ...
