Staff Blog Entries

Limone: San Diego's Newest Pop-Up

After my fun-times at Cellar Door, I was eager to try the newest underground restaurant that popped up on my foodar: Limone. Limone's chef, Accursio Lota, is originally from Sicily, but, as with Logan of ...

Girls at Gossip Grill

Hillcrest can sometimes seem like a Boys Town -- if my many friends are any indication, men of the LGBT variety are more likely to party and frequent clubs, whereas the ladies enjoy holing up ...

Lunch at Bangkok West

I'd heard the name, Bangkok West, from my father, usually in passing, as in, "I had lunch at" or "I'm having dinner at Bangkok West." A creature of habit, when Dad finds something he likes, ...

Spooning at Underbelly

In October, David and I traveled to Japan on an epic quest to sample ramen made by the “Tokyo Ramen Gods” he’d read about in Lucky Peach, David Chang’s (of New York’s Momofuku Noodle Bar ...

Carnitas' Snack Shack

The long-awaited (why does opening a business take so much time?) pork love-child of Hanis Cavin and Sara Stroud, Carnitas' Snack Shack, has finally opened. Here's the low-down -- Hanis was the head chef at ...

French-ish

Cafe Bleu has moved to Mission Hills, to a location just a hop, skip, and a jump away from it's old spot on University Avenue. Now on Washington Street over by the Red Door (it's ...

Best Ramen in San Diego?

On my "prep for Tokyo" tour of Japanese fare in San Diego, I hit up one of my favorites, Tajima Japanese Noodle House. Because I'm going to be on a ramen quest while in Japan, ...

Yu Me Ya!

The word yumeya means "house of dreams" in Japanese, and that is what one family created in Encinitas, with Yu Me Ya Sake House, about six years ago. More recently, the family ("Dad, Mom, and ...

Brazen BBQ Is Smoke-a-licious

After driving by to check out the extensive renovations being done on the restaurant space on the corner of Fifth and Washington in Hillcrest and then driving by and catching whiffs of smoked meat, I ...

Breakfast at the Range

It's only been open for around six weeks, but already I can tell that the Range Kitchen & Bar in Hillcrest is going to break the curse of that location it's in. You know, the ...

Special Screening of Urbanized

Tomorrow night, director Gary Hustwit (Helvetica, Objectified) will screen his documentary film, Urbanized at USD's Peace & Justice Theatre. The event, presented in association with the San Diego Architectural Foundation, Neat, Neat, Neat, and Set ...

Molecular Gastronomy at... Harney Sushi?

When I signed up for a seat at Harney Sushi's new, monthly Nook Dining event, I was expecting an evening of sushi. Despite knowing about the small sushi spot in Old Town for years, I'd ...

New Flavors at Cucina Urbana

I don't know how this happens, but I always seem to forget it's Restaurant Week (how often is this happening these days, anyway?) when I stumble into one of my haunts, which I always seem ...

C-Level Lounging

Too late for breakfast, but not quite lunch on my birthday this year, which fell on a Saturday, I sought out relaxation on the water at C-Level Lounge. Because I hadn't had my coffee, but ...

Underground Dining

You hear about pop-up restaurants and underground dining experiences the way you hear about anything worthy of checking out -- word of mouth. That's how I learned about Cellar Door, an "underground pop-up restaurant in ...

El Zarape Is No El Zarape

The original El Zarape on Park Boulevard is one of my favorite California-Mexican restaurants. From the barbecue chicken burrito to the carnitas plate, everything I've tasted there has been brimming with flavor, and it's all ...

Serious Breakfast

I knew the Perry's Cafe had been around forever (25 years), and I'd heard about the fire, accidentally ignited by grease towels in the kitchen in December, 2009. I'd heard it had reopened in April ...

Don't Judge a Restaurant by Its Cover

My father has been trying for years to get me to lunch with him at Yoshino's, a Japanese joint located in the basement of Mission Hills. Because my father is not exactly what I'd call ...

Pub Brunch

Okay, so I know I gave them flack for their Ironic Independence Day Celebration, but ever since I saw that brunch sign, I've been curious to learn what a fish & chips & beer joint ...

Spicy Goodness

Don't let the "tofu" part of Tofu House fool you: this always-hopping restaurant on Convoy serves plenty of meat, much of it still sizzling on a hot plate when it lands on your table. In ...

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