Video:Craft House Fashion Valley Adobe Flash player 9 is required to view this video The first time I encountered its massive burgers, the Monster Crafts food truck was parked outside a brewery. A short while …
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Stories by Ian Anderson
Once, as I strolled Old Town Temecula, pleasing coffee aromas lured me to a storefront I hadn’t expected: that of a family-run Cuban restaurant. Should I go in? I was supposed to be in the …
As of this month, we can find the word smashburger in the dictionary, courtesy of a new edition of Mirriam-Webster that defines it as, “A hamburger patty that is pressed thin onto a heated pan or …
No drive-through in my drivewayThe fast-food vendor that owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell is concocting a new recipe for San Diego's Golden Hill community. Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. proposes to rebuild …
Sometimes, the best things come about by accident. That’s how it was with my pick for San Diego’s best Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm box, offered with free home delivery by Yasukochi Family Farms. The …
“What kind of food?” ask my parents, as we approach the new Bankers Hill restaurant, Books & Records. The question forces me to stop a moment.“I should probably know the answer to that,” answers the …
If you’ve never noticed how closely Tibetan prayer flags can resemble papel picado, take a walk around Old Town’s San Diego Avenue. The varicolored rows of paper squares you’ll see strung up around Mexican restaurants …
“I’m struggling to remember what it looked like before.”We’ve come to see what’s been made of the space formerly known as the Red Fox Room. Before it moved into a standalone location across the street, …
Eleven years ago, an Associated Press story kicked off global news coverage declaring a “Burger boom in Baghdad.” The story documented a growing popularity of American fast foods in post-war Iraq, including fried chicken and …
Right up to the moment I park, I’m not sure which of South Oceanside’s new, Tex-inflected restaurants I’m going to try. But then, I spot them, just across from one another on Vista Way, where …
Considering the array of idiosyncratic treats on the menu of Hatsuzakura, I’ve ordered the boring stuff.PlaceHatsuzakura2123 Adams Ave., San DiegoThis occurs to me as I watch a batch of emerald-green matcha tea being hand-whisked to …
Logan Avenue didn’t seem to be lacking for taco shops, but then along comes Fish Guts anyway. The recent addition to Chicano Park’s casual restaurant row may bear a dubious name, but there’s no questioning …
“I’m glad you’re here now.”That’s the first thing out of the mouth of a burger fan who works in Kearny Mesa, when he reaches the counter of the new Convoy Street location of North Park …
When I woke up, I didn’t know this would be the day I would try a date shake. Otherwise, I might have marked the occasion on my calendar. If not for the drink itself, then …
Into Rancho Peñasquitos I drove, for only the second time ever. There might as well be an ocean between us. I was following the trail of a farmers market vendor that has made the move …
It has been ten years since a food truck hit the road with a small yet memorable menu of made-from-scratch sausages. In the time since, Mastiff Sausage Company has gone on quite a roll (pun …
At some point, we had to stop talking about ramen. I mean, we’re not that many years removed from the days San Diego could count its number of reputable ramen shops on one hand. Then …
There are quite a few reasons to visit the new location of Havana Grill, but two features in particular convinced my wife to join me for lunch. Bear in mind, she’s tagged along on enough …
This has to be the most salad I’ve ever eaten at a mall. I’ve walked a couple circuits around the food court of Plaza Bonita, the big shopping center at the border of Chula Vista …
What’s something they eat for breakfast in Uganda? Offhand, I couldn’t have told you. Google cites a cooked banana dish called katogo, while the Peace Corps web site claims it’s typically porridge. Were I to …
Late night rhymes at Tony Pepperoni It was going on 10 pm, and I found myself hungry in the thick of North County suburbia. Which is to say, my expectations were not high. A precursory …
At first, $12 seems steep for a hand roll. Even at bona fide sushi restaurants, I’m used to paying somewhere in the order of 5 to 7 bucks. Conversely, this temaki is being served out …
Earlier this year, life circumstances led me to untie my bib, close the laptop, and take a break from scouting restaurants for Feast. I ate well at home, thanks principally to my wife’s skillful cooking, …
Are the volunteers getting hosed? Nicio Aguilera is blunt: “Nobody up here trusts the county. We don’t trust them, we don’t like them.” Aguilera, who spent 15 years fighting fires in Philadelphia and another 15 …
As aviation-gas lead drops over Serra Mesa... Usually when people complain about small regional airports, the issue is noise. But Serra Mesa resident Gary Keller is worried about lead poisoning, and a California health coalition …
As a food writer, I’ve long thought my job was safe from the impending robot takeover. Modern-day robots may enjoy such activities as performing music, skateboarding, and playing board games, and it’s particularly vexing to …
“Hamburguesas de verdad,” reads the green neon sign behind the counter of The Food Box: “real hamburgers.” Not a lot of American restaurants would make so bold a declaration in Spanish, but here in San …
You’ll need to be familiar with at least two types of Mediterranean cooking appliances to understand what’s happening at FurnSaj Bakery & Restaurant. A furn may be thought of as similar to a clay pizza …
A Valentine’s Day line formed almost the minute the shop opened for business. Probably, most people who wanted to mark the occasion with a box of chocolates had bought one days ago. Those of us …
Finally, I caught up to Lia’s Lumpia. As a food truck, it’s repeatedly eluded me: starting service after I’d left a food truck park, or ending service before I showed up at a brewery where …
“But have you been to The Yogurt Mill?” My wife noticed that I’ve recently spent more time writing about food in her hometown, El Cajon. However, as I’ve mainly focused on skewered and rotisserie meats, …
Spring Valley is the new North Park About three months ago, the bar donned a large sign reading “The Bancroft” next to Fannie’s old marquee, which now entreats — perhaps tongue-in-cheek — “I assure you …
It’s no secret that our region’s best Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food is most often found in El Cajon. Though, for a while, some of it was found in the Gaslamp. For a few years, …
This menu can’t be pinned down. I see both pasta and chow mein, kabobs and wings, tacos and “artisan pizza.” But mostly, there’s Indian food. A drink at the bar might shed some light on …
There always seems to be something new at Liberty Public Market. Of the 35 vendors currently doing business in the Liberty Station food hall, only eight remain from its original, 2016 lineup. Like so many …
While noodles, dumplings, and other savory fare draw the most attention to the Convoy District, you could practically fill a guidebook to the neighborhood based solely on singular Asian dessert restaurants. I’ll have to circle …
Call it a case of mistaken identity, but I’ve been sleeping on Tahini. A byproduct of writing about food week after week is that my brain has become a de facto restaurant map, where any …
At first glance, the arrival of La Central Birrieria & Menuderia doesn’t seem momentous. Birria, after all, has spent the past few years becoming the most talked about Mexican meat dish on the planet. We’ve …
Mission Trails is the sort of place that gets a lot of January action, largely from people who resolve to spend more time outdoors and exercising in the new year. I might have fallen into …
Bay Park remains a mere neighborhood Bay Park was around long before there was any movement in Clairemont. Bay Park has history going back to 1877. Clairemont wasn't developed until the 1950s. Ocean Beach lives …
People get attached to their favorite dim sum. That’s certainly one reason many San Diegans who seek out the dim sum experience are happy to drive to the Convoy District to seek out their favorite. …
Facing the tumult of school kids on break for the holidays, I had an ace up my sleeve this year: Belgian chocolate. More than that, thanks to the recent arrival of the growing Southern California …
Just about every sushi joint makes room on its menu for temaki, better known as hand rolls. However, there is a point to going to a dedicated hand roll bar. While a conventional sushi restaurant …
“Family owned and operated since 1986,” it says on the hard-cover menu. Actually, this place, Carnitas Uruapan Family Restaurant, opened little more than a year ago, on that section of El Cajon Boulevard that sits …
Decisions do not come easy inside National City’s Market on 8th. A year since the food hall opened, its vendors have proven themselves masters of temptation. Would you rather indulge in the rich pork bone …
San Diego appears to be experiencing a golden age of baked goods. At least, I’ve had trouble keeping up with all the capable bakeries doing business around the county. Every other week seems to find …
Over the top burgers probably make up the biggest draw to Funky Fries & Burgers. A bacon cheeseburger topped with mac n cheese ($13.50) first lured me in, when I was specifically searching for out …
There’s a term particular to The Philippines, bayanihan, which describes the spirit of a community working together for the common good. It springs from a centuries old practice of an entire village showing up to …
This sandwich is almost making me wish I’d pursued a career in life sciences. If I had, then perhaps I’d be working in this niche bio campus on Science Park Road, barely a mile from …
If we were going to drive 50 miles, at bare minimum I wanted to find a decent meal at the other side. I don’t feel like that was too demanding — there didn’t need to …