Top 13 food/drink stories of 2013

1 ) Early Look: Ballast Point in Little Italy — Bursting-at-the-seams company’s new brewery-restaurant

2 ) URBN and co. taking over El Cajon Brewing Co. — East County brewpub reopening under coal-fired pizza giant and Stone chef

3 ) Alpine to brew beers at Green Flash’s facility — Mira Mesa brewery lending helping hand to local contemporaries

4) Early Look: Bagby Beer Co — A photo tour of San Diego's most promising upcoming beer project

5) Home Brew Mart to debut The Homework Series — Ballast Point taps its homebrewing component for a new line of suds

6 ) ALERT: Wooden Nickel — Identity thief impersonating local publican, Tom Nickel

7 ) Long Line, Short Menu at Las Cuatro Milpas — people wait over an hour for rolled tacos served by the third generation of owners of this establishment.

8 ) Spring Valley is the new North Park — The Bancroft opened in the site of the defunct dive Fannie’s, and the Spring Valley spot is now a punk and hardcore haven.

9 ) Truth in beer reporting and other novel concepts — Insights on craft beer and beer writing from Beer-Con 2013

10) Tips, lies, and the Linkery — A response to Slate's publication of an article by former Linkery owner Jay Porter

11 ) Food Garden cultivates Baja Med cuisine — New food court in Tijuana hand-picks vendors to help their businesses grow

12 ) Release the Kraken! — Seafood-sandwich dream in Barrio Logan

13 ) In the Hopper, Part 1: the Top 5 — the San Diego sudscape