Playing catch-up
Three new releases that didn't make deadline
Scott Marks noon, Jan. 18
Feast! Food & Drink Reviews
The one place to try choclo
A culinary tour of South America, without leaving Old Town
Fun fact: the State Department has still been issuing passports during the federal government’s partial shutdown. For this, I am grateful. My renewed documents arrived this week, prompting the return of a favorite hobby: studying ...
The pleasure of food from fingers to mouth
“I drive ten miles every day, just to get this coffee.”
So what is the difference between Ethiopian and Somali food? Last week, when my friend Annie and I were in Addis, a newish Ethiopian eatery on El Cajon Boulevard, two ladies came to eat at ...
A choreographed sushi feast
All omakase, all the time at Hidden Fish
Few meals will ever top the experience of going omakase at a top tier sushi bar. By literal translation, omakase implores the diner to “trust the chef,” and there’s rarely a better argument for doing ...
A guilty trip to Wingstop
Buffalo-style plus cajun, lemon and pepper, garlic parmesan, and Korean
I admit it: I love buffalo-style chicken strips, but not the wings so much — too much work getting out all the meat. I’ve previously satisfied my jones at Epic Wings and Things, a locally-based, ...
That vacation craving
A search for shredded beef leads to great bread
Every time on of my friends travels to Cuba, I start craving the stewed beef dish, ropa vieja. The pictures they share on Facebook never have anything to do with food: it's mostly cars, beaches, ...
No knives or forks
Why not switch Irish stew to Ethiopian stew?
Cold night. I’m walking down El Cajon Boulevard, fully intending to cut north and head for Rosie O’Grady’s pub on Adams Avenue for a solid Irish stew. What’s making me hesitate is this Ethiopian place ...
That's not the fish taco you're looking for
Don't believe everything you read in a restaurant window
Some places are just doomed to fail. Specifically this one place in East Village, right across the street from Petco Park. It seems like every time I walk by, there's a new restaurant at 317 ...
Regular size front door
Sandwich shop's lateral move
I was driving past Big Front Door the other day when it hit me: that's not where Big Front Door should be. But it's really close. Two months ago, the six-year-old sandwich shop moved one ...
Guisados and goat birria soup
The best way to get warm during San Diego's winter
No offense to all the people in Arizona who got snowed on, but where it really got cold this week was San Diego. It’s been the kind of Southern California winter where your nose is ...
A pizza my heart
Surf Rider Pizza makes a vegetarian pizza even meat eaters crave
I’m in a mixed marriage — my wife is a vegetarian and I eat meat. Usually, we are able to deal with our differences, but the one time when it does come up is when ...
Finally, something great out of D.C.
Buzzed about fast casual joint marries Chinese and Korean food in Encinitas
A portmanteau is a new word created from combining parts of two separate words, the way we get brunch from mashing together breakfast and lunch. We use some portmanteaus without realizing it, such as bodacious ...
Kumeyaay, cawfee, and candy canes
Coming down from the mountain and hitting The Trails
Just came off the mountain. Been dreaming of sitting down, taking a load off, slurping the first gulp of cawfee. Got a mountainous appetite. On the other hand, this morning has been totally exhilarating, climbing ...
Grilled cheese science
To our credit or to our chagrin, San Diego has been the breeding ground for at least a couple of successful fast food chains: most notably Jack in the Box and Rubio’s Coastal Grill. Not ...
The value of prime tacos
Baja inspired eatery makes a case for better Mexican food
The value of Mexican food in San Diego keeps rising. I don’t mean the cost, because the costs at all our restaurants have been going up alongside property values, energy costs, and minimum wage hikes ...
Can’t stay mad at soup dumplings
How to score reservations to San Diego’s best new mall restaurant
Two years ago, we were driving through a dark evening storm, heading into the Westfield UTC with seats reserved for a new Star Wars movie at the Arclight Cinema. Entrance to the mall parking lot ...
