Restaurants
“Okay, Goldilocks. Have a nice hair day.” That’s me to Carla. It’s my day off. We’re in the Crown City — Coronado — for her date with Diane, “the greatest stylist in the universe.” “Hair …
On June 4, I awoke to an otherwise awesome Saturday, fired up the ol’ email, and clicked open a message from one of San Diego’s finest local chefs. What I saw horrified me. One of …
"Everything here is imported,” Kaitlyn says. “Everything?” I ask. “Everything, except for Ferrila and me.” Ferrila, the other barista, gives a little wave from the strangest espresso machine you ever did see. It’s like a …
It’s the kid. Kole. Three years old with a giant cheeseburger in his mitts. Tries to take a giant bite. Gets ketchup and mayo all over his nose and cheeks. Then looks up to his …
Wine Vault and Bistro is one door south of Saffron, up three short levels of stairs. It opened in 2005, mainly as a wine shop, with tastings of wine and cheese. Then it expanded into …
Two wooden, life-size vaqueros glare out at you from behind their giant cigars. They may be the last evidence that this used to be a curio store, here at the bottom of Avenida Revolución in …
Coop’s is the new barbecue with the buzz. Since opening last October, it’s already garnered one major huzzah (Candice Woo in San Diego Magazine’s “best restaurants” issue for best barbecue). On Yelp, it’s incited an …
They sit in a row: Bad Boy, Duet, Odin’s Raven. We’re talking bottles. Beer. Alpine beer. Yum. “You first,” says Bro Bill. He’s Carla’s brother. “Ladies first,” I say, looking at Marjorie. She’s Bill’s glamorous …
On bright, sunny, San Diego days, I often crave a crisp, Ensenada-style fish taco. With apologies to Ralph Rubio — and the popular bar-and-grill that tops their fish tacos with a concoction that includes ranch …
“Got three minutes?” Mickey Gonzalez is lookin’ at me, and you just know he’s from back East ’cause he speaks in that big “You talkin’ to me?” voice. “I’ve got a fresh one in the …
What’s a Louisiana restaurant doing in a Ramada in a sterile business district near Montgomery Field? Well, it’s making a lot of pilots happy, and me, too. With Magnolia gone and Bud’s moved up to …
I am a Car3 — a Card Carrying Carnivore! I love the supple, greasy squish of tender, gastronomically compromised muscle tissue yielding beneath my molars. I enjoy the tart, grassy zing of goats’-milk chèvre, and …
Only rich people and felons live behind walls, right? Society’s afraid of felons, and rich people are afraid of society. So, back to Medieval days! Walled cities! Uh, except now we call them gated communities. …
Picking an Ethiopian restaurant presents a draconian choice: you can head for one of the cramped little places in City Heights (Asmara and Red Sea) for authenticity or choose more spacious places (Muzita or the …
If you’re a squirrel reading this, I have a great restaurant for you: Brent Fogwell’s six-acre macadamia tree farm in Spring Valley. He just lets the nuts drop from his 300 trees. But better hurry. …