Restaurants
Craft and Commerce occupies the spot in Little Italy where a wannabe trendy restaurant named Illume briefly bloomed and died, trying to be a magnet for the hip young crowd moving into the nearby condos. …
Look at the skyline: this could be the land of Ali Baba. Blue domes, red towers, gold domes. Right now, evening time, even the Food 4 Less looks muy romantica. Or, you could be thinking: …
Back in the Neolithic Era, the year my in-laws were coming for Thanksgiving dinner, I was so nervous that when the doorbell rang, I dropped a raw egg on the kitchen floor. Today we have …
Aha... There he is. Allen and his ’88 Chevy lunch-truck, parked here on Carroll Centre Road. It’s Monday evening, about dusk. Takes a bit of street-scanning after the 210 bus leaves me. Then I see …
Anybody heard of Castle Park? I sure hadn’t. Everybody except Thomas Bros. calls this part of town southern Chula Vista. Whatever, Castle Park’s where I am, hoofing it up Third Avenue at around eight at …
My first meal at Izakaya Sakura was an especially joyous occasion. Not only did I get to enjoy sharing bites with Candice Woo (former CityBeat food critic who just replaced David Nelson at San Diego …
“Black Magic” cooking? Often! Maria Maria is a small but growing chain co-owned by musician Carlos Santana along with a larger restaurant company (which also owns Bing Crosby in Fashion Valley). The menus are designed …
A rabbit? In Little Italy? Can’t believe my eyes. But there he is, hopping up from the trolley tracks and into the bushes of one of those mega-condos near Date Street. This close to downtown? …
A reader recently asked whose food-writing I enjoy. Truth is, after so many hours of scribbling food prose, I’m totally full — when I hit the pillow I want mainly mysteries — Andy Dalziel, Inspector …
You can try to love this part of town, but it’s hard. I’m at First and Ash. Land of monthly-stay hotels and parking lots. Just a stone’s throw from City Hall and its concourse, the …
Searsucker’s chef Brian Malarkey became a celeb when he got to the finals on one of those TV chef contests. He didn’t win, but his roguish style and outgoing personality made him famous. At the …
"Are you seeing another woman?” It’s Carla, on the cell. “Sweetheart, corazón, what da heck makes you ask that? Seriously.” “You never come straight home these days. You’re always calling from a different place.” She’s …
It seemed like a good idea...a great idea. What can beat sunset, PB, and happy hour at a place where you’re gonna see the green flashes? At a place that’s filled with experts? Because, well, …
Around the middle of the meal at West Coast Tavern, I realized that I’m really getting into the gastropub craze. They’re multiplying in nearly every neighborhood, offering an easy way to eat out with friends …
Pissaladière? I know. Sounds dodgy. But trust me, this $3 “snack” is sensational. It’s like a pizza, with a filling that looks like tomato, tastes tomato-ish, but ain’t got a single tomato in it. Or …