San Diegans and the transcendent
Satan chasers, Mormons, Unarius, Black Muslims, Easter stories, and those on the verge of heaven
Various Authors 8:30 a.m., July 15
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Stories by Ian Anderson
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Blimey, that's my local!
There's a different beer scene next door
For those of us in South Park, a visit to our friendly neighborhood brewery means a short walk to South Park Brewing Company. It’s not always a no-brainer. Owner Scot Blair opened the brewery right ...
What's inside this burrito?
It may be chilaquiles, bacon & cream cheese, or chicken & waffles
On the opposite shore of the Sea of Cortez from Baja California, due south of Arizona, sits the Mexican state of Sonora. Despite our relative proximity, San Diego doesn’t see a lot restaurant dishes attributed ...
Buck It All, Unchartered Watermelons, Bolt Fan Blues, Devilish Grin
I know you don't have an hour to read about mead
If I tried to tell you everything going down at Miralani Makers’ District, reading this article would take an hour. Let this suffice: in a pair of neighboring Miramar business parks, nine individual beer and ...
These noods are for nubes
Tourists aren't coming back, so why bother to impress?
In military parlance, West Pac refers to the western Pacific, which may include Hawaii, Japan, and much of southeast Asia. As a military brat, I grew up familiar with the term, and ultimately spent time ...
A-frame over an open flame
The oldest salmon cooking technique proves best
Though the cooking technique dates back countless centuries to natives of the Pacific Northwest, here in latter day America, cedar plank salmon has largely become the provenance of upscale dining venues. But don’t tell that ...
Morning beers flow in Terminal 2
The only measure of time that matters is how long before your flight boards
In all the tasting rooms, representing all the breweries, within the entire county of San Diego, there’s only one requiring that even local residents buy an airplane ticket to get there: Stone Brewing in Terminal ...
Campy names for serious beers
The pride of Hillcrest Brewing is a scotch ale
It’s noon on a warm Sunday, and I’ve just come from pinching produce at the Hillcrest Farmers Market to quench my thirst a flight at Hillcrest Brewing Company. It’s a journey of about twelve feet. ...
Meadiocrity has something to braggot about
Local meadmakers nab a TV homebrew prize
Call San Diego the land of beer and honey, because the guys behind a local mead startup have won a nationally televised beer contest. Andrew Segina, John Botica, and Mark Oberle co-founded Meadiocrity Meadery in ...
Fruits and vegetables and superfoods, oh my!
The new fast food embraces "fresh" and "healthy"
Can healthy food be franchised? That’s the question I ask myself while waiting for my order at Fresh, a fast casual eatery that recently opened within the North City development of San Marcos. It’s the ...
Three guys, three jobs, and a bottle of gin
13 botanicals net gold for young startup
One pesky little problem inhibiting the craft spirits movement is that it’s technically not legal to distill alcohol as an amateur. So, while hobbyists have been homebrewing beer legally four decades now, distillers aren’t allowed ...
How Lao can you go?
Adventurously eating around the honeycomb
This was my first time in a Laotian restaurant, so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. “Actually,” said the guy manning the counter of Bane Phonkeo’s, “a lot of dishes on Thai ...
Smarter with each pour
Learn about yeasts, enzymes, and brut IPA
There’s an oft repeated myth in our country that alcohol kills brain cells. Not only is that claim bunk, but in some instances, drinking a few beers can actually make you smarter. Case in point: ...
That overflowing beef
San Diego raises its Philly game, by way of Seattle
A tee shirt sold by new Pacific Beach restaurant Calozzi’s Cheesesteaks calls it, “The Michael Jordan of Cheesesteaks.” It’s a brash statement, for a couple of reasons. “Why not the Dr. J of cheesesteaks?” wonder ...
We like to do everything upside down
Cider maker opens its doors for fan feedback
The owners of Guthrie CiderWorks are looking for a little help deciding which of their upcoming cider flavors will eventually make it into bars and shops. To do so, the young Miramar business has decided ...
Beers, bats, and axes
Sharpen your aim before trying the stout
Keeping the recreational beer drinker in mind, a number of local breweries offer games for customers to play in and around their tasting rooms. The beanbag toss game cornhole is a common sight. So is ...
The mystery of the famous waffles
The unlikely international intrigue of a mall kiosk
The inconsistencies started piling up. Knowing I would wind up in Escondido at the end of a long workday, I poked around online to find some convenient place to grab a snack before tackling the ...
We all scream for déjà vu
New ice cream shop has the feel of an old one
The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was due to reopen this week after a long renovation, but it left a Gaslamp Quarter in need of ice cream heading into summer, and now Ghiradelli returns to find fresh ...
The case for fresh pasta
Sauces include local ingredients and vegan options
Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, Italian master chefs would hone their culinary arts in France, then return to cook for aristocratic households in Naples and Sicily, plying French techniques with Italian ingredients and ...
What pairs well with sunset?
That OB vibe, but the beer's gotten better
I walked in shortly before sunset, by design. OB Brewery sits a short block from the Ocean Beach Pier, and its main attraction is a rooftop deck that peeks over adjacent buildings to offer a ...
The world, and where to find it
A global appetite, after Bourdain
When a friend recently sought tips on local eateries he could take his children to learn about the food of foreign cultures, one of the first that came to mind was Kaiserhof. For over 30 ...
This summer, let blondes rule
A brilliant time to love San Diego craft lagers
After decades of drinking hop bomb IPAs, San Diegans have whet our palates and wholeheartedly embraced craft lagers like never before. Local beer now offers an unprecedented variety of crisp, clean blondes, and this summer, ...
Are these the best chilaquiles in San Diego?
Don't wait ten years to find out.
Over the past decade, there’s probably not a commercial district in San Diego I’ve walked, biked, or driven through more often than that along 25th Street in Golden Hill. There are only a few dining ...
Not to be confused with a brewery
Project nixes the word brew to raise its cocktail game
“We’re not a brewery,” stresses Beau Schmitt. Schmitt and business partner Mike Sill opened the Brew Project in Hillcrest in fall of 2015, converting an old craftsman home into a bar and restaurant outfitted with ...
Shine on you crazy vegans
Sunny affirmations can't salvage lunch
“Food Coffee Love,” promised the chalkboard sign in the window, clarifying all was, “Vegan Organic Gluten Free.” Really? I thought. “Yes,” it pledged, “Everything.” No one else was taking a late lunch in this newish ...
The secondhand brewery market
Closures and divestments create low-cost opportunities
Monkey Paw Brewing is for sale, by its second owner. Less than a year after founder Scot Blair sold a majority stake of his award-winning East Village brewpub to Coronado Brewing Company, Coronado announced via ...
A rare lamb burrito sighting
Barbacoa steamed six hours in cactus leaves
There are only a few restaurants around the country dedicated to making lamb barbacoa, and most have found their way onto my to-do list. But what I’d yet to find was any Mexican eatery serving ...
The Bitter word is out
And the outlook is sour
Last week, a pilsner made by Bitter Brothers Brewing Co. won the first annual Pilsner Blind Tasting Championships, held at O’Brien’s Pub. This style, once a rarity in San Diego, has become a prestige beer ...
Somewhere between pasta and salad
A humble deli side dish keeps them coming back
It’s not a dish that typically makes or breaks a restaurant. You won’t find it in competition at the county fair. It’s not the subject of magazine top ten lists, the way pizza is, nor ...
Thirsty for sunshine
Five outdoor brewery destinations for the summer
Long summer days mean opportunities for drinking outdoors. Here are the top five brewery destinations to catch fresh air and sunshine with your craft beers this summer Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten 2817 Dickens Street, Shelter ...
So how's the beer?
Visiting 10 Barrel a year later. Was it worth the fuss?
It’s been a year since Anheuser-Busch subsidiary 10 Barrel Brewing Co. opened its controversial, multimillion dollar, East Village brewpub amid an epic troll battle with local craft breweries, beer media, and fans. That made me ...
Those are really rice noodles?
Fried eggs with tomato
“What do you recommend?” I asked my server at Rice Noodle King, a small casual restaurant that opened a couple of months ago in Kearny Mesa. Given that every one of the seventeen entrées on ...
We tackle but we keep our heads safe
How I learned to stop worrying about the Chargers and love rugby
When the Chargers followed that red ribbon of brakelights leading to Los Angeles, our city’s abandoned football fans responded by burning jerseys and searching for clever ways to repurpose their bolt tattoos. After an ugly ...
Tasty brews tie the room together
Chula Vista's 3 Punk — neighborhood brewery of the future
A couple of young children run past as I walk in the door, chasing each other around the window bar counter where their parents sit, waving, laughing over beers. Inside Thr3e Punk Ales, a Thursday ...
Still not typical
There's no waffling on the concept, despite a rebrand
Wow Wow Waffle never occupied a typical location. Its kitchen is built into a freestanding two-car garage that sits behind the 30th Street Laundry coin-op wash and dry. It’s easy to miss, because there’s not ...
Brine, smoke, and peppery crust
Pastrami nourishment in Serra Mesa
Among the snappier lines to come out of the Old Testament story about Israelites eating manna from heaven is, “man does not live by bread alone.” It’s always been taken to mean: food is important, ...
Year-round taco festival
Corazon de Torta, MG Beyer, Fish Pit, Kindred, Oi Asian, Tortilla N' Taco Factory
When attending a taco festival, I become a short attention span eater. I usually just bounce from booth to booth, drawn by the mere suggestion of anything I might crave. Succulent meats such as lamb, ...
Never the same spirit twice
Small batch liquors that show what they're made of
When I walk into the Miramar warehouse home of Seven Cave Spirits, I find owner and distiller Geoff Longenecker celebrating a Eureka moment. After much experimenting, he’d just figured out a new method he will ...
Thank the waves
Surfer turned sushi chef shreds at his secret spot
“Would love awesome anything but esp sushi,” read the text. L.A. friends had come to see Carlsbad’s Flower Fields and wanted to meet for dinner in La Jolla. I can rattle off a list of ...
Where the wild ales are
Sorrento Valley beer gets sour on weekends
It feels sort of like walking into a microbrewery fifteen years ago, when some of us still called them that. California Wild Ales is a bit of warehouse space, inside an old Sorrento Valley business ...
Surprising pretzels
Boulevard liquor store steps up its snack game
Driving down El Cajon Boulevard, going about my business, I had no intention to get a snack. But passing by the Boulevard Wine and Spirits, I spotted a new sign: “Boulevard Pretzels — Now Open.” ...
If this bus is smoking...
Brewery and cannabis tours roll into San Diego
It was a warm, partly cloudy April afternoon in North Park, and Pariah Brewing Company had opened its loading bay doors to let in a cooling breeze. From behind the bar, the beertender watched as ...
Diving into gumbo
A slow roux, roasted chicken stock, and the Cajun trinity
I’d already started eating the gumbo before one of the owners of the place explained to me how it was made, but hearing about it still made me hungry. The key to the roux, she ...
Skewers a la carte
Brazilian churrasco without the all-you-can-eat mentality
When I think about Brazilian skewers, my first thought is always of all you can eat churrascarias, such as downtown restaurants Rei Do Gado and Fogo de Chão, where you pay a flat rate to ...
This Beard's on fire
Good beertenders make great brews better
It’s nearing 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon in El Cajon, and the energy is building at Burning Beard Brewing. The two-year-old beer company sits in an industrial zone due south of the small airstrip ...
Delivery only
Don't get up: new Indian concept brings dinner to you
It’s tough to believe, but only ten years ago, if you wanted dinner from your favorite restaurant, you had to go to said restaurant in person. Those were primitive times, when home delivery was the ...
A bass by any other name
Seeking barramundi in Coronado
I enjoy a good plate of sea bass. At least I think I do. While there were once plenty of bass in the sea, they’ve mostly been overfished, and with each passing year it’s less ...
Short on seats, big on beer
Encinitas' crowded barstools speak for themselves
The city of Encinitas hasn’t been 100-percent welcoming to local breweries eyeing its downtown retail district along the Coast Highway. The local planning committee is hesitant to permit any brewery presence, and even when it ...
One last drink
San Diegans who end their lives
On the afternoon of October 23rd, in the presence of his family, trailblazing San Diego surfer Bill Andrews ingested medication prescribed to end his life. Within a few minutes the 73-year-old had fallen asleep, and ...
Expect long lines this summer
Ice cream worth waiting for in Encinitas
“By the summer, this line will get even longer.” So says a friend as we wait for scoops at Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, in Encinitas. The line was about 20 customers deep when we joined, ...
Beauty is in the tamal of the beholder
A feast for the eyes, if your eyes know what's good for them
Prior to writing Feast! stories, I wasn’t someone who frequently took pictures of his food. I figure, being photogenic doesn’t make food worth eating any more than it makes a supermodel interesting. That doesn’t mean ...
