“We’ll take you to our favorite Chinese spot,” a couple of friends told me, “but only if you won’t write about it.” “Let’s go!” I said, careful not to make any promises. I’ve only experienced …

It was going on 10 pm, and I found myself hungry in the thick of North County suburbia. Which is to say, my expectations were not high. A precursory iPhone scan for still open nearby …

There are parts of Mission Gorge Road that pass through a tranquil, natural setting, but the section traversing Grantville is not one of them. Backed into a corner created by the intersection of two freeways, …

The last weekend of July, Societe Brewing Company will mark its 7th anniversary with a pair of parties at its Kearny Mesa brewery. While the ales and lagers served will meet the same exacting standards …

This is probably going to be one of those times people just aren’t going to take my word for it, but it’s got to be said. Kombucha ice cream floats are real, and they’re delicious. …

Whether you’ve read about it in the New York Times, or in the new Michelin Guide California, it’s impossible to walk into El Jardin without high expectations. Its chef, Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins, has appeared on Top …

The last vestige of San Diego beer brand Helm’s Brewing Co. disappeared this spring, when its Ocean Beach taproom officially changed its affiliation to that of Two Roots Brewing Co. While the old Helm’s sign …

Late last year, news spread that longstanding Point Loma rotisserie chicken joint, Natural Style Chicken, was opening a second location on a busy corner of Hillcrest. The new space boasts a larger kitchen than the …

For over thirty years, Mama's Bakery & Deli has been dishing up Lebanese food just off El Cajon Boulevard in North Park, and I’ve been ordering chicken shawarma there nearly half that time. However, it …

“We’re just going to be patient,” says Lisa Deju, “It might be a little extra work to get done, but it’s going to be great!” She’s speaking about the airy new Mission-styled Vista taproom recently …

It’s admittedly been a few years since I stumbled out of a Pacific Beach bar in search of something heavy to quench an inebriated late-night hunger. But if I were looking to stave off a …

The other day, a friend asked where I was off to in such a hurry. “I’m gonna check out a restaurant I’ve heard good things about,” I told him. It’s an answer he’s learned to …

Perhaps the most overused cliché in all food writing is to call a restaurant a gem. One might be an absolute gem, or a neighborhood gem. Most trite of all would be the term “hidden …

Fans of tea and coffee have an intriguing new flavor to explore in Pacific Beach. Yerba Mate Bar opened last week, San Diego’s first café dedicated to the caffeinated beverage of choice for the southern …

Dictionary Hill in Spring Valley got its name from encyclopedia salesman One of the oddest things about the Dictionary Hill area, also known as La Presa, is the way the streets were laid out on …

“Believe it or not,” said Douglas Hasker, “Once upon a time this was the hot shit brewery in town.” Hasker was speaking to a crowd assembled at the Gordon Biersch brewpub in Mission Valley, where …

We can argue all day whether the American carnival classic corn dog was worth riffing on, but a Korean reinterpretation of hot dog on a stick has already arrived in Kearny Mesa with a world …

I’ve paid lip service to vegan ramens before. Interesting, I’ve said. Oh, that is good,” I’ve agreed. But I haven’t meant it. Not to the extent that I would choose to order one over a …

Macaroni. I’m not talkin about the feather stuck in Yankee Doodle’s cap, but the cheesy pasta dish. The one that’s somehow both originally Italian and OG American. The one that, when I see it on …

Each spring, three California-based beer contests assess thousands of craft brews for quality, and each spring they send San Diego brewers home with a fresh heap of medals and ribbons to show off in their …

A musician plays acoustic guitar ballads on the patio, while servers shuttle drinks to a mixed crowd, ranging in age from their 20s to 50s. There are no seats left at the bar, where busy …

Last week, I found myself at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, feeling dizzy. Funny thing is, I hadn’t even made it on any of the rides yet. What addled me were the sights and smells of …

The term meatless has got to be one of the biggest words of 2019. Every other time I check a news feed, or turn on the radio, there’s more news about the rise of meatless …

The bakery is called Caked, but most of the glass case is filled with cookies. Large, soft cookies, individually wrapped. There are brownies too, but we’ll get to that. First we’re going to be overwhelmed …

Never let it be said this county is short of corners to explore. I certainly found myself driving along new roads seeking out Bankhead Mississippi Style Cooking, out in a southern corner of Spring Valley, …

When she first walked in to Burning Beard Brewing Co., Shannon Lynette says she wasn’t there looking for work. But she was between beer industry jobs, mulling a few offers, and contemplating a move back …

At first glance, the name Lima Restaurant struck me as generic. But in between serving tables the married owners of the new Gaslamp eatery got to telling us about how they want it to remain …

If you’re going to like Son of a Toast, first you’ve got to appreciate the concept of toast. It’s the same thing we used to call an open faced sandwich, except, explicitly, the bread in …

Over Memorial Day weekend, dozens of people gathered at North Park’s Mike Hess Brewing Company to shave their heads bald. And in doing so they raised over 60 thousand dollars for St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a …

“That puppy is too cute, I just want to eat it up!” We’ve all heard someone say this and never taken them seriously. And then somebody went and made puppy-shaped mousse a thing. I found …

It had been too long since I’d come around to visit my favorite neighborhood butcher shop, North Park’s Heart & Trotter. In addition to the whole animal cuts and house-made sausages found in their butcher …

Red balloon sent up in Bay Park "I am against high density,” says Johnson. “I think it’s wrong. I'm very unhappy with the way that this is going. We don't need more people [here]. That's …

My last trip to the East Coast, I found Charleston, South Carolina on the cusp of its soft shell crab season. The first night in town, a friend and I visited a highly regarded seafood …

From the moment Laura Johnson first opened You & Yours Distilling Co. two years ago, it gave East Village a craft spirit tasting room and lounge photogenic enough to lure influencers and attract national media …

In case you woke up this morning wondering where is the best place in the county to get exquisite French caramel, I’m here to tell you: it’s El Cajon. Don’t look surprised. Only a few …

The meal started with a platter of shellfish, each harvested off the coast of Baja California, whether on the Pacific or Sea of Cortez side. There were kumamoto oysters, tiny Cortez clams swimming in local …

It was curtains for Intergalactic Brewing. The small Miramar brewery poured its last pints last summer, and closed up shop. Glasses were raised and tributes made, and not long after, founder and brewer Alex Van …

While cruising North Park’s Festival of Arts last weekend, I was surprised and happy to stumble upon a vendor serving authentic Polish food. To my knowledge, no dedicated Polish restaurants currently operate in San Diego; …

When a Feast reader emailed to recommend a fried chicken sandwich, it piqued my interest. Mostly because at mere whisper of the words “fried chicken,” I’ll develop a craving. However, the description of this sandwich …

Thanks to the proliferation of trend-spotting foodie blogs worldwide, it’s easy to trace the way new food fads spread from city to city. For example, a little googling tells us that fish-shaped ice cream cones …

Add hard kombucha to the list of craft beverage attractions on the Hops Highway. In late April, Local Roots Kombucha opened a spacious and colorful booch tasting room in Vista, taking over over the brewery …

If you’ve grown complacent with tonkotsu ramen, but still want bone broth in your life, check out the latest place adding to the bounty of Korean restaurants in Kearny Mesa. Called Woomiok, its main thing …

Peering into a glass counter filled with seafood, I start talking like I might try the local swordfish. But the fishmonger has a better idea. “That halibut was caught this morning,” he tells me, “right …

Maybe it’s just California, but the açaí bowl concepts appear to be multiplying, especially around Hillcrest. I stumbled upon one with the achingly San Diego appropriate name, Roots Bowls; it serves açaí bowls, smoothies, pressed …

New Zealand hops have been very much a part of San Diego’s beer lore since Alpine Beer Co. introduced Nelson IPA in 2004. The Nelson Sauvin hop used to brew that beer was just one …

Sausage. Steak. Burgers. Those are the kinds of meals beer fans have grown accustomed to eating at craft beer bar Toronado over the past decade or so. But times have changed. When I bellied up …

I can’t explain exactly what led me to attend the Maha Sangkran Festival the third weekend of April. Better known around these parts as the Cambodian New Year, or Khmer New Year, the two day …

If you walk into 619 Spirits without knowing better, it’s easy to mistake the place with any other North Park bar and restaurant. A kitchen turns out dishes including wings, loaded fries, burgers, and wraps. …

Every so often, a meal comes along that is so memorable, it plants a flag in your appetite and becomes a landmark to look back upon and fondly remember for the rest of your life. …

It took family in town for me to catch on to how big boba has gotten. I’ve been walking around under the impression the bubble tea trend peaked 25 years ago. That’s when I recall …