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Stories by Ian Anderson

Brine, smoke, and peppery crust

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

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, …

May 16, 2018
Never the same spirit twice

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

“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

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

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...

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 …

May 7, 2018
Diving into gumbo

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

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

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 …

May 1, 2018
Delivery only

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

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

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 …

April 26, 2018
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 …

April 25, 2018
Expect long lines this summer

“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

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 …

A better brewhouse for Pacific Beach

Despite being ravaged by a fire in 2015, Pacific Beach Ale House will celebrate its tenth anniversary brewing beer by the beach on April 25th, and its beer is getting an upgrade. The business known …

April 19, 2018
Gin and whiskey hoppers

Back in 2012, decorated Tennessee distiller Darek Bell published the book Alt Whiskey, which offered recipes and techniques for distilling craft beer into nontraditional whiskies, including the addition of hops. “It got my brain working,” …

April 13, 2018
Can carne asada fries be non-traditional?

We were walking around the Gaslamp looking for lunch when my friend spied a waiter, on his way to deliver food to a diner seated on a restaurant patio. It was a large, fat burrito, …

Oceanside's newest music venue is a brewery

Breweries in the city of San Diego are prohibited from hosting live music events by the same license that allows them to brew beer. However, many North County breweries can, and do, and one of …

Challenge accepted: steamed pork and salted fish

The pale wood panels lining the weatherbeaten two-story storefront of China Max may not inspire a lot of confidence to the casual passerby, but during its fifteen years operating on Convoy Street, the Cantonese restaurant …

San Diego's fastest selling craft beverage might be kombucha

It’s been about two years since Chula Vista brewery Boochcraft introduced the concept of high alcohol kombucha to the craft beverage market. At that time, the mixed fermentation business had the capacity to produce about …

April 6, 2018
Hemingway and plantains

I usually skip the plantains. Oh, I’ll take a courtesy bite, but only to prove I don’t like them. I did something similar in high school, when, struggling to read the unabridged Moby Dick, I …

Green Flash Brewing sold in foreclosure

San Diego's fourth largest brewery, Green Flash Brewing, is in the process of being dissolved, and with it Alpine Beer Company, the cult beer favorite Green Flash acquired in 2014. That’s the reporting coming out …

April 3, 2018
Signs of a maturing craft beer market

Craft beer trade group the Brewers Association has been releasing its annual trove of data about the industry, revealing a trend in national statistics in 2017 that often, but not always, reflected what we’ve seen …

March 30, 2018
Tongue numbing tea

I think it’s safe to say that kombucha’s not a fringe beverage anymore. At least here in California. Once the domain of health food shops, these days I find the probiotic tea in gas stations, …

Oceanside Ale Works returns — see Apr.4 update below

It was only a couple months ago the Reader reported Oceanside Ale Works had shut its doors as the result of a partner dispute. As of March 17th, its doors are officially open to the …

March 29, 2018
Council to convene in Santee

Council Brewing Co. announced Tuesday that it had purchased the brewhouse and lease of Santee brewer Finest Made Ales, between Gillespie Field and Highway 52. Council will operate it as a second brewhouse and tasting …

March 29, 2018
Shiny medals for local boozemakers

Several local booze businesses have acquired hardware for their tasting rooms, thanks to a slew of medals won at recent competitions. First up, newcomer Lost Cause Meadery earned a silver medal at The Mazer Cup, …

March 27, 2018
Like a Danish chicken pot pie

Over the past few years, Denmark has gained a reputation as being the happiest country in the world. And that might explain why there’s not an abundance of Danish restaurants here — happy people don’t …

No more Flash in Virginia Beach

Over the weekend, several outlets reported that Green Flash Brewing has placed its recently built Virginia Beach brewery on the market to sell. This morning, reports out of Virginia indicate a “closed for business” sign …

March 27, 2018
Meals fit for a vegan, gluten-free caveman

What do vegan, gluten free, and paleo diets have in common? Nuts and seeds, mostly. But, if you’re in Leucadia, they also have Nectarine Grove. The counter restaurant opened a couple months ago, and, against …

Santee getting a taste of Council Brewing

Council Brewing Co. announced Tuesday that it had purchased the brewhouse and lease of Santee brewer Finest Made Ales, and will operate it as a second brewhouse and tasting room. In a blog posted to …

March 20, 2018
The benefits of a liquid lunch

The last time I passed through this part of Poway, this was a bagel shop. Now the counter service eatery has been converted to a GreensPlease, a mini chain that also has a drive thru …

Craft beer and Vietnamese food

With the opening of Shank & Bone in February, North Park finally got the contemporized Vietnamese restaurant its hipster heart craved. Taking over the space previously occupied by Japanese gastropub The Safe House, the new …

Skating, surfing, hot-rodding, and beer

"We're open!" So shouted a tasting room employee of Beach Grease Beer Co. at noon, Saturday, March 10th as the new beer company opened for business in Vista. A hint of surprise could almost be …

March 16, 2018
People here are crazy smart

Six years ago this month, Rough Draft Brewing opened as something like the 37th craft brewery in San Diego. Today there are over 150. "I didn't know that we would have 100 breweries open up …

There's no booze in this gose

Booze is kind of a nebulous term to describe fermented and/or distilled beverages. So it seems fitting that Vista beer company, Booze Brothers Brewing Co., would spin-off a brand of beverages that hang at the …

March 15, 2018
No beef with this corndog

There are a dozens of good reasons to visit the Bagby Beer Company pub in downtown Oceanside, and most of them fit inside a pint glass. Yes, the gastro-brewpub launched by O.G. San Diego brewmaster …

Chicken nuggets for adults

The first thing we learn about the lonely film character Dominique Bretodeau, of the 2001 French cinema masterpiece, Amelie, is that every Tuesday, he roasts and carves a whole chicken for himself. Before he even …

Communal's granola takes place of Rebecca's scones

When the new year began, South Park found itself trending downward in the coffee department. The end of 2017 brought with it the closing of longtime community hub, Rebecca’s Coffeehouse. For a quarter century, Rebecca’s …

March 7, 2018
History lessons with a side of suds

Longship Brewery opened in 2016 with two specific areas of interest: Vikings and beer. Thanks to a new lecture series Longship is hosting in its Mira Mesa tasting room, beer fans are getting an opportunity …

A chicken salad torta

Fruit salads, smoothies, açaí bowls: all kinds of stuff we're all supposed to fit into our healthy diets. Those are the offerings I've always associated with Señor Mango's. Back when I lived in North Park, …

Get drinking — U.S. beer production down

Statistics released by the U.S. Treasury bureau that regulates sales of alcohol indicate that, in 2017, beer production in the U.S. dropped by its highest rate in 14 years — 2.75 percent — to its …

March 4, 2018
How is this cold sandwich better than a hot one?

It looks like I've missed many opportunities to visit Rock n' Jenny's Italian Subs. The East Coast style Italian deli has been dishing up sandwiches and pasta since 1989, and I've always driven right past …

Acoustic Brewing's teeth cut, moving on

The brewhouse at 1795 Hancock Street has produced a lot of beer for a number of breweries over the past two decades, and as of last week it's changed hands once again. Part of the …

February 27, 2018
This way to a Better Buzz

Better Buzz Coffee is on the move. The Vista coffee roaster has opened its eighth coffee shop in San Diego, its fourth in just over two years. However, while most Better Buzz shops have been …

February 27, 2018
Even a sandwich snob likes a deal

At the North Park street corner where Ritual Tavern sat for the past decade or so, a new, neighborhood-oriented bar and eatery has opened, refurbishing the space and offering a different interpretation of the gastropub …

Sunshine from a home-built still

It doesn't make moonshine, but no distillery in the county better reflects the history of the backyard still than San Diego Sunshine Craft Spirits. Sunshine opened to the public two years ago this week, in …

February 24, 2018
Homestyle Somali food

To my knowledge, I had never eaten Somali food prior to walking into Faridas Somalian Cuisine a couple weeks ago. Had anyone bothered to ask, I would not even have been able to identify a …

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