Checking in on Vintana
Back in May, I wrote about my pre-open tour of Vintana. A the time, there was no furniture and only preview-sized bites of the dishes that would someday be served there. The eatery, which is interestingly perched atop The Centre …
Later, Abe: The Commons Coming
From the moment it went in, I had to wonder—what were they thinking? There was no denying it was a one-of-a-kind concept: a bar/restaurant outfitted to look like a log cabin. But what gave the owners the impression that San …
Delicias' New Menu: Second Course
Entrées are great, but a combination of things—the rise of tapas-style dining, the lower risk and greater cost effectiveness of rolling out more out-there ingredients via smaller dishes—has led to the appetizer and small plate sections of menus garnering much …
Next Big Thing Coming to Normal Heights
First came Neighborhood and El Dorado—forward-thinking, alcohol-fueled, fledgling additions to a downtown scene thirsty for change and in need of an impetus for it. Back then, the owners of those establishments, Arsalun Tafazoli and Nathan Stanton, were independent. It was …
Delicias' New Menu: First Course
Back in May I wrote about Paul McCabe debuting his new bill of fare at Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe (6106 Paseo Delicias). Coming out a full seven months after the chef made the move from L’Auberge Del Mar’s KITCHEN …
Pizzas Get Breakfast Burrito Treatment
The folks at North Park’s URBN (3085 University Avenue) shot me a line when they started offering breakfast pizzas. I was instantly intrigued. I had recently experienced something similar—a pizza topped with bacon, tater tots, and fried eggs—at nearby University …
Beer Touring: Breakwater Brewing Company
I took my place at the back of the line—and what a line. It stretched 10 to 15 yards, from the bar all the way to the front door of the final stop on my brewery tour, Oceanside’s Breakwater Brewing …
Beer Touring: Rip Current Brewing
These days, with new breweries in the planning stages throughout the county, my beer touring tends to involve hitting works-in-progress. Of all the upcoming brewing companies in San Diego, the one with the most eyes on it is Rip Current …
Beer Touring: Oceanside Ale Works
The next stop on the tour was to a place I hadn’t been in ages. Back in 2007, when I visited my uncle-in-law in Oceanside, we would regularly head to a nearby business park to visit a small brewery that, …
Beer Touring: Fezziwig's Brewing
The distance from the first stop on my tour to the next was less than a mile; a testament to how brewery-saturated San Diego County is becoming. Unlike the first place we visited, this one—Fezziwig’s Brewing Company (5621 Palmer Way, …
Beer Touring: On-The-Tracks Brewery
The first time I met Mary Beth Abate was at The Reader offices. We shook hands and, as one would expect, started talking about food and writing. We hadn’t gotten more than a hundred words into our exchange before she …
Ritual Tavern Lures Chef from The Lodge
It’s been a bit of a tough stretch for The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Last month, Tim Kolanko, the chef de cuisine of the past 10 years for the property’s gourmet restaurant, A.R. Valentien, retired from the kitchen to take …
Brewhaha Fallout for Julian's Bailey BBQ
In business, despite the best of intentions and the closest of relationships, sometimes the answer to the classic Kingly query “can’t we all just get along” is “nope!” The latest local unexpected biz partner breakdown involves Julian’s recently revamped Bailey …
Vino Locale Pouring into Little Italy
Little Italy just wouldn’t be Little Italy without a high concentration of vino. Red sauce with no red table wine—as much a sin as overcooked pasta or grated Parm’ on seafood. A local wine producer is making plans to bring …
An Impromptu Happy Hour at Katsuya
Several months ago, a local incarnation of the mega successful family of L.A.-born Japanese eateries, Katsuya, opened up in the space vacated by Quarter Kitchen at downtown’s Andaz San Diego hotel (600 F Street). I was instantly interested in checking …
Beer Barrel-Aged Rum En Route in Scripps Ranch
The wild world of craft beer is getting so experimental that barrel-aging, a practice that used to represent something of a “next level” in the brewing industry, is starting to be regarded as a bit ho hum. Beer enthusiasts still …
Brunch at Sessions Public
It takes a lot to get me out of the house on a Sunday morning. This was especially true yesterday when I awoke with particularly slowed motor skills but a smile on my face after spending the previous evening at …
Fashion Week: Searsucker
After eating through four of Brian Malarkey’s restaurants, I’m finishing out by revisiting the one that started it all—Searsucker (611 Fifth Avenue). Many would have started with the Top Chef finalist-turned-restaurant king’s flagship, but I see it as the perfect …
Fashion Week: Herringbone
Part of the reason Brian Malarkey is so beloved by some and so abhorred by others is his showmanship. The guy is always on. Always ready for his close-up. Always hungry to grab the spotlight. To be fair, unlike so …
Fashion Week: Gingham
So far this week, I’ve covered two restaurants in the Enlightened Hospitality Group family that have required retooling. One that didn’t, with the exception of a quiet GM change, is Gingham (8384 La Mesa Boulevard), the most casual and unexpected …