Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Just like last week’s episode, we are out here once again at our sponsor the Hotel del Coronado’s new Sun Deck enjoying the sun, beach views, and this time, refreshing cocktails courtesy of our special guest Amanda McNeil, the hotel’s director of beverages. Amanda has been at Hotel Del since 2018, overseeing 10 of their outlets. She is a Level 1 Sommelier, and this summer she helped launch five new bars and restaurants at the resort simultaneously, including the new Sun Deck. Previously, she was the general manager of 1500 Ocean. Before we started this week’s episode, Amanda spoiled us with the best part of her job—the drinks. We sipped one of the Sun Deck’s signature cocktails, “Workin’ On My Tanlines,” as she talked about the research and development that went into building a unique drink menu at each outlet. For the open-air, beachfront Sun Deck, she went for light, refreshing drinks; while the 1940s-themed Babcock & Story Bar is stocked with classic bourbon and whiskey selections. Amanda’s first project, Beach + Taco Shack, launched during the renewed popularity of the tiki aesthetic, which explains its vacation feel and selection of classic beachy drinks. Eno Market & Pizzeria, on the other hand, is focused on supporting local companies, so they offer a lot of local beers, though their wine list features Mediterranean options. Amanda also says they have the best pizza you might ever taste! Amanda loves her job, but she admits you get bored of drinking after a while. Her coming to The Del was a “simple twist of fate,” since she just happened to apply after working at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. She also shares her two favorite drinks at The Del: the Japanese Highball at Babcock & Story Bar, and the Double Sesh at Beach + Taco Shack. In Hot Plates, we talked about the news that Michelin included five San Diego restaurants in its list of new “inspector discoveries.” San Diego Beer Week kicks off November 6 with lots of virtual events, tastings, and deals at local breweries. Chef Claudette Zepeda has some exciting news: Her next restaurant, Vaga Restaurant and Bar, will open at the new Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas early next year. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Amanda started us off with two options, Dija Mara in Oceanside and Death by Tequila in Encinitas for some tacos and tequila. Troy picked the vegan burgers at EVE in Encinitas, and for her first time dining out (outdoors) in eight months, Marie went to Barbusa in Little Italy. David went to Dirty Birds in La Jolla for their salt and vinegar wings as he watched the World Series. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected]. And if there’s another patio you think we should record on, let us know!

Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This is our first live recording of the podcast since this spring. We taped this episode, at our sponsor, the Hotel Del Coronado’s brand new Sun Deck, a bar and restaurant that overlooks Coronado Beach. It was the first time in seven months we’ve been outside and together for a podcast (socially distanced, of course!), and the fresh air and ocean view made for a welcome return. Today’s special guest is Stefan Peroutka, the executive chef right here at Hotel del Coronado. Stefan is from Austria, and he was classically trained at the Salzburg Hospitality and Culinary School. He earned his chops as executive sous chef of the Michelin-starred Aureole restaurant at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where he was invited to join the prestigious Les Amis d’Escoffier Society of Las Vegas. After serving as executive banquet chef of The Venetian and The Palazzo Resort, he landed at Hotel Del, where he now oversees the resort’s wide range of culinary offerings. Stefan walked us through some dishes that are on the Sun Deck’s menu (which Troy and David made sure to sample right away). This included the California mezze plate, which features whipped goat cheese and edamame lemon hummus, and charred octopus served with fennel and olive oil puree, David’s pick as the best. Stefan says the menu features light California fare with lots of vegetables and seafood. Stefan spent a lot of his career in Portugal. He shares that the culinary scene around Europe is completely different from Vegas, something he had to navigate when he moved and started working as a sous chef at Stratosphere Casino and Resort. Stefan talks about the pressure of being a chef, and how different cooking as a chef is versus cooking at home or even at culinary school. He says it’s a stressful profession, and while you can be an amazing cook, running a restaurant or an even bigger operation like in a hotel is not something that can be learned in school. While he said working in Las Vegas was an awesome run, California was always on his radar as he looked for his next step. In Hot Plates, the beloved Rubio’s, which was founded in San Diego, just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They closed restaurants in Colorado and Florida, though none yet here in California. They are operating as normal, so you can still get the famous fish tacos. Martinis Above Fourth in Hillcrest announced they filed for Chapter 7. The restaurant and bar was known for its live shows and extensive martini menu, but the owners’ post on Facebook sadly said that it wouldn’t make sense to reopen. We tried to end this segment on a high note: El Cruce+241, a restaurant in Chula Vista devoted to Baja cuisine and ingredients, is finally open on Third Avenue. It specializes in seafood, wine, and beer from Baja with dishes like grilled octopus, oysters, fish tacos, and craft beer from breweries such as Tijuana’s Insurgente. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Stefan recommends the seafood at TJ Oyster Bar. Marie went with ice cream from Salt and Straw: They have a special Halloween edition that mixes matcha ice cream with chocolate-covered crickets. Troy continues his ramen quest at Hironori Ramen in Hillcrest, giving rave reviews of the shoyu ramen and creamy tonkotsu ramen. David ventured out of North Park all the way to Miramar to Ballast Point Tasting Room, putting aside his dislike of pumpkin spice for the Pumpkin Down Scotch Ale. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected]. And if there’s another patio you think we should record on, let us know! This episode is sponsored by Hotel del Coronado.

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Our special guest today is Sandy Vuong from Dumpling Inn and Shanghai Saloon. Dumpling Inn was one of the first restaurants in San Diego to offer xiao long bao, Chinese soup dumplings. Sandy’s family also owns Minh Ky, a beloved Chinese restaurant in City Heights. Sandy moved to Orange County to study at UC Irvine, and after graduating she moved back to San Diego to become co-owner of Dumpling Inn. The restaurant moved right next door from its original spot on Convoy Street to a bigger space. They’ve been there ever since, and just opened back up for dine-in. Sandy chats with us about what it’s been like to reopen the restaurant for indoor dining at a limited capacity. As a restaurateur, dealing with angry customers is always a difficult but necessary part of the job, and she shares that unfortunately it’s not any better under the new pandemic restrictions. However, she and her staff have been making a real effort to enforce the mask-wearing and social distancing rules. Sandy says they’ve been able to set up outdoor seating in their parking lot in the meantime, and that some newly added street parking in the neighborhood has helped bring more customers to the area. Looking to the future, Sandy hopes that customers can appreciate the whole dining experience when all the rules and restrictions go away. One of their mottos is “from our family to yours,” and they really believe that when customers are dining in with them. She tells us about the current struggles of dealing with third-party delivery apps, to-go orders, and contact tracing, and hopes that people can understand and appreciate the level of service they can get when they are able to dine in again. For Hot Plates, Burger Lounge launched a plant-based test kitchen and expanded the menu at their Hillcrest and Del Mar locations to include vegan dishes. There are now plant-based options for their popular burgers, vegan cheeses and sauces, and cashew-based dairy-free milkshakes. We also have some beer news! Dozens of local brewers won awards at the San Diego International Beer Competition, the largest of its kind in the region. This year, the awards ceremony was done via Zoom; Rouleur Brewing Company in Carlsbad won Best in Show for their Domestique Blonde Ale, and Eppig Brewing won for their special lager. For some lighthearted national news, a recent map came out that shows which Halloween candy is the most popular in every state. California’s favorite is the Crunch bar, our neighbors in Oregon and Arizona picked Reese's Pieces and Mr. Goodbar, respectively, and Vermont went with Tootsie Pop. And Florida picked Airheads…no comment. For Two People for $50 / Two People for Takeout, Sandy’s seafood cravings typically take her to Submarine Crab or Bluewater Grill. Marie’s pick was also seafood: Kikos Seafood Lunch Truck in Mission Valley, especially on Tuesdays for their three fish tacos for $5 deal. Troy recommends Station Tavern over in South Park if you’re looking for good burgers and good beer. David took us on a little tour of North County, first with The Confessional by The Lost Abbey for some ales and a coupon for a slice of pizza at East Coast Pizza right next door, then down to Cardiff Seaside Market for their famous tri-tip, or “Cardiff Crack,” to take home and cook. I joined this week with some all-you-can-eat Korean barbeque from Manna BBQ. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Today's guest is Hanna Tesfamichael, chef and owner of Hanna's Gourmet in Normal Heights. Born in Eritrea, Hanna came to San Diego to study food and nutrition at San Diego State University. She worked for a while at Jenny Craig, and then in 2008 she opened her own catering kitchen before opening Hanna’s as a full-service restaurant in 2011. Hanna chatted with us about her unexpected journey from nutrition coach to caterer to restaurant owner. Throughout college, she worked at a catering company and fell in love with it. She was always drawn to the kitchen, and that led her to become a personal chef. But when she started Hanna’s Gourmet, she had no intention to turn it into a restaurant, much less a beloved neighborhood bistro. We then dove into how she began her catering company, which included a three-year journey finding a place to rent. It was no easy endeavor—she and her husband had to build from the ground up. Between 2008 and 2011, Hanna’s functioned as a caterer, but as customers kept asking her to do takeout, she converted the storage area next door into the dining room we know today. Unfortunately, the future of catering looks grim, and we discussed what that might look like for businesses everywhere. Hanna’s Gourmet is one of the many that’ve had to adapt, and they are now offering a weekly menu of small-batch, made-to-order dinners. While some of the favorites stay the same—like the tortellini with pear, Parmesan cream sauce, prosciutto, and their best-seller, the Moroccan chicken—everything else on their global menu changes. Hanna told us that she loves to get her customers involved, having them send in recipes and seeing what they like. You can order through her website, which has all the information. In Hot Plates, North Park is getting some Thai street food. The owner of Mngo Cafe on Convoy is opening Kin Len on 30th Street in the old Berkeley Pizza spot. There's a brand-new Mexican restaurant in Ocean Beach: La Doña OB Cantina opened last Saturday, taking over the spot on Bacon Street where Nati's was for 60 years. The list of new restaurants continues with Seaport Village, which is getting a Malibu Farm restaurant. The restaurant is known as a spot for celebrity sightings, and has expanded to eight locations around the world. It's going to replace Harbor House, which has been on the waterfront for 40 years. But don’t get too excited just yet—you will have to wait a little longer as the restaurant won't open until 2022. In Two People for Takeout / Two People for $50, Troy kept his ramen hunt going strong with Menya Ultra Ramen, one of the most esteemed ramen places in both San Diego and Tokyo. Marie followed up Troy’s journey with her recommendation for quality noodles at Ramen Ryoma in Hillcrest. Hanna couldn’t decide between two, so she chose both: the Azerbaijani-inspired fare from Cafe 21 and the classic Italian appetizers and pastries at Ciccia Osteria in Barrio Logan. David took us on a little trip to the Little Italy Food Hall, where he tried a flatbread from Graze by Sam and Bobboi Natural Gelato’s charcoal-infused vanilla ice cream. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Four years and 200 episodes later, and we’re here sharing our landmark episode with a very special guest, Brian Malarkey. Over the past ten years, Brian has built a successful restaurant empire throughout the country, starting in San Diego. He was the founding chef and partner of Searsucker and Herringbone restaurants, which sold majority stake to Hakkasan Group in 2014. Since then, he's opened Herb & Wood, Herb & Eatery, Herb & Sea, Animae, NIMA Cafe, and Herb & Ranch. Brian was a finalist on season 3 of Top Chef, and was on Top Chef All-Stars this past season. He's also been on Guy's Grocery Games, the Today Show, and Good Morning America. In the restaurant industry, you can either go small or you can go big, and Brian took the latter to a new level with his multimillion dollar restaurants. Despite creating over 15 restaurant concepts, Brian cherishes his roots and shares that his favorite project had to be his first with Searsucker. Taking that plunge was huge for him, especially at a time when people weren’t opening restaurants. The next big step was with Herb & Wood, proving his success wasn’t just a one-time thing. While he and his business partner Chris Puffer are in no hurry to expand right now, he says they have new concepts boiling up. We covered a lot of ground during our interview about what’s happening at Brian’s company and in the industry. Brian has been able to rehire about 60 percent of his employees since March, but they have closed Herb & Eatery. With the need for outdoor dining, they were able to double the seating occupancy at Herb & Sea and Animae—where sales are actually up day-to-day from last year. He also started online cooking classes and donated the funds, and he’s now doing virtual classes for corporations. Brian shared his concerns about PPP loans running out for many local restaurants and how this will impact the community, and discussed steps that small restaurant owners can take to try to get through this: from seeking out partnerships with other restaurants to negotiating with landlords. In Hot Plates, Death by Tequila is opening a third location in Liberty Station. They recently signed to take over El Jardin Cantina, and are hoping to open by January 2021. Chef Andrew Bachelier, formerly at Jeune et Jolie, is now offering high-end meals for takeout twice a week, with only 20 tickets available per evening. His website has all the information. Rapper Wiz Khalifa started a new food delivery service, and expanded it to San Diego. HotBox by Wiz is a roundup of his personal favorite snacks, which he helped create, and yes, of course it has an unapologetic stoner theme. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Brian enjoys taking his family to Blue Water Seafood in OB to get fish tacos for a picnic on the beach. Troy is still on his search for the best ramen in San Diego, and says Yakitori Yakyudori is still one of the best. David recommended the Chinese American dishes at the recently opened Fortunate Son, and Marie picked the spicy miso ramen at Santouka. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! This week’s episode is our first international one, and our special guest is Fernando Perez Castro, the founder of La Lomita Winery and Finca la Carrodilla in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California’s wine country. Fernando founded the winery in 2009, and it’s the first certified organic winery in the region. La Lomita’s Pagano grenache is on the wine list at the acclaimed The French Laundry. Fernando chatted with us virtually from his home in Ensenada. Every October, the region gears up for the Valle Food and Fest, which was started by chefs Javier Plascencia and Nancy Silverton, and food writer Carolina Carreño. Even though it launched only four years ago, the event has attracted celebrities and other big names in the food and wine industry. It was slated to commence this weekend, but canceled and postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic. Valle de Guadalupe is an emerging wine region. In recent years it’s received a lot of media coverage—Anthony Bourdain called it “Little Tuscany” when he visited—and it’s become increasingly popular with San Diegans and Angelenos. But there have barely been any tourists for months. Crossing the border for nonessential travel is still limited until the end of this month. How is our southern neighbor holding up? Unsurprisingly, Fernando says the valle has been hurting. He closed La Lomita’s tasting rooms, as well as Lunario—the winery’s new restaurant that had just opened last fall—for nearly four months. They managed to keep their employees on payroll, and have since been able to reopen at a limited capacity, but businesses are struggling. Fernando says they miss the regulars from Southern California who appreciate the valle and its vintners. During this episode, we also learned a lot about the ins and outs of exporting wine from the valle to California, that small businesses in Mexico don’t have access to any kind of government assistance, and what qualifies as an organic winery. In Hot Plates, we talked about the revamped Taste of Little Italy event, which starts October 4, and how it’s been tailored for takeout. Sam the Cooking Guy is launching a ghost kitchen, Eats by Sam, in Seaport Village with sandwiches and burgers available for delivery. Cali Dumpling, an LA-based company that delivers frozen handmade Chinese dumplings like wontons and xiao long bao, expanded to San Diego. Last, we want to help spread the word about a fundraiser for San Diego chef Anthony Sinsay: Anthony was diagnosed with cancer and is in need of funds for his medical treatment, because he was laid off from his executive chef position and no longer has health insurance. Please donate if you can. In Two People for Takeout / Two People for $50, Fernando gave us some great recommendations on where to eat around Baja: Via Torél in Valle de Guadalupe, carne asada at El Paisa in Ensenada, and the fish tacos at Tacos Corona in Ensenada, which was recently highlighted in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles. David’s pick this week is the mussels at Original 40 Brewing in North Park. Troy is on a quest to find the best ramen in San Diego, and he liked the ramen with roasted black garlic sauce at Nishiki in Hillcrest. I also had a ramen pick this week—the tantan ramen at Menya Ultra Ramen in Clairemont. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! This week’s special guest is Anchi Mei, senior program manager of the International Rescue Committee in San Diego. The IRC is a nonprofit devoted to helping refugees and asylees set down roots and build a new life. Anchi runs its MAKE Projects (Merging Agriculture, Kitchens, and Employment), which include a small working farm, a café, and a culinary program right in the heart of North Park, by St. Luke's Church. Through the farm and the café, high school students and adults alike can earn an income while learning job-readiness skills. Their catering company, Project CHOP, was created as a transitional employment program to provide their interns and employees—many of them students attending schools in City Heights, and women—the opportunity to “learn by doing.” Anchi shares that the pandemic forced them to adapt their programs. She and her team turned a vacant lot into Pop on 30th, an outdoor dining spot where they now collaborate with North Park restaurants who can also use the space. They also changed the crops they grow on their small farm—they previously grew specialized vegetables for area restaurants, but have switched to more common produce like zucchini and tomatoes to start a CSA box that the general public can subscribe to, which will help support their programs. While their mission across the board is to help refugee and immigrant communities gain the skills and knowledge to build stability and success in their lives, Anchi believes the benefit goes both ways, because they get to deliver fresh food to the community. Check out their website to make reservations for the café and subscribe to their weekly CSA box. In Hot Plates, we’ll start with the bad news first: Tiger!Tiger!, a North Park favorite, isn’t going to reopen. Bankers Hill Restaurant and Bar is temporarily closing after September 26, but take heart—it’s not permanent. We end the segment with good news: A new French bakery opened in Pacific Beach. La Clochette du Coin, a café and bakery in La Jolla known for their tartines, opened a second location on Cass Street. The Wise Ox just had their opening in North Park in the space formerly known as The Heart & Trotter. It was purchased by chef Brad Wise, and is a deli and butcher shop rolled into one serving sandwiches along with housemade hot dogs, burgers, and beef fat fries. A new food truck is coming to North Park this weekend. Chef Lauren Lawless, who just won Supermarket Stakeout and will be on Hell's Kitchen early next year, is launching a tapas food truck, Flawless Cuisine, on Adams Avenue. For this week’s Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Anchi chose the croissants from Wayfarer Bread, and Troy picked his favorite Italian restaurant, Bencotto in Little Italy. They also wanted to give shoutouts to their favorite restaurants in City Heights: The Neighborhood Cafe and Minh Ky Restaurant. David also went with pasta, choosing Cucina Sorella in Kensington, and Marie’s pick to satisfy her mariscos cravings was Oscars Mexican Seafood. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! We didn’t release an episode last week, as we took Labor Day weekend off, but we’re back and excited about this week’s guest: Eric Bost, who was recently named the new executive chef at Jeune et Jolie. Eric and his family just relocated from LA and he’s still getting settled in North County, but he took the time to chat with us about his new venture. Eric has an impressive résumé: He worked under Alain Ducasse at Plaza Athénée in Paris, and at Guy Savoy in Singapore and Las Vegas. He relocated to Los Angeles and helmed the kitchen at République before he opened Auburn in West Hollywood. In the short time that Auburn was open, it was named one of the Best New Restaurants in America, and nominated for a James Beard Award for design. In April, Eric unfortunately had to close Auburn. Fine-dining establishments, especially those with tasting menus, have had their own unique challenges during the pandemic and many cannot survive on just takeout. Eric shares with us that it took him two years to get the restaurant open, and that January and February of this year were their most profitable months. We learn how he made the connection with Jeune et Jolie owner Johnny Resnick, and why he chose the Carlsbad restaurant over other culinary opportunities that were available to him. Eric isn’t a stranger to North County—he lived in Cardiff 15 years ago, and while he was in LA he’d often travel with his family to visit on the weekends. He shares what he thinks is different about San Diego’s dining scene and that he’s excited about how it’s growing, and also what’s in store for Jeune et Jolie’s menu. If you haven’t seen the restaurant’s patio setup yet, it’s a stunner. In Hot Plates, Restaurant Week just launched and it’s been revamped to run for a whole month. Michael Mina launched a fried chicken pop-up, Tokyo Hot Chicken, that’s available only for delivery in North County. So Saap, which specializes in Thai and Lao street food, opened earlier this week on the corner of 47th and Market streets. The company that owns Kettner Exchange is opening The Waverly in Cardiff next month, with chef Brian Redzikowski developing the menu. In Two People for Takeout / Two People for $50, Eric hasn’t had a chance to find his favorite places in San Diego yet, but says he’s looking forward to dining in the Convoy area, and that Chiko and Menya Ultra Ramen are some of the places that have been recommended to him. Troy’s pick is Isabel’s Cantina in Pacific Beach (get the carnitas or the Nirvana Breakfast), and David says to get any of the Large Anti-Wimpy Pizzas and Swami’s IPA at Pizza Port. My pick is the famous tri-tip, aka “Cardiff Crack,” at Seaside Market. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! While San Diego may be the craft beer capital of the US, we also have a less-talked-about but flourishing wine scene. We’re learning all about it from Denise Clarke, owner of Altipiano Vineyard in Escondido. Altipiano is also the only Black- and female-owned winery in San Diego, and we ran a profile on Denise in the current issue. Denise shares her journey in becoming a boutique winemaker. She worked in human resources for many years, and her family owned an old avocado grove in Escondido. In 2007 a fire destroyed the grove, and in its place Denise decided to pursue her passion for wine and take the leap of starting her own vineyard. She explains how the microclimate in the hills of Escondido is similar to Tuscany, and is the perfect place to grow the Italian varietals she specializes in. The process of becoming a winemaker without classical training was a difficult one, and we learned it can take three years of production for a wine to become commercially viable. Denise says she found mentors along the way, including the group of 15–20 female winemakers in the county who lean on one another for support. There have been challenges, especially with the lack of inclusivity in the wine industry—Denise says people assume her husband is the winemaker at Altipiano, and at times she hasn’t been taken seriously. Over the years, her wines have won awards, and she’s known for producing bold reds like sangiovese and barbera. She also shares that she comes from a family of farmers, and she discovered that one of her relatives was also a winemaker. Tune in to find out more! In Hot Plates, we had a lot to discuss. First, the big news that restaurants in San Diego are allowed to have indoor dining at 25 percent capacity. New eateries recently opened at Westfield UTC: Rice Goban, Wushiland Boba, and Happy Lemon, which has Taiwanese cheese tea. The owners of Puesto bought the former Whisknlade space in La Jolla and are turning it into an Italian restaurant, and Stone Brewing Co. has named Maria Stipp their new CEO. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Denise said she likes the tournedos Oscar and outdoor dining setup at Carvers Steaks and Chops in Rancho Bernardo. Troy’s pick (which he jokes is more like Two People, $300) is the wagyu beef and caviar bump at Born & Raised. David talked about re-creating the experience of going to a ballgame at Petco Park by getting takeout from Hodad’s. My pick is the fish and shrimp tacos at La Reyna del Sur Mariscos truck in University Heights. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! We have two special guests for this week’s episode: Brett Roggenkamp, lead organizer for the San Diego Chapter of Frontline Foods; and Rodnia Attiq, owner of El Borrego, a popular barbacoa restaurant in City Heights. El Borrego is one of roughly 40 local restaurants that Frontline Foods has teamed up with to provide meals to health care professionals and other essential workers who are treating COVID-19 patients. Frontline Foods was started in the Bay Area by an ICU nurse, and since March it has expanded across the nation. Its mission is simple: They collect donations, use the funds to place a bulk order with a local restaurant, and then have those meals delivered to local hospitals. Brett says San Diego was one of the first cities the organization expanded to outside of San Francisco, and since the pandemic began it has directed $150,000 in donations back into our local economy and provided over 12,000 meals. Brett says their goal is to partner with restaurants that are independently owned and order from them on an ongoing basis. He tells us how they find which restaurants to partner with, and notes that they deliver meals not only to large hospitals and ERs, but also senior centers and the Psychiatric Hospital of San Diego County. They’re currently working on delivering 1,000 meals to employees at San Ysidro Health’s 23 sites. Rodnia shares that sales at El Borrego were down by 70 percent, and then as much as 90 percent, earlier this spring. The patio at her restaurant is still under construction, so she relies on takeout and to-go catering orders. She says partnering with Frontline Foods helped save her business, and she was able to retain her entire staff thanks to its community fundraising. In Hot Plates, we talked about how Biga (a longtime favorite of the San Diego Magazine staff for its sandwiches) reopened for takeout, and that Artisan Noodle Tatsuski—a ramen shop that was much hyped before it opened last fall—closed its doors. Chicken Charlie’s opened another pop-up location in Mission Beach right by Belmont Park, so you can still get a deep-fried taste of the postponed San Diego County Fair throughout the summer. All of Homestead Solana Beach’s outdoor furniture was stolen last weekend, and it had to close for a few days because of the theft. But the story has a happy ending: Supporters donated to their Gofundme account to purchase new furniture, and the Del Mar Fairgrounds lent them some patio furniture after seeing the story on NBC San Diego. We’ve got a lot of great recommendations in Two People for Takeout! Rodnia chose the curries at Bahn Thai, and Brett’s pick is Lucky Bolt, a home-delivery meal service that partners with local farms. Troy’s pick is the pizza (and parklet setup) at Caffè Calabria, and David says to try the vegan Thai food at Grains. My pick is the Chongqing spicy chicken and Sichuan dishes at Kangxi Is Coming. A listener wrote in to recommend the pastas at Cesarina. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! We had so many questions about the state of San Diego’s restaurants that we went into overtime with today’s guest, Jeff Rossman. Jeff is the owner of Terra American Bistro in La Mesa, a longtime advocate for local farmers, and president of the San Diego Chapter of the California Restaurant Association, one of the largest advocacy and lobbying groups for the industry in the state. Where things stand, many small businesses are projected to run out of money from Paycheck Protection Program loans, the minimum wage in California is scheduled to increase in January, and the HEALS Act is still being debated in Congress. Jeff helps us unpack how this all affects restaurants, and shares what he feels politicians don’t understand about what restaurants need. While many restaurants were able to make the shift to outdoor dining, this may not be sustainable in the long run—despite San Diego’s weather being mild compared to other parts of the country. Jeff says restaurant owners are worried that people won’t want to dine outdoors once temperatures drop, and points out that many restaurants were not able to create an outdoor dining space and are still relying solely on takeout. He also talks about why “ghost kitchens” may not be the right solution for everyone, and other concerns the industry has once fall comes. Listen in to find out more. In Hot Plates, we tried to cover as much positive news as we could this week. There’s a new Chinese American restaurant in Normal Heights led by local chef Tony Guan, more Nashville chicken is coming to town (specifically La Mesa), Jeune et Jolie hired a new acclaimed chef from Los Angeles, and The Friendly in North Park reopened its patio and unveiled a fun new cocktail. In Two People for Takeout, Jeff’s pick is Tak Grill Fresh Mediterranean Food in San Carlos, and he recommends the shawarma. Troy likes The Flying Pig Pub in Oceanside, and David chose the döner bowl and chili at Amplified Ale Works in Pacific Beach. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Today we’re sipping beer virtually with Esthela Davila and learning about the educational nonprofit she cofounded, Mujeres Brew Club. Mujeres means “women” in Spanish, and Esthela created the monthly club along with Carmen Favela of Border X Brewing to provide a safe space for women, especially Latinas, to network, learn about craft beer, and break barriers in the industry. Mujeres Brew Club is inclusive and open to anyone who wants to learn about beer, and Esthela launched it in Barrio Logan—where she grew up—a neighborhood that is around 80 percent Latinx. Since its founding last summer, the club has acquired its own brewery space; they took over the former Alta Brewing in Bread & Salt, and Esthela shares their upcoming opening plans. Esthela also talks about how intimidating it is to go to a bar and not know what to order, how many people of Latinx descent are not exposed to craft beer, and why the industry needs to be more welcoming. Craft beer has a well-known diversity problem, and a report released last year by the Brewers Association showed nearly 90 percent of craft brewery owners are white, and barely eight percent of brewers are women. And yes, we talk about beer, and Esthela shares her current favorites--tune in to find out what they are. In Hot Plates, we have a lot of good news to share this week. Arlo, a restaurant led by a chef who cooked at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, opened its doors in Mission Valley (yes, Mission Valley!) yesterday. ¡Salud! in Barrio Logan reopened for service, and so did Mister A’s—their patio is open for dining starting next Tuesday, and they’re also offering takeout. Pandemic Pizza, a business started by two prominent local chefs who were furloughed, has found a home inside RoVino The Foodery. Chef Angelo Sosa, formerly of Death by Tequila in Encinitas (our readers’ choice winner for Best Restaurant in 2019) will be on a new cooking show on HBO Max featuring singer Selena Gomez, Selena + Chef. The first episode airs tonight. For Two People for Takeout, Esthela recommends Deft Brewing and Cucina Caprese, both in Bay Park. Troy’s pick is Chuy’s Taco Shop, and David selected Fall Brewing. My pick this week is Red Sea Ethiopian, which the Union-Tribune recently wrote a great article about. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you're too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! This week’s guest is Kris Buchanan, owner of Goodonya Organics and Goodonya Organic Eatery in Encinitas. Kris has been in the restaurant business for a long time, having founded the organic deli back in 2001 and expanded it to five locations before opening the full-service restaurant in 2015. She tells us how she got into the business, and we learned that she is an Olympian! She was on the USA National Field Hockey Team and went to the 1996 Olympics, and she’s in the field hockey Hall of Fame. We brought Kris on the show to hear what it’s been like for restaurant owners, managers, and workers having to enforce mask wearing among customers. Not only do staff have to deal with the customer who becomes irate when denied entry for not wearing a mask, they also have to mitigate concerns from people who get upset when they see another customer not wearing one. Kris shares the difficulty that her hosts and servers have experienced, and says they’re neither equipped nor trained to handle these types of confrontations—young women, especially, are scared for their own physical safety when they’re caught being the referee between two customers. The abuse that restaurant workers have experienced over this issue has been making headlines nationally, and even McDonald’s announced that they’re providing de-escalation training for their employees. Kris also gave us some information about the Restaurants Act, and we talk about a report from the Independent Restaurant Coalition predicting that 85 percent of small restaurants won’t make it without any aid. In Hot Plates, we discussed the news that Jayne’s Gastropub in Normal Heights won’t be reopening. Brian Malarkey’s Animae has rebooted and gone alfresco with a revamped menu. The Huntress, a high-end steakhouse in the same building as Lumi by Akira Back, recently opened in the Gaslamp with a menu of family meals available for curbside pickup. Chula Vista started a new program closing off a portion of Third Avenue every Sunday, and we recommended visiting Chula Vista Brewery, one of the few Black-owned craft breweries in San Diego. Last, Cutwater Spirits is providing lunch for laid-off restaurant and bar workers this Saturday: bring an old pay stub or business card to their tasting room in Miramar. We always end the show on a lighter note with the Two People for Takeout segment. Kris said her favorite is Birdseye Kitchen, a women-owned business in Leucadia, and she recommends the massaman curry. Troy is excited about the panang curry at Soi Thai Street Food, which just opened a new location in Ocean Beach. David recommends the Taylor ham roll and rosemary-and-salt bagels at Nomad Donuts, and my pick is the stingray tacos and micheladas to go at TJ Oyster Bar in Bonita. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Or do you need help finding out whether a restaurant will be reopening? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Today we’re admiring the striking food photography of Brittany Wright, and getting a behind-the-scenes look at the art of food styling. Brittany is from San Diego and resides in Golden Hill; her work has been featured everywhere from the pages of Food & Wine to packaging for Fresh Cosmetics, and she published a book of her photography, Feast Your Eyes. How does one become a pro food photographer? Brittany says working at a job where she was unhappy and felt stuck is what led to her current career. She followed her passions and combined them, learning how to cook while photographing her subjects—produce and other ingredients. Now she’s known for her pieces that show off different foods in a color gradient. We learn that Brittany does most of her work in daylight, and that she doesn’t waste any of the food that she shoots. Listen in to learn more. In Hot Plates, we cover the week’s biggest headlines. After five years in the making, the family that owns Brigantine just opened Portside Pier—a huge complex with four eateries and lots of patio space—on Harbor Drive. Local icon Dolores Robledo, who founded Roberto’s Taco Shop with her husband in 1964, passed away recently, leaving behind a legacy of 60 locations throughout California and Nevada. Waypoint Public will be leaving North Park soon, since the owner had to put the restaurant up for sale. Bonchon, a global Korean fried chicken chain, opened a second location in National City. For Two People for Takeout, Troy recommends Hanna’s Gourmet, and Brittany enjoys the vegan cuisine at Kindred. David says the Pho-rench dip at Shank & Bone is a must-try, and my pick is the mar y tierra fries at The Taco Stand. Thank you so much for listening and for staying with us. We want to hear from you. Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? A topic that should be explored? Need a recommendation for takeout? Do you have a question for Troy? Let us know. You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! San Diego has long been a craft beer destination, but the city is also home to a burgeoning small-batch distillery scene. How has the pandemic affected these companies, since tasting rooms have to remain closed? We invited Michael Skubic, founder of Old Harbor Distilling Co., to talk about this. Michael got his start as a homebrewer when he was just 21, and after college he helped co-found Mike Hess Brewing. He later ventured on his own and founded Old Harbor in 2014, and he makes gin, rum, and coffee liqueur out of its East Village headquarters. In the beginning of the pandemic when sanitizer was in short supply, Michael teamed up with other companies in the San Diego Distillers Guild to produce and donate 10,000 gallons of it. Michael talks about the process of making sanitizer (he also studied biochemistry at Point Loma Nazarene University), how his business is doing, and some new products he’s launching. He also shares what makes his San Miguel Southwestern Gin stand apart from other botanical gins on the market—it involves a cool history lesson, so listen to find out! In Hot Plates, we talked about the new Tito’s Deli in Barrio Logan, which specializes in Puerto Rican tripleta sandwiches. Chef Andrew Bachelier announced that he’s leaving Jeune et Jolie, which Esquire named one of the best new restaurants in the country last year. We ended the segment with some good news: Addison, San Diego’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, is reopening in a new outdoor setting on August 1. Chef William Bradley announced this on his Instagram. For Two People for Takeout, Michael recommended Tribute Pizza. Troy said to get the birria to go at Fernandez Restaurant in Nestor. David is a big fan of the Roman-style pizza at the newly opened Gelati & Peccati, and my pick is the shoyu (soy sauce) ramen at HiroNori Craft Ramen. Thank you so much for listening and for staying with us. We want to hear from you. Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? A topic that should be explored? Need a recommendation for takeout? Do you have a question for Troy? Let us know. You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! When we taped this episode, the state of California had just announced the re-suspension of indoor dining at restaurants. Over the past few weeks, local restaurants have had to weather reopening, closing, and converting their dining spaces outdoors. We checked in with Tommy Nguyen, who owns Cross Street Chicken and Beer, the Korean fried chicken emporium with locations on Convoy Street and at Windmill Food Hall in Carlsbad. Tommy shared with us how he’s adapted his restaurants to this new environment, and that other small restaurants in the Convoy area—many of which reside in strip malls—have followed suit, turning the neighborhood into what looks like a night market. We then dived into how he started the business, and what inspired him to focus on Korean fried chicken, which isn’t as prominent in San Diego. He and his wife, Grace Chi, spent a couple of years traveling throughout Asia, and Tommy says he fell in love with Korean fried chicken during an extended stay in Seoul. Grace’s family also owns several restaurants on Convoy, including Grandma Tofu and Korean BBQ, DduriBa, and Bing Haus ice cream. In Hot Plates, we shared the news that Hanna’s Gourmet is back and offering family meals to go. Gelati & Peccati opened last week in North Park, with a walk-up window serving Roman-style pizza and gelato. Con Pane, a bakery that had been in Point Loma for 20 years and abruptly closed earlier this year after an audit by federal immigration authorities, was purchased by Cohn Restaurant Group and will reopen in Liberty Station. For Two People for Takeout, Tommy’s picks are Hinotez (which specializes in yakitori) and the pho at Phó Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest. Troy’s favorite this week is another Convoy institution, Wa Dining Okan. David recommended the ice cream at Stella Jean’s, and my pick is the Hawaiian-style ahi poke at Hawaiian Fresh Seafood. Thank you so much for listening and for staying with us. We want to hear from you. Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? A topic that should be explored? Need a recommendation for takeout? Do you have a question for Troy? Let us know. You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! At the time of this taping, indoor dining at restaurants in San Diego has been shut down for at least the next three weeks, and bars remain closed. We’ve been wondering what this means for the industry, and also how this will affect the live music scene and the venues that host them. So we brought in Tim Mays, who owns The Casbah on Kettner Boulevard—a landmark that’s been in town for over 30 years—along with Starlite restaurant, Krakatoa Cafe and Vinyl Junkies Record Shack. Tim is a serial entrepreneur: He’s also a partner in Soda Bar, and owned both Turf Supper Club in Golden Hill and Riviera Supper Club in La Mesa. He got his start in the industry by passing out flyers for concerts and booking shows in the ’80s before he opened The Casbah. Tim shares his insights on what it takes to adapt a restaurant to social distancing rules, when live music might start up again (nothing is projected until next spring), and what the industry could look like in the near future. We talk about how local musicians and creatives are affected by this, and how some are changing in response; Tim also shared his top favorite bands that have performed at The Casbah. (Listen to find out!) In Hot Plates, we talked about how Il Dandy changed its high-end Italian concept to a more casual one, Civico by The Park, that is serving pinsa—Troy explains what pinsa is and how it’s different from pizza. New things are happening at Liberty Public Market: the owners of Mastiff Sausage are opening a hot chicken and burger concept; Phillip Esteban (whom we just had on the show) is opening a brick-and-mortar spot for his Filipino rice bowls; and The Presley is opening at the end of this month, taking over the former Fireside by The Patio space. For Two People for Takeout, Tim’s picks are Buona Forchetta and Pizzeria Luigi. Troy’s pick is the döner fries at The Kebab Shop, and I picked the larb at The Original Sab-E-Lee. David’s pick is the fish and chips burrito at Beerfish, and he explains a fun to-go promotion the restaurant started that involves Smirnoff Ice. Thank you so much for listening and for staying with us. We want to hear from you. Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? A topic that should be explored? Need a recommendation for takeout? Do you have a question for Troy? Let us know. You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! This week, we checked in with Chef Phillip Esteban, a National City native who has worked at David Chang’s Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York City and most recently as the research and development chef for Consortium Holdings. We’d initially planned to have Phillip on the show back in March to talk about his upcoming culinary projects in National City, which we featured in the April issue’s Neighborhood Guide. With the show up and running again, we talked to him about the status of his upcoming Filipino restaurant, Well Fed, and his culinary bookstore, Wordsmith, which is going in the new Market on 8th development in downtown National City. He shares what we can expect when the store opens this fall and how the restaurant is taking shape for a 2021 opening. He is also going to be on an episode of the Food Network’s Chopped on Tuesday, July 7—we’ll have to tune in! We had a great conversation with Phillip about the revitalization efforts in National City, his experiences as a Filipino American in San Diego, and how Filipino cuisine is still underrepresented locally and throughout the US. He shares how he put his efforts into his catering business, Craft Meals, and expanded it to provide Filipino silog (rice bowls) for at-home delivery once the March lockdown went into effect. The rice bowls have been a hit (if you like pork, you have to try the lechon), and Phillip also teamed up with World Central Kitchen to help donate meals to health care workers. Since March, he and his team have donated 40,000 meals. You can view the menu and order through Rice Bowls for All. We brought the Hot Plates segment back, where we discuss the latest local restaurant news. First, we talk about bars having to close again. Then we take a look at restaurants that have opened or expanded during the pandemic: Puesto is opening its new brewery and restaurant in Mission Valley; Michelin-starred chef Akira Back opened Lumi, a large rooftop restaurant in the Gaslamp; and La Puerta, a popular Mexican restaurant downtown, is working on its second location in Mission Hills. We also talk about Encinitas closing a section of its main street downtown to allow for more outdoor dining. We end our show with our revised Takeout for Two segment. David recommends the boozy popsicles and the cioppino at Small Bar, Troy loves the empanadas at Empanada Kitchen, and my pick is the brisket at Coop’s West Texas BBQ. Phillip had three picks, all of which are small businesses that just opened and are offering delivery: Coffee from Provecho; Tijuana-style burritos from Longplay Studio; and Mexican seafood from Mariscos Tone Camarón. Thank you so much for listening and for staying with us. We want to hear from you. Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? A topic that should be explored? Need a recommendation for takeout? Do you have a question for Troy? Let us know. You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Happy Half Hour has returned! After a nearly three-month hiatus, we’re excited to have the show back up and running. A note on today’s episode: Happy Half Hour is a podcast about San Diego’s restaurant industry. We know that listeners download it to hear Troy’s recommendations, and to find out what local chefs and restaurant owners are working on. For many people, the show is a form of escapism and entertainment. But today’s episode is different. We felt it would be irresponsible to not discuss current events, and the social issues around race and the need for inclusivity in this country. So we’re having this important discussion. We invited Brad Keiller, the co-owner and founder of Nomad Donuts, to be our guest on this episode to share his experiences and perspective on what is happening in the US. Brad’s family is from South Africa, and his parents left the country in 1969 during apartheid and moved to Canada, where they raised him. Brad has been in the US for 20 years now. Brad opened Nomad Donuts in North Park in 2014. Aside from being known in the neighborhood for creating high-quality donuts and Montreal-style bagels, he’s also known for his advocacy and work in the community. Last fall, he publicly defended a homeless man, whose name is Ray, when a customer complained on Yelp about Ray hanging out by the donut shop. Brad's compassionate response went viral. Brad also recently wrote an article for Inc. Magazine about the nationwide protests and the killing of George Floyd. We end the show with a new spin on an old segment: Two People, Fifty Bucks is now about our favorite places to get takeout for two people. Troy’s pick is Cori Pastificio, and mine is Tribute Pizza. Brad likes the takeout at URBN Coal Fired Pizza and Bar. Thank you so much for listening and for staying with us. We want to hear from you. Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Need a recommendation for takeout? Do you have a question for Troy? Let us know. You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you're too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

We’re here at Ballast Point Brewing in Little Italy, and today, we have Colby Chandler, Ballast Point’s vice president and specialty brewer. Colby is the second-longest employee of Ballast Point—he’s been with the company for 23 years. He was involved in the creation of their award-winning flagship beer, Sculpin, where he took two gold-medal-winning IPAs and melded the recipes into one. His version of their two beers is the Sculpin you know today. Today’s special guest is Chef Travis Swikard. Travis is opening one of the city's most anticipated restaurants, Callie, in the East Village, which we talk about in the Neighborhood Guide in the March issue. Callie is filling the space on Tenth Avenue where Bottega Americano was. Travis grew up in Santee, and he recently moved back to San Diego after working in New York City with acclaimed French chef Daniel Boulud for over a decade. Travis wanted to get back to local, fresh ingredients and a place to raise his two kids. Callie is his first solo restaurant. For Two People, $50, Travis chose Don Bravo, a small taco shop in La Jolla. David chose Tabu Shabu in North Park, and Erin liked happy hour at The Prado. Troy’s pick this week are the frittelle cacio e pepe (savory Italian donuts) from Cori Pastificio Trattoria in North Park, which he reviewed for our upcoming April issue. In Hot Plates, we talk about Prep Kitchen closing its doors in Little Italy, and Rock Bottom ending its run after being in UTC for over 20 years. The popular Food Network show "Restaurant Impossible" is taping at Kaiserhof, the German Restaurant in Ocean Beach. Normal Heights is getting a “hipster 7-Eleven” that’s going to open soon, complete with craft beer, a fro-yo bar, taco shop, and of course, kombucha on tap. We’re only one of the three cities in the country to get the company’s new “Evolution” stores. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

We’re here at Provisional Kitchen, one of the restaurants in the Pendry Hotel in downtown San Diego. Today, we have David Duran, the director of food and beverage at the Pendry, talking to us about their new superfood brunch cocktails. David got into the hospitality business at age 17 in Las Vegas and moved to San Diego in early 2017, where he took the job at the Pendry. Today’s guest is Jon Mangini, owner and founder of Basic Pizza and URBN Coal-Fired Pizza. Jon is a Connecticut native who is best known for bringing New Haven style thin-crust pizza to San Diego. He opened Basic Pizza in East Village in 2006, just a couple of years after Petco Park opened—and way before the neighborhood became a dining destination. It’s famous for the pizza topped with mashed potatoes and bacon. In 2008, Jon moved on to his next pizza project, URBN Coal Fired Pizza, which he launched in Vista. He has since expanded the company, and today URBN has five locations around the county, including a new location at One Paseo. For Two People, $50, Jon chose Fish 101 in Leucadia and Cardiff. David chose Tahona Bar along with their speakeasy, Oculto 477, where you have to disclose a sin before entering. Troy’s pick was another stop on his hunt for San Diego’s best birria, Cocina de Barrio in Hillcrest. Now that Troy’s birria journey is over, what should he try next? In Hot Plates, Jsix, the restaurant at the Hotel Solamar, is going to close and will be replaced by Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville chain. This will be the second Margaritaville Hotel in San Diego; the first is coming to Paradise Point in Mission Bay. Other news from East Village: Melvin Brewing closed its brewpub on 14th and Market. The Grand Ole BBQ y Asado in North Park is still closed for renovation, and they’re hoping to reopen in May. Soi 30th North Park Thai Eatery is opening a new location in Ocean Beach, replacing the Subway on Cable Street. If you listened to our end-of-year episode in December 2019, you’ll remember that we had strong opinions about The New York Times’ prediction that mushrooms would be the next kale. Well, CNN backs this up claim, and declared “mushrooms are the new grocery aisle celebrities” of 2020. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Today we’re here at our sponsor, Provisional Kitchen, Café & Mercantile, one of the restaurants in the Pendry Hotel in downtown San Diego, and today, we have Chef Brandon Sloan with us. Brandon is the Chef de Cuisine of Provisional, where he serves up a sunny side up ostrich egg—an egg so large that it equals 16 chicken eggs and feeds four people. Today’s guest is Gaston Martinez, the founder and CEO of IZO Mezcal, a line of agave spirits produced in Durango, Mexico. With the special Mexico travel issue of San Diego Magazine being on newsstands for only one more week, Gaston is the perfect guest to tell us everything he knows about one of Mexico’s most popular spirits. Gaston’s mezcal line is headquartered here in San Diego, and he founded the brand in 2018. The mezcal joven won a gold medal at the San Diego International Wine and Spirits challenge last year, and you can find it at restaurants like Cantina Mayahuel, Javier's Cantina, and at Costco. For Two People, $50, Gaston chose Javier’s up by UTC and The Taco Stand for their stellar salsas. David chose Venissimo Cheese and Erin chose Tahini, where she enjoyed their fried halloumi cheese sticks. Troy chose another stop on his hunt for San Diego’s best birria, Carnitas las Michoacanas. In Hot Plates, Addison, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in San Diego, unveiled its new look after closing briefly for a remodel. They also announced that Victoria O'Bryan was promoted to wine director. Bay City Brewing is opening their East Village location on March 2. Two events are happening on Leap Day: Stone Brewing is having its first all-IPA festival at its World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido, and Marina Kitchen at the Marriott Marquis is hosting a special five-course dinner with wine pairings from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa. Troy just announced the winner of the Best Birria in San Diego! To see the full list, visit The Feed. Today’s hot topic revealed that the largest archive of Mexican cookbooks in North America was released online. The University of Texas-San Antonio library digitized its collection of historic Mexican cookbooks, and anyone can view them on their website. The oldest cookbook in the library dates back to 1789, and about 50 others are handwritten manuscripts. You can also see the oldest cookbook published in Mexico, which dates back to 1831. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Today’s guest is Alex Pierson, the founder of Amplified Ale Works. Alex got his start in the restaurant business when he opened a Middle Eastern restaurant in 2009, California Kebab. While running the restaurant he started brewing his own beer at home, which led him to start a brewery in Pacific Beach in 2012 and adopt the name, Amplified Ale Works. In 2016, he moved production to Miramar and opened a tasting room there where they expanded annual production from 300 barrels to 2,000 barrels. In 2018, he opened a third location in East Village. Along with beer, Alex focuses on working with musical artists and has created over 12 collaborations with local and touring bands, including Motörhead. Today, Alex is turning his attention to Lemon Grove where he wants to open his third beer garden. He started a Wefunder page to raise money for the new project and has already collected over half of their $300,000 goal. For Two People, $50, Alex chose Lola 55 for their affordable tacos and the mezcal menu at Tahona Bar in Old Town. David chose SKA Bar because he says their wasabi mashed potatoes are out of this world. And Troy chose the goat birria at Birrieria Y Menuderia Guadalajara. In Hot Plates, Cardellino is a new Italian-American restaurant from the team that runs Fort Oak. It is now open in Mission Hills and Troy got the First Look. Chris Carriker, who recently won an episode of “Chopped,” just opened his second ramen restaurant in Pacific Beach called Wokou Ramen and Yakitori. A new vegan Mexican restaurant, Oleri Cultura, just opened up in Grossmont Center. It was started by the founder of Chicano Soul Food, who we had on the podcast in December. Jose Luiz Hinostroza, who worked at Noma in Copenhagen and now is the chef at ARCA in Tulum, Mexico, is coming to San Diego to cook at a dinner series at the Hotel Del with Chef JoJo Ruiz. Valentine's Day is this Friday, and about 70 percent of Americans plan to dine out. Industry people have long called Valentine’s Day “amateur night,” and Gordon Ramsay even said that “it’s the worst day of the year to go out.” So where does the HHH team side on this issue? Tune in to find out and to get some Valentine’s Day tips if you still haven’t come up with plans. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Today’s guest is Bill Vivian, the owner of Regents Pizzeria in La Jolla, a pizzeria that specializes in both Chicago and New York-style pizzas. They’re also famous for their chicken wings, which range in spice levels from mild to explosively hot. We highlighted the “Scorpion Wings” from Regents in The Adventurous Eaters' Checklist feature in San Diego Magazine’s Food Lover’s Guide. If you want to order the Scorpion Wings, you have to sign an actual waiver—they’re so hot they pack 2 million Scoville units (for reference, a habanero has anywhere from 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units). Regents Pizzeria was opened in 2005 by Stephen Carson, and when he passed away in 2011, Bill took over the operation. And since the opening of the restaurant, Regents has never owned a freezer and never will, according to Bill. Regents’ current location in La Jolla has been open since late 2014. For Two People, $50, Bill chose Tribute Pizza, whose owner, Matt Lyons, helped Bill perfect a gluten-free pizza crust. David chose Cori Pastificio Trattoria, chef Accursio Lota’s new restaurant in North Park. Troy chose Mister A’s for their fabulous views (and shared some tips on what to get for happy hour there). Erin chose Ciccia Osteria, the Italian restaurant in Barrio Logan owned by Mario Cassineri and his wife, Francesca. In Hot Plates, Rusticucina is a new Sicilian restaurant that just opened on Park Boulevard, and the co-founders are all from Sicily. Toronado, a long-standing craft beer bar in North Park, is going to close soon. Another big closure happening this week is Indigo Grill, which has been in Little Italy for more than 20 years. The pop-up dinner at Liberty Station where you get to dine inside a terrarium starts tomorrow, Feb. 6, and the chef for the event is Claudette Zepeda Wilkins. Keep an eye on The Feed next week, because Troy will be announcing the winner of the city's Best Birria! David’s 60 Second Beer Review this week is Karl Strauss' 31st anniversary barrel aged scotch ale, a traditional Scotch ale aged for 12 months in American whiskey barrels. This week’s Hot Topic comes from an opinion piece that Troy just posted on our website: “Superfood is a Supersham,” where he says “Superfood is a meaningless marketing word” that is commonly used to describe certain fruits, vegetables and ingredients—and there is little to no good science to back up the health claims. Also, some of the research that does was paid for by the producers of these foods. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Today’s guest is Lan Thai, chef at Enclave, the restaurant inside JuneShine Ranch's kombucha brewery. Enclave's menu is based around the concept of food-as-medicine and its partnership with Juneshine is a “match made in organic heaven,” according to Lan. We highlighted the roasted beet salad from Enclave in the January issue of San Diego Magazine, which is devoted to tips on healthy eating. Lan’s parents were refugees from Vietnam, and she was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. She came to the U.S. when she was six months old and her family settled in San Diego. She studied graphic communication at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and worked at Adobe Systems for nearly seven years. Yet, she left the tech world to pursue her passion for cooking, working as a caterer and now as chef for Enclave. For Two People, $50, Lan chose Tasty Noodle House on Convoy Street for their Shanghai noodles and grilled pork buns. David was recently in Big Bear, and he chose Himalayan Restaurant in Big Bear Lake Village. Troy’s pick this week is Super Cocina in North Park for their goat birria. In Hot Plates, Rincon Reservation Road Brewery, Southern California’s first certified Native American-owned brewery, opened at Harrah’s Resort SoCal on January 30. Oi Asian Fusion, a popular Filipino restaurant from LA, opened up a second location in Carmel Mountain Ranch Town Center. Rob Ruiz’s sustainable sushi concept at Liberty Public Market has been cancelled. The Lost Abbey will be opening a tasting room in a historic building in East Village—they’re taking over the Mexican Presbyterian Church on J and 13th streets, which dates back to 1906. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Joining us in the studio today is Lara Worm, co-founder of Bivouac Ciderworks in North Park. We’ve mentioned Bivouac before on the show, and you’re probably familiar with the brand, but we share the big news that they just recently released their ciders in cans—including the popular San Diego Jam. You can buy the cider at BevMo, Jensen’s and Barron’s, and soon they’ll be available in Orange County. We learned that Lara has had an interesting career path before founding Bivouac: She was a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. In 2015 she moved back to San Diego and still worked as an attorney, but she was pitched the idea to start the brewery by her current business partner, Matt. Lara is now with Bivouac full-time, and the company just celebrated its second anniversary. In Hot Plates, we talked about the new brunch spin off of Breakfast Republic, Gaslamp Breakfast Company, opening on Sixth Avenue and J Street. Del Mar is getting a big food hall, called The Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands, later this spring. A food truck in South Park, Shawarma Guys, were named the No. 1 place to eat in the country by Yelp. And Troy is still on the hunt for the best birria restaurant in San Diego! The Hot Topic is zero-proof distilled spirits, which ties in perfectly with “Dry January.” Several companies have come out lately with distilled "spirits" that they say taste just like vodka, gin, or even rum and whiskey, but have no alcohol. We're aware of two big brands that you might see in bars around town: Seedlip, a clear herbal tonic from the UK, and Lyre's, a line of alcohol-free spirits from Australia. Sycamore Den in Normal Heights carries Lyre’s, and we wrote about this trend in the current issue of San Diego Magazine. For Two People, $50, Troy picked Carnitas Las Michoacánas. Lauren liked Vina Carta Wine Shop and Bar, with sandwiches from Mona Lisa Italian Foods, and Lara selected Olympic Café. We want to hear from our listeners! Do you have a question for Troy about what it's like to be a restaurant critic? Need a restaurant recommendation? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you're too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

This week’s very special guest is Brendan Watters, the new CEO of Ballast Point and co-founder of Kings and Convicts Brewing Co. Kings and Convicts is the small brewery from the Chicago area that just purchased Ballast Point last month from Constellation Brands. Ballast Point shook the craft beer world when they sold to Constellation Brands for $1 billion over four years ago. We got to know Brendan during this interview and learn more about his background—he started Kings and Convicts in 2015 after having a longtime career in the hotel industry. He was CEO of a hotel firm that he sold to Red Lion for $8 million, and he has an MBA from the London Business School. Brendan jokes that he is the “convict” in “Kings and Convicts” because of his Australian roots, and says his business partner, Christopher Bradley, is the “king” because of his British heritage. Brendand has been visiting San Diego regularly for the past 20 years, and says he is working on fully relocating to San Diego. During the rest of the interview, Brendan gives us the details as to how he acquired the famous San Diego craft beer brand. For Two People, $50, Brendan chose Pizza Port. David chose Thai Joint on Adams because their warm larb salad is superb. Troy chose TJ Birrieria—one of the stops on his journey to find the best birria in San Diego. In Hot Plates, Chef Angelo Sosa gave Troy, and us, the exclusive news that he's leaving Death by Tequila to pursue a new project in San Diego. Sam the Cooking Guy is opening a two-story restaurant in Seaport Village called Graze by Sam the Cooking Guy. San Telmo Argentine Cafe (which made our Best Restaurants list in 2018) closed its location on Seventh and Broadway, but their catering business will remain open. This week’s Hot Topic is about how an Australian news site is saying that charcuterie boards are over, and declared that French fry boards will be the entertaining trend of 2020. Charcuterie boards have been all over Instagram and in food magazines this past holiday season, including in the November Food Lovers’ Guide of San Diego Magazine. So, what does our Australian guest have to say about this? We want to hear from our listeners! Do you have a question for Troy about what it's like to be a restaurant critic? Need a restaurant recommendation? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you're too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back and Happy New Year! After the holiday break, we kick off 2020 by catching up with Matteo Cattaneo, who is from Bergamo, Italy, and the founder of Buona Forchetta, the popular pizzeria. We last had Matteo on the show back in the spring of 2017, but so much has happened since then. Buona Forchetta now has three locations throughout the county, and in late 2018, Matteo opened an Enoteca next door to Buona Forchetta’s flagship South Park location. This year, he plans to open Gelati & Peccati, a Roman-style pizza stand in North Park; Carbón, a barbecue restaurant in South Park; and a fourth Buona Forchetta in Coronado. He’s also getting ready to open a nonprofit restaurant, called Matteo, in South Park. In Hot Plates, we catch up with news on restaurant openings and closings, and unfortunately start of the new year with some significant restaurant closures: Chef DJ Tangalin closed GayaGaya, his modern Filipino restaurant in Miramar; the La Jolla location of Donovan’s Steak & Chophouse shuttered; and McCormick and Schmick's closed without warning on New Year’s Day after being in the Omni Hotel in the Gaslamp for 15 years. We end with one of the first restaurant openings of 2020—The Village in North Park replaced Anthem Vegan, and is serving vegan sushi and Mexican food. These cuisines are definitely a trend, which we explore in the January issue of San Diego Magazine. David’s 60 Second Beer Review is Back! This week, David likes the Springboard Pale Ale from Ocean Beach Brewery—it’s big collaborative beer made along with Belching Beaver, Pizza Port Brewing and Amplified Ale Works, and will be available at the Springboard West Music Festival in Ocean Beach this weekend. This week's Hot Topic is related to the plant-based trend: the company that makes the Impossible Burger announced earlier this week they're going to launch a pork alternative. It's going to come in ground and sausage versions, and you can expect to find it at Burger King soon on their croissant breakfast sandwich. We caught up with what everyone has been eating. Troy’s pick this week for Two People, $50, was Fernandez Restaurant, a birria restaurant in Nestor. Troy is currently on the hunt for who makes the best birria in San Diego—and we want to hear your suggestions on where Troy should go next! Lauren checked out Rare Society, the new steakhouse in Hillcrest from the group behind Trust, and Matteo’s pick was Wayfarer Bread—he loves their bread and pastries, especially the croissants.  We want to hear from our listeners! Do you have a question for Troy about what it's like to be a restaurant critic? Need a restaurant recommendation? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you're too shy, you can email us at [email protected].

Welcome back and happy holidays! We are wrapping up 2019 with two year-end episodes to discuss the best food, the coolest trends, the biggest headlines, and the saddest goodbyes that we featured on the show this year. In part two, the team discusses some of the food predictions that national studies and media said would be big in 2019, including: cannabis and CBD infused everything, hard seltzers like White Claw, Taiwanese cheese tea, plant-based eating, and mushrooms. We look at the past year to see if any of these trends made their way over to San Diego. Plant-based meals definitely had a huge impact at San Diego Magazine, as we dedicated our entire upcoming January 2020 issue to healthy eating and finding new vegetarian and vegan restaurants around the city. We also wanted to provide the update that we did find a place in San Diego that serves cheese tea, Happy Lemon in Kearny Mesa and Eastlake. The team also talks about what trends they saw appear in San Diego’s dining scene in 2019, as well as what they are predicting for 2020. Some things to look out for are craft sake, more comfortable chairs and carpeted restaurants, and the decline of the hazy IPA. Also in this episode, we take a look at our most downloaded episodes. What episode do you think it was? The team plus David casts their votes for their favorite guests of the year including Steven Yeng of OB Noodle House, the “Urchin King,” Peter Halmay, Brandon Zanavich from The Friendly, and more. Lastly, everyone provides their own Holiday Survival Guide to getting the most out of the festive season in San Diego, with tips like hitting up Miracle on 30th Street, a Christmas pop-up bar hosted by Polite Provisions, or checking out the cheesy holiday lighting competition between Fall Brewing Co. and Beerfish. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast, or ask Troy a question.

We are wrapping up 2019 with two year-end episodes to discuss the best food, coolest trends, biggest headlines, and saddest goodbyes in San Diego’s restaurant scene. This special episode is Part 1. Some big headlines this year included Addison becoming the first and only restaurant in San Diego to receive a Michelin Star. We also discussed the news that the owner of The Patio Group was charged by the federal government in an alleged $300 million fraud scheme, and Matt Gordon closed Urban Solace, which Troy called a “city icon.” El Jardin also had a big year with the hiring of chef Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins, gaining national acclaim, and then closing for a rebranding without Zepeda-Wilkins. Also, Cutwater Spirits was bought by Anheuser-Busch, and Constellation Brands sold off Ballast Point to a small brewery in Illinois. We also revealed the overall most-read story of 2019 on the San Diego Magazine website. Hint: It has something to do with food. Troy's most-read stories this year were “First Look of Il Dandy,” "The Best Soup Dumplings in San Diego," "The Problem with Bright Red Tuna," and "Restaurants Are Dying; Here's the Solution." Also in this episode, the team plus David reveal their personal best restaurants, best dishes, best breweries and saddest closures of 2019. Some places on their lists include: Original 40 Brewing Company, Fort Oak, De Cabeza, Animae, and Blue Point. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! What was the best thing you ate at a restaurant in San Diego this year? Or do you have a question for Troy? Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can also give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

We’re kicking off December with a small announcement: After a good run, we’re retiring the column VIT (Very Important Taco) as we head into 2020 and are redesigning San Diego Magazine. We’re adding new departments and columns throughout the magazine, including the food section, as we’re about to unveil a brand new look. Don’t worry, we still plan on writing about tacos, but we’re making room to feature other dishes in the Mexican food canon along with more cuisines from around the world. This week’s podcast features our last, but not least, VIT: the pork birria and funghi ranchero tacos at Dos Tierras. In the studio with us today is Dos Tierras’ founder, Sergio Garcia Manriquez, and he talks about how his mobile catering business brings a taste of Mexico that isn’t commonly found in San Diego—cooking techniques from Michoacan, Mexico’s countryside—to various pop-up events and locations throughout the county. Sergio shares his journey with us, from growing up cooking with his grandmother to working in corporate America, and then shifting his career to focus on the culinary arts and eventually starting his own business. This month, Sergio is opening a vegan Mexican eatery, OleriCultura, in the food court at Grossmont Center. In Hot Plates, we talked about Blue Ocean Sushi and Harumama bringing Japanese food and adorable buns shaped like animals to La Jolla, Bottle Rocket Rocket Bar and Grill opening in the former Monkey Paw space in East Village, and that Jarrod Moiles, former executive chef of the Patio Group, has landed at Decoy Dockside in San Marcos. We also asked why J & Tony’s Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse took a popular sandwich (made with prosciutto and French butter) off their menu after being open for just a few months—because we all loved it! David’s pick for the 60 Second Beer Review this week is White Labs Brewing Company’s Brut Saison. We wrap up with Two People, $50: Sergio had two picks, TJ Oyster Bar and the gumbo at Bud & Rob’s New Orleans Bistro. Troy liked the xiao long bao at Dumpling Inn and maintains they’re the best soup dumplings in San Diego. David gave us his pick for the week, the bone marrow appetizer at Starlite, which comes with the option of a whiskey luge—the bone marrow shot isn’t written on the menu, so be sure to ask for it. What's your pick for Two People, $50? Is there a local chef or restaurant owner that you want us to interview on the show? Or do you want to ask Troy a question about what it’s like to be a restaurant critic? Feel free to reach out to us! You can call us at 619-744-0535 or email us at [email protected] if you’re too shy to leave a voicemail.

Today is our special Thanksgiving episode, and joining us in the studio is Colleen Foster, Environmental Officer for the City of Oceanside, to talk about the new Green Oceanside Kitchen and its mission to end food waste and serve the community. Green Oceanside is a commercial kitchen and storage facility that is part of the city’s new food rescue program, where they teamed up with local nonprofit O’Side Kitchen Collaborative to collect unwanted food from farmers, backyards and restaurants, and make meals to feed those in need. Colleen says that 40 percent of the food grown in the U.S. is wasted, and that one in five children in San Diego is food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Colleen says they also host culinary demonstrations and workforce training classes at the kitchen, and they can also cater events. In Hot Plates, we discussed the news that chef Marco Maestoso is closing his namesake restaurant at the Hub in Hillcrest, and that its last day of dinner service will be Saturday, November 30. Troy named it the best Italian restaurant in San Diego in our annual Best Restaurants list this year, and Maestoso also received a mention in the Michelin Guide. Double Standard closed after a five-year run in the East Village, and Jeune et Jolie was recently named one of the best restaurants in the country by Esquire magazine—but listen in to find out why we’re not thrilled about how the writer described San Diego. We end Hot Plates with a local feel-good story that has been making national news: A customer gave Nomad Donuts in North Park a one-star review on Yelp because there is a homeless man who hangs out near the storefront. The owner of Nomad Donuts came to the man’s defense and posted a response to the customer, and it’s definitely worth a read. David’s 60 Second Beer Review is back! This week, he tells us why we should drink the Home of Indie IPA by Home Brewing Company. For Two People, $50, Troy’s pick this week was Con Pane Rustic Breads and Café, and he also tells us what it was like to dine at the three-Michelin-starred The French Laundry, where he recently went during his honeymoon. Lauren liked Rare Society, the new steakhouse in Hillcrest, and Erin’s pick was the Farmer & The Seahorse. Colleen represented Oceanside and selected the sushi at Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub. We end today’s show with the staff sharing their favorite hacks for cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Speaking of Thanksgiving, the editors at San Diego Magazine need your help! We want to hear from people who are experiencing their first Thanksgiving this year. What do you think of the American tradition? We want to hear your impressions and observations about the holiday, or if you hosted someone for their first Thanksgiving. Email [email protected] if you have a story to share! We have a phone number and email for this podcast now! We're going to end each podcast with a question for our listeners, and you can call us at 619-744-0535 or [email protected], and leave us a message. What's your pick for Two People, $50? Or do you want to ask Troy a question? Feel free to reach out to us!

This week’s special guest is Fernando Gaxiola, founder of Baja Wine and Food. Fernando was born and raised in Mexico and has a degree in engineering, as well as an MBA from Arizona State University. He spent years traveling and consulting around the world, but in 2011, settled in the San Diego-Tijuana area. In 2013, he launched Baja Wine and Food, a tour company which takes people to the boutique wineries and restaurants in the Valle de Guadalupe, Baja's wine country. He also helps these vintners distribute their wines internationally and promotes their events. We featured Baja Wine and Food in this month's Food Lover's Guide as an Immersive Food Experience. For Two People, $50, Fernando chose Lola 55, which is located in his same office building, so he says it’s both convenient and delicious. Lauren chose Tribute Pizza, but for the brunch, not for the pizza—she says they have the best bagels and breakfast calzones. Troy chose the Staff’s Favorite pizza at Blue Ribbon in Encinitas. In Hot Plates, we discussed the opening of a 6,000-square-foot conveyor belt sushi restaurant near Convoy called Mikami. San Diego just got a Venezuelan restaurant: Mi Pana Latin American Cuisine just opened in National City after the Venezuelan owner said he didn't see the cuisine being represented here. Feeding San Diego, a local nonprofit, says they are using a new app called MealConnect, created by Feed America. The app allows hotels, restaurants, events planners, farmers’ markets vendors, and convenience stores to donate their extra food and have someone come pick it up, like an Uber for food donations. This week’s Hot Topic was brought to us by one of our listeners, Tom. Tom just moved to South Park from the Bay Area a year ago, and he wrote to us with some questions about what’s going on with some of the restaurants in the neighborhood: he says several are still under construction or have delayed openings. Lauren has intel on the status of each restaurant Tom asked about, and Troy gave us insight on why there might be a backlog in the permitting process. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour podcast! Our sponsor this week is the SoNo Fest and Chili Cook-Off, and with us today is long-time chili competitor and beer donor, Lee Chase from Automatic Brewing, Tiger! Tiger!, Blind Lady Ale House and Panama 66. SoNo Fest is now one of the largest festivals in the North and South Park neighborhoods and is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year on December 1. This week’s special guest is Tommy Gomes, also known as Tommy the Fishmonger. Tommy joined us on the podcast in 2017, but is back to talk about his new consulting and advocacy work under his new brand, Tommy the Fishmonger. Tommy has a long history in San Diego working for Catalina Offshore Products, helping them open the Seafood Education and Nutrition Center. Tommy also founded Collaboration Kitchen, a nonprofit dinner series focused on seafood education, and you can also find him on YouTube cooking up some great seafood recipes. Tommy’s work helped Catalina Offshore receive a grant in 2019 to help expand the demand for underutilized species. We featured Tommy in our latest issue's Food Lovers’ Guide, where he gave us tips on how to buy the best seafood. For Two People, $50, Tommy chose Volare on Midway because he says their pasta with red sauce is the most authentic in San Diego. He also chose Fiddlers Green because you can get a steak with a baked potato and a salad for just $12. Lauren chose Brian Malarkey and Chris Puffer’s new restaurant, Herb and Sea. Troy liked the garlic chicken wrap at Mama’s Bakery and Lebanese Deli. In Hot Plates, it was all about restaurant openings: the new Puffer Malarkey Collective, Herb and Sea, the new Hillcrest steakhouse, Rare Society, and a new Southern restaurant in Hillcrest, Sunnyboy Biscuit Company. We also talked about Daniela Martinez, the pastry chef at Il Dandy—she just won the Sweets Showdown on the Food Network show Chopped. Daniela competed against the chefs from Milk Bar in New York and Broken Spanish in LA, and won $50,000! This week’s Hot Topic is about what to do when you’re a huge foodie, but you have a kid who is a picky eater. Troy wrote a heartfelt essay for the November issue and shared that while he’s a restaurant critic and an adventurous eater for a living, his daughter has a long list of things that she will not eat. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

This week’s special guest is Rick Chapman, the co-founder of Coronado Brewing Company, which has been open for over 23 years. Rick and his brother, Ron, opened the brewpub in the heart of their hometown of Coronado in 1996. Since then, their beers have won some major awards, including the 2014 World Beer Cup Champion for Best Mid-Sized Brewery, and they won four medals at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival competition. They expanded in 2012 with a state-of-the-art production facility and tasting room in Bay Park, and in 2014, they opened up the Imperial Beach Restaurant. They have also expanded their brewhouse to meet the distribution demands of 16 states and 15 countries. For Two People, $50, Rick gave us a few choices: Kaiserhof Restaurant and Biergarten in OB, and his Coronado favorites, Village Pizza, Lil’ Piggy’s Bar-B-Q, and the Brigantine. Lauren chose George’s Level 2 because of their creative custom cocktails, like the pumpkin spice margarita. Erin chose Waypoint Public because of its family-friendly atmosphere and its beer cheese dipping sauce. Troy chose a favorite of many local chefs, The Joint in OB, but you will likely spend over $50 for this delicious, fresh food. In Hot Plates, we talked about how Accursio Lota, formerly of Solare, announced a while back he was going solo and took over the Cardamom Café and Bakery space in North Park to open a new Sicialian restaurant named Cori Pastifico. Park Commons, the new food hall in Sorrento Valley from Whisknladle, will be opening on November 11, and it will have five fast-casual restaurants and a full bar. This week’s Hot Topic is about labels on beer bottles going paperless! A recent article in Food & Wine talks about how Anheuser-Busch is experimenting with something called “direct object printing,” where they will apply the ink and varnish “label” directly on the glass, instead of using paper and an adhesive. Beck's Brewery is currently using this technology in the U.K. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Welcome back! We’re here at the Hotel Del Coronado with Sara Harper, the director of marketing for the Hotel Del and Beach Village at the Del. Sara oversees all the branding for the iconic resort. This week’s special guest is here right in time for Halloween. Joining us is Amar Harrag, the co-owner of Tahona restaurant and mezcal bar in Old Town, which has a new speakeasy that just opened called Oculto 477. Tahona, opened earlier this year, is the city’s first mezcal tasting room. Both drinking dens are next door to the old El Campo Santo Cemetery. We learned that Amar is a native of Antibes in the south of France, and a graduate of the University of San Diego. In addition to Tahona, he co-owns Matisse Bistro in San Diego and Irvine, and runs the real estate brokerage Allied Green Realty. He is also the founder of the San Diego chapter of Corazon de Vida and sits on the board of directors for Create Purpose—both are nonprofits that help orphaned and abandoned children in Mexico. For Two People, $50, Amar chose Tacos El Gordo for quick and delicious carne asada and lengua tacos. Troy picked El Pescador because of their tasty local fish. Lauren chose Tiger!Tiger!, which recently had a Japanese craft beer pop-up (she enjoyed a matcha lager). Erin ventured out to East County with her family and had smoked turkey on a roll at Grand Ole BBQ. In Hot Plates, we talked about how after more than 50 years in business, Su Casa in La Jolla closed. There is a new Oaxacan restaurant coming to Hillcrest named Cocina de Barrio, replacing the old Swami's Cafe on Fifth Avenue. SKA Bar and Restaurant is a new two-story rooftop bar in Normal Heights on Adams Avenue—it’s now the largest restaurant and bar in the neighborhood. David’s 60 Second Beer Review this week is Collabapalooza—it's a mix of Queen of Tarts from Karl Strauss and Tabula Rasa porter from Second Chance Beer Company, blended in wine barrels with Michigan tart cherries. This week’s Hot Topic is from a recent story from the San Francisco Chronicle, which says that the gig economy (and companies like Uber and Lyft) are making it harder for restaurant owners in the Bay Area to find new kitchen staff. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast

Welcome to a very special episode of the Happy Half Hour! This week, we are sailing through San Diego Bay on the High Spirits, a vintage ship belonging to Hornblower Cruises and Events. We’re chatting with the marketing manager, director of food and beverage, national sales manager, executive chef, and the captain who make the Hornblower cruises sail so smoothly. Hornblower offers several different dining cruises which include brunch, cocktails, dinner and holiday cruises, whale watching tours (resuming on December 14), and private events like weddings, and corporate and school events. There are seven different Hornblower ships in San Diego, with the biggest one hosting up to 1,200 people. Sophie Shrader, marketing manager and fan of the Happy Half Hour podcast, tells us Hornblower Cruises and Events is hosting a Thanksgiving brunch and dinner, as well as a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day brunch and dinner complete with carolers and Santa. If she’s not eating a delicious holiday dinner on the Hornblower, Sophie says she likes to indulge in the cheese wheel pasta at Monello in Little Italy. Next up is Chris Schlerf, director of food and beverage—and previously Troy’s boss when Troy worked for Hornblower back in the day. Chris has been with the company for 32 years, and focuses on gathering local and seasonal ingredients in addition to providing free-flowing Champagne during their brunch cruises with bottomless mimosas. His famous grandmother’s bread pudding, which is still on the menu today, started in 1987 when Chris was working in the Bay Area and made the pudding out of day-old Danish pastries. While waiting for our entrees to arrive, we talk to Mandy Brown, national sales manager, who takes care of business not only here in San Diego, but in the many other ports the company has on both the East and West Coast (they have more than 100 vessels). Mandy says when she’s not eating on the boat, she goes to Pete’s Seafood and Sandwich to get the mozzarella sticks filled with either mozzarella or pepper jack cheese. While digging into our main courses, we chat with Dave Mango, executive chef for Hornblower. He had his start in Boston and loves to be creative with his cooking, even in the small, cramped cooking quarters. For example, he recreated the 10-course, final meal served on the Titanic for a special themed cruise. In addition to cooking on the Hornblower, Dave is the executive chef at Union Kitchen & Tap downtown, which serves what he calls the best chilaquiles north of TJ. Captain Jose Gurganus is the last guest of the night, and he just celebrated his 25th anniversary with Hornblower Cruise and Events! The captain says when he’s not saving struggling jet skiers or partaking in dinner on the boat, he likes to go to Leroy's on Coronado with his wife and order the deviled eggs. Visit hornblower.com to schedule your next dining, whale watching, or special event cruise aboard one of the many Hornblower ships.

This week’s special guest is Matt Sieve, the owner of Madison on Park. Matt opened the restaurant and bar in University Heights four years ago, and their newest drink, called the “Queen of Crowns,” is going to be featured as the cocktail of the month in the November issue of San Diego Magazine. Recently, Madison generated buzz for being at the forefront of making CBD cocktails in San Diego. Matt is a third-generation restaurant owner—he is one of five brothers, and his family owns five restaurants in Minnesota, one of which is 100 years old. For Two People, $50, Matt gave us an entire day of food for $50 starting with breakfast at Little Lion Cafe in Ocean Beach. For lunch, he recommends going up the coast to Mission Beach for the No. 9 sandwich at Gabbiano Pizza. He then goes to The Rose in South Park for some appetizers, then drops into the Turf Supper Club for a dirty martini. Matt finishes off the day with a Cali burrito from Adalbertos. In Hot Plates, we talked about Patxi's Pizza, a chain from the Bay Area focused on Chicago deep dish pizza, opening today in Hillcrest. Valle de Guadalupe has a new restaurant called Lunario at La Lomita Winery, with 28-year-old chef Sheyla Alvarado creating a masterful menu. The rooftop bar downtown, The Nolen, quietly went through a Paul Basile redesign. Convergence Harvest is a new food festival happening on November 2 at Temecula Olive Oil Company. The event brings together top local talent intermixed with farmers, fishermen, and producers (plus local, natural winemakers and breweries) and benefits The Ecology Center. David’s 60 Second Beer Review this week is Sea Señor, a Mexican-style lager from South Norte Beer Co. This week’s Hot Topic is about how millennials are fleeing cities and heading to the burbs. The Wall Street Journal reported that recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau says 27,000 millennials between the ages of 25 and 39 left big cities like New York, San Francisco, and Houston last year for the suburbs. Locally, we're seeing cooler restaurants like these pop up in the suburbs: The Florence, One Paseo, and Windmill Food Hall in Carlsbad. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

This week we have a very special episode, and it’s a must-listen. Our guest is Steven Yeng, the co-founder of OB Noodle House, The Holding Company and Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, which launched nationally and will be available in all 50 states by the end of this month. Steven is a Cambodian-born immigrant and polio survivor, and he grew up in Ocean Beach, where he met his now-wife, Brittany. He’s known in the community for his philanthropy, and last year he won the Humanitarian of the Year award from the Ocean Beach Town Council. Steven shared his origin story with us, and it’s harrowing: His family had to flee Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge, and they spent four years in a refugee camp in Thailand before they made it to the U.S., settling in Ocean Beach. We learn how Steven’s parents starting working at and eventually bought OB Donuts, and the backstory to Steven and his brother opening OB Noodle House. Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey is Steven’s latest venture, which he co-founded with Brittany, who has a master’s degree in chemistry. Steven tells us that peanut butter has a special place in his heart, because it’s one of the first foods he was introduced to when he arrived in the U.S. David’s 60-second beer review this week is Pedaleur,  a limited edition session IPA collaboration brew from Rouleur Brewing Company. It supports  Padres Pedal the Cause, a leading nonprofit that raises money for cancer research organizations throughout San Diego. For Two People, $50, Steven chose a gathering of street food vendors stationed at the Wat Sovannkiri Buddhist temple in City Heights. He said it’s a great place to pick up some yakitori and papaya salad, and your money goes to helping those in need. Lauren’s pick this week was Anime, where she tasted several of their appetizers. And Troy’s pick this week was the mango habanero and chipotle hot wings at Buffalo Wing Star in Linda Vista. In Hot Plates, we talked about two recent restaurant closings: The Land & Water Co. in Carlsbad and Oscar's Mexican Seafood in the East Village. We also talked about “Wasted,” an event where 35 local and national chefs and bartenders are challenged to prepare dishes and cocktails using food that might otherwise be thrown away. There was also a lot of chicken news this week: Dave's Hot Chicken is expanding from Los Angeles and opening in San Diego, and Pluck just opened in Carlsbad. This is perfect timing because Troy is currently on the hunt for the best chicken wings in San Diego. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

This week’s special guest is Brandon Zanavich, owner of The Friendly in North Park. The Friendly is known for its New York-style pizza and “dirty flat top cheeseburgers.” Customers aren’t allowed to modify anything on the burgers, so what you order is what you get: butter-braised onions, American cheese, and garlic aioli all piled on top of a grilled burger patty. Brandon recently teamed up with Hanis Cavin of the Porchetta Shack to open a second location, The Friendly Tavern, in the Shack’s former walk-up space on University Avenue. The stand has only been open for a few weeks, and so far, business has been good, Brandon says. For Two People, $50, Brandon chose Dumpling Inn on Convoy Street. Lauren’s pick this week was Zinqué, a new French restaurant where Troy had the First Look when it opened in September. And Troy’s pick this week was Born and Raised, where he thoroughly enjoyed the bone marrow escargot. In Hot Plates, we talked about the owner of Pokirrito closing both the Little Italy and Convoy locations, and converting them into Japanese vegan restaurants. A crew of retired woodworkers opened up a new coffee shop in the industrial part of Morena, Claro Coffee. There will be a special winemakers dinner at Rancho Valencia, “The Soul of Baja,” featuring wineries and chefs from the Valle de Guadalupe, like David Castro Hussong of Fauna and Viviana Martinez of Mixtura, who will be cooking a family-style dinner. There will be wines available from five different vineyards, and you can meet the winemakers, too. This week’s Hot Topic is celebrity-owned liquor brands. It’s not a new concept, but several new celebrity-backed liquors have been launched recently. A recent story in Business Insider said that ever since George Clooney sold Casamigos Tequila for $1 billion, more celebrities seem to be jumping on this train—even Ryan Reynolds bought a gin company, Aviation Gin, in 2018. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

This week’s special guest is Justin Vaiciunas, the executive chef at the new Guild Hotel on Broadway, and its in-house restaurant Luca. Justin is from Detroit, where he was the chef at the city’s prestigious Detroit Athletic Club. He loves to travel and experience new cultures, foods, and cooking techniques. His taste for adventure recently brought him to Food Network to compete on the show, “Cutthroat Kitchen,” where he had to make breakfast tacos on a pullout couch. Justin gave us two picks for Two People, $50: Stone Brewing in Liberty Station and Nolita Hall. Erin shared that she celebrated her 11-year anniversary with her husband at one of their favorite restaurants, Jaynes Gastropub, where she can always count on a perfect martini and classic menu. Lauren’s pick this week was Bivouac where she was able to try some great, dry ciders (even a festive Pumpkin Spice flavored cider). Troy’s pick was Galaxy Taco, where he chose their grilled yellowtail taco as the Very Important Taco in April. In Hot Plates, we talked about the latest update on the Patio restaurants: The Patio on Goldfinch, Fireside by the Patio, The Patio Express, and Bao Beach and Swell Coffee have closed. Blade 1936 is now open in Oceanside and Troy got the First Look at this new Italian restaurant named after the newspaper that occupied the space in the ’30s. WhipHand in the East Village closed. Lastly, there will be a food festival at the San Diego Asian Film Festival called “Chew the Scene.” This week’s Hot Topic is DoorDash’s recent security breach, where nearly 5 million customers and drivers may have had their personal data exposed, according to the Washington Post. Jason shared on the podcast that Luca does partner with all of the delivery apps, and is hoping to gain more business through them. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.

Welcome back! This episode is brought to you by our sponsors, Angela Landsberg, executive director of North Park Main Street, and Sara Crichlow from Redwing Bar & Grill on 30th Street. Redwing has karaoke seven days a week and a full patio bar in the back, so get ready to drink, eat and then belt out your favorite song. This week’s special guest is Eric Adler, co-founder of Puesto. Eric grew up in a Mexican American household in La Jolla, and home-cooked meals were a big part of his childhood, which he says cemented his love for food. Eric moved to Boston for college, then he went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. to earn his master’s in sports business, and went on to work with pro sports teams like the Washington Wizards. In 2010, he moved back to San Diego, and met chef Luisteen Gonzalez at a party. Chef Luisteen was making creative tacos wrapped in layers of crispy cheese, and Eric wanted in. A year later, Eric teamed up with his two brothers and two cousins to open Puesto in La Jolla. Puesto now has six locations in San Diego, Orange County, and the Bay Area, and they’re about to open their seventh restaurant in the old Gordon Biersch space in Mission Valley—where they’ll start brewing their own beer onsite. Another exciting feature is that someone from a (still unnamed) three-star Michelin restaurant will be heading up the new cocktail menu. Eric gave us his pick for Two People, $50, and he chose El Pescador Fish Market in La Jolla because of their salmon and crab sandwiches on sourdough. Erin shared that Jim Fitzpatrick, CEO and publisher of San Diego Magazine, sent in his pick for Two People, $50, to the podcast’s email address: Jim chose dinner at La Jolla Shores Hotel because the view and good food can’t be beat. Lauren’s pick this week was J & Tony’s Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse, a bar that just opened this summer in the East Village which is serving up canned seafood and drinks that James Bond would hate, stirred not shaken over hand-cut ice. Troy’s pick this week was the lamb barbacoa tacos on the patio at Luce Bar. In Hot Plates, we talked about the closing of Seasucker in Del Mar, set for October 30. Troy got a First Look at Brian Malarkey’s new $5.5 million-dollar restaurant, Animae, that opened on the bottom floor of the Pacific Gate complex by Bosa. There’s a rooftop bar on the 16th floor of the new Carte Hotel in Little Italy just opened, called Above Ash Social. The owners of The Rose wine bar in South Park are opening up a new bar on 30th Street devoted to oysters and gin, Mabel’s Gone Fishing. Stories written by our own Troy Johnson are now part of college curriculums—one of his articles, “Farm to Fable,” was published in a MacMillan textbook! This week’s Hot Topic is the release of some new programs that Yelp just launched on its app, like a newsfeed feature called “Yelp Connect,” according to Nation’s Restaurant News. Restaurants can pay $200 a month to be a part of the service, where they can share real-time updates with users about menu changes, happy hour deals, and special dining events. Diners can now “follow” their favorite restaurants on the app. Eric says he will definitely try these new features out, especially with the opening of his new Puesto location coming up. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast, or ask Troy a question!

Welcome back! This episode is brought to you by our sponsors, Angela Landsberg, executive director of North Park Main Street, and Lara Worm, co-founder of Bivouac Ciderworks, a craft cider company with a taproom in the heart of North Park. Bivouac is currently distributed in bars and restaurants around San Diego County and will be releasing cans next month. This week’s special guest is Steve Billings, the owner of U-31 in North Park and the newly opened Original 40 Brewing Company on University Avenue, which Troy got the First Look at before it opened. Steve is a fifth-generation San Diegan, and he and his wife first got into the business when they bought Buster Daly’s bar in back in 2006, and converted it into U-31 the following year. North Park was a very different neighborhood back then compared to what it is now. Steve shared in the podcast that after just two weeks of opening his first bar, there was a drive-by shooting right outside the front doors. When Steve talked about opening up Original 40, he said his wife had two conditions: they had to serve wine and it had to be comfortable. Steve bought some comfortable chairs online and learned how he could sell wine out of a brewery. Steve gave us two picks for Two People, $50: Tribute Pizza and One Door North. Erin shared that she, after two years, was finally able to try Himitsu, a small sushi bar in La Jolla. Lauren’s pick this week was Goi Cuon, a new Vietnamese restaurant in Hillcrest dedicated to making spring rolls. Troy’s pick was Chiko, a Chinese/Korean restaurant that’s been on his radar for a while now—he said the orange-ish chicken dish there is a must. In Hot Plates, we talked about the fraud investigation of Gina Champion-Cain, who owned the Patio restaurants and Saska's in Mission Beach. The Union- Tribune released a story talking about whether or not her restaurants will be shut down as this investigation moves forward. The Windmill Food Hall just opened in Carlsbad, and this is the area’s first food hall establishment. It has 14 vendors in the 12,000-square-foot space including Cross Street Chicken and Beer, Notorious Burgers, and The Poke Stand. A new Italian restaurant, Siamo Napoli, just opened in North Park on 30th Street taking over the space where Il Postino was. And lastly, Restaurant Week is coming up with some great deals at over 180 restaurants all over San Diego! This week’s Hot Topic is an innovative Happy Hour happening in Finland, which we read about in the New York Times: A grocery store happy hour! S-market, a grocery chain that has 900 stores throughout the country, has a “happy hour” every day at 9 p.m., where they slash the prices of food that is about to expire by 60 percent. The store started this to combat food waste, and local shoppers the New York Times interviewed said they’re getting hooked on the sales and are becoming "regulars" at the store. In the podcast, Steve says that in his restaurant, he would much rather not have enough of something than throw it away. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast, or ask Troy a question!

Welcome back! We’re taping this week’s episode at Kashi, which we learned is still headquartered in Solana Beach and is celebrating its 35th anniversary. We talked about the company’s rebranding and some new products that they’ve launched recently. This week’s special guest is Gina Marsaglia, who founded Pizza Port with her brother, Vince, in Solana Beach back in 1987. Pizza Port is a stalwart of the Solana Beach Community, and they still have the original location on Highway 101 in addition to four other locations throughout the county. A sixth Pizza Port location is also coming soon, as they’re looking to expand to Imperial Beach. Gina shares details of Pizza Port’s origin story: She bought the restaurant when she was in her early 20s, and moved from San Luis Obispo to take over the then-sleepy pizza stand when the opportunity came up to purchase it. The early days were rough—she and her brother had to sleep in the restaurant for three months after purchasing it because they couldn’t afford an apartment. Vince started experimenting with brewing beer in the back of the restaurant, and his hobby became a cornerstone of the business when friends urged them to start selling the beer in the restaurant. They put craft beer on the menu in 1992, and the rest is history. Gina tells us what their best-selling beer is (and shares her personal favorite), and said her pick for Two People, $50 is Sushi Kuchi in Carlsbad. Lauren’s pick was Little Frenchie in Coronado, and Troy liked Il Dandy, which he is reviewing for our upcoming October issue. In Hot Plates, we learned that Aqui Es Texcoco, the famous lamb barbacoa spot in Chula Vista, relocated to a larger location. The owners also opened a new restaurant, De Cabeza. Up in North County, the Apple Festival at Palomar Mountain State Park is cancelled for this year—a release said the festival became too popular and the park couldn’t handle the number of people that have been showing up (but they plan to bring the festival back in 2020). This week's Hot Topic is about the effect of increasing the minimum wage for restaurant workers. A recent article from The Gothamist says New York's restaurant industry witnessed "a strong economic expansion" as wages grew between 2013 and 2018, and that the city’s restaurants are doing much better compared to 12 other cities that have not undergone a minimum wage hike. Troy shared his take on this study since he’s extensively covered this issue, and Gina gives us the business owner perspective. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast, or ask Troy a question!

Welcome to a very special episode of the Happy Half Hour! This week, we’re chatting with chef Richard Blais, this year’s culinary ambassador for KAABOO Del Mar, three days of music, comedy shows, and live cooking performances from top chefs at the Del Mar Racetrack. KAABOO kicks off this Friday, September 13, and lasts through Sunday, September 15. At the “Palate Stage,” you can see Richard and chefs such as Michael Mina, Travis Swikard, and Nyesha Arrington do a live cooking performance. Richard will be at the Palate Stage on Sunday, September 15, and our very own food critic Troy Johnson will be there every day emceeing the chefs’ performances. Richard chatted with us about everything we can expect to find at KAABOO this year—which we say is a “grown up concert” because there’s plenty of creature comforts onsite like nice bathrooms, seating areas, and air-conditioned spaces to cool off. Richard also tells us why he hates the term “cooking demonstration,” how he preps for live shows and TV tapings, and how our restaurant culture has changed over the years, requiring chefs to be performers today. Richard and Troy both revealed what it’s really like to cook in front of a live audience—and talk the entire time (it’s not easy!)—and shared some of their biggest mistakes and disasters. Along with live cooking performances, there’s a lot of food, wine, beer, and cocktails to enjoy at KAABOO this year. One highlight that we talk about is the number of food trucks that will be there, and that there are trucks coming from LA and all over Southern California, in addition to local vendors like Wicked Maine Lobster, The Baked Bear, and Union Food Truck. Finally, in addition to three days of music with headliners like Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, Dave Matthews Band, and Mumford & Sons, get ready to dance at KAABOO! This year, KAABOO is attempting to break the world record for the biggest silent disco and the largest simultaneous running man. Visit kaaboodelmar.com to see the complete lineup, or download the app to stay up to date with latest info.

We’re taping this week’s episode at our sponsor, Kashi, which we learned is still headquartered in Solana Beach and is celebrating its 35th anniversary. This week’s special guest is visiting us all the way from Baja! David Castro Hussong is the chef at Fauna, the restaurant inside Bruma, a resort in the Valle de Guadalupe. If his last name sounds familiar, it’s because his family owns the famous Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, where the margarita is said to have been invented. David spent several years working in the kitchen in some of the world’s best restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, before he moved back to Mexico two years ago. He shared with us what he learned from acclaimed chefs like Dan Barber, and all that’s happening in the Valle, which has been called the “Tuscany of Mexico.” David’s wife, Maribel—who is the pastry chef at Fauna—will be representing the restaurant at the upcoming Valle Food & Wine Festival on October 5. David’s pick for Two People, $50 is Carreta de Mariscos el Gordito, a seafood stand that’s been in Ensenada since the ’60s. The staff’s picks this week were Herb & Wood, Trust, and Terra American Bistro. In Hot Plates, we talked about the news that the owners of Trust and Fort Oak are taking over the old Brooklyn Girl in Mission Hills and opening Cardellino, and that they closed Hundred Proof to change the concept into a steakhouse. A new Italian food hall, RoVino The Foodery, opened in the East Village. Old Town is getting its own speakeasy with the opening of Oculto 477 inside of Tahona. This week’s Hot Topic is the good news that a small food truck in Tijuana, Mariscos Ruben, just made Food & Wine’s list of the World's Best Restaurants. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast, or ask Troy a question!

Welcome back! This week's special guest is Rachel King, an acclaimed pastry chef who has worked at restaurants such as Nine-Ten and Mister A's. When she was the pastry chef at Searsucker in 2013, she was nominated for Best New Pastry Chef: West Region by Food & Wine magazine. After working at San Diego’s top restaurants, Rachel branched off on her own into the world of edibles, and founded Kaneh Co. As the culinary director, she creates all the recipes for the brand’s gourmet cookies, jellies, and brownies that are infused with California-grown cannabis extract. Rachel talks about how she made this pivot in her career, and how there’s still judgment against people who work in the cannabis industry (despite it being legalized in California). She also sheds some light on the process behind making edibles at the consumer level: it’s highly regulated, and requires exacting precision. Rachel’s pick for Two People, $50, is the Thai food at The Original Sab-E-Lee. Troy recommended the homestyle Mexican cuisine at Super Cocina, and Lauren liked the new menu at Soda & Swine. In Hot Plates, we learned that Callie is going to open in the East Village and will be run by a star chef with local ties. Communal Coffee is expanding to a new location in South Park. The new “Invigatorium” café from Modern Times and CH Projects opened in the East Village. Barrio Dogg, a popular gourmet hot dog shop on Logan Avenue, expanded with a new tap room that serves beers from both sides of the border. David’s 60 Second Beer Review this week is Chrispy Boi Helles Lager by The Original 40 Brewing Company. This week's Hot Topic is about a recent study that was done on food delivery apps and services like Uber Eats, GrubHub and Doordash. If you're the paranoid type, you may want to stop reading now: A survey done by US Foods says that nearly 30 percent of delivery drivers admitted to taking food from an order, and 54 percent admitted that they're "often tempted by the smell of the food." And this part of the survey is not surprising: 85 percent of customers surveyed said they want restaurants to use tamper-evident labels to address this issue. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast, or ask Troy a question!

This week’s special guest is Cris Liang, co-owner of Common Theory Public House and its accompanying speakeasy, Realm of the 52 Remedies, which was Troy's pick for Best Design in our recent Best Restaurants issue and featured in the August Neighborhood Guide on Kearny Mesa. If you haven't been yet, Common Theory is an elevated gastropub on Convoy Street that has a menu created by chef Jonathan Bautista, who was formerly the head chef at George's by the Cove. Cris opened it in 2014 with his childhood friend, Joon Lee, and said the pub represents their Chinese, Mexican and Korean heritage. Cris was born in Rosarito, Mexico, and he spoke about the large Chinese community in Baja California, and shared that he spent his childhood and teen years eating and shopping in the Convoy District. Even though he earned a degree in structural engineering from UC San Diego, he chose to follow his passion by going into the restaurant and nightlife business. Cris is part of a wave of local entrepreneurs that are bringing new life to Convoy, and he also talked about the district’s long-term goals to make the area more walkable and vibrant. Cris’s pick for Two People, $50, was Crab Hut, and Lauren liked Il Dandy. Troy was just in the Valle de Guadalupe and confessed his pick is more like “Two People, $200,” but he wanted to give a shout out to Deckman’s en el Mogor. In Hot Plates, we talked about Corner Chicken, which is going into the former Café Chole space; LA’s Zinque is opening a location in Little Italy; Jeune et Jolie launched a prix-fixe menu, on Monday nights only, that includes three courses for $35; and that Paradise Point is being renovated into a Margaritaville—the resort is still open, and the complete change won’t commence until next year. This week’s Hot Topic is the new law in California that lets customers bring their own containers and cups to restaurants for takeout orders. Gavin Newsom signed the bill in July, but it's not clear whether restaurants and customers will embrace this. It's completely voluntary: a restaurant does not have to accept a customer’s containers if they don't want to, and there's also very specific rules about how to keep things sanitary in the kitchen. Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, or let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast.