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Stories by Charlie Morgenstern

Sushi fans head to Serra Mesa

You have to want to go to a sushi bar such as Kokoro. Apologies to Serra Mesa residents, but this place isn’t near anything. Chef/owner Akio Ishito claims “many Japanese” seek out his restaurant, and …

Tasting the beast

Near as I can tell, Buty Vineyards produces Beast wine as the experimental section of their operation in Washington’s Columbia Valley. For this particular bottling, the winemakers blended Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Mourvèdre (if …

Young, white wine in the La Jolla sunshine

You can’t help but like the way the sun streams into a southwest exposure during the afternoon in Bird Rock. This time of year, it slides in obliquely, without the driving force of summer, but …

How many ramen shops can San Diego sustain?

How long does a restaurant have to stay open before a GRAND OPENING sign comes down? Nishiki Ramen, sharing a parking lot with Mitsuwa market, still proudly flies their big, red banner, six months after …

Have you tried the bone broth?

In the world of nightlife and dining, there are cool scenes and there are bad scenes. There are plenty of weird scenes out there, too. Then, there are the random scenes, the likes of which …

USD’s secret

“People lined up around the block!” states one exuberant diner, his orotund voice booming with joyous, blustery, academic indifference. “They’ve never had voter turnout like that before,” he adds, closing his assessment of Bernie Sanders’ …

Burgers and beer, then and now

It’s easy to talk about a restaurant’s food. Almost too easy. Sometimes there are better stories to be told if you go a little deeper. In the mid-‘90s, all we wanted was cold Tecate, cheap …

What is “New American” anymore?

The designers of Masters Kitchen and Cocktail embraced the building’s auto parts warehouse history. Perhaps too much. Cold drafts bother when the weather turns cool, the whole place seems designed to an inhuman scale, and …

Tiny dogs and good sushi

If you’re dining on a patio somewhere, one good way to tell you’re in Del Mar is when multiple impeccably groomed, toy-sized dogs discretely nibble bits of sushi from the manicured fingers of their doting …

Expensive, and worth it

Diamond solitaires and pearls glimmer in the dim. A woman laughs loudly, sharing a private joke with the bartender as she orders another $20 glass of wine. A table of attorneys from L.A., fresh from …

Jinya offers a big dose of chic

Worlds collide to the tune of “Fresh garlic, yo! This is key!” from a well-dressed 20-something, who only moments before elaborated on how one particular dish was “so bomb” that it’s what he gets every …

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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