Rock music should have been what drew me to Metl Bar & Restaurant. That’s the new mantle of the Gaslamp space previously called The Hopping Pig. New ownership gave it a rock bar revamp late …

Counted among the world’s top amateur brewers, national and state homebrew champion Nick Corona has steadily worked toward opening his own brewery, somewhere in North County. He came close on locations in San Marcos and …

The first time I ate at Surf & Soul Spot, it was operating as a pop-up restaurant, serving fried fish and soul food select days per week at a church banquet hall in the southeast …

Call me optimistic, but I still believe food has the power to bring people of the world together, even if the times call for us to maintain a certain distance. Under normal circumstances, restaurants serving …

The slow end of the Kalasho regime At a city council meeting in September Elia spoke publicly to Kalasho: “Ben, you need help. It hurts me to see fellow Chaldeans spiral like this. It might …

In March, to mark their fifth anniversary, Ike and Yulia Gazaryan decided to renew their vows with a small event where they originally wed: at their Pushkin Russian Restaurant & Bar. With the pandemic and …

I’m not saying we jinxed it, but San Diego sports were enjoying an uncommonly good year before all sports were canceled due to coronavirus. Aztecs basketball started 26-and-0 and figured to make noise as a …

It was about three years ago next weekend that I got my first taste of the Corazon de Torta food truck. It was parked towards the back of the Reader’s Tacotopia taco festival, but buzz …

Throughout most of the county, weekly farmers markets were initially shut down on March 13, while the first rounds of covid-19 restrictions were put in place. Though many of the markets have re-opened in April, …

Whether for work, fun, or plain hunger, I reckon I’ve tried a good six or seven hundred San Diego restaurants over the years. But at remarkably few can I claim to know the whole menu. …

On El Cajon Boulevard, just about the point North Park becomes University Heights, the new taproom for Serpentine Cider was originally slated to open this weekend (2311 El Cajon Boulevard). The coronavirus had other ideas. …

A gluten free cinnamon roll shouldn’t taste this good, I tell myself, before taking another bite. Then I recall what the woman behind the counter had told me. “We sold out of the iced cinnamon …

This spring was supposed to be sort of a moment for vegan sushi in San Diego, a reminder that — minus the fish — rice, rice vinegar, and seaweed fit well within the plant-based ethos. …

It’s been a dozen years since I first started getting tacos and burritos from Los Reyes Mexican Food in Golden Hill. The family business has been at it since 1991. But only since restaurant dining …

Normally, a late morning visit to the James Coffee co-op in Little Italy would mean searching for a place to park, bumping into someone I know on the street, standing in line for a pour …

The seven pieces of sushi were packaged in the sort of container you’d expect to find in a grocery: one of those rectangular trays with a clear plastic, snap-on top. Except grocery store sushi boxes …

Since the call went out for all but essential businesses to close during the coronavirus crisis, exactly what constitutes an “essential business” has been a point of public debate. “Are restaurants?” some wonder; “Are bakeries?” …

Drink local. This has long been a rallying cry of San Diego’s beer industry. But nearly a month into California’s covid-19 shutdown, the overture has more urgency than ever. Particularly for breweries that rely on …

I don’t know what it says about our appetites in isolation, but well before noon the stand for Da-Le-Ranch meats had sold out of rabbit. Duck breast and Cornish game hen too. This was the …

Once upon a time, before people wore protective masks outside the home, there was a new North County restaurant at the top of everybody’s must-try list. Given another week of open dining rooms, I would …

In the weeks since American public life was officially put on pause in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, too much the news out of the restaurant industry has been dire. Dining rooms closed, millions out …

East County Dirty Birds D.Z. Akin's Funky Fries and Burgers - El Cajon Sammy's Woodfired Pizza - La Mesa South Bay Tijuana For restaurants in the San Diego beach area, click here. For North County …

55 Thai Kitchen Board & Brew - East Village Crest Cafe Dirty Birds -College Area Farmer's Table - Little Italy Funky Fries and Burgers - Hillcrest For restaurants in the San Diego beach area, click …

Board & Brew Donut Bar Gaglione Brothers Lemonade Mr. Moto Pizza House Snooze, An A.M. Eatery Swami's Café Woodstock's Pizza For restaurants in central San Diego, click here. For restaurants in East County, South Bay, …

Betty’s Pie Whole Karl Strauss Brewing Company Senor Grubby's - Carlsbad Senor Grubby's - Oceanside For North County inland restaurants, click here. For restaurants in central San Diego, click here. For restaurants in East County, …

Stay-at-home orders may keep us from going out to restaurants, but it doesn’t mean they can keep us from trying new things. Early on during this age of social isolation, my cravings went for the …

I was sitting on my couch watching TV when I had my first experience with no-contact delivery. First came the text message, letting me know my food was arriving. I watched through the peephole as …

Spruce Street suspension bridge brings out demented thoughts It’s early, the marine layer still a veneer over the city, when we park the car just shy of the suspension bridge. The day promises to be …

Last night, I placed an order for delivery from the restaurant Tender Greens. Dinner was good, but what will help sustain me in the week to come was the grocery box I ordered. For $33, …

Bars closed last week by government order, but there’s a catch: bars that serve food can stay open, and serve food to go. More than that, in a notice of regulatory relief aimed at the …

Tijuana destroys Spanish and English “Tengo que ir hacer laundry, then I have to study en la biblioteca,” I’m paraphrasing what the Latina students in my college sounded like. My first real encounter with Spanglish …

I feel the now familiar tinge of fear as I leave my apartment and get into my car, parked out front. Especially since the governor ordered Californians — all 40 million of us — to …

The entire U.S. retail economy has been put into a state of flux by the public policy response to Covid-19, and San Diego’s beer and booze industry is no exception. The past week saw our …

Anecdotally, I can tell you that four out of five ceviches have shrimps in them. For those of us with shellfish allergies, that means, “No ceviche for you!” at least 80 percent of the time. …

Last week began a terrifying ride for the restaurant industry as public policy coping with the Covid-19 pandemic moved quickly from sanitation and social distancing advisories, to a full prohibition of dining in restaurants. The …

Ten of us, seated around a long restaurant table, sharing whatever bits of news we’d heard about this disruptive pandemic coronavirus. The St. Patrick’s Day parade canceled. The Padres season delayed. Costco out of toilet …

When TapRoom Beer Co. hired Bill Batten, the North Park brewpub was months from opening: its corner suite in a new, mixed-use development on El Cajon Boulevard still under construction. Freshly unemployed following a stint …

High on fitness Patrick Henderson Pyles Peak Corner of Golfcrest and Navajo Drives Mission Trails Cowles Mountain is a very popular, very crowded hike — especially if you’re taking it from the Golfcrest/Navajo staging area. …

When ballyhooed East Coast burger chain Shake Shack made its way west a few years ago, all we loyal Southern California burger fans rushed to say how much we still prefer In-N-Out. And yet, somehow, …

When Italy native Matteo Cattaneo opened the original Buona Forchetta, in South Park, he turned a corner commercial space that had been sitting empty for years into one of the city’s most in-demand restaurants. Seven …

North Park and South Park – say goodbye to 30th Street as it is The main roadway connecting North and South Park may be on the eve of a massive transformation. Councilmember Chris Ward is …

Pancakes make up maybe two percent of the menu, but they’re clearly the lead focus of North Park’s newest breakfast restaurant. You can tell because the center of each table in Flap Your Jacks is …

Beer and booze tasting rooms are responsible for turning an obscure hilltop of Miramar warehouse suites into the small business cooperative dubbed Miralani Makers District. So when visitors see the signs for Preston’s Ginger Beer, …

It’s been over six years since I started encountered a booth slinging memorable grilled cheese sandwiches at local farmers markets. Back then, Zach Heinz and his then girlfriend Kate Uhle were operating the Mad Munch …

The great North Park revival was teetering toward critical mass in 2008. It had exciting new clubs, restaurants, coffee shops, an art scene pumping blood back into the neighborhood, but it was thirsty. There were …

As I drove into Mission Valley to try out a new salad restaurant, I found myself two kinds of conflicted. On the one hand, this was fast-food territory, which didn’t augur well for my well-being. …

It’s early on a Sunday afternoon, and the bakery is busy. I presume the time waiting will give me a chance to figure out my order before it’s my turn at the counter. But as …

Casanova has taken an interest in my iced tea. He eyes it warily at first, then leans forward for a closer look. Then he bares his teeth like he’s mad at it, but instead reaches …

As recently as ten years ago, you couldn’t browse a beer section in San Diego without spotting 22-ounce bombers of AleSmith Brewing’s eponymous flagship beers. Subtly featuring the brand’s anvil logo, the labels’ design placed …

There’s an unavoidable sense of déjà vu as I sit at the bar, steadily chomping my way through a cheesesteak, intermittently washing it down with a local craft beer. Part of that feeling is driven …