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 fitnessPatrick HendersonPyles PeakCorner of Golfcrest and Navajo DrivesMission TrailsCowles Mountain is a very popular, very crowded hike — especially if you’re taking it from the Golfcrest/Navajo staging area. However, it’s easy to get …

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 …

Over the past six years, Moto Deli has woven one of our region’s most circuitous food truck stories, with nearly as many twists and turns as a Bong Joon-ho film. After first hitting the road …

19 townhomes at 32nd and C instead of park The largest undeveloped parcel in Golden Hill, once considered by the Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee as a top choice for a neighborhood park, is now …

When Chula Vista’s longtime lamb barbacoa favorite, Aqui Es Texcoco, moved into bigger digs up the street last year, the folks behind it held on to its 1043 Broadway location to focus on a different …

Trying to eat healthy at restaurants gets exhausting. Depending which internet study you read last, animal fat could be killing you, or vital to your survival. Maybe eating rice daily can extend your life, or …

It’s moments before dinner service on a Thursday night in the kitchen of Lionfish, the seafood restaurant and showpiece of swanky Gaslamp hotel, the Pendry. Executive chef JoJo Ruiz mentioned earlier that this kitchen rarely …

Last week, behind a lot of online promotion, the pop-up dining event calling itself Dinner With a View rolled into a Liberty Station courtyard for a month-long residency. Its pitch: “A completely luxurious dining experience …

You might not know it unless you’ve been to college recently, but the caffeinated South American tea yerba mate has become a bona fide beverage trend. Students returning from semesters abroad in Argentina probably deserve …

There’s a controversial ingredient on my rice noodles: cilantro. Most of us love the citrusy, parsley-like herb, which grows from coriander seeds. About ten percent of us think it tastes like soap. I’m firmly entrenched …

It took visiting a churro bar in Mira Mesa for me to learn where churros originated. As a child of Southern California, I’ve always associated the crunchy, fried dough treat with Mexico. It’s served at …

Viking longships were the dominant naval vessels of their time, in part due to their versatility. They were pushed by large, rectangular sails, but also fitted with oars so they could row on, regardless whether …

Last year, 2019? It was trying. I’m sure we all felt it. Mine did have a saving grace though, in an unlikely source: chili cheese fries. Bear with me. It’s been a year since Ed …

Something new seems to come out of the kitchen at South Park Brewing Co. every year or so, and with the departure of Tacos La Mezcla to Twisted Taps in North Park (more on that …

The place is familiar, and it turns out I’ve been here before, when it was a low key spot serving hot sandwiches, salads, and bar food. But it looks different now, with cherry blossoms painted …

A couple of years ago, after a decade doing business in Hillcrest, fancy cupcake maker Babycakes moved out of its 5th Street home base to pursue a bigger bakery opportunity out in in Paradise Hills, …

For most of my adult life, the intentional misspelling Xpress has been applied to services including oil changes and dry-cleaning — it certainly hasn’t been a word I associate with crossing international borders. But Cross …

Fun fact: Idaho’s largest brewery is headquartered in Vista, California. That’s because, in 2016, Mother Earth Brew Co. expanded beer production to Nampa, Idaho, a small city about 15 miles outside Boise. San Diego beer …

From a food lover’s perspective at least, good things have been happening in Carmel Mountain Ranch. Frankly, I ignored the place for years, because this is shopping center country, the sort of place populated by …

“This is the kind of place you take your non-vegan friend,” says a woman to her friend as they walk out of Now Sushi, a Mission Beach eatery that makes sushi without the fish. Entirely …

Every time I’ve eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant with a group, deciding on appetizers has become a whole discussion. Should we get spring rolls, or egg rolls? How many? Tofu or pork? Shrimp or sweet …

After seven years in business, Latitude 33 Brewing met a crossroads. Led by flagship beers including Blood Orange IPA and Honey Hips blonde, the Vista beer company had quadrupled beer production in 2016, and doubled …

“Established in 1974 in the neighborhood of Clairemont,” is the first thing that stands about Sandwich Emporium. That makes it about 45 years old, which would have to put it not far down any list …

While exercising my dog last week, I found San Diego’s newest coffee roaster; or should I say the coffee roaster found me? Neff Coffee Roasters isn’t San Diego’s first coffee truck, but it is the …

Just a few years ago, it made a list of “the best cheesesteaks outside Philly” compiled by the Food Network, but when I went looking for Alex’s Brown Bag at its home inside Pacific Beach …

Back in June 2018, a small startup started offering local restaurants a chance to pour their own house beers, using custom-branded, 3-D printed tap handles. In this way, Hopnonymous Brewing Company began as a specialty …

There’s a snazzy looking new sushi restaurant in Kearny Mesa, one that employs early 20th century technology to serve its customers. Mikami Revolving Sushi serves kaiten sushi, better known in the U.S as conveyor belt …

The place opened at 4 pm, and I showed up on the dot. Too late to be first in line though — three other parties were ahead of me. I stopped to snap a couple …

How many times can you drive past a donut shop without going in? That’s the question I ask myself in the waning moments of 2019, as I once again roll past the little pink shop …

I don’t know exactly what to make of the name Make Pizza + Salad. Is it pronounced, “make pizza plus salad,” or, “make pizza and salad?” That’s before I even notice the East Village business …

In previous years, I’ve used this space to reflect on the number of San Diego breweries that have closed the year prior. Sadly, such closures have become such a common part of the industry. Even …

Walking around Old Town last month, I noticed a sandwich board sign advertising afternoon tea at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. That’s the proper, British-style afternoon tea, complete with a big ceramic pot and a three-tier platter …

I never went when it was a Pea Soup Andersen’s, though I’ve been around long enough to remember it. I never went when it was a TGI Fridays, for reasons I hope would be obvious. …