Bear Roots Brewing Co. officially joined the ranks of Vista breweries with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, December 18. The one-barrel nanobrewery actually soft-opened through November, releasing a few batches of beer to share with …
I recall back in the mid-'90s, some Bay Area transplants I knew assured me the arrival of fast casual sandwich chain Togo's, expanding into southern California at the time, was going to change the way …
Normal Heights coffee roaster Dark Horse will soon become a Golden Hill coffee roaster. Following more than a year of planning and construction, the company soft-opened its new retail shop on 25th Street just before …
For beer week this year, Karl Strauss and Monkey Paw bottle released a long-brewing collaboration under the French name Deux Amis (Two Friends). Monkey Paw's contribution, a three year Bourdeaux barrel-aged strong ale, was blended …
Any time I find myself in Bay Park during business hours, I wind up wandering into Siesel’s Meats. The place is basically a high-end butcher shop with a gourmet market and full-service deli built around …
The city's latest taproom-slash–bottle shop is in Bay Park. The Poseidon Project opened Thanksgiving week, transforming a onetime spin studio into a stylish eight-tap bar with a curated assortment of bottles and cans. The packaged …
When whole-animal butcher shop Heart & Trotter opened last spring, I was impressed with its quality selection of meats, sausages, and eggs. I didn’t know then that they had a plan to make sandwiches. They …
Anyone who's spotted AleSmith-Mikkeller beers on tap around town within the past week already knows what was made official today: Danish rock-star brewer Mikkel Borg Bjergsø is making beer in Miramar. One day after Stone …
The Internet wants to feed you. A bunch of tech companies are advertising convenience in an effort to make their way into the food chain, most of them by marketing restaurant-delivery services to lazy home …
Monday, December 7th, European countries will get their first official taste of Stone brews on draught, as the inaugural batch of beers out of the new Stone Brewing Berlin brewhouse will simultaneously debut at 6 …
The first things I noticed when I walked into Entrada weren’t the Muertos murals, sea-tortoise-green booths, or Talavera tile patterns adorning the north wall. It was the pair of 18-foot faux olive trees bracketing the …
Mission Beach coffee roaster Swell Café has experienced massive growth in the past four months. For one thing, it might no longer be right to call it a Mission Beach roaster. While its original café …
Just before Thanksgiving, Vista Village's Wavelength Brewing issued its beer in bottles for the first time, offering three stash-in-the-fridge options: a vanilla bean variation of its Off Kilter Scottish heavy, its Ad Astra Belgian quadrupel …
About this time of year, I usually start transitioning from warm-weather beers to stouts, heavies, and double IPAs — styles that offer their most belly-warming satisfaction during winter. But since I keep hearing El Niño …
I’m not a purist when it comes to pizza toppings. I do love a simple pepperoni thin crust, but I’ve got no problem throwing down some broccoli, corn, buffalo sauce, and, yeah, even pineapple. So …
As popular as San Diego breweries are, few distribute nationally. Green Flash says it’s in 50 states, which means Alpine now is, too. Stone's at 41, while AleSmith's at 19 and rising. Of course, Ballast …
Living in North Park a few years back, I got into the habit of picking up a turkey croissant from a local restaurant on my way to go surfing. At the time, the newly opened …
With 30-plus breweries hard at work north of highway 56, there's no shortage of tasty beer to drink in North County. However, for those of us who live south of the 8, getting up there …
It’s been a busy year for Café Virtuoso (1616 National Avenue, Barrio Logan). Back in March, cofounder and head roaster Stephan Vonkolkow took third place in the roasting competition at the US Coffee Championships. The …
Most of my experience drinking on this section of the Boulevard has taken place in rock clubs. I suppose Soda Bar (3615 ECB) qualifies as a dive because it’s dark and loud, with old arcade …
The San Diego beer scene is seeing dollar signs this week with the announcement that Ballast Point sold for a whopping $1 billion. The buyer is Constellation Brands, a multinational beverage conglomerate that deems itself …
I’ve had good reason to visit Little Italy lately, with Beer Week events at Bottlecraft and the opening of Juniper and Ivy’s casual spinoff The Crack Shack. But most surprising turned out to be a …
Fallbrook Brewing Company has plans to open a new bar and restaurant in the friendly village it's named for. Dubbed Firehouse Que and Brew, the new business will serve beer, wine and barbecue at 1019 …
I never had anything against going to Plumeria. I always knew I’d get around to going. I knew it was a vegetarian and vegan restaurant, and as an omnivore of convenience I suppose I was …
Bracero Cocina debuted as one of the hottest restaurant tickets in town this year, thanks to a healthy amount of buzz in culinary circles surrounding chef Javier Plascencia’s Baja Med cuisine. Infusing Mexican dishes with …
Last spring, California governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order mandating 25 percent reduced water consumption by the state's roughly 400 water agencies. Thus far, the mandate has impacted landscaping but not hampered beer production. …
Barely six months in business, Rancho Bernardo's Abnormal Beer Company has announced plans for a million-dollar expansion to its brewhouse. Abnormal's ten-barrel system will continue to operate inside restaurant Cork and Craft, which also houses …
One of the many things to like about growing fast-casual chain Tender Greens is that each location features its own executive chef. So while you’ll find a lot of similarities between menus — chicken, steak …
San Diego Beer Week 2015 means over 500 events promising special occasion taplists. These events in particular promise the sort of beer lineups that will be hard to match the rest of the year. Guild …
Each year, local breweries schedule new, aged, or seasonal beers to debut during beer week. Here's a list of special beer releases, and when to look for them in brewery tasting rooms or restaurants for …
San Diego Beer Week begins November 6, kicking off what is actually a ten-day celebration of craft beer. While the county-wide festival is organized by the San Diego Brewer's Guild, most of the events associated …
My friends have gotten used to the kinds of questions I ask and the photos I take when we go out for a meal together. They might be embarrassed by it — even in this …
I enjoy watching football, and I have been known drink beer and eat wings while doing so. When there’s an out-of-market game I want to see, I head over to Hamilton’s Tavern. It doesn’t show …
San Diego County's over 4500 square miles. I'm not sure how it measures north to south or east to west, but I know it's too far to Uber. I also know there are a lot …
For our latest foray into restaurant home delivery services, I checked out a new app that hit town with a strong marketing push the past couple of months. DoorDash enters what’s become a crowded market …
800,000 barrels of beer on the wall...
Hot coffee beers New English Brewing Company, Zumbar Chocolate Coffee Imperial Stout — 9.3% ABV Made in collaboration with Sorrento Valley neighbor and coffee roaster Zumbar, this reigning gold-medal coffee beer parlays a blend of …
What kind of beer do you crack open for refreshment when you get home at night? These are the best places in the county to stock your fridge or beer cellar. Bottlecraft The many positive …
Some guys try new beers for a living. I asked these local craft bar and bottle shop beer buyers to discuss a few local beers that have stood out to them in 2015. Scot Blair …
Tap houses are where beer enthusiasts comingle to talk about the great ones and the weird ones, to compare notes and to show off their respective palates. In the best tasting rooms you may find …
Incredible IPAs The style that put San Diego on the world beer map tastes great at nearly every brewery in town, and naming just a handful as the best would short-change everybody. I tried to …
There are 18 new breweries in the county this year? That’s as of October. It’ll take days for you to try them all. So I advise you to prioritize these promising upstarts. Second Chance Beer …
Breweries like to set aside some comfortable space for guests to enjoy a few beers. Many, maybe even most, could best be described as utilitarian. But these breweries went the distance to make sure their …
San Diego’s best brewpubs If tasting rooms exist to serve fresh beer to beer enthusiasts, brewpubs place a premium on serving fresh beer alongside good food. These spots foment a greater felling of community, attract …
Friday, October 23, AleSmith's original tasting room on Cabot Drive closed its doors, symbolically bringing the brewery's first 20 years in business to a close. At 11 a.m. the following morning, not even a mile …
In fall 2013, San Diego State University began offering a Business of Craft Beer certification. Rather than train people to brew, the program teaches different aspects of working in the craft beer industry, whether starting …
When you’re hungry and in an unfamiliar part of San Diego, finding a local taco shop is usually an easy bet. Which isn’t to say you always win that bet. For all the great, jewel-in-the-rough …
This retail coffee shop representing the Leucadia roaster pairs vintage objects and beach community vibe with fresh roasted coffee, cold brew and coffee based drinks, plus a small menu of baked goods and sundry food …
Visiting taprooms and bottle shops in New York City this week, the brands representing San Diego beer in the nation's largest metropolis became consistently clear. Stone Brewing, Green Flash, Ballast Point, and AleSmith have been …
White coffee? Pacific Beach got a new coffee shop in July. Actually, it’s more of a shack. California Bean sits in the parking lot of bar/restaurant The Local Pacific Beach, with a partial ocean view …