Video:FEAST!: Hongyuan Kebab takes Korean BBQ for a spinSometimes it feels like half the food I've ever eaten, I tried for the first time in the Convoy District. That was certainly the case when I …
September 24, 2024
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Stories by Ian Anderson
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Hongyuan Kebab takes Korean BBQ for a spin
Tender Hooligan sells food as an excuse to be around records
Video:FEAST!: Tender Hooligan sells food as an excuse to be around recordsThat's what I get for putting style over substance. I wanted to check out Tender Hooligan, the listening bar that recently opened on Chula …
September 17, 2024
I like Glutenus Maximus Bakehouse and I cannot lie
Video:FEAST!: I like Glutenus Maximus Bakehouse and I cannot lieAm I above driving an hour just because a new bakery in Vista has a funny name? I am not.PlaceGlutenus Maximus Bakehouse3265 Business Park Dr # …
September 10, 2024
Lolita's Mexican Food at 40: new look, same beef
The decor around me says "fast casual." The unselfconscious pile of meat, cheese, and fries in front of me says "San Diego taco shop." The writing on the wall as I walk in the door …
September 3, 2024
Art Burgers wants to make burgers even juicier
Video:FEAST!: Art Burgers wants to make burgers even juicierHow good would a burger have to taste in order for it to be considered a work of art? Better than a double double? As good as …
August 27, 2024
Following pistachios to Lucca Italian Sandwich Shop
Video:FEAST!:Following pistachios to Lucca Italian Sandwich ShopIf you look over at just the right moment, you might spot the little counter shop as you pass by its B Street location. But you could be standing …
August 20, 2024
The irregularly delicious Parlor Doughnuts
Video:FEAST!: The irregularly delicious Parlor DoughnutsMost donut shops are independent operators, even individual operators. For example: with no employees on the payroll, the owner of my favorite neighborhood donuterry closes shop when he goes on …
August 13, 2024
North Park shows up in Crown Point with pizza and beer (and soda)
Video:FEAST!: North Park shows up in Crown Point with pizza and beer (and soda)"Friends & neighbors," read the lighted marquee letters that stretch across the ceiling above the pizza counter. The same words have been …
August 6, 2024
Izola bakery returns to liven up Fault Line Park
One of my favorite pandemic memories involves watching a basket packed with sourdough and croissants lowered to me by rope out the window of a third story East Village loft. Admittedly, I was chasing a …
July 30, 2024
The Mental Bar brightens the neighborhood with lattes
Video:FEAST!: The Mental Bar brightens the neighborhood with lattesI'm an every day coffee drinker, but a different sort of caffeine craving led me to Encanto this week. Specifically, to the stretch of blocks along Imperial …
July 23, 2024
Surfside Fish House brings casual seafood inland
Video:FEAST!: Surfside Fish House brings casual seafood inlandVisions of a celebratory seafood feast drew us to Surfside Fish House, a sharp-looking casual eatery technically nine miles from the surf, yet evidently intent on bringing all …
July 16, 2024
Rosemarie's out to show sliders have legs in Mission Beach
I had to be careful not to call it a food truck, when I first checked out gourmet slider specialist Rosemarie's. Its chef cooked out of a trailer small enough, I'd have believed it if …
July 9, 2024
Dalu Hawaiian BBQ more about flavor than looks
On the table in front of me, a take-out box nearly overflows with steamed rice, macaroni salad, and a shining pile of teriyaki. I can make out the short rib, beef, and chicken in there, …
July 2, 2024
Jomaru Korean Hot Pot offers three meals in one
Video:FEAST!: Jomaru Korean Hot Pot offers three meals in oneOur server takes one look at me and decides I will need a bib. What she hands me is more like a plastic smock, or apron: …
June 25, 2024
Luna's Lunpias adds a Filipino twist to Poway
It was only a few months into the pandemic that one of my editors emailed me to suggest our readership must surely be getting tired of covid-era food stories already, and we could move on …
June 18, 2024
Vincenzo's cheesy pastas, and now breakfast pizza
Video:FEAST!: Vincenzo's cheesy pastas, and now breakfast pizzaShould I start or finish with the macchiato?I've taken a seat at the bar at Vicenzo Cucina and Lounge, a newcomer to the heart of Little Italy, set …
June 11, 2024
Long lines and order limits can't take the shine off Asa Bakery
Video:FEAST!: Long lines and order limits can't take the shine off Asa BakeryI'd heard Asa Bakery & Cafe could attract long lines, and sell out of certain popular items, so I've made a plan to …
June 4, 2024
La Mesa Pizzaworks wins with phony pepperoni
Video:FEAST!: La Mesa Pizzaworks wins with phony pepperoni"Why is our pepperoni so bright red?" asks one of the boys, eyeing his pizza."What kind did you get?" asks the other, eyeing ours.PlaceLa Mesa Pizzaworks7406 University Avenue, …
May 28, 2024
The Whaling Bar dusts off its literary pretexts
Video:FEAST! The Whaling Bar dusts off its literary pretextsOf course he would be drinking here. In a room barely buttoned enough to contain its bar. Behind windows that dull the scolding, morning-after daylight down to …
May 21, 2024
Flama Llama is a non-Asian eatery on Convoy... or is it?
The more Kearny Mesa's Convoy District has leaned into its pan-Asian businessplace identity, the more fascinated I've become with those not-pan-Asian restaurants trying to succeed there. Thanks to the excellence of mariscos shop El Viejon …
May 14, 2024
Makai Sushi rolls from Kauai to Hillcrest
Like a wave that's traveled thousands of miles before breaking on San Diego shores, Makai Sushi and its chef/owner Matt Oliver formed over a great time and distance prior to landing in Hillcrest.PlaceMakai Sushi3968 Fifth …
May 7, 2024
Take me down to the Burrito City
Video:FEAST!: Take me down to the Burrito CityYou can find roughly a million “taco” shops in San Diego. And, I don’t mean restaurants that serve tacos (that number’s closer to ten million) — I’m talking …
April 30, 2024
Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken, y'all
Video:FEAST!: Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken, y'allMost weeks, I’m all too happy to ignore it when an out of state franchise lands in San Diego, no matter how buzzy or inexplicably successful it might …
April 16, 2024
At Flour Atelier, cupcakes are in full bloom
Video:FEAST! At Flour Atelier, cupcakes are in full bloom“Look at those pretty flowers!” I hear, followed by, “Oh! There are pretty cupcakes too!” I’ll hear some version of this conversation several times in the fifteen …
April 10, 2024
Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru
Video:FEAST!: Angry Pete’s goes from Pop-Up to Drive-ThruStoners be warned. When muscle memory steers your Cheesy Gordita Crunch craving into the drive-thru off Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, you’ll be in for an Angry awakening. The Taco …
March 26, 2024
Barn House arrives as the last smoked meat standing in Lemon Grove
Video:FEAST!: Barn House BBQ arrives as the last smoked meat standing in Lemon GroveI had not yet heard that Lemon Grove was about to lose its best barbecue restaurant, when I walked into its newest. …
March 19, 2024
Smash and Stack food truck lands its burgers in Bonita
Video:FEAST!: Smash and Stack food truck lands its burgers in BonitaI spotted a pink alien over the skies of Bonita.Which was weird, because food trucks don’t usually have signs 20-feet tall. The illustrated extra terrestrial …
March 12, 2024
Bok Bok Dok is like K-Pop: sweet, spicy, and crisp
Video:FEAST!: Bok Bok Dok is like K-Pop: sweet, spicy, and crispIt’s been fun watching the population of Korean restaurants in San Diego slowly tick up, and branch out from the Convoy district into other parts …
March 6, 2024
Shawarma Guys goes from Yelp #1 to Hot & New in La Mesa
Video:Shawarma Guys goes from Yelp #1 to Hot & New in La MesaOn the television screen behind the counter, Guy Fieri bites into a wagyu beef egg roll. Seated at my table, I respond by …
February 27, 2024
Tunaville is the place for fresh — or aged — local catch
A beautiful walk offers reason enough to visit Shelter Island, when the skies are blue, and the boats gleam white in their berths. But, knowing some of those boats have recently been out to sea, …
February 20, 2024
Blue Whale manifests a few intentions in La Jolla
In a beachy, white cottage in the Village of La Jolla, feasters who lean bohemian may now find a Blue Whale. That’s the name of a daylight hours café that recently emerged in a converted …
February 13, 2024
New to Chula Vista, Las Ahumaderas invokes classic Tijuana street tacos
Video:New to Chula Vista, Las Ahumaderas invokes classic Tijuana street tacosI used to be one of those mythical San Diego taco fiends who could jump in the car to chase a craving, and wind up …
February 6, 2024
Bread & Cheese (and smoothies) and Breakfast Burritos
Video:FEAST!: Bread & Cheese (and smoothies) and Breakfast BurritosA good number of restaurants — most even — switch their menus when breakfast time gives way to lunch hour. But I can’t recall any doing so …
January 30, 2024
Going traditional at Afghani Food International Market & Restaurant
When it’s too much a challenge to find parking on Convoy, I’ve learned that if you drift west across the 805, you can find a smaller, yet no less diverse cluster of restaurants along Clairemont …
January 23, 2024
Oodles brings The Nood Bar’s noodle fetish east
Video:FEAST!: Oodles brings The Nood Bar’s noodle fetish eastWhat’s your favorite type of noodle? If you’re not sure, here’s where you can go to find out: La Mesa, home to the newly opened Oodles By …
January 16, 2024
Sicilian-ish in Little Italy, or driving past it
I’m pretty sure there used to be a Subway franchise in this nonglamorous Little Italy location. Laurel Street marks the northern border of the neighborhood, where restaurants and piazzas give way to industrial zoning and …
January 9, 2024
So Saap grows its Lao restaurant, and we all benefit
A party of ten sits down at the next table, just after my first slurp of broth from the boat noodle soup, and right before the fish platter arrives.PlaceSo Saap4134 University Ave., San DiegoI’ve been …
January 2, 2024
In La Mesa Village, Papalo blends herbs, moles, and smoke to create Sonoran BBQ
When my ribs plate arrives, it doesn’t look all that different from the average BBQ order. There’s a metal serving tray, lined with butcher paper, and there are smoked ribs in a glistening coat of …
December 26, 2023
With each location, El Pollo Grill has gotten more colorful
Chargrilled chicken with warm flour tortillas, rice, and pinto beans. A simple, sustaining meal that efficiently feeds a family, best made after an old family recipe. And for those who haven’t got such a recipe, …
December 12, 2023
No eggs, no dairy, no gluten. What’s left are Chani’s Donuts
Video:Chanis Donuts machineCan you call something a donut if it doesn’t contain nuts? Obviously, the answer is yes. What if you take away milk and eggs? As a proliferation of vegan donuts around San Diego …
December 5, 2023
Big Cheech’s Chicken, Waffles, and Sliders keeps it tender
For something like seven years, a certain cult favorite soul food outfit from Los Angeles has teased the idea it would open a San Diego location. And maybe someday soon, we can all discover it’s …
November 28, 2023