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Buona Forchetta opens in South Park
New pizzeria occupies long-empty building and brings Neopolitan style gusto.
The building across Beech Street from Alchemy sat empty for years until Buona Forchetta moved in with a wood-burning pizza oven and a guarantee of certifiable Neopolitan pizza. Now, South Parkers can’t seem to get enough of the place and …
Gaslamp: Oceanaire on the cheap
Happy hour opens the gates to another swank eatery
Above: Bartenders James and Ron rock this place So the search for Chinese at Red Pearl Kitchen (see blog below) didn’t work out so well. But what it did was open another door, The Oceanaire Seafood Room (400 J Street, …
Gaslamp: Red Pearl Kitchen's woks go cold
Hollywood-style Chinese eatery closes just before Chinese New Year
Heading by the Mardi Gras party downtown. Folks are rattling around with a ton of beads round their necks. Russian girls on their pedicabs are doing great business. But, like, $50 to get in? Gimme a break. Me, I'm thinking …
Beer Touring: Belching Beaver Brewery
New Vista brewery offers more than nomenclature would suggest
For over a year, there have been over two-dozen work-in-progress breweries for me to monitor at any given time. And that’s in addition to the 45 to 60 existing companies I’ve also had to keep up on. This means I …
Haute caffeine at Better Buzz Coffee Lab
The coffee's super serious, but the atmosphere is pretty chill.
The Better Buzz “Coffee Lab” in Mission Beach is yet another entrant in the melee of next-level coffee purveyors. They boast pour overs and “Kyoto drip,” the excruciatingly slow preparation of room-temperature coffee over hours and hours. The descriptor “single-origin” …
Free tea! And $4 hummus: Darband in Center City
Persian food and games at Cedar and Fifth
Ah. So this is the place where the tea’s free. I’ve been climbing up Fifth heading for this place, at Cedar, near where Balboa Park starts. And here it is, double the size from what I remember, Darband Fifth Avenue …
Beer Touring: Offbeat Brewing
A progress report on Escondido’s other craft brewery
My December excursion to Europe to visit craft breweries left me thirsty for tasty San Diego beer, which I indulged in as soon as I got off the plane. Still, due to the all-consuming holidays and some post-New Year’s catch-up, …
Lofty Aspirations at Chaplos Restaurant and Bar
Downtown restaurant was nicer than I'd expected...and a little snooty.
Chaplos is far enough removed from downtown’s hubbub that parking isn’t impossible, although the nearby pay lot ends up looking pretty good after a few trips around the block. The glass walled building’s colored lighting shifts along the color spectrum …
Adam's Steak 'n Eggs
Fifty years of sirloins and booze breakfasts in Hotel Circle.
With dreams of steak and eggs I set out for Hotel Circle and Adam’s, home of the eponymous specialty and sister restaurant to the legendary Albie’s Beef Inn at the Travelodge. I don’t think they’ve changed much at Adam’s since …
Beer of the Week: Silva Stout
Green Flash’s brewmaster explains his renowned namesake beer
There are a lot of “special” beers out there. That descriptor can mean many things. Sometimes it signifies a brew’s exceptional taste, but usually it comes down to nothing more than limited availability. Many are the times when I open …
Crawfish & Euphoria Brass Band highlighted at Saltbox and Local Habit
Both local eateries host separate Crawfish Boils this weekend complete with signature beers and music by Euphoria Brass Band.
Two 5th Avenue eateries are celebrating Mardi Gras a touch early with the time-honored Louisiana tradition of a crawfish boil. Paying homage to his Louisiana roots, Chef Nick Brune will cook up 500 pounds of crawfish to be served Saturday, …
Stand Bayou? Lincoln Park has Louisiana frogs a-fryin’
At last! Red Rooster’s specialty: Toad in the Hole-in-the-Wall…
Yes! Just frog-marched myself back to Euclid after discovering Frank in his hole-in-the-wall Louisiana food kitchen last week. He's behind Market Creek Plaza in Lincoln Park... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/07/39738/ His business: Red Rooster Catfish, 404 Euclid Avenue, in the rear of the …
Downtown’s Local: Simple soup’n suds
If in doubt, tortilla soup will fill you out
Downtown can be daunting if you just want a pick-me-up but don't want the big deal of a full-on meal. One of the coziest... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/07/39727/ ...places if you just want a quick bellyfiller is The Local (1065 Fourth Avenue, downtown, …
Isola serves lovin' from the oven
Pizza’s the focus, but its upstaged by unexpected stars
Italian in Little Italy—what a novel idea. Nowadays, with trendy ramen joints, second-story comfort food perches, and burger joints popping up and fitting in just fine along India Street, the arrival of traditional Italian is a bit less expected. At …
Lemon Grove: Best California steak?
For forty years, people have been trekking here for the steak-avo-cheese sandwich
Oh man. This steak of Alfredo's is da bomb. Has avocado, pepper jack, and a raft of sautéed onions. I'm in lunch heaven... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/06/39673/ ...Got vinegar on the fries, and Lori pouring endless refills in my $2 cawfee, and even …
Pop-ups taking over Market
San Diego Public Market fundraiser realizes chef’s makeshift resto concepts
Last year, farmers market maven Catt White and business partner Dale Steele went the Kickstarter route in search of funds to bring a central, grand scale public market to San Diego. The campaign was successful, raising more than $146,000 in …
Louisian style at Red's Espresso Eatery
Point Loma coffee shop might be a little weird, but it has a certain kind of charm.
As my server battled with errant extension cords and flounced about the mostly empty dining room in a state of controlled chaos, I thought back to my last visit to Red’s and I realized something: the place is a certifiable …
Richman’s food, poorman’s prices: Late luncheon at the Westgate downtown
Hidden bargain at the palace built for Richard Nixon
They say this Westgate Hotel building was built to accommodate Richard Nixon and a hoped-for Republican National Convention back in 1972. For sure, it shouts ’60s architecture, the New Rome, with all those 30-foot columns. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/feb/06/39622/ What you don’t notice …
Incoming on Washington!
The old Brian's building is finally getting a makeover after a long dormancy.
I mourned the loss of Brian’s American Eatery like I’d experienced the passing of someone who was almost, but not quite, a friend. It was an abstract sadness, a recognition that a void opened in the world and an uneasy …