Here's something you might be interested in.
The good news: The delightful Cafe 21 in Normal Heights has announced a Fall "Fizztival." They will be serving chocolate, lime, and peach "Fizz" drinks ($6) until December. The fizz drinks are made with whole eggs, champagne, and local farmer market ingredients. Sounds a lot like the yummy Ramos Fizz I enjoyed at Cosmopolitan, but with lighter booze, just as much sparkle.
And the bad, bad news: Bite has bit the dust. Chef-owner Chris Walsh apparently just got tired of trying to make ends meet. Next for him: a hired-chef gig somewhere.
Point Loma's beloved Con Pane Rustic Breads and Cafe has moved to the corner of Decatur and Dewey Roads, Liberty Station. Point Lomans swear by it. (In fact, Cosmo uses their breads and yes, they're delicious. Another bakery, called Charlie's Best, has moved into their old spot, but is not winning many fans with its heavier, less inspired imitations of Con Pane's special breads and sandwiches.)
Cafe Sevilla is also about to move. Check their website for details. They'll be closed for about 3 months while renovating their new digs.
The Third Corner restaurants now have a happy hour weekdays 3 - 7 (closed Mondays). The Quarter Kitchen, with its great artisan charcuterie meats, is now serving "hangover brunches." And Suite and Tender is remaking itself in a more local and affordable image. Executive Chef Anthony Calamari's new menu (all dishes under $25) isn't straight-jacketed by the previous surf and turf formula, but expands into some more creative dishes. Too bad they started out on such a bad foot, with a "one size fits all" menu designed by Los Vegas consultants and a New York executive chef phoning it in from Manhattan. Looks like I'll have to try this one again, one of these days.
Your "bargain" du jour: The Palm is serving a three-course dinner of salad, lobster tail and dessert for $50 bucks a person. For The Palm, that's a bargain.
Finally, if you read our rival, City Beat, you may have been wondering where Candace Woo went. I couldn't have been more delighted to discover she'd written the lead review for the current issue of San Diego Magazine, which really needs a fresh, food-hip voice like hers. This time she's reviewing 1500 Ocean -- while Robin Kleven Dishon has a sidebar on Vietnamese pho restaurants. Woo is a personal friend of great foodblogger Kirk (mmm-yoso) and as you can tell by her name, she's no Asian food virgin. I'm hoping that her involvement will bring lots more coverage of Asian restaurants in this staid old slick, which rarely touched on any of them, and mainly the ones where the majority of diners were, shall we say, gwei lo or gaijin or farang. (I may be one myself, but that doesn't mean I want to eat like one.) Congratulations, Candace (or is it Candice? Every time I type it, I get confused. But you should only see how many e-mails I get addressing me as "Noami" or "Niami" -- like the old Don Johnson TV show, "Niami Vice." )
The good news: The delightful Cafe 21 in Normal Heights has announced a Fall "Fizztival." They will be serving chocolate, lime, and peach "Fizz" drinks ($6) until December. The fizz drinks are made with whole eggs, champagne, and local farmer market ingredients. Sounds a lot like the yummy Ramos Fizz I enjoyed at Cosmopolitan, but with lighter booze, just as much sparkle.
And the bad, bad news: Bite has bit the dust. Chef-owner Chris Walsh apparently just got tired of trying to make ends meet. Next for him: a hired-chef gig somewhere.
Point Loma's beloved Con Pane Rustic Breads and Cafe has moved to the corner of Decatur and Dewey Roads, Liberty Station. Point Lomans swear by it. (In fact, Cosmo uses their breads and yes, they're delicious. Another bakery, called Charlie's Best, has moved into their old spot, but is not winning many fans with its heavier, less inspired imitations of Con Pane's special breads and sandwiches.)
Cafe Sevilla is also about to move. Check their website for details. They'll be closed for about 3 months while renovating their new digs.
The Third Corner restaurants now have a happy hour weekdays 3 - 7 (closed Mondays). The Quarter Kitchen, with its great artisan charcuterie meats, is now serving "hangover brunches." And Suite and Tender is remaking itself in a more local and affordable image. Executive Chef Anthony Calamari's new menu (all dishes under $25) isn't straight-jacketed by the previous surf and turf formula, but expands into some more creative dishes. Too bad they started out on such a bad foot, with a "one size fits all" menu designed by Los Vegas consultants and a New York executive chef phoning it in from Manhattan. Looks like I'll have to try this one again, one of these days.
Your "bargain" du jour: The Palm is serving a three-course dinner of salad, lobster tail and dessert for $50 bucks a person. For The Palm, that's a bargain.
Finally, if you read our rival, City Beat, you may have been wondering where Candace Woo went. I couldn't have been more delighted to discover she'd written the lead review for the current issue of San Diego Magazine, which really needs a fresh, food-hip voice like hers. This time she's reviewing 1500 Ocean -- while Robin Kleven Dishon has a sidebar on Vietnamese pho restaurants. Woo is a personal friend of great foodblogger Kirk (mmm-yoso) and as you can tell by her name, she's no Asian food virgin. I'm hoping that her involvement will bring lots more coverage of Asian restaurants in this staid old slick, which rarely touched on any of them, and mainly the ones where the majority of diners were, shall we say, gwei lo or gaijin or farang. (I may be one myself, but that doesn't mean I want to eat like one.) Congratulations, Candace (or is it Candice? Every time I type it, I get confused. But you should only see how many e-mails I get addressing me as "Noami" or "Niami" -- like the old Don Johnson TV show, "Niami Vice." )