Johan Engman's Breakfast Empire Continues To Grow | New Fig Tree & Breakfast Republic Locations Planned For 2016

December 3, 2015

Johan Engman is ready to continue the expansion of his breakfast empire in 2016. Adding to his Rise & Shine Restaurant Group portfolio of three Fig Tree Cafe locations (Pacific Beach, Liberty Station and Hillcrest) and Breakfast Republic in North Park, Engman will open another Breakfast Republic location, this time in Point Loma's Liberty Station, and will open an offshoot of his popular Fig Tree brand - Fig Tree Eatery - in Little Italy/Downtown San Diego.

D Bar To Close Its Doors After 3 Years In Hillcrest

December 2, 2015

After more than 3 years offering delicious desserts and inspired eats from 5th Avenue in Hillcrest, D Bar San Diego is closing its doors on or around December 20. Started by celebrity pastry chef Keegan Gerhard and his wife Lisa Bailey, also an award-winning pastry chef, D Bar began with a dessert-centric location in Denver, CO, that opened in May 2008, and expanded to San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood, opening a full restaurant that included savory dishes, four years later in May 2012.

Eat, Drink, Shop & Be Merry At The 2nd Annual Toast Of Downtown On Saturday, December 12 | Enter To Win 2 Tickets

December 1, 2015

It’s time to toast the creative craft cocktail culture emerging in downtown San Diego all while shopping at local businesses and tasting delicious bites from more than 20 participating restaurants. With the holidays just around the corner, the 2nd Annual Toast of Downtown will bring festive feelings and a jolly good time to Downtown San Diego on Saturday, December 12, from 1pm to 5pm. We are raffling off 2 tickets to attend, so read on and be sure to enter for a chance to win!

Kitchen 4140 Calls It Quits After Five Years In Bay Ho | Owner-Chef Kurt Metzger To Seek A More Central Location For New Concept

November 30, 2015

It was a beautiful location with fantastic food, but it was a bit out of the way for most San Diegans. Bay Ho's farm-to-table restaurant Kitchen 4140 closed its doors permanently on Wednesday, November 25, but owner and executive chef Kurt Metzger is already seeking out a location for a more central restaurant space with the intention of launching a new farm-to-table concept nearer to downtown San Diego in 2016. The new concept’s name and potential locations have already been decided upon, though details remain under wraps at this time.

Celebrate The Holidays On San Diego Bay At The 44th Annual Parade Of Lights On December 13 and 20

November 29, 2015

More than 80 boats and vessels will be illuminating San Diego Bay with festive twinkling lights on Sunday, December 13 and Sunday, December 20, when the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights returns for its 44th year. Embracing the theme “Christmas around the World,” the festively decorated boats will get underway at 5:30pm in the waters adjacent to Shelter Island and traverse the bay for about 2 hours, proceeding to Harbor Island, the North Embarcadero area, Seaport Village and south to the Ferry Landing on Coronado.

Jinya Ramen Bar Celebrates Pacific Beach Opening With Month-Long 'Beachside Bowl & Brew' Special Beginning December 9

Jinya Pacific Beach's spicy Beachside Bowl

November 28, 2015

From December 9 to January 9, JINYA Ramen Bar will feature a special promotion exclusive to the recently opened Pacific Beach restaurant, offering a combination pairing hearty ramen with a locally crafted beer. As the Los Angeles-based brand’s only San Diego location (until the Hillcrest location opens in 2016), the Pacific Beach JINYA team created a unique ramen bowl that embodies the active, ocean-centric community that can be paired with a Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale for a delicious 'Beachside Bowl & Brew' combo.

Tender Greens To Open 4th San Diego Location In Mission Valley On December 7

November 27, 2015

The rapidly expanding chain Tender Greens is set to open its long-awaited 21st location and 4th San Diego outpost at Westfield Mission Valley in the former Loehmann's space on December 7. Tender Greens already has San Diego locations in Liberty Station, the Westfield UTC mall, and on Broadway in downtown San Diego.

Normal Heights' Burnside To Offer New Worldly Menu Items From Chef Ronnie Sees

Burnside's new Bahn Mi fries

November 26, 2015 

Normal Heights’ street food-inspired neighborhood sandwich-centric spot, Burnside, recently had a chef shuffle and Chef Ronnie Sees is now heading up the kitchen. Coming to Burnside from Tiger! Tiger!, Chef Ronnie has put his own twist on the menu, paying homage to his Filipino heritage and introducing menu items like Lumpia, an Atsu-Age Platter, Dos Tacos de Res and turons, all of which align with Burnside’s street food-inspired origins.

'RUMORVILLE' - Kitchen Staff Walks Out Of Blush Ice Bar + East-West Kitchen | Chef De Cuisine Announces Departure

November 24, 2015

It's not looking good for the newly opened Blush Ice Bar + East-West Kitchen. The downtown eatery, which took over the space previously occupied by Wet Willie's and opened in late July 2015, has already lost the culinary dynamic duo that launched the place - Executive Chef Daniel Barron and Chef de Cuisine Stephen Gage. Now, there's rumblings that culinary anarchy ensued last night and most, if not all, of the kitchen staff walked out, and its most recently appointed Chef de Cuisine Ami Cisneros also announced her departure. A restaurant that was the talk of the town only a couple months ago has seemingly fallen into chaos.

San Diego's World Food Champion Ricardo Heredia Wins KitchenAid Apple Challenge

Ricardo Heredia's award-winning apple bacon tacos

November 23, 2015

San Diego chef Ricardo Heredia has a knack for food competitions. He brought home the title of World Bacon Champion at the 2013 World Food Championships. He repeated in 2014 and also won the whole thing. Although Heredia did not win this year's World Food Championship, his apple bacon tacos recently beat out nearly 1,000 chefs to win the KitchenAid Apple Challenge.

Chef Aron Swartz Of Marina Kitchen Crowned "Chef Of The Fest" At 2015 San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival Grand Tasting

Chef Aron's winning creation

November 21, 2015

This year's San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival Chef of the Fest title went to Chef Aron Schwartz of Marina Kitchen located in the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina for his dish, "Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Purslan and Aji Chili Vinaigrette." The annual competition brings top San Diego chefs head-to-head in a fierce culinary competition judged by the San Diego Chapter of the American Culinary Federation along with guest judges.

Good Time Design Bringing Moonshine Beach & Cerveza Jack's To Pacific Beach | Dual Concept To Fill Former Fred's/Typhoon Space In 2016

November 20, 2015

Good Time Design, a hospitality group with concepts that include Bub's At The Ballpark, The Blind Burro, Cat Eye Club and more, is venturing out of San Diego's East Village and moving into the former Fred's Mexican Cafe and Typhoon Saloon at 1165 Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach to open Moonshine Beach and Cerveza Jack's, a dual restaurant and bar concept currently under construction to debut in 2016!

Enjoy More Than 20 Dishes, Holiday Inspired Martinis And Shopping Specials At Hillcrest's Taste 'N' Tinis On December 10 | Enter To Win 2 Tickets!

November 19, 2015

Break out your best holiday attire as you prepare for the fabulously fun Hillcrest Taste n' Tinis, taking place on Thursday, December 10, from 4-9pm! One of San Diego’s most beloved neighborhoods serves up a festive way to enjoy the holiday season, offering guests the chance to take in the crisp winter air and holiday decorations while embarking on a self guided walking tour filled with samples of delightful drinks, scrumptious eats, as well as fabulous retail shopping deals. We are raffling off 2 tickets to this year's Hillcrest Taste n’ Tinis, so read on and be sure to enter!

Kickstarter Campaign Launched To Bring A Modern Kombucha Tasting Room & Authentic Chinese Eatery To North Park | Help Support JinBucha

JinBuCha owner and brewer Jing Chen

November 17, 2015

In a land full of craft beer brewers, Jing Chen brings a new type of brewing to the food and beverage culture of San Diego ­- the art of brewing Kombucha. Jing currently has a Kickstarter to help open the first Kombucha tasting room, brewery and Chinese restaurant in North Park - JinBuCha, which is currently open as a tasting room but needs additional funding to fulfill its ultimate destiny.

Ballast Point Brewing To Sell To Constellation Brands For ONE BILLION DOLLARS!

Constellation Brands top beers for 2016!

November 16, 2015

So the whole 'going public' thing was really just a big FOR SALE sign for Ballast Point Brewing? Constellation Brands, a behometh beverage alcohol company known as being the largest wine company in the world, today announced an agreement to acquire Ballast Point for around $1BILLION. Ballast Point brews will soon join Constellation Brands line up of offerings that include Corona, Negra Modello, Pacifico and Tsingtao. Rumor has it that Ballast Point Spirits is not even part of this deal and will be spun off as a separate company with a new brand name.

Extraordinary Desserts Partners With Specialty Desserts To Showcase Gourmet Offerings

Karen Krasne

November 16, 2015

Extraordinary Desserts has formed a new partnership with retail and wholesale produce distributor Specialty Produce, creating a retail display of delicious sweet and savory items inside the produce haven. Master Pastry Chef Karen Krasne will be offering a selection of goodies including sweets like her ready-to-bake cookie doughs and for the first time, her savory dips, spreads and salad dressings previously only available on the Little Italy Extraordinary Desserts menu for sale at Specialty Produce.

Little Italy's Naughty Boy Offers The Perfect Start To Your Weekend | Monello Expands Brunch

Monello's Nutella pancakes

November 15, 2015

Little Italy's Monello, which means 'naughty little boy' in Italian, recently added some delicious dishes to its weekend brunch, offered every Saturday and Sunday. We stopped in to sample some of the new treats and enjoyed fantastic offerings that blend American-style favorites with Italian flair.