1919 Takes Over Former Nicky Rottens Space In Downtown San Diego

December 9, 2015

There’s a brand new scandal brewing in the Gaslamp, and its namesake is 1919, due to open in February of next year at the former Nicky Rotten's space. 1919 aims to be a different kind of neighborhood sports bar, hoping to offer a down-home vibe with local comforts in the heart of San Diego's downtown.

Yard House Announces Permanent Closure Of Downtown San Diego Location After Extensive Flood Damage

December 8, 2015

A literal shitty situation has resulted in the closure one of downtown's original beer meccas. Yard House has announced that its downtown San Diego location at 1023 4th Avenue and Broadway will remain permanently closed following a recent flood which caused extensive damage to the restaurant. The downtown location, which opened in 2003 as the 4th Yard House restaurant in the United Stated (there are now over 60), closed November 1 due to a water main issue that caused a sewage tsunami within the restaurant, even displacing numerous residents of the Viridian Lofts, situated directly above the restaurant.

San Diego's Biggest Openings And Most Surprising Closings Of 2015

December 7, 2015

Quite astonishingly, another year is almost behind us! San Diego's hospitality industry certainly had its ups and downs in 2015. We mourned the loss of Hodad's exuberant owner Mike 'Bossman' Hardin. Ramen shops popped up all over town. High-end Mexican food continued its steady rise in popularity and availability. We saw that San Diego's East Village still has a lot of growing to do before it can support top notch eateries. The term 'craft' was applied to EVERYTHING. We had many grand restaurant openings and regrettable closings. In this post, we run down the 10 biggest restaurant openings and 10 most surprising closings of 2015.

Eight San Diego Sushi Restaurants Convicted Of Fraud For Lying About 'Lobster' Rolls

December 6, 2015

‘Tis the season for California Spiny Lobster catch, but an investigation by the City Attorney’s Office found lobsters don’t always make their way into the “lobster rolls” at local sushi restaurants. Eight San Diego sushi restaurant owners have been convicted of fraud after investigators found their lobster rolls were fishy. Instead of lobster, the rolls were stuffed with less expensive seafood such as crawfish or pollock. Is your favorite sushi restaurant on the list?

VAVi Offers Two Very Different But Equally Awesome Parties For An Unforgettable New Year's Eve | Save With Promo Code SDVILLE!

December 5, 2015

VAVi is making planning for New Year’s Eve easy this year. How can New Year’s Eve get any better than celebrating it at the beach or from a yacht in downtown San Diego? Either choice is a win! VAVi Sport & Social Club, San Diego’s premier coordinator of social events, charity opportunities and adult sports leagues, is presenting two options to ring in the new year 2016 - the New Year's Eve Beach Party at the Catamaran Resort, Hotel and Spa in Pacific Beach AND the New Year's Eve Yacht Party on the Hornblower Inspiration Yacht. As usual, we want to hook up our followers, so promo code SDVILLE saves on tickets to both. Read on for all the details and start planning your entry into the new year.

URBN Brewing's Chef Alex Carballo To Open Gourment Sandwich Shop In Encinitas | Moto Deli To Offer Wholesome Artisan Sandwiches Starting January 2016

December 4, 2015

Chef Alex Carballo, known for his roles as former Executive Chef at Stone Brewing Co. and chef/partner at URBN Brewing in El Cajon, along with local entrepreneur Mario Warman, are gearing up to open a motorcycle-inspired sandwich shop in the heart of Encinitas. The duo have acquired the lease to a 1,200 square foot property at 810 North Coast Highway 101 to open Moto Deli, set to debut in the beginning of 2016. Drawing on the trademark outdoor lifestyle synonymous with Encinitas, Moto Deli inspires to be a hub for the active community to congregate and connect with chef-driven deli fare made entirely from scratch, local craft beer and close proximity to beaches.

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.