El Dorado Cocktail Lounge Presents 3rd Annual Bartender Challenge | November 27th

November 20, 2012

On Tuesday, November 27th, one of the city’s most respected cocktail destinations, El Dorado, will once again reign in eight of the biggest players in San Diego’s burgeoning cocktail scene for the 2012 El Dorado Bartender Challenge.  An imbibers dream featuring a night of progressive spirit driven creations fashioned at the hands of true professionals, the annual event was one of the first of its kind in San Diego with its inauguration in 2009.  To this day, the Bartender Challenge still remains one of the most highly anticipated spirits events of the year.  This year’s challenge, destined to be the biggest and best yet, will donate a portion of the evening’s bar sales directly towards the On-Life Suicide Prevention Organization.

Thanksgiving Menus from Bertrand at Mister A's & Mille Fleurs

Top: Betrand at Mister A's
Bottom: Mille Fleurs

November 20, 2012

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, many are looking to forego the cooking and cleaning associated with the holiday and find the perfect San Diego restaurant offering appealing Thanksgiving menus. At Bertrand at Mister A’s and Mille Fleurs’ get your traditional Thanksgiving fare with a fine dining twist, and be thankful for an amazing meal without all the hard work.

Getting Top Chef Treatment at San Diego Wine & Food Festival's Fruit de Mer Cooking Demo

Top Chefs hard at work - well, some of them!

November 19, 2012

On the afternoon of Friday, November 16th, foodies and reality show addicts alike clamored into the Macy's School of Cooking at Macy's Home Store Mission Valley to watch former Top Chef participants duke it out while preparing a mouth-watering, wine paired, 4 course tasting menu for all in attendance.  Sponsored by Alaskan Seafood, this San Diego Wine & Food Fest event consisted of four Top Chefs, each who had 20 minutes to teach us the techniques of their recipes, and quickly they did, as we all looked on with hungered anticipation and San Diego's Top Chef Brian Malarkey fielded questions in the audience.

Craft & Commerce Embraces Its Critics With Negative Yelp Reviews on Speaker

November 18, 2012

“If you’re not pissing someone off, you’re doing it wrong” -- this well known saying holds tried and true for one of San Diego’s most progressive dining destinations, Craft & Commerce, who just this week launched a comedic new strategy to handle the unwarranted criticism generated from their hundreds of YELP reviews.  Featured in top outlets including GQ, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Imbibe and selected as one of Food & Wine's "Top 50 Bars in the Country" in 2011, the Craft & Commerce team mined through months worth of YELP comments to search out only the most unfavorable, ludicrous and low ranking reviews. The user-generated content was then converted into a series of over-the-top audio clips that run over the sound system in the restaurant restrooms for all patrons to hear.

Delicias Restaurant Announces New Chef De Cuisine and Seasonal Menu

Chef Molina

November 17, 2012

Delicias restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe, an iconic neighborhood eatery for nearly twenty years, has seen many transitions along with the growing community that has helped to shape its identity. After three years of familiarizing himself with the restaurant’s unique personality and customer demographic, owner Owen Perry is introducing Steve Molina as Chef de Cuisine and a new seasonal menu featuring longtime Delicias favorites executed with innovative and skilled culinary precision.

ReCap - Chef Celebration and the San Diego Brewers Guild Demonstrate the Beauty of Beer at the Lodge at Torrey Pines Beer Garden

Chef Sinsay's Clam dish with Aztec Chipotle IPA

November 16, 2012

The 4th Annual San Diego Beer Week began with the raucous Brewers Guild Festival at The Port Pavilion at Broadway Pier, and ended with subdued elegance at the Lodge at Torrey Pines Beer Garden.  The two events could not be more different, and at the same time more demonstrative of the range of reach and application that beer has in our society. Presented by the Chef Celebration Foundation and the San Diego Brewers Guild, the sold-out Beer Garden event featured unlimited samplings of tasty, gourmet creations by San Diego's finest chefs, scientifically paired with beer offerings from the finest craft breweries our community has to offer.  It was a beautiful day in a gorgeous setting, and an event not to be missed in the future, as it seems to get better each year.

Celebrating Julia at the San Diego Wine & Food Festival | Inspired French Dishes with a Modern Twist

November 16, 2012

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces -- just good food from fresh ingredients."~Julia Child

We all know Julia Child for her bubbling personality and accredit her with bringing French cuisine to the American culture, but yesterday we celebrated what Julia taught us best: cooking is an art.  James Beard Award-winning Chef RJ Cooper of Rogue 24 in D.C. and Chef Katsuya Fukushima, two-time winner of the Food Network's "Iron Chef America," partnered (along with San Diego's own Chef Anthony Sinsay of Burlap) to create an innovative French tasting menu for a room of 50 eager (and a bit tipsy) invitees at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Event Center downtown.  The chefs joked and entertained while they cooked 3 delicious dishes inspired by favorite Julia Child recipes.

San Diego Wine & Food Festival's SWISH: Serious Sips & Urban Eats @ Fifty Seven Degrees

November 15, 2012

By Heather Reineke

If every Wednesday included an event like SWISH: Serious Sips & Urban Eats, we would all curse hump day far less...and would probably make it to work on Thursday far less.  Nestled in an area next to Mission Brewery and the SAN airport, Fifty Seven Degrees boasts a large, open floor plan that lent itself perfectly to the occasion.  The seemingly endless rows of wine bottles, enormous cork-filled columns, and the red-tiled floor that made me feel like a celeb on the red carpet were the subtle touches that made this space really stand out.  Let the indulgence begin!

Finding the Skinny Bitch Within | My Journey Through Strength Training and Fat Loss at Performance 360

November 14, 2012

By Heather Reineke | Field Reporter

As a retired athlete (I still hold on tightly to my tri-sport varsity days of yesteryear), I had let myself fall down the slippery slope to sloth-dom where my evenings consisted of couch-sitting while spooning peanut butter flavored Yogurt on the Rocks into my face hole.  In an effort to thwart the digression, I gave the whole yogi thing a try and actually really enjoyed it, but my muscles were still craving more and I was feeling athletically unfulfilled.  So began my pilgrimage to find an institution that could help push the skinny bitch out of from underneath the winter layers I had packed on during my exercise hibernation. Here's the tale of my journey in search of that skinny bitch and how it landed me in what I deem San Diego's ultimate training gym: Performance 360 in Mission Beach.

Bikes, Boards and Brews | Celebrating the Culture of Pacific Beach

November 13, 2012
 
On Saturday December 8th, Discover Pacific Beach and San Diego City Beat are teaming up to host the 3rd Annual Bikes, Boards and Brews from 12:00PM - 4:00PM at the Catamaran Resort Hotel. Celebrate the culture of Pacific Beach and all of the awesome things this vibrant small town has to offer. This event will bring you back to the endless summer days at Tourmaline Beach with vintage surf boards, classic beach cruisers, beach-inspired art and, our personal favorite, craft beer tastings. Participants will enjoy 10 tasters from San Diego's best craft brewers, food pairings from local Pacific Beach restaurants, live entertainment and much, much more!

Evil Twin / Stillwater / Stone "The Perfect Crime" Black Smoked Saison Released November 12

November 12, 2012

Today, Stone Brewing Co. released its last collaboration beer of 2012: Evil Twin / Stillwater / Stone “The Perfect Crime” Black Smoked Saison. In a masterfully orchestrated collaboration of the minds, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø of Denmark’s Evil Twin Brewing, Brian Strumke from Baltimore’s Stillwater Artisanal Ales, and Stone brewmaster Mitch Steele crafted a beer that cleverly expands on the definition of a saison.

Cusp Dining & Drinks Debuts Winter Cocktail Menu | A Bit of History and Nostalgia Make for Some Stiff Drinks at Hotel La Jolla's New Restaurant

Cusp's mixologist Nate Howell

November 11, 2012

Cusp Dining & Drinks head bartender Nate Howell has struck a balance between the drink styles popular in his former home base, chilly Chicago, and the bright flavors found in the cocktails most popular in SoCal. Paying homage to the characteristics of each ingredient, Howell masterfully blends fresh fruits and vegetables with the dark spirits and infusions that San Diegans pine for as the temperature drops. Available now, the new drink menu has guests lined up at the bar to sip and savor all 10 libations.

Roseville Cozinha, A True 'Fish-to-Fork' Eater, To Open in San Diego | Portuguese-Inspired, Locally Sourced Menu Revisits Point Loma’s Rich Fishing Heritage

Chef Alves' Cioppino

November 10, 2012

This November, Point Loma’s Liberty Station Promenade will welcome a fresh culinary concept, Roseville Cozinha, a “fish-to-fork” eatery inspired by the seaside community’s rich history as a popular fishing peninsula settled by Portuguese and Italian immigrants over 100 years ago.  Owner/Chef Michael Alves, a Point Loma native of Portuguese ancestry, will serve flavorful traditional Portuguese and Italian dishes with a contemporary twist, focused on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and fresh off the line seafood.

For Visitors or Staycationers - Thanksgiving Dinner Options at Beautiful San Diego Hotels

November 9, 2012

Why not escape kitchen duty this year and enjoy a bountiful Thanksgiving feast with family and friends—surrounded by the tropical beauty of Mission Bay—in celebration of America’s favorite holiday?  Whether you're traveling to San Diego, in search of your very own staycation, or just want a great meal without any of the work, check out these Thanksgiving dining options as a few of the nicest hotels in San Diego.

Our Journey South of the Border | 36 Hours in Baja California, Mexico

Just do it!!

November 8, 2012

Not only do we glorify all the beautiful culture and good times offered in and around our city and county of San Diego, we also enjoy exploring all of the surrounding areas, including our neighbor to the south, Baja California, Mexico.  On our first of what will be many journalistic journeys south of the border, we explored the towns of Rosarito, Puerto Nuevo and Ensenada to check out some of the more renowned spots.  Getting there was easy, and the cruise down coastal route 1 is eerily akin to a drive north  – a bizarro Big Sur, if you will, but trade the greens for desert and Anchor Steams for Sols.  All in all it was a relaxing and delicious escapade into Mexico, and though the return to U.S. took more than 2 hours in line (because we didn't adequately inform ourselves), we highly recommend foregoing the stigmas, slanders and stereotypes and seeing Mexico for yourself.

Sprinkles Cupcakes to Donate to Red Cross' Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund for All Proceeds from November 12th

November 8, 2012

This Monday, November 12th, all 10 Sprinkles stores nation-wide will be donating 100% of the proceeds from their Red Velvet Cupcake (that will be adorned with a red cross) to the Red Cross' Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.  Similar promotions raised $25K in March 2011 for the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund and $20K in January 2010 for the Haiti Relief Fund.  Sprinkles Cupcakes is located at 8855 Villa De La Jolla Drive at the Shops at La Jolla Village.

Don't miss you chance to stuff your face with cupcakes knowing that you're supporting an honorable cause.  

San Diego Brewers Guild Festival | Sipping Suds with the Mayor at the Broadway Pier

November 7, 2012

It was a gorgeous San Diego day for the grand kick off to the 4th Annual Beer Week - The Brewers Guild Festival - at its new venue, the Port Pavilion at the Broadway Pier.  We stuffed our faces with Slaters 50/50, drank plenty of delicious beer, and had the chance to hob nob with the likes of Mayor Jerry Sanders, Sam the Cooking Guy and even Stone CEO Greg "the Beer Jesus" Koch (who essentially refused a picture with me - I don't blame him!).  Let's recap and show you all some pictures so you know what you missed, whether you blacked out or simply didn't attend.

Getting Our Uber On | Trying out a new trend in transportation

November 7, 2012

We drove a Car2Go down to the 4th Annual San Diego Brewers Guild Festival, and after 3 hours of beer sampling, driving home to Pacific Beach was not an option.  We tallied up $40 in Uber promotional credits at various events around town, so we thought we'd give this 'high end car service' a try.  We concluded that Uber is way nicer than taking a cab, far more convenient, and it comes out to about the same price, so why not embrace this new trend in transportation?

March of Dimes Takes on Child Health Issues at 2nd Annual "A Night at the Speakeasy" Signature Chefs & Mixologists Gala | November 8th

November 7, 2012

Can you imagine a day when all babies are born healthy?  Support the Second Annual Fundraising Gala to benefit the San Diego-Imperial Division of the March of Dimes Foundation and help to actualize this day!  March of Dime’s Second Annual Gala Fundraiser, “A Night at the Speakeasy,” will team San Diego’s top chefs and cocktail mixologists for an evening of gourmet food tastings, fabulous prohibition-breaking libations, and special auction experiences – all in a setting that reflects the glamour and revelry of the roaring 20’s. The festivities take place from 5:30 to 9:30 pm, Thursday November 8, 2012, at the historic El Cortez Apartment Hotel located at 702 Ash Street, 92101.