San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival November 15-22

By Wendy Lemlin

SBWFF

   Wonder how much San Diego loves food and drink? Just look at the success of the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival, now in it’s 12th year, bigger and more comprehensive than ever. Running November 15-22, with a full roster of events, dinners, tastings, classes, and exhibits, it is one of the largest food and wine festivals in the country, shining a spotlight on both San Diego’s burgeoning gourmet dining scene and our cross-border connection with Baja’s exciting culinary landscape. From tacos and beer to wine paired-haute cuisine, there is something for anyone who loves indulging in crave-worthy food and spirits.  And really, who doesn’t?

More than a dozen celebrated national chefs, including Rick Bayless, Gayle Gand, and Suzette Gresham will join over 40 local luminaries in presenting delicacies and/or cuisine-related educational programs. Look for such regional favorites as The Marine Room’s Bernard Guillas, Javier Plascencia of  Bracero, Finca Altozano, and Mision 19, Jason SBWFF grand tasting smokerKnibb of NINE-TEN, Chad White of Comun and La Justina, Ironside Fish & Oyster’s Jason McLeod, Flor Franco of Finca La Carrodilla and Indulge Contemporary Catering, Mario Medina of Bernini’s Bistro, The Patio Group’s John Medall, Anthony Sinsay of Dukes’s La Jolla, James Montejano of La Valencia Hotel, and a host of others.

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October Food Events

Eat Your Way Through October

by Wendy Lemlin

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What is it about October that always makes it such a busy month for food events? Is it because it’s usually one of the best weather months in San Diego, when temperatures start to cool down and skies are clear?  Is it because it fits so nicely between summer vacations and holiday frenzies? Or maybe it’s more about fiscal calendars and venue availabilities.  Whatever the reason, this will be every foodie’s dream month—just be prepared to splurge, both calorie-wise and money-wise, if you plan to go to everything! Here are a few events coming up. Continue reading

Giving Hunger the Blues

by Wendy Lemlin

Chronic hunger can give anyone the blues.  This weekend, however, the blues will be helping to kick hunger’s butt when the 4th annual AimLoan.com San Diego Blues Festival

Marcia Ball headlines Saturday at 6:30 pm

Marcia Ball headlines Saturday at 6:30 pm

benefits the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. With headliners such as Marcia Ball, Booker T. Jones, Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, Kim Wilson, and Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, this year’s festival promises an eclectic spectrum of blues performers.

 

Running on September 26 & 27, from noon til 8pm at Embarcadero Marina Park North, the festival features continuous music alternating back and forth between 2 stages. Click here for the complete lineup. Tickets are $25 for a 1 day pass, $40 for a 2 day pass.  VIP passes are $125 for one day, $200 for 2 days and include

  • Early admission
  • Preferred viewing area with tables, chairs and some shade
  • Catered lunch and munchies
  • Private bar service
  • Private restrooms
  • Two complimentary adult beverages
  • Unlimited complimentary water and soft drinks

The festival began in 2011 with a mission to provide great blues music at an affordable price, and raise money to support the battle against hunger in our community. Since then, the festival’s sponsors and attendees have helped contribute more than 18 tons of food and more than $350,000 to help the Food Bank fight hunger in San Diego County.

For all the info, go to www,sdbluesfest.com

Bracero Brings It!

by Wendy Lemlin

sign

After months of delays, and about a year of anticipation, Bracero Cocina de Raiz finally opened in mid July. The first restaurant in San Diego proper by Baja mega celeb chef Javier Plascencia (Romesco in Bonita, Mision 19 and Erizo in Tijuana, and Finca Altozano in the Valle de Guadalupe) and partner Luis Peña, opened its Little Italy doors to much foodie-world buzz and advance reservations booked several months out.

Was it worth the wait? In a word, yes!

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Flying to San Felipe

by Wendy Lemlin

These arches, the symbol of San Felipe, greet visitors at the north entrance of town.

These arches, the symbol of San Felipe, greet visitors at the north entrance of town.

San Felipe, on Baja’s Sea of Cortez, has always been a playground and vacation home destination for those in the San Diego and SoCal areas, but until recently, getting there was definitely NOT half the fun, necessitating a 4+ hour drive into Mexico, over mountainous roads and sometimes long border waits on the return trip home. All this changed this past December, when Portland, OR-based SeaPort Airlines began offering non-stop air service from San Diego International Airport to San Felipe in their nine passenger prop planes, currently on Monday, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

SeaPort Airlines' 9 passenger planes fly between San Diego and San Felipe.

SeaPort Airlines’ 9 passenger planes fly between San Diego and San Felipe.

The easy, hour and 20 minute flight takes passengers over breathtaking views of mountains and canyons that few travelers ever see, far from any roads or vestiges of “civilization”, and deposits them at the small San Felipe airport, on the placid shores of the Sea of Cortez, just a 5 minute drive from the lovely beachfront San Felipe Marina Resort and Spa.  Continue reading

26th Annual Taste of Point Loma

taste2015

How familiar are you with the Point Loma restaurant scene?  Got any favorites?  Any places you’ve been meaning to try?  Well, on April 22, you’ll have the opportunity to do just that, when more than 20 restaurants, cafes and bakeries will offer samples of their finest and most popular menu items at the 26th annual Taste of Point Loma, hosted by the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. Continue reading

San Diego Restaurant Round Up

By Wendy Lemlin

Spring has sprung,

the grass has ris,

this is where the good food is!

Spring always means a flurry of restaurant happenings, new seasonal menus, and new openings.  Here are some of the goings on in the San Diego Restaurant scene. Continue reading

Feeling Flaky

By Wendy Lemlin

(Published in About Town Magazines, Winter 2015 as “Let It Snow”)

Winter rains at the coast can mean snow in San Diego County's eastern mountain areas.  Photo Credit: Wendy Lemlin

Winter rains at the coast can mean snow in San diego County’s eastern mountain areas.

Ah, the joys of winter: sledding, cross country skiing, making snow angels and building snowmen… think you can’t do that in San Diego County? Well, think again—-and head for the hills!

When rare winter rains drench the city and the temperatures drop at the coast, it’s highly likely that snow will cover the tallest mountain peaks in the eastern reaches of the county. It may only happen a few times a winter, and any accumulation will certainly melt within days after a snowstorm, so, if you’re yearning for the quintessential snow day, be ready with your call-in-sick-to-work excuse, put on those layers of clothes and drive east ASAP!

Here’s a flurry of snow-possible locations, each only about an hour’s drive from San Diego—close enough to spend the day and still be back at the beach by sunset. Continue reading

Indulge at 11th Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival This Week!

  By Wendy Lemlin

Anyone who doubts that San Diego has finally outgrown the culinary “children’s table” and is now welcome to sit with the grownups, has only to look at the events scheduled for the 11th annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival, running November 16-23, to see how far the city’s food and spirits sophistication has matured.

The international showcase of the world’s premier wine and spirits producers, nationally renowned chefs, culinary personalities, and gourmet foods benefits culinary arts and enology scholarships awarded by The American Institute of Wine & Food and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.  Over 200 wineries, breweries and spirit companies, 70 of San Diego’s top fine dining restaurants and 30 gourmet food companies will participate in the 2014 Festival.

From seminars and cooking classes to celebrity chef dinners and Grand Tastings, the festival promises to whet—and satiate— the appetites of all who love to eat, drink, and make merry.  With event tickets ranging from $40 to $550, there is something for every palate and every budget. Continue reading

A Toast to TOAST Enoteca & Cucina

by Wendy Lemlin

street view of Toast Enoteca & Cucina

Toast Enoteca & Cucina in East Village

TOAST Enoteca & Cucina, serving modern Italian Cuisine in San Diego’s East Village has been on my “must try” list for quite some time, and after finally doing so last week, I can only ask myself, “What the hell took me so long?”  It seems I’ve been seriously missing out for the four years the wine bar and restaurant has been open. Continue reading