If the last 20 months or so of lock downs, canceled events, limited socializing, and restricted dining options have left you hungry for celebrating the joys of gastronomy, the 17th San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival, November 11-14 is just what you need to satisfy your appetite.
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Love Seafood? Love Wine? Want to spend several hours enjoying both at one of San Diego’s premier oceanfront restaurants? Then you don’t want to miss the Ocean-to-Table Luncheon held at The Marine Room in La Jolla Shores as part of the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival on Wednesday, November 13 from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Continue reading
by Wendy Lemlin
I am fortunate to be able to partake of many gastronomic events over the course of the year, but there is one that always is at the top of my “must do” list. The 16th annual Celebrate the Craft t, held October 28 on the expansive lawns of The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, ranks not only for the beautiful ambiance and exquisite quality of the food presented, but also because of the spotlight it has always shown on the symbiosis between the participating chefs and the farms, ranchers, fishmongers, vintners, and brewers whose products help to make the chefs’ creations so outstanding. Since it’s inception, Celebrate the Craft has been one of Southern California’s premier showcases for locally grown ingredients, innovative cooking and winemaking.
On what is forecasted to be an absolutely gorgeous day, guests will meander among food stations where each chef is matched with a local farm, ranch, or fishmonger whose products are highlighted in the chef’s dish. Also at each station, a wine, beer or other artisanal beverage pairing from a local producer will be offered to complement the gourmet bites. Continue reading
By Wendy Lemlin
With its authentic food and outstanding vegan menu, Civico 1845 is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in San Diego, and it looks like it is going to become even better. Beginning this month, the Civico team is collaborating with chefs Antonio and Luca Abbruzzino, a Michelin rated father/son pair from Calabria, Italy, to highlight genuine southern Italian ingredients in the restaurant’s dishes. Continue reading
by Wendy Lemlin
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!
By Wendy Lemlin
Ok, I admit it. Life can taste pretty sweet when you’re a food writer. It’s especially enjoyable when gourmet dining amidst great conviviality with the growers, harvesters, and curators of the delicacies on the plates in front of me.
This was the case last night (January 15) at San Diego’s Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar for the Baja edition of their Farmers, Friends & Fisherman Dinner series, which proved so popular that seating spilled over into The Wellington Steak and Martini Lounge, Red Door’s adjoining sister restaurant. The seasonal series showcases area farmers, fishermen, ranchers, and wine or spirit makers who personify Red Door’s sustainable, local and organic credo. Continue reading
by Wendy Lemlin
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
By Wendy Lemlin
Come October 18 and 19, there will be some cross-border battles raging in Tijuana— but don’t be alarmed; it’s a very good thing! In fact you could say a delicious thing, as some of the finest chefs from San Diego and Tijuana compete in three separate Iron Chef-style competitions, or Batallas Culinarias, as part of the biennial Tijuana Innovadora Conference, which showcases innovation in technology, industry and culture. Continue reading
By Wendy Lemlin
I’d be willing to wager that for most of you reading this, downtown Chula Vista is not the first place you’d think of—or at all— when deciding where to go for a fantastic dinner and amazing wine selection. Yeah, me neither—that is, until my recent visit to Zarco, Cocina De Baja, in the heart of Chula Vista’s 3rd Avenue shopping district. There, among shops whose windows display the most colorful of flouncy quinceanera dresses, Chef Flor Franco has converted the commercial kitchen of her highly successful Indulge Contemporary Catering company into a first rate showcase for her take on the much acclaimed cuisine and wines of Baja California. Continue reading
by Wendy Lemlin
So—you know what it’s like when you run into someone you used to be friends with, but, for one reason or another, haven’t seen in a couple of years, and in the meantime she’s lost 25 pounds, had some major “work” done, colored her hair, completely changed her style of dressing and now, all of a sudden, is bubbling with energy and personality and looking all stylish and hot? On one level, she is still the same friend that you’ve always known and loved, but on another level you’re like, “Damn, who IS this person?”
Well, that’s how I felt when I walked through the new doors of the re-concepted and remodeled Indigo Grill on the corner of India and Cedar Streets in San Diego’s Little Italy for the restaurant’s big reveal party. First opened in 2001, Indigo Grill was one of the earlier collaborations between the Cohn Restaurant Group and Chef Deborah Scott, and for years was the only trendy, non-Italian cuisine eatery in the newly-hip neighborhood. Continue reading