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
How much do you love sushi? If the answer is “a lot” or any reasonable facsimile thereof, then you definitely want to get yourself to Sushi Festival San Diego, this Sunday, October 27, 2019 from 2PM to 10PM at The Dana on Mission Bay. There, several of San Diego’s top sushi masters will endeavor to set a world record by crafting the most sushi pieces in a 48 hour period, from Saturday at 8pm until Monday 8pm—-with a goal of 100,000 pieces! That’s a lot of rice and fish!!! And the best part is, lucky Sushi Festival San Diego goers will be able to devour the results at Sunday’s event. The record-setting pieces will be available to a limited number of VIPs during the all-you-can-eat festival experience. Other attendees can purchase the mouthwatering bites at a discounted price. Continue reading
Glasses ready for wine at Grand Tasting event
The San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival is turning Sweet Sixteen, and everyone is invited to the party! Taking place over an entire week of gastronomic pleasures, the Festival brings together San Diego’s top tastemakers to showcase the diversity of the area’s farms, seas, sustainable practices, taco culture, Baja influence and more. There’s a good reason the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival was named the winner of the 2019 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest for Best General Food Festival. The Festival’s tagline of “Arrive at Awesome” says it all!
Welcome to the Grand Tasting
Happening November 9-17, the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival draws over 10,000 foodies, oenophiles, beer and spirits enthusiasts, and the culinary curious to over 40 separate events, culminating in the ever-popular Grand Tasting on November 16 and Taco TKO on November 17. With a majority of new-this-year events combined with longstanding returning favorites, there is truly something for everyone, from elegant wine pairing dinners to a beer-showcasing pool party, from the serious wine-centric Grand Decant to a chill cookout, from cooking classes to wine tastings. With a nod to San Diego’s world famous craft breweries, an increasing number of the events highlight local beers. Some of the events are already sold out, so click here for a complete list of all the happenings and ticket info.
A tasting of scallops!
Just a few of the many fresh additions to this year’s Festival schedule include:
Stagecraft Beerfest Kicking off the festivities on November 9 at the Viejas Casino & Resort, the venue’s 3 restaurants and 8 local breweries come together around the Allure pool area at the Willows Hotel for an afternoon of food and beer pairings with live music. $50
Barbecue & Bourbon On Sunday, November 10, guests will enjoy barbecue and beverages with views of the San Diego skyline and Coronado Bridge from the lawns of the Coronado Island Marriott & Spa. The casual event is family friendly. $65.
Expedition: San Diego Beer Tour Also taking place on Sunday, November 10, beer lovers can take a guided tour to some of San Diego’s top beer producers. During the fun and educational experience, guests will enjoy the VIP treatment while sampling a variety of brews, meeting with brewery staff, taking an educational class and gaining first hand knowledge of the art of craft beer making. Lunch and transportation is included. $120
Morning Glory’s Breakfast For Dinner Held at one of San Diego’s hottest new restaurants on Monday November 11, the menu will include such gourmet tantalizers as sturgeon caviar, cured duck eggs, heirloom tomato quiche, smoked salmon mousse, and much more. Moët Champagne will be served throughout the evening. $115
Pizza Making with Buona Forchetta On Tuesday November 12, guests will sip Prosecco and experience a hands-on pizza-making lesson, while learnng about the history of the authentic “Neapolitan style” pizza this extremely popular pizzeria is known for. $60
The list of almost 70 participating talent includes an array of highly respected and well-known chefs, winemakers, brewers, sommeliers, and artisans.
Participating Chefs at the 2018 Ocean-to-Table Luncheon at The Marine Room. Always a sold-out favorite, the event returns this year.
This year the host hotel is the beautiful new Intercontinental San Diego, which is also the location for several of the Festival’s events.
Click here for all the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival info.
Chef Flor Franco plates a dish
When a party celebrates local farmers, ranchers and fishermen, as well as the chefs who make it a point to use locally harvested produce and proteins in their restaurants, well then, you know it’s going to be one heck of a gathering!
On September 8, one such party, dubbed Farmers, Chefs, and Fishermen, will kick off San Diego Farm to Fork Week, and if you’re a lover of authentic farm-to-table cuisine, this is a fête you don’t want to miss. Held at the historic Mission Hills Nursery, the event will run from 4 to 7 pm and guests will enjoy bites and beverages from more than 20 chefs, vintners and other beverage makers. Ticket sales will benefit Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center. Click here for party and ticket info. Continue reading
I love the opening intro on the About page of San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival’s website. “The most valuable things these days are not things at all, they are experiences that move us from our normal, everyday state-of-being to a place that’s completely unique. As wanderers, our need to find awe-inspired moments that please our taste buds as much as our sense of discovery drives us forward. It’s the high road to delicious. It’s the scenic route to wow.” These sentiments totally line up with my purpose in founding Borderlines Food & Travel, which is probably why SDBWFF has always been one of my favorite annual foodie events..
With the 2018 theme “Arrive at Awesome”, San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, our area’s largest, most diverse gastronomic celebration returns for its 15th year November 11-18 with 40 separate events and experiences, many of which are already sold out. There is something for everyone, from elegant multi-course dinners to fun and casual samplings, and from educational talks to hands-on classes.
An impressive lineup of both local and guest chefs, sommeliers, vintners, distillers, brewers, and craft food artisans will be cooking, pouring, judging, and teaching throughout the week-long festival. The complete list of about 90 talented experts can be found here.
A few of the returning favorite events include
Ocean to Table Provence Rosé Wine Lunch, hosted by Chef Bernard Guillas and held at The Marine Room in La Jolla. The five course seafood-centric meal with wine pairings will feature the culinary creations of Guillas and Chefs Andrew Spurgin, Claudia Sandoval, Jason McLeod Flor Franco, Evan Cruz, Patrick Ponsaty, Javier Plascencia, Dean James Max, Amy DiBiase, and Michele Coulon. The seven different rosés represents Provence’s fines,t and the theme of sustainability of our seafood and conservation of the ocean’s bounty is a key tenet of all the participating chefs’ culinary philosophy.
Expedition Baja, a day trip to Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico’s burgeoning wine-producing area, about 100 miles south of San Diego.
Louis Latour at Mister A’s where the King of Burgundy’s Grand Cru showcases their best 2010 and 2015 wines paired with a 5 course luncheon
Taco TKO, a competition showdown between 11 restaurants to determine whose tacos take the tortilla as best in town.
Grand Decant, a tasting from 200 domestic and international wineries led by leading sommeliers and winemakers.
The Grand Tasting, the most popular event of the festival with tastings from over 60 restaurants and celebrity chefs, hundreds of wine, beer and spirits purveyers, and gourmet food artisans, as well as the “crowning” of the Chef of the Fest.
Grand Tasting
Exciting new events this year include:
Hungry foodies can also sate their appetites at special, multi-course, multi-chef dinners presented at some of San Diego’s favorite restaurants, including Coasterra, Cucina Enoteca, The Prado, and Marriott Marquis San Diego.
Wine, beer and spirits will be celebrated at
The above is just a partial list of events! Click here for all event ticket info, dates, and locations.
So, whether you plan to attend just one or two events, or the complete schedule, I suggest you wear your elastic waist, loosest fitting clothes, and just get comfortable with the fact that the scale is not going to be your friend this week, so don’t even look. There will be too many fantastic dishes to savor and beverages to imbibe not to enjoy every mouthful completely, without guilt!
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
In recent years, San Diego has done a lot of growing up, gastronomically speaking. What was once a culinary backwater, defined mostly by gringo-ized pseudo-Mexican surfer grub, has blossomed with growing sophistication and appreciation for inventive cuisine, fine wines, craft beers —and direct collaboration between chefs and the farmers, ranchers, fishermen, winemakers and brewers whose labors provide the raw ingredients for the new excitement in local cuisine. And, in the last 14 years, the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival has been showcasing and giving impetus to this delicious maturation process in a multi-day event unlike anything else in the San Diego gastronomisphere. Because of its multi-faceted scope of events, San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival is my favorite local gourmet experience.
This year, San Diego Wine & Food Festival Festival, which runs November 12-19, is more eclectic than ever and has something for everyone who loves to eat or drink. From fermentation to fish tacos, from wine to wagyu, guests and participants can partake of events celebrating both the latest trends and the time honored favorites.
The Grand Tasting
Newsflash! Loving food and being physically fit are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Sure, you might have to work a little harder in the gym, or add an extra mile or two to your regular run to enjoy your culinary obsessions guilt-free, but it can be done, especially if you participate in events like the Cooking Light and Health Fit Foodie Festival & 5k. Happening at Liberty Station on Saturday, October 7, this family and dog friendly event features local restaurants, meet-and-greets with elite athletes and other personalities, a beer and wine garden, and an impressive lineup of culinary and fitness demonstrations. And, oh yes, a 5k run (or, if you are like me, a 5k walk) prior to the festival. Calories burned, calories earned!
Part of a nationwide tour hosted by John Hancock Vitality Life Insurance, the Fit Foodie 5K has partnered with No Kid Hungry, a national nonprofit working to end child hunger in America. Runners can celebrate the balance of delicious, healthy food and fun, active lifestyle while contributing to the fight against child hunger. Nearly one in six children in America lives in households that struggle to put food on the table. The No Kid Hungry campaign connects kids in need with nutritious food and teaches their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals. The campaign also engages the public to make ending child hunger a national priority.
For all the info on this Saturday’s run and festival, click here! I’ll be walking the 5K with my dog Skipper—come join us or cheer us on!
by Wendy Lemlin
The fight to cure and control cystic fibrosis will become more palatable on Friday, September 22, when over 25 of San Diego’s and Baja California’s top chefs will engage in a culinary competition at the historic Hotel del Coronado, to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Guests at the 2nd Annual Chef Throwdown are sure to enjoy what is being billed as “an unforgettable evening of epicurean splendor”, begining with appetizers on the oceanfront Windsor Lawn and the Throwdown itself . Once the competition has ended, the festivities move to the oceanfront ballroom for a four-course seated dinner from followed by a brief CFF program, live auction and award presentation, including the Industry Leader Award to be presented to Roger Harrington of Specialty Produce.
Chef Flor Franco
Chefs will compete for a “People’s Choice Award” voted on by the guests themselves, and the Chef Flor Franco Awards for Culinary Excellence, named for the local chef who contributes so much of her time and resources to supporting non-profits and culinary events in both Southern California and Baja California. This year’s judges include The Marine Room’s executive chef Bernard Guillas, Fishmonger Tommy Gomes of Catalina Offshore Products, and Armando Rodiel, creator of San Diego Paella and Wine Festival. Emcees for the evening will be Troy Johnson of San Diego Magazine and Guy’s Grocery Games, and The Food Network’s Melissa D’Arabian.
Melissa D’Arabian
Chef competitors include:
Mario Cassineri -Officine Buona Forchetta
Tommy Fraioli -10 Barrel Brewing Company
Ami Cisneros -Pacific Standard
Nick Villamil -Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
Jeff Bonilla -Evolve Cuisine Forward
Marco Marin – Latitude 32 at El Cielo Valle de Guadalupe
Felipe Raul -Vinedos Malagon
Jeff Roberto -Sushi On A Roll
Alex Emery -La Valencia Hotel
Keoni Simmons -Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego
Mario Medina -The Main Course Restaurant
Luis Moreno Gil – Andares de la Baja
Colin MacLaggan -Ballast Point Brewing Company
Geordie Moulios -Big City Chefs
Jorge Gonzalez – Calypso Cafe
Jose Plascencia -Casa Plasencia
Jose Sparza -Cien Años de Soledad
Ingrid Shelton -Cusp Dining and Drinks
Andrew Reyes – Tidal at Paradise Point Resort & Spa
Alberto Cansino Gomez – Hotel Calafia
David Meade -Nobu San Diego
Marcus Twilegar -Parq
Indo Reyes -Posh Nosh
AG Warfield -Common Theory Public House
Marcel Childress -Rustic Root
Christine Rivera -Galaxy Taco
Spencer Hunter -Lola’s Lumpia
Lori Sauer – Blue Bridge Hospitality
Gerlyn Usi – Sweet Truck SD
Joe Pastry – Woo Bar
Jessica Scott -Puesto
Kabir Gambhir – Sonic Tonic
Dalil – Opera Café and Patisserie
Guests will also enjoy award winning wines from Adobe Guadalupe, Monte Xanic, Lomita, and Paolini Wines, all in Baja’s celebrated Valle de Guadalupe.
But wait, there’s more! The evening will continue with NightCap, the after-party hosted by San Diego Young Professionals. Dancing, desserts, craft cocktails and savory hors d’oeuvres will add to the merriment, and The People’s Choice winner of NightCap will be crowned (and given a spot in the 2018 Chef Throwdown competition). Awards for best mixologist and dessert categories will also be given out.
Tickets for the entire evening, inclusive of food and libations are $250 (Tax-deductible $45). NightCap only tickets are also available separately for $75 (not tax-deductible). Click here to get yours. To learn more about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, visit