La Jolla

San Diego’s Restaurant Week runs for two weeks in September and January–two generally slow months for restaurants. Much is made of the event that began in 2004, sponsored by the San Diego County Chapter of the California Restaurant Association (SDCCRA) that organizes and provides the press for the restaurants that serve a prix fixe two-course lunch for $10, $15 or $20 or a three-course dinner for $20, $30 or $40, all depending on the restaurant. More than 200 restaurants took part in week one (just ending today, September 21), and week two runs from September 23 until the 28th with more than 150 dining choices.

The idea of restaurant week began in 1992 when the late restaurateur Joe Baum and (yes, that Zagat) thought it would be a gesture of good will to the 15000 reporters in New York who were there to cover the Democratic convention. It was a four day affair–now counted in months rather than days–that grew to cities and towns around the country, many coordinated by , restaurant associations or local community organizations. The various reasons for such events include: increase tourist traffic, help restaurants through slow months and allow diners to try places they may have heard about and want to try and hopefully return for another meal.

In San Diego, as in some other places, it’s “pay to play” for the restaurants. First, to participate a restaurant must be a member in good standing of the SDCCRA. The approximate membership price for a 50-seat restaurant with mid-range prices is $590, based on annual revenue. As a member there is a registration cost for the restaurant’s inclusion for press and other publicity that ranges from $400 to $1000. Those early bird prices depend on whether a restaurant serves lunch, dinner or both, and wants to participate in one or two months. The Association also presents those Gold Medallion awards we hear about in May after their annual dinner. And you can’t get a medallion if you’re not a member, so how important is the award when it’s insiders voting yearly for the same restaurants? (Buzz wrote about this a few years back).

Second, while that special menu for dinner or lunch may be $10, $30 or $40, etc., remember that price does NOT include gratuity, tax or beverage. Thus you may end up with bill closer to $20, $40 or $50 (or more). Is it a bargain? You can decide. Is it a hassle? Perhaps. Is the food as good during this special week? Maybe, or maybe not, because the restaurant tends to be full, service may suffer, and so could the food. Jan Borkum (“proud mom” of Tracy Borkum) at the SDCCRA said they have stressed to restaurants to put their best food and service forward after complaints in earlier years of skimpy portions and lousy service. And based on the experience of one meal during a busy week, does that bring repeat business to the restaurant as many restaurateurs expect?

Third, note that many restaurants choose not to be an Association member, so they don’t participate. In North Park, such places as Urban Solace‘s chef/owner Matt Gordon prides himself on serving terrific food all the time and years ago knew that joining the lobby group (the primary function of the California Restaurant Association), was not for him. Jayne’s Gastropub and Finch’s Bistro and Wine Bar in La Jolla aren’t members either. Instead, Gordon and many other restaurants around town serve their regular menus or their own their versions of a prix fixe menu during the week. Many times you may spend less and eat well, with good service at the non-member places.

Farmhouse Cafe however, decided this year to join the Association for the benefits and help it gives small business owners especially when it comes to understanding the constantly changing laws, rules and regulations affecting the industry. They, along with many other participants, have the prix fixe special menu along with their regular menu during the two weeks.

A final observation: San Diego’s restaurants depend on the support of us, the diners, whether we’re eating a fish taco or a filet mignon, during restaurant week or not. Buzz wants to know your experiences during this restaurant week–whether a diner or a restaurateur. Diners: Did you try a new place? If so, would you return? Restaurateurs: Was the week successful for you, staff and do you expect to see new faces once the hoopla dies down? Oh, Yelpers take note: Please don’t ding a restaurant you’re trying for the first time during restaurant week…it’s just not nice.

In Kensington, a “uber fun, cool and eclectic” new wine bar , Village Vino, opens (softly) June 28 at the corner of Adams Avenue and Kensington Drive in the same block as the Ken Theater and Kensington Grill. Owner Rita Pirkl will feature wines from around the world from small producers, many family run. There will be classes too. Buzz has seen the space and it offers all of the fun and none of the pretense of so many other wine bars in this town (no sofas either!). 4095 Adams Ave., 619-546-8466, open Sunday to Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday until midnight, closed Monday.

If you’re looking for a restaurant to buy, here are two you might be interested in: Avenue 5 Restaurant and Bar in Bankers Hill is on the block as is City Deli in Hillcrest. For additional information, 858-792-5521.

More Malarkey for his minions: The empire spreads with a second Searsucker for those hungry “zonies; waived c orkage Tuesdays and half off selected bottles at all five venues; and happy hour arrives at from 4 to 6pm. Growing pains at the three-month-old Gabardine where chef Chad White is out and Malarkey is in with a pared down menu (unfortunately not yet posted online) and appetizers that include mac n’ cheese, shishito peppers and fries (they were sides before). Is Malarkey trying too hard here with a new brunch hook at Gabardine? Disco? Kind of odd for this old Point Loma neighborhood.

Herringbone just opened in La Jolla, making it the fifth in the fabric named restaurants. If you love noisy, be-there-be-seen places, you’ll be right at home here as you watch nimble wait staff juggle food and drinks around a packed bar and 100-year-old olive trees planted inside the huge ex-warehouse space. Expect a pricey dinner meal with most mains in the high $20’s and starters in the high teens.

And a final thought on Malarkey: Is the expansion too fast and furious given his turnover of chefs (Burlap and Gabardine)? Gabardine certainly needed more thought when it opened (and still may) as the elements of decor, dark corners at the bar, noise and a mish mash of a menu were not cohesive for the four times I visited. (The place is a mile from my home.) Time will tell if he can get the locals hooked.

GABARDINE UPDATE: As of June 14, Brian Malarkey’s Point Loma restaurant: Chef Chad White and Malarkey have parted ways. Malarkey will be at in the kitchen–perhaps to stay closer to home when he moves here this summer? (See post below and his email note to Gabardine patrons.)

Buzz took a hiatus from writing to host a gaggle of overseas friends passing through San Diego. Now it’s time to get things revved up with my recent observations while dining in San Diego’s eclectic restaurants.

A few weeks ago at The Shores I dined with a Parisian couple that I had only met that day (friends of friends) and we ordered a “half bottle” of Domaine Carneros sparkling wine ($31, glass $15). (Note the online menu still shows NV J. Brut Cuvee 20, Sonoma, CA). What a surprise when the Carneros arrived in a carafe, poured into glasses at the table by our server. Yep, a carafe, not a special carafe, just a regular wine carafe. We were stunned–everyone too polite to say a word.

To be fair, you’ll find these words on the wine list: “*Our HALF BOTTLES are better than a half bottle!! It is 2-1/2 glasses per carafe! Perfect if you want more than a glass and less than a bottle.” But usually carafes are for red and white wines. One doesn’t expect bubbles in a carafe, especially in a place where the sommelier is studying to become a master sommelier.

My curiosity got the best of me to learn more about serving bubbles in a carafe. I checked with Parisian friends who pour (and drink) Champagne nearly daily–they were not familiar with such service–and online I found a video showing Michel Drappier decanting his vintage Champagne into his specially made chilled decanter. Charles Heidsieck also weighs in on the subject, noting that Riedel makes a uniquely designed decanter for vintage Champagne.

For The Shores “offering the best in neighborhood American cuisine” with unobstructed ocean views (including kayakers, surfers and marine life) carafe service for sparkling wine “half bottle” is an affectation that doesn’t do justice to the customer, the restaurant or the bubbles. How about selling real half bottles of good California NV sparkling wine (prices range from $20 to $35) rather than make the customer wonder how long a bottle had been open before it reached the carafe (and possibly lost its effervesce along the way). I’d bet a lot of locals and travelers from distant lands would rave about the classy and comfortable dining experience.

Two more Malarkey venues opened (Gabardine and Herringbone), adding swatches to his growing love affair with fabric named restaurants (Searsucker, Burlap and Gingham). One can only wonder when he gets to Nylon, Velcro, Polyester and Spandex. He’s opening a new place in Uganda in the summer…yes, Uganda, as noted here. When will Malarkey have time to move to Point Loma as he mentions in a Gabardine that also includes menu changes. Buzz will delve more into Gabardine and Herringbone in a separate post…there’s lots to tell.

Full disclosure: I know the executive chef, chef de cuisine and sommelier at The Shores.

Wade Hageman of the very successful Blue RibbonPizzeria in Encinitas (west of the I-5) will add another venue when he opens The Craftsman New American Tavern. After Mother’s Day takes over the spot that is Savory Casual Fare also in Encinitas (east of the I-5). Expect a late June/early July opening with a menu of “Hand Crafted Comfort” food emphasizing house made sausage, charcuterie, artisan cheese and Hageman’s farm to table approach with ingredients from local farmers, breweries and wineries. Savory Casual Fare, 267 El Camino Real Suite A & B, 760-634-5556, Blue Ribbon Pizzeria, Lumberyard Shopping Center, 897 S. Coast Highway 101, Suite F102, 760-634-7671.

When Savory closes after Mother’s Day, owner, Pascal Vignau moves to Chandler’s Restaurant in the soon-to-open Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort & Spa.

Go French for a week and dine at some of San Diego’s best: The Marine Room, Vagabond, Bleu Boheme, Winesellar & Brasserie to name a few. The Second Annual Tour de Cuisine (French Restaurant Week) runs from March 24 to April 1. Click here for more information and to see the three-course menus.

The Red Door Restaurant & Wine Bar named Miguel Valdez, who has been with the restaurant for a year and a half, their executive chef. On April 4 and June 20, Valdez will accompany guests on a tour of the Mission Hills Farmers Market, buy ingredients for the dinner, then return to the restaurant to enjoy an inspired meal. Four courses $45, with wine $70, and evening includes one of Chef’s recipes. For information: 619-295-6000.

Fellow writer Brandon Hernandez just posted an that brings up some good points about menus and how they are written. His issue: Rather than list just the basic ingredients, he longs for a detailed explanation of each dish on the menu. Brandon (he’s a pal) where’s your sense of adventure and excitement for an evening of good dining? Risk adverse? You’re probably not alone especially in San Diego where–as you note–“we’re still finding our way where cuisine is concerned”.

If, in fact, each dish read as you might wish, including ingredients and cooking technique, it would almost resemble a recipe and the menu would read like a book. And consider that many ethnic restaurants don’t go deeply into specifics, but simply name a dish with a main ingredient (chicken quesadilla, sweet and sour pork, etc.).

Why not write the menu with just the main ingredients as many well-known restaurants do? Less is more in many places including Gramercy Tavern in New York or Scottsdale’s Posh where the diner is given a list of ingredients and asked to strike any that they wouldn’t want to eat. Posh embodies improvisational cuisine at it’s very best (Buzz has eaten there twice) and shows what chef/owner Josh Hebert can do daily with seasonal ingredients.

Spago and Bouchon Bistro in Beverly Hills provide some idea of what to expect when you order. Across the pond, the hotspot in Paris, Le Comptoir’s gives you the basics. In San Francisco, the year-old Prospect writes a succinct menu with ingredients. Here in San Diego, The Marine Room lists an expanded ingredient list while 1500 Ocean names just a few.

For many chefs writing the menu with few ingredients allows the kitchen latitude for presentation–sautéed snapper could be poached another night or Yukon potatoes could be mashed one night and steamed another. Same ingredients, different preparation. It’s up to the diner to let the server know about any allergies (if possible when making the reservation) and to ask the server about a particular dish. It’s not up to the diner to ask for a complete redo of a dish after it’s explained.

So on your next night out, take a chance with the chef, suspend imagining what a dish might be, ask a question or two if the ingredients sound intriguing, and may your taste buds tingle with an enlightened and inventive meal.

There’s a new quarterly journal out that food lovers may want to read: Lucky Peach features such writers (and some chefs) as Ruth Reichl, Peter Meehan, David Chang and others. First issue looks at ramen. Check it out.

The Marine Room isn’t just for special occasions, and even on an overcast day, it’s got a drop dead view of the Pacific Ocean spotted with surfers, kayakers, boats and birds, not to mention people walking the beach. Just yesterday Buzz popped in figuring it would be as gorgeous at the ocean as it was inland. It wasn’t, but it didn’t matter. Watching the water and just relaxing during the restaurant’s 4pm to 6pm happy hour (appetizers and well drinks are just $7 each) makes the place a lovely respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. If you swoon for avocados, you must try (and share) the delicately tempura battered wedges of fresh avocado served with an ancho chile dip. Simple, delicious and not greasy!

Check out their August listing of dinners and classes with über award-winning chefs, Bernard Guillas and Ron Oliver. For sake lovers, Ichishima Sake is featured at a special dinner on August 3 for $95 excluding tax and tip. 2000 Spindrift Lane, La Jolla, (866) 644.2351 or 858-459-7222.

A tasting dinner at The Grill at Torrey Pines Wednesday, July 27, will feature beer from Petaluma’s Lagunitas Brewing Company. Here’s the menu and the cost is $65 including food, wine and valet parking. Reservations: 858-777-6645.

It’s summer vacation so Buzz will take some time to play and tackle new projects while occasionally posting throughout the next few months. Expect to see Buzz pushing beyond the San Diego boundaries to bring you food and travel news to inspire the wanderlust in all of us…from Los Angeles and New York to Paris and Prague (and beyond). But first, news from San Diego:

Red Velvet Wine Bar in Little Italy closes tomorrow Saturday (as noted by a Keli Dailey tweet). To answer Dailey’s question of “why”, Buzz talked with wine director Kyle Showen today to get the answer. Bottom line: Owner Wendy Segal wants time off and isn’t ready to recalibrate the staff as Kyle is moving to San Francisco where Katie Brookshire (opening wine director) now works. Terrific chef Luke Johnson will be missed as will the very contemporary and grown-up spot for interesting wines and well-paired food. We hope that Segal will not keep the place shuttered too long.

The Marine Room‘s dynamic duo Bernard Guillas (executive chef) and Ron Oliver (chef de cuisine) nabbed two big awards at the IACP gala last night in Austin, Texas. Their cookbook Flying Pans, Two Chefs, One World won the People’s Choice award along with best in the Chefs and Restaurants category (they beat chefs Rick Bayless and Michael Chiarello). Congrats to Bernard and Ron.

The return to San Diego of Jason McLeod, could be a big deal for San Diego eating. He opened The Grand Del Mar as executive chef and director of food and beverage for the property’s four restaurants but didn’t stay long as Chicago called with the opportunity to open Ria. There he earned two Michelin stars, though he left his heart in San Diego. According to the Chicago Tribune, he’s under contract with The Mediterranean Room at La Valencia Hotel, designing its menu. And on his blog (that he co-authors with his sister Karlin), and his tweets, you’ll find he’s looking for a space to open his own place. We can only hope that San Diego is ready to support the food one can imagine from a chef with an international reputation. We want to know when the new menu will appear at La Valencia…and when McLeod opens his own place.

Easter is around the corner, and here’s a quick roundup of things to do and places to go if cooking a ham isn’t your thing….

Get the kids involved on Thursday, April 21, when Cups La Jolla hosts an Easter Cookie Decorating class from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Chef Francois of renowned bakery Girard Gourmet, teaches the fun class. Ccst is $50 for a parent and child team, $15 per additional child, and $30 for a solo adult. For more information or call 858-459-2877.

More cupcake ideas come from the HOP box at Sprinkles. The box contains dark chocolate, red velvet, brown sugar praline and carrot cupcakes adorned with pink and green bunnies and is from April 15 to 24. The Jewish holiday of Passover isn’t forgotten here either. Get a dozen Passover Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes adorned with blue Star of David and sealed with a Star of David sticker and available from April 18th to 26^th. 8855 La Jolla Villa Drive, La Jolla. 858. 457 3800.

Take your daughter (or son) to tea at The US Grant Hotel on Saturday, April 23 from 1pm to 3pm where you’ll sip premium loose leaf teas served alongside a tantalizing selection of house-made sweets and savory treats.    Cost is $47 adults and $22 children.  For reservations, 619-744-2039 .

At La Valencia, you can do brunch buffet style, served throughout the day in the hotel’s various dining areas, seating from 11 am and is $75 per adult and $32 per child plus tax and tip. Bring the kids for an Easter egg hunt from 11am to 3pm. For reservations, please call 858- 551-3744.

Also in La Jolla, Roppongi Restaurant & Sushi Bar offers an à la carte menu from 11am to 2pm with interesting dishes that include Jidori chicken adobo; breakfast tacos with eggs, cheese and Asian guacamole; macadamia nut pancakes and more. For reservations: 858-551-5252.

If you’d like to sweeten an Easter basket, consider chocolates from Chuao (available countywide), Chi Chocolat (Liberty Station), The Elegant Truffle (Point Loma village), Eclipse Chocolat (University Heights) and Chocolat Creamerie (Hillcrest and Gaslamp). Buzz can attest that each of these purveyors makes artisanal and extremely luscious chocolates to satisfy every chocoholic.

Change comes quickly to 1500 Ocean with the news that chef de cuisine Brian Sinnott will leave effective April 1, and as he assured me in an email, it’s no April Fool’s joke. He wants to concentrate on his family.

Supper club dining comes to San Diego: Whisknladle Monthly Supper Club does it on the last Tuesday of each month as they begin their third year. Bringing strangers together in celebration of food, wine & great conversation, the three-course family-style fixed-price dinner for up to 12 to 14 guests served in Whisknladle’s private dining room includes paired wines. Limited to four per group to spur mingling in their private dining room, the next dinner is March 29 and the cost is $75 plus tax and tip. For reservations: 858- 551-7575.

Grant Grill Saturday Night Supper Club creates a jazz evening, with specialty cocktails and dinner. Drink and dine and then spend the night at the hotel with their Saturday night escape package which you can find on their website after scrolling down seven items in the list. (Note to hotel, make it a bit easier to locate on the website.)

It's Got Bite

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
About San Diego's Food Scene

San Diego Restaurant Week, Again

Village Vino, Avenue 5, City Deli and More Malarkey

Sparkling Wine at The Shores and More Malarkey–UPDATE

Encinitas Eats, French Restaurant Week and Red Door

On Menus

Lucky Peach, The Marine Room and The Grill at Torrey Pines

Red Velvet Closes and Marine Room’s Chefs Win Big

Jason McLeod–Two-Star Michelin Chef in San Diego

Easter Dining in San Diego

1500 Ocean and Supper Clubs

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