Buzz popped into the recently opened Snooze, an A.M.Eatery, to meet a friend for a late breakfast.  The place hops at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning–so get your name on the waiting list since they seat when all of your party arrives.  It’s a big fun room, with seating that includes a counter, booths and casual banquettes. In 2006, Snooze woke up in Denver and has locations in Colorado;  San Diego is their first out of that state.

The menu includes eggs and pancakes, both with twists and liberties taken in name and flavors.   Niman Ranch cage free eggs come in a variety of possibilities.  A three egg omelet or scramble ($8.5) allows a choice of three fillings—everything from bacon, sausage, pulled pork, soyrizo, salmon, prosciutto to roasted garlic, spinach, caramelized onions, and arugula, and don’t forget various cheeses.  A stack of crisp topped hash browns come with most of the egg concoctions.

My Tuscan Benedict ($9), one of many riffs on eggs Benedict, arrives with two lovely, runny-yolk poached eggs, perched on small slices of ciabatta bread and a “ragout of tomatoes, white beans, kale and squash” with cream cheese hollandaise.  Unfortunately, the ragout needs to be more than just steamed vegetables with little if any herbs or seasoning–the flavors don’t meld.  Snooze ought to call their sauces of either cream cheese or smoked cheddar cheese what they are—cheese sauces–NOT hollandaise since neither resembles the ethereal sauce of butter, egg yolks and lemon juice.

Check the menu here and you’ll find a BLT, burger and even fish tacos if eggs and pancakes aren’t your thing. Though Buzz didn’t try the pancakes, Keli Dailey did and Amy T. Granite tried a few other items.  3940 Fifth Avenue, (619) 500-3344, Open from 6:30am to 2:30pm weekdays and 7am to 2:30pm weekends.

 

 

Chefs Confab (a group of 14 very good San Diego chefs)  hosts a week of sustainable seafood events that include dinners, talks, and more.  Check the website for information on the series that runs from May 31 to June 6  ending with a $125 dinner at 1500 Ocean created by many of the Confab chefs.

Executive chef Matt Smith, will move from Winesellar & Brasserie to The 3rd Corner’s soon-to-open third location in Palm Desert.  Smith is from Indio and this move will let him be closer to home as well as run Ed Moore’s newest restaurant that opens late June. Desert goers will find the restaurant at the junction of Highways 111 and 74 in the old Palomino site.

Blanca lost chef Jason Neroni who quickly realized that San Diego diners weren’t ready to expand their eating habits to include pork in a various ways or foods cooked sous vide, so he packed up and went back to his New York roots.  In his place,  Gavin Schmidt who just arrived from San Francisco with a resume that includes work as executive chef at the highly rated  Campton Place and chef de cuisine at the two-star Michelin rated  Coi.  We wish him well.

Executive chef Bernard Guillas of The Marine Room , just returned from New York where he launched his cookbook: Flying Pans: Two Chefs, One World.

Buzz fav, Avenue 5 Restaurant & Bar on Fifth between Nutmeg and Oliver, decided to take on the burger craze in a more interesting way.  Every Wednesday is Bodacious Burger night from 5pm to close.  What kind of burgers?  Interesting round-the-world flavored burgers that arrive with six ounces of protein, a small salad, truffle fries and a dill pickle spear and range from $10.95 to $14.95 and include the Aussie lamb burger, the Scottish salmon burger, the Frenchie burger, portobello burger and others.  Closed Monday.

Tuesdays at Jayne’s Gastropub in North Park features a Jayne burger and any draft beer for $15.

Roseville in Point Loma has a new menu created by chef Chad White with prices $20 and under along with bar food choices and nightly specials.  They do need to get their website updated however, as former executive chef Amy DiBiase now heads the Glass Door (with a great view of the bay and Little Italy) at the Hotel Porto Vista.

Tommy Pastrami, with some of the best pastrami and corned beef on corned rye bread is finally opening this summer.  Buzz mentioned them a year ago but they clearly had some problems getting the space finished downtown at 555 West C at Fifth between Broadway and C.

In Bankers HIll, Hexagone French Cuisine now occupies the corner of Fifth and Laurel in the old Gemelli spot.  Hexagone is the newest addition to French Market Grille up in Rancho Bernardo.  The new place  features everything from salad niçoise ($13.75) and onion soup grantinée ($6.50) to traditional coq au vin ($17.50) and sea bass with corn risotto and fennel-vanilla sauce ($22.50).  I haven’t eaten at either spot yet.  And if you’re wondering (as I did) what a hexagon has to do with French cuisine, it’s the term the French use  when talking about the shape of their country.  Hexagone French Cuisine, 495 Laurel Street, Bankers Hill, 619-236-0467.  Open daily from 11am.

For fabulous and very French desserts and chocolates,  Mille Feuille is your place at the corner of University and Fifth.   Executive pastry chef Thomas Gèrard,  comes from  La Valencia in La Jolla, and being French knows his pastries.  I’ve tasted a few:  Opera (light coffee sponge cake, chocolate ganache and coffee butter cream, $6.50), apricot summer (coconut-pineapple and carrot sponge cake layered with orange-apricot cream cheese filling, $5.50) and lots more including a caramelized onion and cheese quiche ($5.50) and  macaroons almost as ethereal as those found in Pierre Hermé’s Paris shop.  For lunch there are sandwiches and from 2 pm to 4pm there’s high tea for $20.  Mille Feuille, 3896 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest, 619-295-5232.

Barely two years old, Rannoosh the Middle Eastern restaurant next door to Mille Feuille, is closed.

One of the nicest little neighborhood eateries, The Better Half in Hillcrest, just began serving Sunday brunch from 10am to 2pm. Haven’t tried it yet, but my guess is it will be good, given the terrific press it’s been getting.

New in Liberty Station, stashed away near Trader Joe’s is Tender Greens that serves salads, sandwiches and plates for $10…and uses local produce, bakery goods (including Con Pane’s cibiatta), humanely raised meats and sustainable seafood. To drink you’ll find boutique wines and local microbrews. Haven’t had a chance to check it out…but certainly will soon.

Candela’s, the well-known downtown Mexican restaurant with sophisticated upscale Mexico City style food, opened at on Coronado’s Ferry Landing with views of the city. Note to the locals who live on the Island…you can get a 20% discount on your meals for a year. Check out the website.

Nearby at the Ferry Landing (and at their Del Mar location) at Il Fornaio, features a menu with regional dishes of Sardegna through July 20.


A quick trip last week to Sacramento found Buzz eating with a local foodie at the newest addition to the city’s thriving restaurant scene. g.v.hurley’s restaurant & bar hops with a great vibe, comfortable room with high ceilings, dark wood, booths, large horseshoe shaped bar, and a snappy outdoor cantina style bar at the back of the main dining room. The kitchen, under the guiding hand of executive chef David Hill creates small plates of addictive kennebec potato truffle fries with shaved Parmesan (not the usual puffs of grated cheese) ($8), a trio of Kobe beef sliders with all the trimmings ($15), and a not so successful duo of lobster corndogs that we figure won’t stay on the menu. One terrific plate featured perfectly cooked scallops on a bed of fresh fava bean, corn and fennel succotash with a garnish of deep fried lemon slices. The combination worked perfectly. Mac & cheese poppers sounded so good, but we were out of stomach space! This six- week-old restaurant is absolutely worth trying. Lunch and Dinner, 2713 J Street, Sacramento, 916-704-2410.

At the Sacramento Airport, if you find your Southwest flight delayed as I did, wander through the food court to Vino Volo. It’s a comfortable wine bar serving wines by the glass or flight. The $9 glass of Wolfberger Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rosé hit the spot as I relaxed away from the hubbub. Definitely a spot to seek if you’re not into noisy sports bars. Other airport locations include Seattle, Baltimore, New York City and Washington, DC.

Enoteca Style in Little Italy bills itself as the best panini wine bar in San Diego. It’s the second concept from owners Maryjo Testa and Scott Thomas who created the popular downtown Salad Style for yummy salads that aren’t all lettuce.  The new place features a small menu with eight $9 panini combos named for the streets of Little Italy such as Date (honey baked ham, munster cheese, arugula, spicy whole grain mustard) or Ash (salami, mortadella, provolone cheese, pickled peppers garlic aioli).  Not a sandwich person?  Try their salads (duck confit, soba noodle and ahi tuna or peppered steak), artisan cheese plates and innovative bruschetta (beyond tomato and basil) and of course, wine.  Located on India Street between Ash and Beech, it’s an easy walk from Broadway so call your order ahead if you’re short on time.  Open from 11am, closed Sunday, 619-546-7138. 

Look for Point Loma’s newest addition, Roseville, to open by the end of the month. Executive chef Amy DiBiase’smenu will feature a French-Mediterranean twist using seasonal ingredients and seafood.  DiBiase arrived in San Diego some years ago and worked at the original Laurel Restaurant & Bar as sous chef to Jason Shaeffer.  When he left, she eventually became chef de cuisine and when the restaurant sold, moved on to Baleen at Paradise Point Resort.  Her food is approachable and innovative so expect dishes from $8 to $27 and nightly specials, all complemented with a worldly and eclectic wine list. 

No more Friday lunches at the popular Farm House Cafe.  Too bad, as it was a perfect ending after a long week when I met San Diego food lover and blogger Alice and then by chance other friends, well-known Barbarella and her photographer hubby David Fokos.  Buzz does understand the need to take a breath between service, especially in a small restaurant such as this so owner/chef Olivier Boiteau decided to keep it simple:  Dinner: Tuesday through Sunday, 5pm to 10pm.  Brunch: Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 2pm.  Reservations suggested:  619-269-9662.

Executive chef, Brian O’Connor, left his post at Laurel Restaurant and Bar to go north for a position in San Francisco.  Filling in and doing double duty from Laurel’s sister restaurant Chive is chef Joe Magnanelli.

Red Marlin now serves Sunday brunch from 10am to 2pm, buffet style, $39.95 per person, children (age 4 to 12) $19.  Great panoramic views of Mission Bay, lots of entrees, omelet, waffle and dessert stations and, of course, mimosas. 

Little Italy is one quintessential neighborhood with a unique mix of retail, residential and restaurants, all within walking distance of each other. The heart of this bustling area supports pizzas, empanadas, sushi and a corner pub, Princess Pub & Grille.

Lots of outdoor seating makes for good people watching as throngs of tourists and locals walk their dogs and kids along the street, especially on weekends. The Princess website boasts that it is the original British pub in San Diego, having opened in 1984. Inside you’ll find a large bar with comfortable chairs, lots of pub “stuff” on the walls for décor, and a lot of noise especially with the music turned up and people talking over it. It’s a happening place with a good vibe. Their menu while featuring fish and chips and bangers deviates to also include such things as baby back ribs and blackened Pacific salmon Caesar salad with Parmesan, not exactly my idea of authentic English pub grub. But as my sidekick remarked, they cater to a broader clientele given the location.

We ordered fish and chips and determined the chips, while thickly cut, were too soft and less flavorful than Shakespeare Pub & Grille in lower Mission Hills. For me, the fish batter also could have been crisper. The side of curry sauce for the chips is long on hot chile in the mouth, and reminds me of chile rather than a distinct curry. A meal of chips and curry is $6.50. I did like the Scotch egg as it was served warm, wrapped with flavorful sausage meat, cut in half and served with Branston pickles (a a finely chopped crunchy chutney of carrots and other vegetables flavored with vinegar, onion powder and lemon juice). 1665 India Street, Little Italy, 619-702-3021, www.princesspub.com.

One of my favorites for authentic pub experience, is Shakespeare Pub & Grille, located upstairs among the mini collection of restaurants on India and Washington Streets that include Mexican, Japanese, Thai, Middle Eastern and a wine bar and bistro. This very English pub sports dark wood tavern décor, wrapped with windows and simple wood tables. Out on the umbrellaed wood deck, my pub crawling pal and I sat on green plastic patio chairs and noted the dull roar of the I-5. The noise isn’t bothersome–consider it a version of white sound and inside seating can be noisy.

The menu includes shepherd’s pie (a melange of ground beef, vegetables topped with mashed potatoes and cheese), fish and chips (homemade), a few sandwiches, roast beef and bangers and mash (that would be potatoes and peas), among other things, none of which will bust your budget. Tap and bottled beers along with a full bar, make this venue a good hangout on a hot afternoon.

English chips typically are thick, not the skinny, limp wisps we call fries here in the states. At Shakespeare, those chips are long, crisp, thick and fleshy, and a meal at $4.95. Curry sauce can be ordered separately for $1.50 and must be something the English picked up when they owned India. This mildly spicy dipping sauce comes in a bowl and is a nice change from the usual catsup or malt vinegar. Scotch eggs are served hot or cold, and our server said typically they are cold. Now I happen to like cold sausage, but if you don’t, order it warm, as the sausage is wrapped around the hardboiled egg. Branston pickles with the quartered egg and sausage make a good mouthful. My half pint of black and tan (Bass and Guiness) washed it all down quite nicely. 3701 India Street, Lower Mission Hills, 619-299-0230, www.shakespearepub.com.

The San Diego Pier Café at Seaport Village sits on pilings, more wharf than pier, has a bar, and a slightly more sophisticated and higher priced menu than the other cafes. Open for lunch and dinner, you’ll find nachos, salads and sandwiches, clam chowder in a bread bowl, and more. I prefer the less stylized atmosphere (call it laid back, funky and fun) of the Ocean Beach Pier Café. 885 West Harbor Drive, Seaport Village, 619-239-3968, www.piercafe.com.

Ruby’s Diner, the fixture at the end of Oceanside Pier, is part of a restaurant chain, serving good typical diner food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ruby’s first restaurant opened in 1982 on the pier in Newport Beach. It’s a 1940’s diner atmosphere, with good hamburgers and. As the longest wooden pier on the west coast (1942 feet), you can get a good workout walking to the restaurant. 1 Oceanside Pier, 760-433-RUBY (7829).