Downtown has a new chic dining room: Crescent Heights Kitchen & Lounge at the corner of India Street and Broadway. The contemporary room (designed by the same firm that did Blanca in Solana Beach) matches the modern American menu that features mussels with flavored chorizo in an addictive broth, lovely charcuterie and cheese plates (and you can choose your meats and cheeses), along with Parmesan fries, skinny onion rings, sliders and lots more. Three of us sampled most of the above on a quiet Saturday night…We’d all go back. Open for lunch and dinner, closed Sunday. 655 West Broadway, 619-450-6450.
Arterra’s general manager, Tom Mastricola moves on for an, as yet, undetermined location. Sara Hanson moves from The Pearl to take Tom’s place.
Up in Hillcrest, The Better Half can help get over the shock of the stock market drop and still eat well with a three-course dinner for just $15. Called the “Stressed Economy Blue Plate Special” the dinners are available from 5 to 7 pm daily. You can choose flat-iron steak, snapper, wild game meatloaf or pasta, along with soup or salad and, of course, dessert. Pretty damn good deal at a place with a wonderful selection of half-bottle wines. 127 University Ave., Hllcrest, 619-543-9340.
Blue Boheme in Kensington will preview their Papa Nanou menu (even though the restaurant is not yet ready) on October 19. It’s a prix-fixe menu for $48 and reservations can be made online or at 619-255-4167.