Tag Archives: marcie rothman

Bits and Bites: Slow and In the Know

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San Diego’s  food scene brims with people, events, foods and restaurants that support the growing worldwide awareness of how we eat, where our food comes from, and how those decisions impact the environment, jobs and health.  Savvy eaters in San Diego know about:

***Tender Greens in Liberty Station takes urban farming quite seriously and can now boast they get heirloom tomatoes and other seasonal vegetables from retired lawyer Paul Reeb who turned to gardening as a hobby.  He grows produce exclusively for the restaurant  and what’s really unique is that Reeb’s garden is about five blocks from the restaurant so cooks can pick every morning.  How fresh is that?

***Slow Food Urban San Diego and their monthly “metro socials” that expose us to local farmers, local artisanal ingredients, classes and lots more.  Get on board with the organization at two upcoming events.  If you’ve wondered what former Union-Trib restaurant critic Maria Hunt is up to, you can join her at JSix on August 26 for a book signing.   She’s authored The Bubbly Bar–cocktails specifically geared to the use of sparkling wines. Mark  September 7 for their community potluck for the Slow Food national campaign to get better school meals nationally and here in San Diego.

***Support the environment and check out Manivela Delivery, the first bicycle driven food delivery service in San Diego. They specialize in restaurants that do not already deliver and serve the  serve the center of San Diego nearest Balboa Park, but look forward to expanding out in the coming months. For more information: 619-512-FOOD.

***You’ve likely seen Peace Pies booth at many of the farmers markets. Now they’ve opened a  small restaurant just up the street from OB People’s Organic Food Market on Voltaire.  Peace Pies features delectable savory and sweet foods–I love their cinnamon rolls–everything they make is gluten free, raw, vegan and very very good.  Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch.  619-618-6960, 4230 Voltaire,  San Diego.

***Local farmers sell at many of our 39 weekly farmers markets.  If you can’t get to the market, get a box from one of the eight Community Supported Agriculture farms. The cost of a weekly box of local, fresh, seasonal produce could cost a lot less than a trip to the supermarket.  Buzz has been a  Garden of Eden Organics supporter for two years and loves the seasonal variety (and convenience) of the box of goodies.

***Get smart about our food supply and see the movie Food, Inc.  And then catch Julie and Julia for the delightful story of Julia Child who opened the world of cooking on television in 1963.

Buzz From the Bar

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The well-known Luna Notte in Point Loma will soon become part of Hillcrest’s popular Arrivederci Ristorante.  Luna Notte’s owners, Rob and Angela Scott have sold the restaurant and are moving to Bainbridge Island in Washington at the end of this month.  It will be interesting to see how locals at  Old Venice, La Scala, Pizza Nova and Solare in Liberty Station will take to their new neighbor.

Up in La Jolla there’s buzz that two well-known (and very good) chefs may be vying for Damon Gordon’s executive chef spot at the Gaslamp’s Ivy Hotel.

And up in Solana Beach, could it be that the chef from the area’s top eatery may be looking to move on?

Bits and Bites: A Wine Bar and Fall Menus

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Splash enters the wine bar scene in North Park, sometime in November.  What makes it unique is the way the wine will be stored and dispensed.  According their website, there will be 72 wines available in a one-ounce pour, glass or bottle.  With a pre-paid plastic card, patrons can taste any number of wines, a “splash” being one ounce.  Stay tuned for more information. 3043 University Ave, North Park.

Fall brings with it cooler weather and seasonal menu changes for many restaurants.  Among them, Point Loma’s Roseville with executive chef Amy DiBiase at the helm, features the Sunday special of braised short ribs–a gorgeous hunk of boneless meat, braised and cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection, served with a celery root puree, some braised celery and a dollop of a zippy rhubarb confit to counterbalance the richness of the Meyer beef.  For $30, it’s the perfect Sunday comfort dinner. For reservations:  619-450-6800.

Urban Solace in North Park offers chicken liver paté and an intriguing item called crab pop tart as part of their fall lineup. The restaurant recently celebrated their one year anniversary.  In a few weeks, Buzz will be at a media dinner featuring these and other fall items from chef Matt Gordon.  Look for my update after the dinner.  For more information: 619-295-6464.

Up at Arterra in Del Mar, chef Jason Maitland goes where many other chefs don’t dare.  His fall menu includes seared beef tongue, truffled popcorn sweetbreads and roasted bone marrow.  Sounds quite good and kudos to Maitland for stretching beyond the conventional.  Also at Arterra is a three-course dinner for two for $79 plus tax and tip.   For information and reservations:  858-369-6032.

Bits and Bites: Updates

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If you’ve got cash, have we got a deal for you: Invest in a Beltran restaurant. According to information sent to their mailing list, owners Philippe Beltran and Jacqueline Delaney are offering investment opportunities for their neighborhood restaurant concepts. He owns Blue Boheme in Kensington and Papa Nanou in Mission Hills, due to open late this year. For information: 619-823-6510.

We hear that Maria Hunt, ex food critic for the UT is freelancing for north county magazines including Riviera where she’s authoring a piece on Roseville in Point Loma.

Maureen Clancy who spent many years writing about food at the UT, now has her own blog,

Chef Jason Seibert has landed in Los Angeles. His time in San Diego included Cafe Cerise (chef/owner) and when it closed he consulted for the opening of downtown’s Jade Theater. He recently spent eight months catering with Wolfgang Puck for LA’s mayor, Billy Crystal and others.

Rooms with a View

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Buzz loves unusual restaurant locations particularly places with views beyond four walls and food that makes the trip worthwhile. Whether it’s the ocean, mountains or sky-high city/bay panorama, San Diego’s varied terrain affords many dining choices. These are a few of my favorites.

BY THE SEA: You might think of the Hotel Del Coronado as a spot reserved only for vacationers, but think again. It’s a place with many choices depending on your mood. There’s Eno, the wine bar under the direction of the very knowledgeable Ted Glennon. The Del sits almost on the sand of the Pacific so you can sit outside, sip a glass, flight or bottle of wine, nibble on cheese, charcouterie or chocolate paired (if you wish) to the wine and watch the sunset or stargaze. Glennon offers Saturday “Eno-Versity” classes with winemakers for $35: Sake on August 16; German wines on August 23 and Rosés on September 6. Open from 4pm. For information 619-522-8546.

Finish your wine, take a short walk on the promenade and head down to 1500 Ocean where Chef Brian Sinnott does wonders with homemade featherlight papparadelle in sauces that change with the season, including the current ethereal one with morels, pea tendrils and pancetta in a light mushroom butter fondue. September 17 features a special lobster and sparkling wine dinner and November 12, a four-course celebration of truffles, both are $135 per person. Dinner from 5:30pm. Reservations: 619-522-8490.

Further up the coast in Del Mar, Sbicca invited a few media to celebrate their tenth anniversary with a dinner held in their upstairs wine room. The restaurant sits a few blocks from the ocean so the view of the ocean with the rooftops is a bit like being in a quaint, coastal Mediterranean restaurant–relaxed. There’s a lovely outdoor patio just off that wine room with the same textural view.

A block away is , Epazote that sits on the hill in the shopping complex at 15th and Camino del Mar. The views from their Ocean Terrace room (all glass) take in the rooftops and a large expanse of the ocean. Executive chef Justin Hoehn adds his touches to the menu with lemon linquinini wild arugula pesto and veggies, Niman Ranch pork osso bucco with gnocchi and lots more. Happy hour runs daily from 3 to 7pm.

THE MOUNTAINS: Cavaillon, is up the 56 and off Camino del Sur, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere is now somewhere if you live in Santa Luz or that neck of the woods…or if you travel between the 15 and the 5. And now chef/owner Philippe Verpriand has a lovely small plate summer menu. A recent media event there featured wines from Paris Drigger (a distributor) and tasting plates of such things as really good pommes frites with truffle oil and Parmesan (yes, everyone does the dish; not everyone does it well), mushroom ravioli, steak salad and more. The venue allows you to watch the sunset from the hills rather than the ocean and a relaxing atmosphere pervades the patio dining area. Along with the food and location, the service is top-notch. If I lived in that corridor of Rancho Santa Fe, Escondido and Carmel Valley, it would be on my favorites list. Prices range from $4.50 to $14 and the menu is available Sunday to Thursday from 5pm to 7pm. For information: 858-433-0483.

SKY HIGH:

Watch the planes, have a drink, lunch or dinner, Bertrand at Mister A’s has the spectacular city, bay and airport view…Though I haven’t been there for awhile, the vista hasn’t changed! For reservations: 619-239-1377.

Bits and Bites: Calistoga Winery Sells and More

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Wine lovers will be sad and glad to know that the famed Chateau Montelena winery in Calistoga is being sold to the house of Cos d’Estournel in the Saint-Estèphe area of Bordeaux.

Over at The Shores Restaurant and sister to the well-known Marine Room, Lisa Redwine is the new General Manager. Many may know her from Molly’s where she was the GM as well as the hotel wine director. Bernard Guillas is the executive chef for The Shores as well as the Marine Room. Both properties are part of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.

EXY, the downtown chic Greek restaurant and lounge is now open for lunch with items such as chicken pita sandwich, swell hamburgers, salads and other dishes from their dinner menu–sized for lunch–and priced between $5 and $9. Open Tuesday through Friday for lunch and though Saturday for dinner. Also available for private functions on Sunday and Monday. Located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and F Street; phone: 619-238-0412.

The Saturday Little Italy Mercato grows weekly with new vendors that include rotisserie chickens from Grill Master, lots of seasonal and produce for locovores and bakery items too…I hope to get there this weekend. Located between Date Street and Kettner to Union and open from 9am to 1:30pm.

Bits and Bites

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Point Loma will soon have a comfortable place to eat, meet and greet when Roseville opens by the end of the year.  Look for owner George Riffle (he opened Blanca and Quarter Kitchen and was the general manager at the original Laurel Restaurant and Bar) to pick a well-known local chef for the 95-seat restaurant.  Buzz will keep you up to the minute on further details.

Well-known sommelier Ted Glennon recently left his position at the first rate Arterra to launch and direct a new concept at the Hotel Del Coronado.  Eno is due to quietly open towards the end of December.  Expect about 60 wines by the glass and a 500-bottle cellar that covers a wide variety of places and prices. The finest cheeses, charcouterie and chocolate will complement the wines that Glennon plans to serve in a casual, yet sophisticated, venue.  Buzz  figures that Eno will be a big hit with locals and guests, whether  novices or experts in the world of wine.  Why?  Because Glennon’s a wine wiz who shares with grace and wit his encyclopedic knowledge that includes a penchant for top-notch service–a combo Buzz experienced many times at Arterra.  Expect an update from Buzz in the near future. 

Buzz heard from a number of sources that the Union-Tribune’s restaurant critic, Maria Hunt, is moving on to pursue other projects.  Buzz called and emailed Hunt for clarification and information, with no response as yet. 

Steve and Gabriela Dow decided to find a way to get involved with the community as well as meet new friends.  Their company, Friends with Class, offers fun classes in everything from wine tasting and working at home (taught by Steve) to taking toddler snapshots and raising money for charity and nonprofits.  They have gift certificates available to make the holiday giving easier.

Another way to meet like-minded souls is through wine tasting.  Rob Barnett took his passion for wine and turned it into an online and community oriented business when he created www.vinvillage.com. The tagline “where wine lovers connect” conveys his idea for a social network of wine loving souls in their home cities and around the country so they can meet online via forums and in person for tastings.  The online store has wines from smaller producers not usually found in traditional wine stores. Designed to become national phenomenon, Barnett has some good people on his staff including Dustin Jones who is the sommelier at La Valencia.  Check out the site and join as the membership is free.