American

UPDATE: More Buzz about the Roseville space:…We’re hearing The Waterfront (on Kettner) wants it–and a full liquor license–and will redo the restaurant with a different name, but same Waterfront concept.

Terra in Hillcrest will close and move to 7091 El Cajon Boulevard in a stand alone former Italian restaurant at 71st and El Cajon Boulevard. They will open the first week in April. In the meantime, you can enjoy a Valentine’s dinner at the current location, for just $59 plus tax and tip. Their final “hoorah” party as Rossman put it in his email blast will be March 18. 3900 Vermont St., San Diego, 619.293.7088.

Other places we’ve been wondering about: Mia Francesca’s in Little Italy, beset by construction issues, finally forging ahead again. Their website says they expect to open Little Italy in May and in August a second location in Del Mar Highlands Town Center. 1655 India Street, San Diego, 619-237-9606 and 12955 El Camino Real, G-4, San Diego.

Brazen BBQ Smokehouse & Bar has their liquor license application posted. We should soon be seeing some good barbecue at 441 Washington and Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest.

Finally, should anyone want to buy the restaurant as well as the real estate of Lamont Street Grill is for sale, complete with a type 47 liquor license and two rental units for $1,495,000. For more information: 858-764-4223.

We’re hearing the Point Loma former site of Roseville (closed in August, 2010), might become a fun casual sports bar concept. We say might since the landlords seems to be dragging their feet to get the place rented…or return phone calls from the potential lessee.

Surprise your Valentine with a special dinner in the dark at the US Grant Hotel. Experience a three-course dinner from February 11 to 14 presented by Opaque Dining. Your sense of taste, smell, touch and sound will be heightened as you eat in a totally dark dining room served by blind or visually impaired individuals trained to serve in the dark. The cost for the prix fixe dinner menu is $99 (+tax)/person. Drinks and tip are not included in the ticket price. Tickets for this event must be pre-purchased and are available online at www.darkdining.com.

If you’d rather stay in and have dinner delivered (no, not pizza), but a menu that is aphrodisiac centric, check out Dining Details. Just think, no worries about drinking and driving…you can toast your honey in the privacy of your own home.

Arterra finally has a new executive chef, Tony Miller who comes from the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, Latitude 41 in Columbus and Wailea Beach Marriott Resort. He kicks off his new menu (and redone dining room) on February 17^th from 5:30pm to 8pm with Taste of Arterra where you can sample signature dishes like lobster mac ‘n’ cheese, Moroccan braised beef short rib and avocado butter cake with almond crunch. The event is free with a $10 donation per guest to Feeding America San Diego’s Farm2Kids program. Advance reservations required at Opentable or directly at 858.369.6032.

For the those of you looking for a different type of meal, check out where the various food trucks of San Diego are serving up everything from cupcakes (Corner Cupcakes) and Asian fusion (Tabe BBQ) to espresso (Joes on the Nose) and ice cream (Sweet Treats).

The Hillcrest corner of Fifth and Washington that housed Sushi Itto will soon become Brazen BBQ on a ten-year lease for the 3300 square foot space. Two young guys, John Bracamonte and Brad Thomas, who are winners of some major barbecue competitions, including those sanctioned by the prestigious Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS), are the minds behind Brazen BBQ. Sounds like they may give Phil’s a good run for the money…San Diego could use some really swell and authentic barbecue.

And in case you missed it, also in Hillcrest, Kemo Sabe closed to relocate at some point to a coastal site in North County. The Cohn Restaurant Group will launch their food truck Chop Soo-ey in January at the Little Italy farmers market. In the meantime, they have their launch party in November and are doing private gigs. Their competition as recently seen on local NBC tv, is Miho Gastrotruck with creative food including pork belly sammy and lots of other goodies.

While we’re talking Cohn restaurants, they recently installed a hot new chef, Daniel Barron, at Blue Point Coastal Cuisine. This restaurant gets a huge share of convention business, and the place was full on a early weeknight. Barron has cooked around the country. However, there was disappointment in what was touted as one of his signature dishes, a 60 hour boneless short rib ($35). As explained by the server, this chunk of meat is cooked sous-vide and comes out melting in your mouth. Not. This was one tough hunk that needed lots more time, though it apparently was meant to be what was served. The horseradish hash browns were yummy, crisp and with a bite. Perhaps one needs to stick to the seafood.

There’s still time to join the fun at the San Diego Wine & Food Festival that runs from November 17 to 21. Famous chefs, lots of wine and a good crowd to boot.

If beer is your drink of choice, the annual San Diego Beer Week has many many options for you…Check out the schedule here.

**All three locations of The 3rd Corner (with the very cool redesigned website…) now offer happy hour from 3 to 6pm in the bar only, Tuesday through Saturday. Note the three venues are closed on Monday.

**That venerable group of local chefs known as CooksConfab will host Camp Confab, a sleep-over at Susie’s Farm in Imperial Beach on September 11 and 12. Dinner and breakfast the next morning will be prepared by many of the confab chefs. And you will be able to participate in harvesting, cleaning and preparing the produce from the farm. Sounds like a hoot with a host of activities that include guest appearances and tastings from such luminaries in their field as Gina Frieze from Venissimo Cheese, MIHO Gastgrotruck, and beers from Lost Abbey and master brewer Tomme Arthur and evening cocktails (after you help harvest) with mixologist Ian Ward of Snake Oil Cocktail Co. Lest you think it’s all veggies, the protein part of the meal is barbacoa of local goat and stick fire roasted local fish. There’s lots more for the $225 per person. Reservations are limited and so, at 9am September 1, get on the CooksConfab website to register. 100% of the proceeds go to Slow Food Urban San Diego.

**Jeff Rossman, owner/chef of Terra Restaurant, a hidden gem in Hillcrest (on Vermont near the east side of Trader Joe’s), has finished his cookbook, From Terra’s Table. Just in time for a holiday gift, the book publishes in November and sells for $32.95 online and at bookstores. The focus is on Jeff’s passion for local ingredients and the many farms and vendors that supply his restaurant. You can receive a 20% discount as a foodbuzzsd reader when you buy the book online here and use the code foodbuzzsd20 .

**Gordy’s Bakery sounds yummy and a place Buzz needs to try as she travels the 5 back and forth to LA. Just east off the freeway at Encinitas Boulevard in the Smart & Final center. Owner Gordy is born and raised in Encinitas and had a wholesale bakery business years ago. Sold the business and took a break and worked at the Running Shoes store and trained the track team at San Dieguito Academy. He has now gone back to his love of baking and has opened a retail bakery in the previous Baskin-Robbins space.

Popped into Brian Malarkey’s latest invention, Searsucker, on the corner of Fifth and Market. With it’s open ceiling, large windows, wood and old brick wall, the place has the feel of an airy, comfortable big country home. There are sofas where you can eat and drink. The bar is to the right of the entrance…and aside from backless bar stools and no purse hooks (lots of purses on the floor), it’s perfect for sipping and munching.

The menu is clever, albeit almost too clever and divided into Bites, Smalls, Greens, Ocean, Ranch, Farm, And…. Buzz popped in this week for a drink and a few Bites that included the simple preparation of quickly seared and lightly glazed shishito peppers (a staple usually reserved for Japanese restaurants) topped with a bit of citrus zest ($5) and the duck fat garlic fries with a tomato jam and tiny flecks of bacon and parsley ($6). In Smalls you’ll find spicy Baja shrimp and bacon grits ($12)–the Baja refers to the shrimp’s source, the spicy comes from a hearty Cajun spice blend and the rich and creamy grits make a perfect bed for the five medium-size, perfectly cooked shrimp. Some of the other menu items include farm bird lollipops and bleu fondue ($8) (Malarkey’s version of buffalo wings), or eggs and bacon ($) (four ounces of pork belly topped with an egg) and lots more such as cheek with goat cheese dumpling ($23) and local Baja scallops, foie gras and figs ($28).

It’s a fun place with good people watching, especially if you sit at the bar or along the high tops that edge the windows. Be prepared for a $15 valet parking fee. Open 5pm for drinks and Bites and 6pm for dinner, 611 Fifth Avenue at Market, 619-233-7327.

If you’ve not tried Saffron’s monthly Thai street food extravaganza, you must this Saturday, August 7. Served from 11 am to 2pm on the patio, you can try these typical foods. This month a Buzz favorite (that used to be on the regular menu) will be available: Lao sausage (home made spicy chicken sausage grilled and served with green papaya salad ($5.50). Try it along with an ear of grilled local corn lathered with grated coconut and coconut cream ($2) or two Thai coconut macaroons ($1.50). 3731 B India Street at Washington, 619-574-7734.

Little Italy will soon be home to a Chicago transplant–Francesca’s takes over in the former Zagarella and Cefalu spaces, at 1655 India Street, about 5,000 square feet on a ten year lease valued at just over $2 million.

Red Leight isn’t a district but is a cleverly named and bottled Rosé. The vineyards are in Malibu on 37 acres and they have been producing since 2006. Howard Leight created Red Leight which is under the Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate Vineyards label that produces award-winning Cabs along with a Syrah and Merlot. Buzz was lucky enough to taste the Rosé and Syrah along with San Diego’s top sommeliers, wine directors and distributors–and the wines are notable. You can purchase online at their website and soon (we hope) will have distribution here.

Just opened, Sessions Public, an odd name for a new contemporary place sandwiched next to the retro Catalina Bar at Voltaire and Catalina. The tavern style food is good and if the Cat Bar (as the locals refer to it) is too retro, the restaurant’s long skinny contemporary room features a full bar to go with the eclectic yet approachable food. There’s a mystery consulting chef who created the menu that includes an additive bowl of tender crispy chicken oysters ($9), duck confit with an Asian flair of udon noodles ($17), Nueske bacon tempura lollipops ($8), short rib sliders ($11) and lobster-scallop cioppino ($20). Happily, most of the menu is $15 and under. Four of us feasted well though we weren’t impressed with the miniscule serving of Serrano ham and artisan bread ($6).

Buzz wonders if the mysterious consulting chef at Sessions Public could be Jason Maitland who had been at Arterra for ages…until the axe fell on him and others of the dining management team. Maitland, is teaming up with Jerome Astolfi who just left the front of the house at Market Restaurant + Bar in Del Mar to become the general manager at Flavor. They will open late summer in the old Epazote Steakhouse in Del Mar Plaza.

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.

Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant opened this week. It’s Carl Schroeder’s (Market) uptown place with a tavern menu of comfort foods including what seems to be the hottest new dish for restaurants—the deviled egg. Haven’t seen the actual menu (only the cleverly designed one on the website) but am excited to try it soon. Fourth and Ivy in the old Modus space. Open from 4:30pm, 619-231-0222.

PrepKitchen goes to Del Mar in the old Giorgio’s Osteria del Pescatore (their lease was up) on the corner of Camino del Mar and 12^th. How lucky for the people living in the area. Buzz loves much of the PrepKitchen menu from La Jolla, including a wicked brownie with a bit of caramel and sea salt topping…And the food at their mainstay WhisknLadle represents good use of local ingredients— simple preparations of top-notch ingredients. There’s a happy hour at the bar where a pal and I noshed our way through the daily tapas. Expect the same quality in Del Mar.

And the chef that Blanca brought from New York, decided to return to that city after just nine months attempting to open the eyes of the eating public with interesting food. Chef Jason Neroni couldn’t get the diners to appreciate chicken that doesn’t have grill marks. San Diego struggles on to be recognized as a food city.

As noted here, chef Amy DiBiase recently left Roseville and we’ve learned just landed at the Glass Door in Little Italy. Expect to see a new menu (and hopefully a revamped dining room) very soon. At Roseville, Chad White, who was DiBiase’s sous chef, continues in the kitchen and Buzz guesses there will be some new menu items here as well.

There’s some noise in Point Loma that a building at Garrison and Rosecrans (and backs up to the Dolphin Motel on Scott St.) is being remade to become a steak house…yep, that’s what we’re hearing…so stay tuned for more info.

The latest eatery to join Bankers Hill’s “gourmet gulch” opens Monday, April 5. Barrio Star makes it six for the Isabel Cruz collection of eateries–three in San Diego and two in Oregon–she’s well-known in Pacific Beach for Isabel’s Cantina. It will be a nice addition to the myriad of places available to diners in the area. In just one block on Fifth Avenue between Nutmeg and Oliver, there’s Mexican (Barrio Star), American (Avenue 5 Restaurant & Bar) or sushi (Hane). Dessert is up a block or so at Extraordinary Desserts. A few blocks south on Fifth at Laurel is Italian (Cucina Urbana) and French (Hexagone and Bertrand at Mr. A’s) and there’s more sushi (Azuki) and pizza (Pizzicato) to round out those few blocks on Fifth.

Two more soon-to-open places in Bankers Hill: Gourmet on Fifth in the former space of a coffee and sandwich place (north across the street from Cucina Urbana) and Carl Schroeder’s much anticipated Bankers Hill Bar & Restaurant at Ivy and Fourth Avenue.

Caught up via email to former Blanca executive chef, Wade Hageman who will soon (June/July) open his own place, Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizza in Encinitas. Bet there will be lines for the 35 seats and the local, organic, farm to table ingredients that Hageman will make into mozzarella, sausage and pizza to be cooked in a wood-fire oven. His spot in the Lumberyard Shopping Center is just a few doors away from The 3^rd Corner that dispenses retail wines as well as bistro food.

Coming in April, Point Lomans will have more than just pasta and pizza places (not that they’re bad, just that we’ve got many) to have a bite. Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern should be a nice addition to the local scene and is just a few doors away from Pizza Nova on North Harbor Drive. Sign up says they’re hiring now.

In Ocean Beach, The 3^rd Corner has $25 prix fixe dinners on Sunday with updated menus on the website. For those who travel to Palm Desert and drive that winding Highway 74 to get there, Ed Moore’s third 3^rd Corner opens in June in the old Palomino restaurant space at 73-101 Highway 111, just a few blocks from Highways 74 and 111.

Downtown, the short-lived and eclectic Guild restaurant on Newton in Barrio Logan has become a lunch spot named Blueprint Cafe. In 1989 owner/chef Gayle Covner started her catering firm, In Good Taste and in 2010 moved it to the new location. The café, according to a pal with good taste, serves “inventive and tasty” food– Buzz hasn’t tried it yet. 1805 Newton St., San Diego, 619-233-7010. Open Monday through Friday 11:30am to 6pm.

It's Got Bite

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

Terra, MiaFrancesca’s, Brazen BBQ, and Roseville Updates

Opaque Dining, Dining Details and Arterra

Food Trucks, BBQ, Beer and the Wine & Food Festival

A Mix: Cooks Confab, 3rd Corner, Terra and Gordy’s Bakery

Bits and Bites: Searsucker, Saffron and Francesca’s

Bits and Bites: Red Leight, Sessions Public and Flavor

Bits and Bites: Chef Updates and Events

Bits and Bites: Bankers Hill,Del Mar and Solana Beach

Buzz from the Bar: Point Loma and Bankers Hill

Bites: Jimmy’s, Blueprint, Hageman and Moore

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