Welcome back! We’re taping this week’s episode at Kashi, which we learned is still headquartered in Solana Beach and is celebrating its 35th anniversary.
This week’s special guest is visiting us all the way from Baja! David Castro Hussong is the chef at Fauna, the restaurant inside Bruma, a resort in the Valle de Guadalupe. If his last name sounds familiar, it’s because his family owns the famous Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, where the margarita is said to have been invented. David spent several years working in the kitchen in some of the world’s best restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, before he moved back to Mexico two years ago. He shared with us what he learned from acclaimed chefs like Dan Barber, and all that’s happening in the Valle, which has been called the “Tuscany of Mexico.” David’s wife, Maribel—who is the pastry chef at Fauna—will be representing the restaurant at the upcoming Valle Food & Wine Festival on October 5.
David’s pick for Two People, $50 is Carreta de Mariscos el Gordito, a seafood stand that’s been in Ensenada since the ’60s. The staff’s picks this week were Herb & Wood, Trust, and Terra American Bistro.
In Hot Plates, we talked about the news that the owners of Trust and Fort Oak are taking over the old Brooklyn Girl in Mission Hills and opening Cardellino, and that they closed Hundred Proof to change the concept into a steakhouse. A new Italian food hall, RoVino The Foodery, opened in the East Village. Old Town is getting its own speakeasy with the opening of Oculto 477 inside of Tahona.
This week’s Hot Topic is the good news that a small food truck in Tijuana, Mariscos Ruben, just made Food & Wine’s list of the World’s Best Restaurants.
Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear from you! Call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a message. Or if you’re too shy to call, you can email [email protected]. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50, tell us about any news happening in San Diego’s culinary world, let us know who you’d like to hear featured as a guest on the podcast, or ask Troy a question!
Subscribe to the Happy Half Hour on Spotify, iTunes or Google Play, or listen below.
Recent Episodes
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 160
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 159
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 158
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 157
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 156
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 155
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 154
- Happy Half Hour: Episode 153
For all previous episodes, click here.
Would you like to sponsor a podcast episode at your restaurant or bar? Email David, our producer and digital media director.
David Castro | Photo courtesy of Fauna
