Editor’s note: This story was published in the January 2021 issue of San Diego Magazine, and was written when outdoor dining was permitted.
“The floor looks like pavement,” says my daughter. She’s nine, and she’s right. I had to explain to her that here, at this nice restaurant, we are eating in a parking space. Asphalt is the new dining-room floor.
It takes her a minute. She’s disoriented. Aren’t we all.
I didn’t eat at restaurants for four months after the pandemic started. I saw the pain of our restaurant people. I wanted to help, but I was scared. I wanted to support, but I didn’t want to be a reason this spread, a reason someone died. So I stayed home until the science coalesced, until I saw my personal green light to sit on a patio or a parking lot and pay a local chef and tip a local server. To scope out the seating area and mask habits, and make sure my daughter and wife have that famous six feet.
We all have to make our own decisions, read the tea leaves of the daily news. What’s safe, what’s not, what’s responsible, what’s reckless, what’s totally asinine and morally bankrupt. We draw the line, then adjust the line back and forth with each new study and stat. And as I sit here looking at my daughter, I feel safe.
A server at Bencotto prepares gnocchi in a Parmesan wheel.
James Tran
It helps that I spoke with Dr. David Smith, chief of infectious diseases at UCSD School of Medicine. “I think dining outdoors is relatively safe. The biggest issue is who you bring to dinner with you,” he said. “People think, ‘Oh, they’re my friend, they don’t have the infection.’ That’s how bubbles become porous. When it comes to public health, I follow the guidelines. If officials say it’s okay to do something, then I think it’s okay.”
As I write this, outdoor dining is allowed. It’s okay. So I spent three days dining out.
Little Italy is the beating heart of San Diego’s food scene, and the pandemic has given it a murmur. This was ground zero for The Drastic Improvement. High-minded restaurants—Craft & Commerce and Prepkitchen first, then Juniper & Ivy and Herb & Wood later—gutted old warehouses and created food playlands, joining the timeless chorus of longstanding Italian bistros. That alchemy of old blood and new blood created a whole new scene. A heritage zone became a pan-cultural destination. Rent tripled, as did the good times. It’s a place to get octopus and negronis and art and design, a place to selfie and influence.
For me, the experience came down to a bottle of wine. I’m not sure how I saved it. Guess my body momentarily rediscovered fine motor skills, which have grown numb and clumsy from all the doomscrolling. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It was sliding, picking up speed, making its move for the edge of the table, where it would have taken a swan dive three feet to the asphalt below, shattering and splattering 750 milliliters of very enjoyable cabernet sauvignon onto Date Street. But somehow, I snatched it.
The bottle was sliding because the excellent Italian restaurant Bencotto—like all San Diego restaurants—had been required to move their entire operation into the streets. And the street in front of Bencotto is slanted. It isn’t steep, not alpine by any means. But it slopes just enough that the nine-year-old sitting across from me is at a slightly higher elevation, appearing older and more able to impose her will on my life. Slanted enough that wine bottles occasionally make a run for it.
Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, which has been in Little Italy for 70 years, also adapted its dining service.
James Tran
Many restaurants here in Little Italy are getting a crash course in asphalt hospitality. On June 13, the neighborhood closed its major pedestrian streets to car traffic every Friday and Saturday, granting restaurants more room to reinvent themselves outdoors and creating more space for physical distancing and droplet avoidance. Restaurants turned themselves inside out, building both makeshift and sophisticated alfresco replicas. This experience spread to other parts of the city in August, as officials eased restrictions on “parklets,” allowing businesses to turn parking spaces into dining spaces. Mayor Todd Gloria was one of the early proponents. During his campaign, he told me, “Every time we have reclaimed space from parking and given it back to people it’s been a home run.”
I’m sure Bencotto’s owners don’t resent their incline. They must be glad they’re in popular Little Italy and have enough asphalt to put chairs and tables on, with a few temporary plant-wall partitions for charm. Many restaurant owners across the county aren’t lucky enough to have this kind of outdoor space to expand into. I’m sure Bencotto is grateful their parklet allows them to sell enough Barolo and cacio e pepe to pay enough of the rent, the gas, the electric, and a triage crew of employees until some vaccine or god brings a little mercy and we bid the coronavirus a middle finger. Grateful that in spite of what’s happened to the American restaurant industry during the pandemic, chef Fabrizio Cavallini is still back there layering his lasagna bolognese, which he and his staff have made from scratch every day in this location for 11 years.
As for what happened to the American restaurant industry—Statista created a graph that tracked the year-to-year daily change in “seated restaurant diners.” On February 29, 2020, the industry was seeing a 3 percent increase in customers over 2019. Optimism abounded. From that day on, the graph looks like a capital L. It goes straight south until it flatlines at the bottom. From March 21 through April 30, the restaurant industry was down 100 percent. The graph yo-yos through the fall, depending on how rosy or dark a picture news outlets were painting at the time. But on the very best day for American restaurants since the pandemic started—October 5—they still had 14.9 percent fewer diners than last year. As of press time in early December, the numbers have sunk again to 50 percent of normal business. According to Restaurant Business Magazine, in those darkest days around April, 5.9 million employees lost their jobs. Three decades of growth lost in six weeks. Every industry has suffered. But Google “industries most heavily affected by COVID,” and restaurants will be on every one of those lists.
Apologies for the momentary doomwriting. Point is, given all the perspective we should have by now—most crucially, about the lives lost—who gives a hint of a damn if that wine bottle had exploded? We’d just chalk it up as another punctuation mark in the grotesque run-on sentence that is 2020.
A seafood platter from Ironside’s raw ba
James Tran
But that in and of itself is a point. The barrage of terrible news makes it more difficult for the food-and-drink people—not just owners, but dishwashers, bussers, cooks, bartenders, food truck drivers, farmers, cleaners, brewers, everyone—to find or even ask for a sympathetic ear. Human sympathy is not a bottomless reservoir.
That wine also represents the small guilts of dining out during a pandemic. Guilt that I’m able to afford a restaurant meal, let alone a bottle of decent cabernet, when I know that in May the National Restaurant Association estimated that two-thirds of the country’s restaurant workers had lost their jobs. On the positive side, the bottle is a tangible expression of why I’m here: to support the people and industry I love. And the strongest way to increase the profits of a restaurant, aside from Venmo-ing them extra money, is to order drinks, which provide their biggest profit margin per item by far. The bottle represents the potential dangers of dining out while the virus is still at large and vaccines still just a promise, since we know that a couple glasses mean relaxed inhibitions. And with relaxed inhibitions come improper mask etiquette and loud talking and high fives and—god forbid—hugs or singing.
After spending three days here watching what it’s like for restaurants, I’ve decided: That sliding bottle is everything. It is just another small consequence of trying to be a responsible part of society while also trying to keep your business alive and your people employed. In the past, a broken bottle of wine was just an expected cost of doing business. Now, it’s more straw for the camel’s back. When I look around at Little Italy, every business seems a stalk away.
And so in the parking lot at Filippi’s Pizza Grotto—one of the oldest restaurants in San Diego, where an Italian family sold enough pizza and pasta to ensure a generation or two a decent life—I ate enough pizza and pasta to ensure a few more. A hostess with a firmly attached mask pointed an infrared thermometer at us before granting us a seat. Once cleared, we dined in the night air that smelled of stewed tomatoes and hand sanitizer. We saw the brown spots on the underside of the tent shades—a lesson learned about socially distancing heat lamps from flammable material. Their tables are more spread out than most restaurants I see (possibly because they’ve been here forever and control one of the only big parking lots in Little Italy). Still, I silently judge a table of eight for irresponsibly gathering, and am shamed when one stands to make a toast “to Dad.”
A masked server greets guests at Ironside.
James Tran
At Ironside Fish & Oyster Bar, where the daily bread is biblically good and chef Jason McLeod has earned a reputation for leading the sustainable seafood movement, keeping distance is honestly not as easy. Their sidewalk and parklet are smaller. I stare at the tables and use the mental measuring tape we’ve all developed—always looking for six feet.
We all dine out for different reasons. But since last spring, for me, it’s been a way to role-play normalcy. To listen to the music of forks on plates, of people conversing—not on Zoom, but in a shared physical space. I’ve realized I miss the sounds of restaurants the most. That joyful chaos. The remarkable thing about hospitality people is their ability to normalize the craziness. They make a little theater of it, and an elegance. Even their masks—designer and branded—look aspirational.
As we leave, I watch a vendor pull a wagon full of single roses in cellophane down the middle of India Street. He sanitizes them and sells them. A small band busks in the gutter for passersby. One of them plays a tuba, and I can’t help but envision a mist of corona coming out of his brass funnel. But I look at the small crowd—all spaced apart, wearing masks, being socially responsible—and I see them smile and groove for a brief moment before we all scatter back to our safe spaces. That smile and groove is why we leave the house at all.
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
I know every day can’t be a Best Restaurants issue or badass food festival. But damn, it’s been a bleak week for San Diego food and drink (and it’s only Wednesday). Let’s start with Comedor Nishi, which closed this week without any warning. This La Jolla eatery had all the markings of The Next Big Thing when it opened last July. Two superstar chefs hailing from Mexico City destination restaurants Pujol and Máximo? Check. Totally drool-worthy wall of Instagram pics? Check. A menu of absolute breakfast bangers like a torta de cochinita pibil and cured salmon tostada? Check.
Monday may very well be remembered as one of San Diego’s worst restaurant industry days since the pandemic. At least three other hospitality ventures shuttered that same day, also without notice—Camino Riviera in Little Italy, Casa de Freds in Old Town, and Black Plague Brewing in Oceanside and Escondido.
Fred’s in particular struck me by surprise—it’s been around for 25 years. I’m unashamedly a huge fan of its patio and ridiculously giant margaritas. For such a longstanding figure to go so gently (not to mention suddenly) into that good night without even a whiff of warning ahead of time feels especially disheartening. “Like many small businesses, we’ve faced challenges that became insurmountable, including rising operational costs and a substantial decline in tourism,” stated its Instagram post.
Tourism, San Diego’s economic bread and butter, has been down since coronavirus shutdowns in 2020, and Old Town is ground-zero for visitors. If anywhere is going to get hit hard by a decline in travelers, it’s there. So I guess it’s less surprise, more sadness.
Black Plague has yet to make a public statement about its closure, which was first reported by San Diego Beer News. But again, huge bummer. Its gothic brewery branding was equal parts unique and macabre, and its beer more than held its own in a sea of world-class craft breweries. It stuck it out for an admirable eight years, and I doff my cap to them.
Camino Riviera acknowledged its sudden closure only after its final day of service, which was Sunday, September 28. According to owner and restaurateur Matt Spencer, the decision came following repeated noise complaints to the city from an anonymous neighbor.
“Over the course of several years, we invested heavily to address these concerns: installing a new roof, implementing sound mitigation strategies, hiring a sound engineer, reconfiguring indoor and outdoor operations multiple times, and building new seating areas,” said Spencer in a statement. “Despite these efforts, we found it impossible to operate the way we had been operating those years prior and we simply couldn’t afford to hang on.”
And these were just the closures on Melancholy Monday.
Running a restaurant is hard and expensive. It always has been and it sure as hell isn’t getting any easier. In San Diego, rent prices are up, tourism is down, diet trends like Ozempic-use is potentially making a dent in some markets, and new business models are popping up specifically to maximize marketing efforts and rent costs. It’s a jungle out there, and sometimes even the strong, savvy, or skilled don’t survive. So what can we do?
Eat out when you can. Pick up a little something at your corner shop. Maybe get that avocado toast. Sometimes, businesses close due to a landlord issue or noise complaint and there’s just not a whole lot the average Josephine can do about that. But if you love something, shout it from the rooftops. Or in this scenario, on Yelp.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
Is it me, or is it virtually impossible to spend less than $50 eating out nowadays? No shade to operators just trying to keep their margins high enough to pay workers and stay in business, but my wallet is definitely feeling the burn.
That’s far from a universal truth, of course. You’ve just gotta look. Plenty of places are leaning into budget-friendly specials (Herb & Sea’s “Happy Meal” comes to mind—a smash burger with fries, three oysters, and a glass of sparkling wine will set you back a very reasonable $20). Bars are responding in kind, adding ultra-premium items for high rollers as well as classic basics that keep prices in single digits, or at least close to it.
That’s precisely what Mike Mayaudon and Shawn Seaman hope to do when they open Good Enough in Little Italy. For $14, guests can get a signature house cocktail, most of which will be twists on traditional drinks. You may already be familiar with some of the drinks from the pair’s other venture, Same Same in Carlsbad—like the Sioux City Old Fashioned with bourbon, a root beer reduction, R&D cherry apple bitters, Angostura bitters, and absinthe.
“I think there’s a void that we can fill there, in terms of something that’s just really approachable,” says Mayaudon. “Shawn and I have both worked in really nice higher-end places and then dive bars… we’re kind of blending a mix of the two.”
Courtesy of Same Same Carlsbad
Of course, operating in Little Italy doesn’t come cheap. The pair promises to offer plenty of premium items as well to accommodate all budgets. “We were even talking about, jokingly, putting on a baller menu,” laughs Seaman. “We might even do, like, $150 Manhattan or something.” But, Mayaudon adds, if you want to follow up a $30 Old Fashioned with a cheap beer and shot, they’re more than happy to oblige.
They’re not cutting corners on the drinks or food, which will feature Spanish-style tapas and pintxos like an off-menu Basque cheesecake limited to eight slices a day. Nor will the sound system be the typical bar speakers plugged into someone’s Spotify playlist. Vintage 1975 Cornwall speakers will provide an “old, warm sound,” promises Seaman. It’s not a listening bar, per se, but hi-fi vibes are definitely on the menu with lots of records and local art completing the space’s aesthetic.
From September 2 through December 5, Good Enough will feature bar takeovers for two-week stints with brands like Fernet-Branca, WhistlePig, and more. But overall, Seaman says they just want to be a place that’s approachable, affordable, and a good hangout spot. “It’s been wonky times, and everyone just keeps jacking their prices up,” he says. “We’ve got your back in these wonky times.”
Good Enough soft opens on Friday, August 22 in the former Basta space. Hours will be from 5 p.m. to midnight daily.
Courtesy of Clos Benoit
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Good Things Come In Fours
At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 12 at the Sheraton San Diego Resort, Rumorosa is throwing a four-course wine pairing with Clos Benoit. The Valle de Guadalupe–based winery specializes in “food wine,” meaning it’s specifically designed to pair with meals, and by the look of the menu, they know how to do it. The La Paloma White kicks things off with a shrimp ceviche, followed by sea bass with a rosé, Mexican-style birria osso bucco with a 2020 red, and of course everyone’s favorite chocolate cake with another red vintage. Tickets to the 21+ event are available now.
Courtesy of For The Win LA
Beth’s Bites
Bottle Rocket, we’ll miss you. The East Village pub will permanently close this October after six years of craft beer and cheesesteaks. If you haven’t checked them out, you still have a couple months to get your grub on, so head to 805 16th Street to get your last pints and Padres games.
Is it me, or is San Diego suddenly burger rich? I feel like we’ve gotten a boatload of new burger spots semi-recently (and this is by no means a complaint). For The Win from Los Angeles is the latest transplant, landing in Pacific Beach this month with a signature smash burger. During the pandemic, chef-owner Santos Yu went from fancy French food to takeout, and it seems to have worked out nicely for him. For The Win now has 10 locations with at least six more on the way. Burgers have better margins than bistros, it seems.
Bottlecraft is exiting Oceanside, but they made sure the void got filled ASAP. Shoots originally started as a pop-up inside Bottlecraft’s location in Tremont Collective, with chef Davin Waite (The Plot, Wrench & Rodent) teaming up with pro surfer Cheyne Magnusson for a seafood-centric casual concept. Now, they’re taking over the whole enchilada, offering indoor and outdoor seating, 30 taps of craft beer, and an onsite wine and beer shop curated by Bottlecraft to keep that connection. Seems like a convenient handoff for everyone—great teamwork, all!
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
San Diego has no shortage of great sushi. Sushi Ota is the icon. Kinme Omakase oozes exclusivity (and quality). Hidden Fish brought omakase-only dining to the city. Soichi has a Michelin star for Pete’s sake, and Sushi Tadokoro is undeniably great. There’s Sushi Gaga and Hane and Shino and Maru and Wrench & Rodent and Kaito. Hotel del Coronado just got a Nobu.
But this top-notch scene comes with a cost, literally. Sushi tends to either get saved for a special occasion or, on the opposite side of the spectrum, picked up from a cold case at your local grocery store accompanied with a requisite blob of radioactive-green horseradish. (Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it.) Few places can balance general affordability with high quality.
Rendering Courtesy of Sugarfish
But that’s what Sugarfish has done pretty successfully in Los Angeles, Orange County, and New York over the past 17 years. And it’s what they say they’ll bring to San Diego when they open next spring in Little Italy—at 2100 Kettner, the LEED-certified, six-story, mixed-use building that currently houses Postino WineCafe, Slice House by Tony Gemignani, and the HQ for the city’s pro soccer team, San Diego FC.
In 2008, the partners—chef Kazunori Nozawa (whose restaurant Sushi Nozawa had been a star in Studio City for decades), Jerry Greenberg, Tom Nozawa (Kazunori’s son, also a chef), Lele Massimini, Cameron Broumand, and Clement Mok—opened the first Sugarfish in Marina del Rey. Over 17 years, they’ve cautiously expanded to 10 more locations in LA and five in New York City (with one more on the way). Massimini says the slow growth was intentional.
“Our goal is always to deliver the best bite of sushi to every guest when they come to Sugarfish,” he explains. “When we were sure that we could deliver that in San Diego, that’s when we pulled the trigger.”
One of the Sugarfish signatures is their approach to rice—made with a proprietary rice vinegar recipe and served warm and loosely packed, which contrasts nicely against the cool fish. But don’t look for funky fusion sauces or rolls. “We’re sticking with our roots… serving simple, great sushi,” says Nozawa.
And the price is right—the cheapest lunch special on the Los Angeles menus runs $32 for edamame, tuna sashimi, two pieces of albacore sushi, two pieces of salmon sushi, a toro hand roll, one piece of Japanese yellowtail sushi, one piece of hirame sushi, and a blue and dungeness crab hand roll. The most expensive lunch option—called “Don’t Think. Just Eat. Trust Me”—tops out at $60 for a sashimi course, seven orders of nigiri, and two hand rolls. Everything is preselected on the Trust Me menu, but what it lacks in adventurous exploration, the team says they make up for in cost and consistency. Of course, you can always order à la carte. Might I recommend the pink lobster nigiri from New Zealand?
Courtesy of Sugarfish
Architect Robert Tsurimoto Kirsten of A-RTK is designing Sugarfish Little Italy in a similar vein to the restaurant’s other locations, but drawing inspiration from famed building designer, architect, and San Diegan Cliff May. May, known for his California Ranch homes and mid-century modern designs, created spaces that mixed indoors with outdoors, with lots of warm woods and open spaces. This location will seat 40 guests and emphasize cozy colors like greys and blues, but Massimini says they plan to keep the design on the minimalist side to ensure the sushi remains the showstopper.
“For us, design is supportive,” he says. “It’s not the centerpiece.”
Sugarfish doesn’t try to blow your mind with exotic sauces or unbelievably rare fish. But for predictable, high-quality sushi that’s painstakingly sourced and served and won’t set me back a Benjamin or two? Seems like a pretty good deal to me.
Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa opens spring 2026 at 2100 Kettner Blvd., Suite 1100.
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
For Executive Chef Emily Brubaker, Omni La Costa Resort & Spa feels like home. She grew up just a mile-and-a-half away from the 400-acre property and fondly recalls walking the golf course perimeter as a kid. Though her ambitions led her away from San Diego for nearly two decades in which she honed her craft in some of the highest of high-profile Las Vegas restaurants—including triple Michelin-starred Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand—they ultimately brought her back to North County.
Courtesy of Omni La Costa
Today, the classically French-trained chef, who’s fresh off a victory on NBC’s Yes, Chef!, judged by Martha Stewart and José Andrés, oversees Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s seven distinct dining concepts. Her goal is to elevate the resort’s culinary program with her creative, hyperlocal ingredient-driven approach while maintaining the Spanish- inspired flavors and fresh California coastal cuisine that are the bedrock of its culinary identity.
“The San Diego food scene is really growing, and in North County alone, it’s really exploded in the last five years,” Brubaker says. “There are Michelin stars, beautiful tasting menus, craft bakers, and all this food—when I was growing up in La Costa, it was fish tacos. Now there are really cool things popping up, and I’m so happy to be here to see where it’s going to go.”
Brubaker gives chefs de cuisine at each individual restaurant autonomy, however, her influence is evident across the resort.
For example, lobby restaurant Bar Traza serves as Omni La Costa’s culinary centerpiece and features bold Spanish flavors in a lively, social atmosphere. Brubaker overhauled the menu to be more consistent and centered on casual bites with that signature vibe. Think smoky paprika, vibrant citrus, and Spanish meats and cheeses.
At VUE, the focus is on seasonal offerings, California coastal cuisine, and Baja-inspired dishes. She and Chef de Cuisine Cameron Dixon change the menu biannually, which heading into summer, will highlight farm-fresh produce and hyperlocal ingredients—the resort even has its own herb garden and honeybee hives.
Courtesy of Omni La Costa
Poolside dining options are leaning into the country’s 250th this summer with a selection of classic American dishes with an Omni La Costa twist. And Bob’s Steak & Chop House (Brubaker is a trained butcher) offers a classic steakhouse experience with elevated service.
The chef and company also plan menus for special events at the resort where her creativity can really shine. For an upcoming National Ski Association dinner, the banquet hall will be transformed into an Alpine-themed winter wonderland complete with a snow machine, savory sausages, and melty, decadent raclette. A recent dinner was built around the Carlsbad Flower Fields and each course was matched to a color of ranunculus (Did you know pink dragonfruit are grown in North County? You do now.).
“It’s my zen to be in the kitchen playing with food,” Brubaker says.
Omni La Costa’s culinary program is a key part of the resort experience. And with Brubaker’s leadership, it’s becoming a draw for visitors and locals alike.
“These aren’t just hotel restaurants, these are restaurants that you should go to. They’re destinations, and I’m really hoping for the future that’s where we’re going,” Brubaker says.
Courtesy of Omni La Costa
Brubaker is also channeling her experience on Yes, Chef! into the culture at Omni La Costa—more emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, empowering her staff to share constructive critiques, and embracing different perspectives. Alongside her leadership role, Brubaker has become an advocate for mental health in the hospitality industry, serving as chief ambassador for the Burnt Chef Project and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Apex Culinary Program, where she mentors and develops future talent.
Every latchkey kid who survived a decade or so on Totino’s pizza rolls and Hot Pockets needs to head to Juniper & Ivy. One of the best restaurants in town just made a tiny, chef’s-pride version of the iconic suburbia snacks. Jim Gaffigan, your table’s ready.
They’re technically gnocco frito. But, for emotional reasons, pizza rolls and pockets.
It’s part of the restaurant’s new thing, Juni—a revamped bar and lounge area into its own kind of lounge and bistro, still perched above the main J&I show. An everyday, living room version of J&I for neighbors and tire-kickers, with statement furniture, wines-by-the-sip machines, and its own five-star snacks menu, priced like it’s the ’80s and inflation hasn’t been invented yet.
We’ll get to that below, and what I’d order, but first, a note about emo chairs.
There are chairs made from scratchy, colorful sweaters worn by someone who loved lots of things but nothing as much as Death Cab for Cutie. New banquettes near the window have such high backs that they create a whole other, sun-spilled room without having to put up a wall and curse contractors who treat deadlines like irrational wishes.
The high-tops overlooking the industrial–art house dining room are gone. In their place is one long, tufted lounge nook colored aquamarine, recalling the Miami drug scene we all romanticize, when everyone had khaki skin and abs and a thousand dollars of jungle pharma in their flowy pants pockets. Or it looks like a very soft Jordan almond, giving off more of a come-one, drape-all vibe.
Part of J&I’s wow has always been the unshy statement pieces. Like that giant, shiny graffiti pear lording in the middle, emitting subway-tunnel-to-table energy. Or the giant Lichtensteins of what appears to be a topaz-haired Katy Perry shedding a tear. Now, these Death Cab sweater chairs.
As for the menu (see below), start with those pizza rolls. Five whole bucks (three during “pre-shift,” 5 to 6 p.m., when it’s two dollars off every item). Apparently, owner Michael Rosen went to Italy and was Jabberwockied by gnocco frito, the famed puffed fry bread from Emilia-Romagna. He pestered chefs Jon Sloan and Alex Penkin to figure it out. And so they tinkered and tinkered and came to this, stuffing it with a mousse of goat cheese, ricotta, and nduja (Calabria’s addictive, spreadable pork sausage). It’s topped with a paper-thin, spicy Calabrese salami; a little lemon zest; light Parmesan snow; and the kicker: EVOO spiced with oregano and peppers for that pizza-joint perfume.
Photo Credit: Beth Demmon
The Perfect Order at Juni
Octopus and Shrimp Ceviche ($11, $9 during pre-shift)
Why order a michelada and a ceviche when you can order a michelada ceviche? Chef de cuisine Penkin grew up in Chula Vista with its grade-A Mexican street food and salsa beers. This is his riff on that good life. Top-notch octopus and shrimp, tossed with stone fruit, baby heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, and a gussied–up michelada sauce: Clamato, worcestershire, and—the key that gives it character and depth—guajillo pepper puree. Blue corn tortilla chips for the scoop.
Elotes Arancini ($6, $4 during pre-shift)
Penkin’s been with J&I since the beginning (after a stint at Searsucker). The only break he took was to work on Colorado’s famed corn farm Olathe Sweet Corn. So this dish—a riff on the fried Italian risotto ball—mixes his Mexican street-food roots and his chef-on-farm quest. He chars some raw corn, sautées some more, and uses Parmesan and Cotija cheese as a binder, then makes a stock using the corn bones (where all that starch is) for depth. It’s served with chile-lime mayo, spicy salsa macha oil, pickled jalapeño, and Tajin.
Photo Credit: Beth Demmon
Wagyu Sliders ($10, $8 during Pre-Shift)
Taster versions of a J&I classic. Wagyu beef; house burger sauce (animal style on chef ’roids); and, most importantly, onions caramelized in beef tallow. (Tallow is the MSG of the fat world.) Then there’s American cheese, pickles, and a sesame bun. They come two per order, which is about the amount of a regular burger.
Photo Credit: Beth Demmon
Choco Taco ($13, $11 during Pre-Shift)
This is pastry chef Amanda Santiago’s take on the premium ice cream truck item that your fancy kid friends would order on allowance day. Housemade waffles are folded and filled with pistachio ice cream, coated with milk chocolate and chopped pistachios, and served over chocolate crumble. Let it sit for a few, then eat it when it’s a little melty.
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
New Spanish Bistro Barra Oliba Coming To Little Italy
Partners Ernesto Casillas and Eduardo Bustamante (Crudo Cevicheria & Oyster Bar) will debut their new seed oil–free concept this August
Restaurants love to center their menus around one item. It’s literally in the name of Birria El Rey. Tanner’s Prime Burgers is all about that sweet, sweet beef. And as a former Virginian, I can attest Rise Southern Biscuits’ take on a Southern morning staple is legit. But besides vegan or vegetarian restaurants, how many places emphasize the absence of items as their cornerstone?
Barra Oliba will, or so says Ernesto Casillas. He, along with his business partner Eduardo Bustamante (Crudo Cevicheria & Oyster Bar), says their contemporary Spanish bistro, which will open at 1980 Kettner Blvd. this August, will be one of the first, if not the first, seed oil-free restaurants in San Diego.
Common seed oils, like sunflower oil, canola oil, and corn oil, have higher smoke points than other oils, like olive oil, and are generally cheaper. But Casilla believes seed oils contribute to inflammation and other issues. (While seed oils contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, institutions like the Cleveland Clinic say problems associated with them are often more likely from the ultra-processed foods.) Instead, Barra Oliba will use different olive oils from around Spain, which Casillas says is more delicious and better for consumers.
“We basically want people to feel good during their visit but also after,” he says, noting that for some, dining out can lead to inflammation and heartburn afterwards. He hopes to prevent or minimize these effects for those that struggle with gut issues.
Casillas adds that not only did he see a need for heart-healthy restaurant options in town, but he also saw a lack of Spanish cuisine. “There are good restaurants, but they’re almost all Italian restaurants, or American, Mexican, or Japanese,” he explains. “Spanish food is very interesting and well-regarded around the world.” The space will feel like an authentic European restaurant, with 30 seats inside and 30 outside and a raw bar, focusing on Spanish and French wines and beer “served in the traditional cañita format—half size pint,” says Casillas.
He adds that Barra Oliba’s menu will center on different types of Spanish rice dishes—not just paella, although they’ll certainly have that, too. He promises that the rotating selections will range from pulpo a fiera (a traditional Galician dish made with octopus) to tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelets) and much more. “There’s a lot of good things coming.” Casillas says they plan to be open seven days a week from around 3 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., but this may change based on demand.
Courtesy of Feeding San Diego
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Feeding San Diego Partners With Amazon For Hunger Relief
Over 350,000 people experience food security across the county, and Feeding San Diego estimates 100,000 of them are children. The local nonprofit has worked to end hunger since 2007 but is getting a big boost from the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon. Amazon has been collecting food and funding donations, and on Tuesday, July 2, it will present a check to Feeding San Diego that will help provide 50,000 meals to San Diegans experiencing food insecurity. Every $1 donated to Feeding San Diego provides two meals, so if you’re interested in donating or finding out more, visit feedingsandiego.org.
Courtesy of Izola Bakery
Beth’s Bites
San Diego’s first alcohol-free bar just got a permanent home! After hosting tons of pop-ups all over the county to build a buzz-free buzz, Good News will open in Hillcrest by the end of the year.
Speaking of permanent homes, lauded bakery Izola just soft opened their new cathedral of bread in East Village at 1429 Island Avenue. It’s been quite a journey for the team, and they’re taking it slow. Current hours are Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if their fundraising efforts are any indication, big things are on the horizon.
It’s expansion season in San Diego, and restaurants are all in. Best Pizza and Brew is coming to Clairemont, The Taco Stand is headed to Oceanside, and Shawarma Guys is heading to Mira Mesa… so many delicious destinations on the horizon.
The iconic 1,200-acre preserve’s history dates back more than 150 years, evolving from a scrub-filled plot atop a mesa overlooking what’s now Downtown to an urban oasis—the largest of its kind in the country—filled with an array of museums, attractions, gardens, trails, restaurants, and more. Balboa Park is an epic playground where San Diegans and visitors alike can experience the great outdoors just as easily as they can enjoy a world-class performance or explore groundbreaking discoveries.
Tucked away in the Spanish Colonial Revival-style architecture are 18 diverse museums that allow visitors to spend the day learning about, well, anything. A great place to start is the San Diego History Center. Located in the Casa del Balboa building, the museum tells the story of the city’s past, present, and future through photographs and art, clothing and textiles, and interviews with people who witnessed history-making events firsthand. The San Diego Natural History Museum takes visitors even farther back with interactive exhibitions that show what the region was like up to 75 million years ago.
Blast off on a simulated trip to space at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, then check out artifacts from aviation legends, including the Wright brothers, Amelia Earhart, and Buzz Aldrin. Discover new perspectives revolutionizing the science world, learn about an often overlooked but overutilized utility, and exercise your creativity at the Fleet Science Center.
Calling all theater-lovers, Balboa Park has something for you, too. The San Diego Junior Theatre will present their musical take on beloved children’s book A Bad Case of the Stripes from June 26 through July 12. And laugh, cry, and marvel in awe as the pros of The Old Globe perform Kim’s Convenience, the award-winning comedy that inspired the popular series, from May 15 to June 14.
There’s nowhere else in Balboa Park quite like WorldBeat Cultural Center. The institution celebrates African diaspora and indigenous cultures around the world using art, music, dance, and education. The building, a renovated water tower covered in colorful murals, houses a performing arts center, museum, gift shop, cafe, and outdoor classroom.
If you’d like a side of nature with your culture, Balboa Park has you covered there, too. Stroll through the gardens of the Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum, a monument to the relationship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama, Japan. Inspired by traditional Japanese design dating back centuries, the 10-acre respite features a living exhibition that showcases plants native to both cities.
If there seems like a lot going on in Balboa Park, it’s because there is. Let theBalboa Park Cultural Partnership be your guide. The organization is the umbrella for 24 of the park’s institutions and offers an Explorer Pass that allows visitors to access multiple museums for one affordable price. The hardest part is picking where to start.
16 Museums, One Pass
Save on admission to San Diego’s top museums with the Balboa Park Explorer Pass. Explore 16 museums of art, science, history and culture across Balboa Park — all with one affordable pass. Choose the option that fits your pace: the Limited Pass (one day for up to four museums), the Parkwide Pass (seven consecutive days of access to all 16 museums) or the Annual Pass (365 days of unlimited exploring).
Looking for an experience-driven gift? Let the museum lover in your life enjoy their favorite museums all year with a Balboa Park Explorer Annual Pass gift voucher.
Bigger experiments, brighter ideas, and boundless curiosity await at the newly reimagined Fleet Science Center. This summer, the Fleet debuts Element 8 Cafe, an expanded theater queuing and concessions space, two new gallery spaces, and, for the first time, a free entrance gallery exploring science in and around San Diego. The transformation marks a new chapter for the Fleet, keeping it a vital, innovative, and accessible science hub for the region. Visitors are invited to explore the experience this summer and connect with the power of science like never before.
Address: 1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 Website:FleetScience.org Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Phone: 619-238-1233
Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum
An accredited cultural gem, the Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum brings traditional Japanese garden design to life with koi ponds, curving walkways and layers of greenery. Guests explore bonsai trees, streams and peaceful nooks while taking part in exhibits, educational programs and festivals that illuminate Japanese culture. Situated in the heart of Balboa Park, the garden doubles as a meditative retreat and a dynamic gathering place, welcoming visitors to slow their pace and connect more deeply.
Address: 2215 Pan American Road E, San Diego, CA 92101 Website:Niwa.org Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily; last admission at 6 p.m. Phone: 619-232-2721
The Old Globe
A San Diego summer favorite, The Old Globe invites audiences to experience a beloved local tradition in its outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.
This summer, the 2026 Shakespeare Festival presents two thrilling tales of power, passion and romance. Measure for Measure, running June 14 through July 12, 2026, is a riveting story of justice and hypocrisy that asks who holds power, who is punished and what it truly means to be virtuous. Much Ado About Nothing, playing Aug. 2–30, 2026, is a classic rom-com packed with schemes, sparks and laughter as opposites attract. Audiences can enjoy both shows for $44.
Address: 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego, CA 92101 Website:TheOldGlobe.org Hours: Box office open Tuesday–Sunday, 1 p.m. to final curtain Phone: Box office, 619-234-5623
San Diego Air & Space Museum
Aviation and space exploration come to life at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. See an airworthy replica of the Spirit of St. Louis, a Gee Bee racer and historic aircraft from World War I, World War II and the Korean and Vietnam eras. Get up close to the Apollo 9 command module — one of only 11 of its kind in the world — along with Mercury and Gemini capsules, Mission Control and space shuttle simulators, and a selfie spot beside a lunar lander on the moon. Running through 2026, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brings oddities from around the world to Balboa Park.
Address: 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101 Website:SanDiegoAirAndSpace.org Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 619-234-8291
San Diego History Center
History belongs to everyone. At the San Diego History Center, two experiences bring that history to life this summer: America at 250 and the Center for Women’s History. America at 250 traces San Diego’s place in 250 years of U.S. history, while summer programs invite children to learn and explore. The Center for Women’s History amplifies the voices of women whose leadership and creativity have shaped our region.
By understanding our past, we build a more vibrant and inclusive community together. These vital educational experiences are only possible through generous community support. Discover your roots, spark meaningful dialogue, and help keep San Diego’s stories alive for future generations.
Address: 1649 El Prado, Suite 3, San Diego, CA 92101 Website: SanDiegoHistory.org Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday–Sunday Phone: 619-232-6203
San Diego Junior Theatre
Junior Theatre is San Diego’s longest-running youth theatre program, empowering students ages 4 to 18 to explore storytelling, performance, and collaboration in a supportive environment. Through classes, camps, and productions, young artists build confidence, creativity, and lifelong skills onstage and off. Each season features a wide range of opportunities, from introductory experiences to advanced training in acting and musical theatre.
Looking for a summer adventure? Junior Theatre’s Summer Camps deliver dynamic programs for grades K–12, including musical theater intensives, acting academies and immersive JT Studio experiences. It’s a place where imagination truly takes center stage.
Address: 1650 El Prado, Suite 208, San Diego, CA 92101 Website:JuniorTheatre.com Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 619-239-1311
San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat)
This summer, The Nat is talking trash—literally. Their newest exhibition, Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea, features larger‑than‑life marine sculptures made of ocean debris collected from beaches. It invites visitors to explore the impact of plastic pollution and discover ways to take action.
But the experience doesn’t stop at the gallery doors. Friday nights, the exhibition transforms into an ocean-themed “dive bar” during Nat at Night. Select Sundays bring something brand new: a rooftop brunch with sweeping Balboa Park views. Add two new giant-screen films and five floors of nature to explore, and The Nat is shaping up to be one of the season’s must-visit destinations.
Address: 1788 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 Website: SDNat.org Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays in summer Phone: 619-232-3821
WorldBeat Cultural Center
The WorldBeat Cultural Center is a nonprofit multidisciplinary cultural organization dedicated to promoting, presenting and preserving Indigenous cultures worldwide through music, art, dance, education, sustainability and community programs. WorldBeat elevates multicultural artists, expands opportunities for cultural enrichment and fosters deeper understanding across traditions. WorldBeat offers a holistic cultural experience that inspires pride, unity, connection and belonging for all ages.
Address: 2100 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101 Website:WorldBeatCenter.org Hours: Classes: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 6–9 p.m. Exhibits and café: Friday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Phone: 619-230-1190
Event Calendar
Throughout 2026: Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!
Step into a world of the weird and wonderful at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park. Explore hundreds of bizarre artifacts, interactive displays and unbelievable stories that celebrate the curious and the extraordinary.
Presented in partnership with the San Diego Museum of African American Fine Arts, San Diego’s Lost Neighborhoods uses augmented reality, oral histories, and archival materials to explore communities and residents displaced by redlining, freeway construction, and other discriminatory policies.
Spend a summer night at The Old Globe. The Lowell Davies Festival Theatre stages Measure for Measure (June 14–July 12) and Much Ado About Nothing (Aug. 2–30), offering two unforgettable Shakespeare productions for just $44.
The Old Globe | 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego, CA 92101
June 8–Aug. 7: Theatre Summer Camps
Summer camps at Junior Theatre spark creativity for grades K–12 with hands-on training, musical theatre intensives, acting academies, and JT Studio experiences.
A museum visit turns into a Sunday Funday with the addition of rooftop brunch, featuring mimosas, bloody Marys, and brunch bites from Wolfish by Wolf in the Woods (June 14, August 9) and Hash House a Go Go (July 12).
Nagashi at the Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum by floating a lantern to honor loved ones who have passed. Stroll merchant booths, enjoy cultural performances in the Inamori Pavilion, and sample food vendors plus a beer and sake garden in the lower garden.
Explore arts, science, history, and culture in the Balboa Park Cultural District with one convenient, affordable Pass. The Balboa Park Explorer Pass is your ticket to up to 16 museums and endless fun! Purchase your pass at BuyMyExplorer.com.
