Welcome to SDM’s Guide to Food + Drink, a series created to help you decide on where to eat in San Diego—curated by the team at San Diego Magazine.
“Mushroom flan.” Gotta admit, that particular combo of words is unsettling. And it is one of the best dishes in the city. A silken, flan-shaped cheese pastry (Pecorino, Parm, flour) filled with a sort of porcini custard and topped with creamy fondue. Takes three days to make.
It might end your journey on earth if you’re lactose intolerant. But it’s a euphoric joyride for the rest of us. You only need two or three bites. You’ll want more, but think of your family.
Ciccia Osteria is a rare, homey kinda Italian gem, tucked in one of the city’s most alive neighborhoods—Barrio Logan.
This is SDM Guide to San Diego Food + Drink. Favorite dishes, drinks, places, things found across the city by food editor and longtime Food Network judge, Troy Johnson. From moms and pops to Michelin stars—the stories of the people who make the food + drink culture hum.
The son of a shoemaker in Milan, Mario Cassineri didn’t want to spend his life thinking about feet. So he worked at one Michelin-star restaurant during the day, then took a second night shift at another. He worked under the famed Gaultiero Marchesi, the first Italian chef to earn three Michelin stars (he’d eventually give them back, and eschew the whole system). About eight years ago, Mario saw his future in Barrio Logan.
“I was looking at the building across the street,” he says, “but then I turned around and saw this house. It had just had a major fire two days ago. It was black. I said to my real estate agent, ‘That’s the place I want.’ He said, ‘Are you stupid?’ Maybe I am, but I knew we could mold it in our own personality.”
He and his partner rebuilt a lot of it themselves—Home Depot runs and premium Italian curse words. They built a secret garden patio out front, then opened Ciccia right before the pandemic. Terrible damn luck. And yet… it’s still here, because of dishes like that “flan” (it’s flan in spirit). They’re one of the only restaurants in San Diego to do ubriaca—pasta cooked in red wine instead of water. Wine-drunk pasta.
Bonus: dinner here doesn’t punch you in the financial face.“I’m not going to charge $30 or $40 for a plate of pasta,” he says. “That’s ****ing stupid.”
