A few days back I got a text from Aaron Browning, who owns Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen in Oceanside with her husband, Roddy. It was a screenshot of a Facebook post. The poster praised the approximately 30 restaurants in North County who are refusing the statewide order to close outdoor dining for three weeks (possibly longer).
“That’s the way it’s done,” the post said. “Awesome.”
Not surprising. Many have been vocal about their opposition to shutting down local businesses. Pandemic life in Southern California is a delicate and increasingly wobbly balance between public health and economic survival, and the decibel level on both sides has risen.
Aaron Browning, owner of Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen
This part, though, shocked Browning a little: “To those you [sic] that wilfully close and complain… you own it now.”
The person was blaming restaurant owners—like Aaron and Roddy—who are complying with the order, shaming them for not joining the protest.
“It’s crazy because it’s dividing us,” Browning explains. “We didn’t used to be divided in this. I got a message from another restaurant owner saying she’s getting so much pressure [from other restaurateurs].”
As if restaurants didn’t have it bad enough, now they’ve begun turning on one another. It’s the ultimate no-win situation. If an owner refuses to shut down, they face fines and legal ramifications and public shame. If they comply with the order, they’re seen as sheeple who are abandoning their fellow restaurant owners.
It’s deepening the economic divide, too. “The other day I drove by [a restaurant that’s complying with the order] and saw the owner sitting alone at the bar with his head in his hands,” she says. “Then I turned the corner and saw [a restaurant that’s defying the order] was jam-packed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried this week.”
I called Browning and we talked through the impossible a bit:
Troy Johnson: What’s your take on the shutdown of outdoor dining?
Aaron Browning: I’m not way right, or way left. I guess I’m just old-school. They told us to do A, so we’re supposed to do A. For ten years, we’ve done everything that we’ve been told to do as business owners. Now we’re told to do it for safety reasons, so we’re going to do it. We may not agree 100 percent, but we do it.
The not-agreeing comes from a lack of evidence that outdoor dining causes the spread?
Exactly. There are no numbers about people getting sick from socially distanced outdoor dining. The best reason I’ve heard is someone who posted on Facebook that the shutdown has nothing to do with the business. It has to do with keeping people home. But if that’s the case, look at the big-box stores. There’s a line to get into Costco. I can go to Wal-Mart and stand indoors next to 30 people for ten minutes because they only have two checkers. That’s more dangerous than someone sitting in a parking lot at a picnic table. I’ve said from the beginning, I feel like everything they’ve thrown at us has been arbitrary. They have a fishbowl with a bunch of pieces of paper in it and they just pull something out and enforce it or ban it. But we’re not going to rock the boat. Do I think it’s kind of bullshit? Of course I do. But I do it.
And you’re getting pressure to defy the order?
The peer pressure is crazy. It’s a mob mentality: “If we all do it, they can’t possibly punish us all.” One of my really good regulars put this whole rant on Instagram and if any restaurants want his business, they won’t comply. You would not believe how many people send messages saying, “You guys need to just open and we’ll come eat—this is ridiculous!” My view is, “Well, okay, you guys are my regulars, why don’t you just come and get food to go?” I feel bad for all these restaurant owners who spent $10,000 to put up those tents and now they have to close. We sold $900 last night. Any businessperson would say, “Close your doors.” Do we want to use our life savings? No. But we will.
So you’re getting it from every direction.
Every direction. The people who feel strongly call you sheeple if you close. One of my really good friends went to [a place that’s staying open] and his social media post had the tag #freedomlunch. I wasn’t mad. I was just, like, “Really?”
But others support you complying?
Yeah. I have a lot of regulars who are terrified. I have one who was picking up dinner and there were too many people picking up food at the same time—so her husband hid in the car. They like what we’re doing. We’re a husband-and-wife business. We can’t afford to piss people off. We can’t afford to lose any guests. My daughter’s teacher said she wouldn’t step foot in a restaurant that has decided to stay open.
How do you feel about the restaurants refusing to comply?
I mean, part of me is all for it. You do you, boo. But what happens if some 25-year-old goes home to their grandma and god forbid she dies and they trace it back to the restaurant? Everybody keeps saying, “Don’t judge the people who are staying open,” but I’m annoyed. You guys are going to ruin it for the rest of us who are following the rules. And why do you want to make such a big spectacle about it? Why go to all the news stations and do the social media? There are a lot of components I don’t think these restaurants are paying attention to. And who are these lawyers telling these people nothing bad is going to happen to them? That any fine they get will just be swept under the rug? I don’t know if that’s true. I would think that somebody from the [Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control] is going to get pissed off and makes examples of people. Now your $80,000 liquor license is gone; how is your business going to survive? We can’t afford to lose our liquor license.
What if you knew you’d have to close forever tomorrow? Would you open in protest?
No. We’d say fuck it and we’d close and hibernate until it’s over. Even now, we’ll have people order to go and ask if they can just sit on the patio and eat it. And we’ll say, “Well, no, you can’t.” There is a part of me that doesn’t want to see my business die. Part of me wants to say, “Yeah, you can sit in my parking lot.” But, no, I can’t.
The outdoor patio setup at Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen
So how are you adapting?
We’re making pickled onions and jars of pickled vegetables to sell as stocking stuffers. I made cookies for the first time in 47 years last night and I was like, “Hey, maybe we can sell these!” Roddy said, “Honey, how much money do you think we’re gonna get for a damn cookie?” At the end of the day, it is what it is. If I gotta become a real estate agent, then that’s what I do. In the meantime, I’ll just pickle some shallots for your stocking. It’s down to “How much profit can I get out of this onion?”
And while you’re launching a pickled vegetable stocking stuffer side hustle, the ones defying the order are making money.
I know [a restaurant here in Oceanside that’s defying the order] is up in sales 30 percent compared to pre-COVID. People say they’re doing it for their staff—but at that point, are you really?
In light of the rift between the protesting restaurants and those that are complying—are we still at the point where this has brought the community together?
Yeah. It’s wild how we’ve come together to keep these businesses alive. These small businesses are still open because people are being good and buying trinkets from the local trinket store. It’s also crazy how innovative we’ve all become. Look at Campfire. Their food is not designed to go into a box. So in order to stay open they became a barbecue joint where people walk up and get their brisket to go. They completely changed their concept. Nine months of this stuff has really taught us how to change and adapt and do more with less.
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.
Mike and AJ Aubuchon share one very important trait: Patience. The Aubuchons are the husband-and-wife team behind Koakai Brewing Company, a brewery that’s been in the works for roughly two years. Like many other food and drink businesses, they’ve faced delay after delay after delay. Lesser people would have given up—or at least seemed a lot more annoyed about it. I wouldn’t blame them one bit.
But the excitement in AJ’s voice is palpable. It’s like the night before Christmas for the duo, whose patience is about to pay off. Koakai is finally slated to open in Oceanside in mid- to late-April next to the Aubuchons’ other business, Kyoto Japanese Market.
Courtesy of Koakai Brewing
A North County native, Mike started his beer career in the bottle shop at Pizza Port Carlsbad before becoming a cellarman, then assistant brewer at the chain’s Ocean Beach shop. When the Carlsbad brewhouse needed a head brewer, he went back to his hometown and started racking up hardware at competitions like The Great American Beer Festival, where he won bronze in 2015, silver in 2017, and gold in 2020. He stayed for a little over 10 years before helping launch brewing operations at Heritage BBQ & Beer Co., now Hill Street Brewing.
Originally from Kyoto, Japan, AJ worked in restaurants from her teens until she moved to Oceanside to attend MiraCosta College. She also worked alongside Mike at Pizza Port, bartending, learning about craft beer, and making connections with other people in the industry—relationships they plan to bring into their operations through collaborative brews.
“Koakai” has a double meaning: “warrior for the sea” in Hawaiian and “a little red” in Japanese. “My maiden name in Japanese is Kaiho and that means ‘saving the ocean,’” AJ explains, adding that when she first met Mike, a lifelong ocean lover, he was working as a professional surfboard shaper. “Also, my husband has a lot of Irish in his heritage, so our kids—we have four children—they all have a kind of reddish tint in their hair… so it kind of means heritage and family.”
Courtesy of Koakai Brewing
Koakai’s inaugural lineup will feature a flagship Japanese lager, German schwarzbier, West Coast IPA, hoppy pilsner, Mexican lager, XPA, and a few collaborations like a West Coast IPA with RahrBSG, a craft malt supplier, and yet another IPA made with specialty hops, this one a collab with Cannonball Creek Brewing Company from Colorado. They’ll likely add more drinks later, such as a house seltzer, and dry Irish stouts on nitro, and even feature some imported Japanese sake.
Patrons will be able to pick up food—items like onigiri, Japanese-style sandwiches, bento boxes, and sushi—from Kyoto Japanese Market next door. The brewery’s kitchen will offer fresh sushi as well as its signature blend of Japanese, Hawaiian, and Central Texas-style barbecue, similar to what the market currently serves on weekends (think sticky ribs, charcoal-grilled steaks, and yakitori-style chicken). Some of the dishes are based on AJ’s childhood favorites, like hambagu, a Japanese hamburger steak.
“It’s almost like a hamburger patty, but it’s more like meatloaf,” she explains. “It has a lot of different ingredients, caramelized onions, ginger, garlic, bread crumbs, and eggs.”
A lot—and I mean a lot—has changed in the craft beer world since the Aubuchons entered the scene, and they know it’s not an easy landscape for them right now. But they’ve both been around the beer block a time or two. They’re ready. “It’s our time to show people what we’ve learned and what we can do,” says AJ.
Koakai Brewing Company opens at 559 Greenbrier Drive, Suite B, in Oceanside in mid- to late April 2026.
Photo Credit: Elodie Bost
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Beth’s Bites
Lilo made huge headlines when the Carlsbad restaurant by John Resnick and chef Eric Bost earned a Michelin star less than two months after opening, but its next milestone takes place on Friday, April 17. To celebrate the first anniversary of opening its doors, chefs Travis Swikard (Callie, Fleurette), Tara Monsod (Animae, Le Coq), and Jason McLeod (Ironside Fish & Oyster) will join Bost for a one- night-only collaborative dinner with courses from each chef (the menu will be announced later, but I feel pretty safe predicting it’ll be world-class). Reservations are open now and will likely go quickly.
In Tagalog, “kain tayo!” means “let’s eat!” That’s exactly what I plan to do on Saturday, April 11, at Fall Brewing’s Miramar location during the Kain Tayo Fiesta, a Filipino festival with food vendors like Luna’s Lunpias, Snoice, All Things Ube, and more. Diners will also enjoy artists, live music, DJs, retail vendors, dance exhibitions, and even live tattooing. The free and family-friendly event starts at noon, and if you happen to have some new or gently used skate gear hanging around your house, bring it along. The festival coordinators are putting together a box to send to skaters in the Philippines so they can keep shredding.
The Busalacchi family has been a San Diego institution since Joe Busalacchi opened Casanova’s Pizza in La Mesa in 1984. Since then, the Sicilian dynasty has only expanded its reach across the city’s dining scene, operating joints like Café Zucchero, Barbusa, Nonna, and Lala. This year, the family’s restaurant group will celebrate 40 years of pizza, pasta, and Peronis. The family that cooks together stays together, so it seems, so congrats to the whole Busalacchi fam—and here’s to another 40 years.
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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.
Givino Rossini knows there are already a lot of great specialty coffee shops in San Diego. He likes to think he runs two of them already: Kettle On Grand in Escondido and Kettle On Main in Fallbrook. But rather than open another conventional coffee shop—with a few fun pastries and community events like DJ nights—he decided to kick it up a notch for his third location in Oceanside, Kettle On Coast.
“This is going to lean a lot more restaurant than fast-casual coffee shop,” he explains. The space, which housed Petite Madeline Bakery until March 15, comes with a full kitchen—something the first two Kettle Ons don’t have. And the menu won’t be typical coastal California avocado toasts and acai bowls. Chef David Lay, who’s worked at restaurants like the Michelin Bib Gourmand Kettner Exchange as chef de cuisine and at Juniper & Ivy as chef de partie, is spearheading the kitchen, developing to-go breakfast and lunch menu along with a pastry and coffee program.
Photo Credit: @mmmunchies.sandiego
“I describe the food as rooted in African diasporic flavors and traditions, with influences from the Mediterranean and the Levant [the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia]. The opening menu is really meant to be an introduction to some of those ingredients, spices, and techniques in a way that feels approachable,” Lay explains. “But the long term vision is to continue exploring African culinary traditions more deeply as the menu evolves.”
The opening menu includes items like French toast with a cinnamon sugar crust, Moroccan tres leches, and crème fraîche; miso cheddar grits with a sunny-side-up egg, berbere (an Egyptian spice blend), and chives; Aleppo fried chicken with chermoula (a North African sauce and marinade somewhat similar to chimichurri), tahini, preserved lemon relish, and herbs; and a grilled mochi with honey, berbere, and crème fraîche for dessert. Guests will order at the counter and either take their food to go or have it delivered to their table.
Courtesy of Fox Point Farms
Kettle On Coast will soft-open in early April, initially rolling out between nine and 15 of Lay’s menu items and ramping it up from there. Rossini expects to have everything in place for a grand opening in early summer and hopes to introduce the same sort of community-specific events to Oceanside as he has in Escondido and Fallbrook.
“Each location has its own unique kind of concept and energy around that space,” he says. “We kind of tailor each space to what we feel is missing or what’s needed in that community.” In Escondido, it’s been events like skate competitions, while Fallbrook has put on poetry readings. But in Oceanside, the future is yet to be written.
Kettle On Coast will soft-open at 223 N. Coast Hwy. in Oceanside in April 2026. Initial operating hours will be Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Courtesy of Boba Religion
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
First-Gen Boba Shop Celebrates One Year in Kearny Mesa
I only got really into boba tea in the last couple of years, but once you go full “QQ,” you never go back. For those unfamiliar with the concept, QQ is a Taiwanese term referring to the springy, chewy texture of elastic-y foods that seem to bounce against your teeth—things like fish balls, tendon, or boba pearls. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea (pun intended), but if it’s yours, tons of tea shops have sprung up around San Diego to satisfy a wide range of flavor cravings, from classic milk tea to out-there options like matcha-mango with cheese foam and popping pearls.
If you’re not sure where to start, Boba Religion in Convoy District is celebrating its one-year anniversary on March 21-22, giving patrons a chance to try the shop’s Vietnamese-sourced tea, coffee, matcha, and other specialty drinks with a buy-one, get-one-free promotion on Saturday and buy-one, get-one-half-off on Sunday. So, whether you’re a QQ fan already or QQ-curious, this weekend might be a good time to give the squishy, fun to chew pearls a try.
Courtesy of Garibaldi
Beth’s Bites
In all my travels, I haven’t yet made it to the Adriatic shores of Croatia. So when I saw Garibaldi at the InterContinental San Diego is highlighting the Land of a Thousand Islands for its next monthly Mediterranean dinner series, I decided to take a peek at the menu. From Friday, March 20, through Sunday, March 22, executive chef Franck Tasic and his team have put together a menu of interesting coastal items like salata od rajčice (a Croatian tomato salad), fuži s tartufima (homemade Istrian fuži pasta), and knedle sa šljivama (plum dumplings) for dessert, with an optional Croatian wine pairing available. Sign me up for a sail through the Adriatic!
An’s Gelato has ranked No.1 on national and local ice cream lists since USA Today named it the best ice cream shop in the United States two years in a row—something we San Diegans already knew, of course. The creative creamery now operates locations in North Park on Adams Avenue (I don’t dare say Normal Heights, lest angry readers correct me in a huff), Del Mar, Ocean Beach, and Petco Park. This summer, An’s will come to Oceanside at the Top Gun house. The iconic Queen Anne cottage—at the Mission Pacific Beach Resort next to Valle—housed the hand-pie shop High Pie from 2022 through 2025, and if I had to guess, the high-traffic location will be home to the popular scoop shop for quite a few years to come.
Padres opening day is right around the corner—Thursday, March 26, to be exact—and there’s no shortage of parties around town to kick off the season. Close to the ballpark, the rooftop at Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter will start rocking at 3 p.m. with a DJ and drink specials, or fans can grab a $18 beer and a shot at The Blind Burro just northwest of Petco. And for a little pre-season excitement, stop by Harland Brewing in Scripps Ranch on Tuesday, March 24, for a free meet-and-greet with the Padres’ Jake Cronenworth from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. While you’re waiting in line—because you know there will be a line to meet #9—try the Crone Zone, Harland’s collaborative brew with the popular infielder. I’ve had it (more than once…), and it gets my drinks expert stamp of approval.
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.
After 13 years of serving only-in-San Diego favorites like a Cardiff Crack sando and cocktails like a bacon-cheddar vodka-infused Bloody Mary mixed with housemade tomato juice—Bier Garden Encinitas is ready to take their show on the road. They’ll open a second location in downtown Oceanside on Monday, March 16.
Owner David Creviston is hardly the first to eyeball the coastal North County city as a food and drink destination. Key & Cleaver, Odie’s Pizza, Merenda, and 24 Suns have all either recently opened or are on the cusp of opening in Oceanside, and Bier Garden’s location just steps from local institutions like one Michelin-starred Valle and Craft Coast (who, hilariously, is reverse-migrating to open their own new location in Encinitas).
“I think the culture of our new restaurant is going to fit incredibly well here,” he says. North County vibes tend to be chill, but still lean on a bit of a higher-end side. Creviston says he wants to offer a laid-back type of place where you can bring a date just as easily as your grandparents, but still get a great cocktail and food.
Courtesy of Bier Garden San Diego
The food and drink menus will look very similar to Encinitas—short rib nachos, Baja fish tacos, and the signature Cheeseburger 101, plus 24 taps of craft beer, craft cocktails, and a slightly bigger wine list. (“We have a bigger wine cabinet,” he explains.) They’ll also be able to try a few new specials like a bulgogi bowl and lake trout to see how they hit with guests.
With March Madness coming up quickly, Creviston says he hopes to be a destination for viewing parties and other future sporting events. “We’ve structured the bar to be an indoor-outdoor patio bar, similar to Encinitas,” he explains. The Oceanside spot will have a total of 16 TVs—not to become a dedicated sports bar, per se, but to at least be a destination for people who want to catch a game and some grub that goes beyond a pile of soggy tots.
Bier Garden Oceanside opens at 201 N. Cleveland Street, Oceanside on Monday, March 16. Hours will be Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Courtesy of Mike’s Red Tacos
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Mike’s Red Tacos Goes National
Who doesn’t love a San Diego success story? Rubio’s may have been the first local taco chain to make it big, but Mike’s Red Tacos has made a huge run in the hand-held taco land. Originally launched as a food truck only a few years ago (and quickly getting named one of the top places to eat by Yelp in 2023), the birria-based chain currently only has three locations in San Diego (Point Loma, Clairemont Mesa, and the newest in Mira Mesa). Now, it’s going the massive franchise route, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Mike’s fans can expect to see 200-plus new locations across the country over the next couple of years.
Photo Credit: Mandie Geller
Beth’s Bites
Lately, there have been a lot of changes with the Puesto group. We said goodbye to the awesome but poor-locationed Roma Norte, hello to Puesto Taco Bar, and are patiently awaiting Ikaria, a new Eastern Mediterranean concept coming later this year. Now there’s a new executive chef at the helm of Marisi. Kaitlyn Smith, most recently the chef de cuisine at Wildland in Carlsbad, is in command of the impeccably designed Italian eatery in the heart of downtown La Jolla. It sounds like the heart of the menu will remain the same (still making all the pasta from scratch, of course), but expect a few tweaks to the entrees and antipasti menu.
Pi Day is (nearly) upon us and I’d be remiss to avoid mentioning Pop Pie Co.’s 9th annual Pi Day celebration—this year with three different collaborative pies with local chefs. Chef Tara Monsod from Animae and Le Coq is bringing a pie inspired by tinola, a traditional Filipino chicken soup typically made with ginger, garlic, and fish sauce, with hers folded with Yukon potatoes, green papaya, spinach and green onion. The Friendly taps in next with Rob Striker’s take on the eatery’s signature dirty flat top cheeseburger with grilled beef, butter braised onions, American cheese, garlic aioli, and banana peppers wrapped in an all-butter crust. (As the first Pi Day without The Friendly founder Brandon Zanavich, this one feels particularly significant). Finally, Matt Lyons from Tribute Pizza brings it home with his You Knew This Was Coming Pizza Pie with mozzarella, Bianco DiNapoli crushed tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, red onion, smoked cheddar, and an everything bagel crust. All of these will be available at each Pop Pie location on Saturday, March 14 until sold out and yes, as is tradition, the first 20 guests at each location will also get a free slice of sweet pie.
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.
In this city, chef Brian Malarkey and restaurateur Chris Puffer are kind of like peanut butter & jelly, tacos and Tuesday, Padres and Petco—they just go together. This month, the duo celebrates 10 years of partnering on some of San Diego’s top restaurants including their first venture, Herb & Wood.
To celebrate this milestone, we stepped back and revisited their journey becoming some of this city’s most successful restaurateurs.
But first, let’s go back to the beginning. The duo met at Oceanaire in 2007 where they both worked. Malarkey was still riding the high from his stint on Top Chef Season 3 where he won runner-up. He was a great chef, Puffer recalls, if not a tad arrogant. Whatever he was doing, though, it worked. Sales doubled under his watch.
In 2009, Malarkey was approached by some patrons to start what would become Searsucker. He knew he wanted Puffer to be his partner. They had great chemistry and loved hospitality and food. “We both came to this with a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” says Malarkey. “We wanted to prove it to other people that we know what we’re doing.”
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
Searsucker, Gabardine, and Herringbone (under the Fabric of Social Dining restaurant group) were born through the new partnership. But in 2012, they sold their concepts to Hakkasan and soon partnered on a new lease.
That building would eventually become Herb & Wood. “We were going to do it differently this time around,” says Malarkey as he reflects on Wood’s early days. “And we [wanted to] build it to last.”
The vision: Great food. Great music. Great service. It’d be a place where diners would let go, put their phones down, and be fully present to enjoy a meal together. When they walked into 2210 Kettner Blvd, they knew they had found their spot.
The only problem was that, at the time, that area of Little Italy was still severely underdeveloped. In a 8,500-square-foot space, they were going to have 230 seats to fill. “It may as well have been on Mars,” says Troy Johnson, San Diego Magazine publisher, content chief, and the city’s longtime food critic.
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
And, of course, there were the naysayers. The prevailing feeling in the dining world was, “Let’s see what these f**king idiots do,” recalls Malarkey. The duo let all the noise be noise. In fact, the noise fueled them. “We weren’t going to cater to the haters,” Puffer says.
Their next hurdle would be to tackle the restaurant’s design. “There was nothing. It was literally a box,” says Puffer of the former space. Design teams were too expensive or didn’t quite get their vision—no, they didn’t want exposed beams or wooden tables made from reclaimed barns. “Then, Puffer was like, ‘f**k it, dude, I’m going to design this restaurant.’”
Having never really designed something like this before, he decided not to work in the programs that most professionals use to create their layouts. 3D mockup? Didn’t need it. CAD? That’s what a paper and pencil are for.
Courtesy of Herb & Wood
“It was all in my head,” he recalls. “I had this moment where I was like, ‘If I died right now, no one would know where any of this shit goes.’”
“Yeah, it made no sense,” Malarkey says.
And it still doesn’t if you hear him explain it. A mishmash of vignettes from the inner workings of his memory bank, evoking everything from Mississippi riverboats to Eiffel tower ironwork, Kensington home façades, an old theater he frequented, and a canoe, because why not? Yet somehow, it all worked.
“It’s a sense of nostalgia,” says Puffer. “People might say, ‘Oh, my gosh, this feels good’ and they don’t realize it reminds them of the time they were in Paris.’”
“We don’t play trends,” Malarkey says. “We play timeless.”
Courtesy of Herb & Wood
Over the course of many years and plenty of trial and error, the partnership has continued to thrive. And, the Puffer Malarkey Collective has found its sweet spot within their restaurants: The service had to be kind and unpretentious and the food had to come out quick, delicious, and consistent. “Consistency is key!” says Puffer.
They also learned to balance out one another. “He’s a go-go-go-go [person],” says Puffer, “I’m a let’s-take-a-deep-breath-and-sleep-on-it [type of person].”
So, when they opened the doors to Herb & Wood in April of 2016, with those lessons in place, everything was just right. “We knew it had to fire on all cylinders,” says Puffer. “And it did.”
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
There was no pretense and the dress code was exceedingly simple. “Money in your pocket,” says Malarkey. “That’s all you need.”
The phones rang, the seats filled, and the haters had to give it to them, those gnocchi hit. People began embracing every aspect of the place, even the edgier ones.
“We thought people were going to complain about all the paintings with boobs,” says Puffer of the many John Lanes on the wall. “But the amount of people who take pictures in front of the boobs is amazing.”
They even had a middle finger statue that Puffer had picked up from a yard sale. If a table was rude or antagonistic toward the staff, he’d walk over to them with the finger. “Congratulations,” he’d say, handing it over. “You’ve won asshole of the night.”
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
The point is, they were ready to laugh (and not take shit from anyone). When someone wrote a review of Herb & Wood and called it Weed & Boners, they both had a laugh. It’s one of the keys to longevity.
Along with the fun and deliciousness, they’ve also served as a culinary talent incubator for San Diego. “It’s like a centrifuge,” says Johnson about Herb & Wood. “They train up all these young chefs and start spinning all this talent into different parts of the city.”
There’s Sebastian Becerra with Pepino, Samantha Bird of Relic Bakery, Aidan Owens at Herb & Sea, and Tara Monsod of Animae and Le Coq (San Diego’s first James Beard award finalist) to name a few. “They’ve expanded the footprint of the food revolution in San Diego,” says Johnson.
Their plans for the next 10 years?
“We’re just going to keep the magic going,” says Malarkey.
Whenever I write a “Best Of” roundup, it inevitably triggers an immediate onslaught of “yOu FoRgOt So AnD sO” comments (ransom note grammar intentional).
But I’m an adult. I can admit I may have made a teeny-tiny oversight when compiling last year’s list of great burgers in San Diego and neglecting to mention Copper Kings Burgers. You readers knew it when you voted them runners-up for “Best Burger” in 2025’s Best Restaurants issue. I humbly accept 10 seconds of well-deserved scorn… starting now.
Now that we’ve established Copper Kings Burgers does indeed slap, I have more good news. The North County–based burger joint that believes “life’s too short for crappy burgers” is opening a second location in Oceanside at the end of April.
Founders Jonathan Petr and Dermot Owens originally came up with Copper Kings with their partners Brittany Howlett (head of baking) and Korey Kaczur (catering sales manager), initially hoping to open a whiskey bar and burger joint. But when the pandemic hit, Petr realized no one in their right mind was going to invest in a new restaurant while the world was shut down.
Petr operated a food truck before in Los Angeles around 2012, so he and Owens decided to first go mobile to get some brand recognition. Since bars and breweries had to serve food to stay open, “we became a hot commodity,” he says. In a few years, they got popular enough to need a bigger trailer, then a second trailer, and opened their flagship brick-and-mortar in San Marcos in 2023.
Courtesy of Copper Kings Burgers
Thanks to Owens’ Irish heritage and die-hard Arsenal fandom, the San Marcos spot has been a destination for football (soccer) fans—showing European Premier and Champion League games. He says they plan to do the same in Oceanside with Guinness game-day specials and early morning watch parties. With the new location’s bigger size (about twice the capacity of San Marcos, with a private dining space and outdoor patio), it’ll act as both a second restaurant location and central kitchen, cranking out baked goods like their signature Japanese milk buns for the burgers.
Oceanside’s menu will mirror San Marcos, but with a few more items thanks to the extra space, like a fried chicken plate and seasonal pasta. “We have so much more capabilities over there to do so many more fun things we were talking about doing,” says Petr, like new weekend pastries and breakfast sandwiches, a supper club, and more. “The sky’s the limit for what we’re trying to do. We’re just excited to do it.”
Even though Copper Kings #2 isn’t open yet, Petr says they’re always open to opportunities for new locations—maybe Cardiff, maybe somewhere else nearby, but most likely still in North County. “It’s the hope, the goal, the dream,” he says. “We’re always keeping our eye out.”
Copper Kings Burgers soft opens at 326 N. Horne Street in Oceanside at the end of April. Initial operating hours will be Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight.
Courtesy of Ponzu Sushi
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Palm Springs Sushi Darling Ponzu Sushi Opening in Liberty Station
I don’t usually think of Palm Springs as a “sushi destination,” but based on Ponzu Sushi’s reputation, maybe I should. The cocktail bar and sushi spot first opened near the Forever Marilyn Monroe statue in July 2024, and things must have gone gangbusters since, because the team decided to open the next location right here in San Diego—Liberty Station, to be precise.
“We chose San Diego for our second location because we personally love the city and visit often,” says Ponzu founder, Nat Tangkitsombat. “It’s a place we’ve always enjoyed spending time in, and we felt it would be a great community to introduce our style of modern Japanese fusion—upscale but still approachable.”
That could also be the description of Liberty Station, so good fit. If all goes well with construction, permits, and luck, Ponzu should open in late summer, bringing along yellowtail carpaccio, seared salmon belly, and more tasty faves from the cold waters of the Pacific.
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Beth’s Bites
Chef Accursio Lota (Dora, Cori Trattoria Pastificio) earned the rare Tre Forchette (Three Forks) distinction from Gambero Rosso this year (basically, Michelin for Italy). It’s a huge deal for the accomplished chef—only 34 restaurants outside of Italy (and just 11 in the United States) nabbed the honor. Cori also earned Due Bottiglie (Two Bottles) for its top-notch wine program. If you aren’t convinced yet that San Diego restaurants continue to be on the up and up, you need to open your eyes—or better yet, your mouth.
Even stars need facelifts sometimes—perhaps especially those who wish to keep shining brightly. Addison by William Bradley turns 20 this year. In restaurant years, that’s a pretty good time for a refresh. Starting April 1, the three Michelin-starred restaurant will close for seven weeks to bring in new tables and chairs, paint and lights, and even develop part of the bar into a champagne lounge. Afterwards, the team will celebrate the 20-year milestone with some yet-to-be-announced chef dinners.
Since its First Look, Fleurette has already caused a frenzy among foodies (say that 10 times fast) and is still racking up reservations faster than summer camp slots at the San Diego Zoo. (All you parents out there feel the pain, I know.) But chef Travis Swikard’s first baby, Callie, still might be the best restaurant in San Diego, and has a full slate of excellent events lined up for your palate pleasure. On Thursday, March 26, the ongoing chef series “Flavors of the Sun” welcomes chef José Luis Hinostroza of ARCA from Tulum, named in both the 50 Best Restaurants and the 50 Best Bars lists for 2025, as well as the 2026 Michelin Guide. It’ll be a five-course, seafood-centric family style feast (with an optional cocktail pairing), and $5 from every ticket will go directly to Feeding San Diego. Reservations are open now, but won’t last long.
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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.
When Jennipher Hager and Chris Dainty opened Key & Cleaver in 2023, they had one goal in mind: great, locally-sourced food and drinks at affordable prices. They kept their word. Their beef comes from Perennial Pastures Ranch in Santa Ysabel, all craft beer and burger buns are made in San Diego, and most of their spirits are local. Even their location in City Heights is local.
But come December, they’ll expand to another corner of the county, opening a second Key & Cleaver in the former Breakwater Brewing location in Oceanside. O’side beckoned for a couple of reasons—yes, the north county city’s food scene is booming with new pizza joints, a Michelin star at Valle, and a wildly ambitious Chinese concept from ex-Addison chefs—but also because they needed a second location to be able to survive at all.
“It’s gotten to a point where we need to expand if we’re going to keep this thing going,” says Dainty, pointing to factors like the city of San Diego’s necessary, but disruptive street repairs to University Avenue that took over a year longer than expected. He estimates the construction cost them 40 percent of their business, but with a solid concept in hand, they knew it was more a matter of when they could find another spot they could afford rather than if they should grow.
“We don’t have huge resources like a lot of other restaurant companies do,” he says. But what Dainty and Hager do have are decades of experience in the hospitality industry between the two of them. Plus, the Oceanside space came at the right time in the right place for the right price with the right amount of potential customers. “You have a thousand hotel rooms in walking distance,” he says. “How do you say no to that?”
Everything will feel pretty much the same as the original Key & Cleaver space in terms of the burger-centric menu and casual vibe, but on one floor rather than two as in City Heights. Most of the spot faces the 101 with rolling garage door windows, and a side outdoor patio along Seagaze Drive adds a bit of an ocean view.
“Our biggest thing is everybody is welcome and it’s always going to be comfortable,” Hager promises.
But the other biggest thing is that the burger is still going to be top-notch. “I truly believe we have the best burger in San Diego,” says Dainty. “And I’ll stand by that.”
Key & Cleaver Oceanside opens December 2025 at 101 N. Coast Highway, Suite C140.
Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Join Beth & Local Cider Makers For A Night of Cider Celebration At Cellar Hand
Yes, it’s a bit of shameless self-promotion, but only because I’m on an endless quest to convince all of you that cider is the future. And I can prove my theory on Saturday, November 15 at Cellar Hand in Hillcrest, when I’ll join four of San Diego’s best cider makers—Serpentine Cider, Calico Cidery, Raging Cider & Mead, and Oddish Wine—for Orchard to Table, a one-night flight of ciders paired with special selections by executive chef Ashley McBrady. Grab a flight of four for $20 and see why we’re all so passionate about these pome fruits. (Editor’s note: You can buy Beth’s book she wrote on cider here).
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.
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.
