Ali Baba:This Mediterranean spot is known best for its big portions. Order the Feast for Three, which comes with skewers of kebab, chicken tekka, shawarma, cream chop (fried chicken cutlet), salad, rice, bulgur, and hummus. Pair all of that with their homemade naan, then order their Arabic coffee to wrap up your experience.
Sahara: This Iraqi restaurant does falafel best, but you can’t go wrong with chicken and beef kufta kebabs paired with beet salad and tabbouleh.
Hummus and chicken shawarma plate from Mal Al Sham
Ariana Drehsler
Mal Al Sham: Find Syrian food at this halal eatery. The restaurant opened in 2018 and is known for their chicken shawarma wraps, kibbeh makliyah (deep-fried beef, bulgur, and walnut meatballs) and fresh, flavorful hummus.
Al Azayem: While this eatery may look small, its flavorful, tender meat makes it mighty. Highlights from the extensive menu include the lamb shank plate, eggplant stew, and Iraqi samoon bread.
Royal Sweets: The options seem endless at this bakery that specializes in traditional Middle Eastern pastries. Try the pistachio baklava, honey-drizzled cheese kanafeh, and sweet Turkish delight to expand your palate and satisfy your sweet tooth.
Grand Ole BBQ Flinn Springs: The East County outpost of this beloved barbecue joint still hits the spot with their popular beef short ribs, brisket, pulled pork, seasoned hot sausage links, and filling sides. Order, then sit outside on the patio to enjoy live music and dancing.
Summers Past Farms Nursery
Ariana Drehsler
Explore
Roam through the family-owned Summers Past Farms nursery, which also houses an herbal soap store and outdoor coffee bar with views of El Capitan Reservoir. The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College calls for botanical fun with the family. Travel through the park’s six acres and learn about California ecology in the park’s themed gardens. Lastly, check out the Olaf Wieghorst Museum & Western Heritage Center to ponder the history of the American West through the local artist’s paintings of Native Americans, cowboys, and desert landscapes. While not currently open for tours, the Taylor Guitars factory is one of the largest guitar manufacturers in the country, whose axes have been played by artists as iconic as Prince
El Cajon (Spanish for “the box,” so named because it is “boxed in” by foothills on all sides) served as fertile ranchland for decades before being incorporated in 1912. Once a sleepy farming town, the city is now the largest in East County, housing more than 100,000 residents and an unrecognized wealth of eateries (especially of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern variety), shops, and visitor-friendly farms and gardens.
Here’s where to explore next time you’re in El Cajon:
Courtesy of Sahara: Taste of the Middle East
El Cajon Restaurants & Bars
Ali Baba Family Restaurant
This Mediterranean spot known for its big portions offers excellent bang for your buck. Try Ali Baba’s chicken tekka, pompano fish with rice, and tannour bread. Feeding a crowd? Order a feast for up to ten people with kabab skewers, shawarma, cream chop, salad, rice, burghul, and hummus.
421 East Main Street
Sahara: Taste of the Middle East
At this haven for Middle Eastern bites, start with hummus, tabbouleh, and cucumber salad and follow with kabobs, chicken tikka, or falafel. Drench it all with unlimited sauces from the Sahara‘s self-serve bar.
2990 Jamacha Road, Unit 116
The Breakfast House
Stepping inside this quaint breakfast spot feels like traveling back to a 1950s diner. The extensive menu at The Breakfast House offers nearly every classic American breakfast dish imaginable, as well as lunch choices like salads and sandwiches.
1464 Graves Avenue
Royal Sweets
Royal Sweets offers not only royally good Middle Eastern desserts, but also a variety of other pastries and cakes. Stop by for baklava, tiramisu, or gelato, or order a custom birthday cake that is sure to impress.
110 South Mollison Avenue
Grand Ole BBQ Flinn Springs
Inspired by the BBQ he ate in his youth, Andy Harris bought a smoker and set out to bring the flavors of Central Texas to San Diego County. Make sure to arrive early at Grand Ole BBQ to beat the long lines and get your share of some of the best pork, brisket, ribs, and sides the city has to offer.
15505 Olde Highway 80
Funky Fries and Burgers
Funky Fries and Burgers lives up to its name with creative combos like a bacon mac n’ cheese burger and a Philly cheesesteak burger, but the true stars of the show are the extravagant milkshakes. Piled precariously high, each “Funky Freak Shake” is topped with enough candy and treats to feed a first-grade birthday party.
101 West Washington Avenue
Hacienda Casa Blanca
Happy hour and Mexican food go together like peanut butter and jelly, especially at Hacienda Casa Blanca, which offers sweet deals Monday through Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. and all day on Sunday. They also serve brunch on Sunday mornings, laying down chilaquiles and huevos rancheros.
700 North Johnson Avenue, Suite A
Antonelli’s Deli
The Antonelli family brought their classic, East Coast–style deli to California in 1984. Tucked away between motor shops in El Cajon, the old-school locale has almost 50 unique sandwich options, including capocollo subs, liverwurst sandos, and a French dip.
1354 North Magnolia Ave
Burning Beard Brewing Company
Head to Burning Beard for punk rock vibes and good brews, from hoppy IPAs and lagers to seltzers. Pair your drink of choice with bites like smashburgers, truffle and garlic fries, and chicken tenders.
785 Vernon Way
The Yogurt Mill
The Yogurt Mill vends a rotating menu of classic fro-yos such as vanilla and strawberry, plus more off-the-wall flavors: toasted marshmallow, Irish mint kiss, banana cream pie. Keep an eye on their Instagram page to get the inside scoop on the flavors of the day.
935 Broadway
Al Azayem
If you find yourself craving stuffed chicken, breakfast lentil soup, or baba ganoush, head to Al Azayem. The Middle Eastern dishes at this counter-serve joint come with a small price tag and a big flavor profile.
550 East Main Street
Mal Al Sham
In addition to popular Mediterranean eats like falafel, pitas, and meat kabobs, Mal Al Sham serves the hard-to-find quzi—a roasted lamb and rice platter that’s one of Iraq’s national dishes—on weekends and holidays.
388 East Main Street
Courtesy of Tripadvisor
Things to Do in El Cajon
Summers Past Farms
Stop by Summers Past Farms to see what the farmers are planting, harvesting, and crafting. There are shops, gardens, and wildlife to explore here, and the farm can serve as a background to any photo shoot, as it changes each season depending on what plants are growing.
Self-taught artist Olaf Wieghorst, born Denmark in 1988, drew upon the aesthetics of the American West in his paintings of landscapes, humble abodes, cowboys, and lonely travels. This museum honors Wieghorst and fellow Western genre painters with exhibitions, workshops, and tours.
131 Rea Avenue
Sycuan Casino
El Cajon is home to Sycuan, a resort and casino to rival those in Sin City. Get gaming, attend a concert, or relax at Sycuan’s full-service spa and lazy river pool. You’ll also find a wealth of dining choices, including pizza, Mexican food, and steak.
5469 Casino Way
A Simpler Time Alpaca Farm and Mill
Alpacas never make the list of oft-spotted wildlife in San Diego, but this family farm on the outskirts of El Cajon provides private tours that give you the chance to get up close and personal with the critters. Don’t forget to browse the store, where you can purchase yarn, clothes, accessories, toys, and dryer balls spun from alpaca wool.
1802 Alta Place
Parkway Bowl
Reserve at this family-owned El Cajon bowling alley and entertainment center for an evening of all-ages fun. Not a fan of bowling? Hit the arcade, play a round or two of billiards, or grab a meal and drink at the in-house restaurant and bar.
1280 Fletcher Parkway
Courtesy of Parkway Plaza
El Cajon Shopping & Boutiques
Off the Shelf Games
Board game store and tabletop lounge Off the Shelf offers table reservations and a retail shop with a unique library of more than 1,500 games. Join the shop’s membership program to enjoy three-day board game rentals for $20 a month and $6 a game.
173 Fletcher Parkway
El Cajon Guitars and Music
Owned and operated by musicians Maria Hart and Frank Cogliana, El Cajon Guitars and Music is a friendly, community-driven spot for both guitar newbies and seasoned shredders. In addition to vending instruments and accessories, the store provides instrument repairs and guitar classes.
A rare enclosed mall in SD County (good for rainy days!), Parkway Plaza is home to more than 130 stores, from major chains like Best Buy, Ulta, and H&M to small local businesses such as 619 Underground Clothing.
Maren Hawkins is a freelance writer in her last year at San Diego State University. When she is not writing, she spends her time playing beach volleyball, thrifting for the cutest clothes, and traveling whenever possible.
The days are sweeter with baklava tacos from Al Sultan Baklava.
Often the first city that comes to mind when we think East County, El Cajon has developed into one of our region’s more complex communities. On the one hand, “The Big Box” is characterized by classic cars cruising its Main Street every Wednesday night, and by its pride in hometown sports heroes, including auto racing icon Jimmie Johnson, and Padres ace Joe Musgrove.
On the other, thanks to a three-decade influx of Middle Eastern immigration, its box-shaped valley has earned a newer nickname: “Little Baghdad.” An estimated 30 percent of its 105,000 residents hail from abroad, led by Chaldean and Arab Iraqis, followed by more recent thousands fleeing wars in Syria and Afghanistan.
Their contributions have transformed the suburban valley into San Diego’s epicenter for Middle Eastern cuisine. Not every El Cajon restaurant hails from this tradition, but thanks in large part to those that do, there’s never been a better time to eat here.
Tekka at Ali Babba
For going on 20 years, this Arabian Nights-inspired family restaurant has introduced Iraqi fare ranging from lamb shank quzi to lamb offal pacha. But Ali Baba’s standouts are also its most accessible dishes: beef, chicken, and sumptuous lamb kababs, which are long strips of seasoned ground meat. The charcoal-grilled skewers featuring hunks of meat go by the name tekka.
Masgoof at Nahrain Fish & Chicken Grill
Despite the name, the modest Masgoof at Nahrain Fish & Chicken Grill eatery wins its fans by roasting fish and fowl in a clay tandoor oven, in particular the Iraqi whole fish preparation, masgoof. In the style of San Diego’s beloved fish markets, customers may peruse a glass counter filled with fish and decide which will wind up on their plates. Popular choices include red snapper and striped bass, but it’s worth remembering the word Nahrain translates to “two rivers.” For freshwater fish traditionally associated with the Tigris and Euphrates, choose carp.
Makkliyah at Mal Al Sham: The Taste Of Damascus
This Syrian kitchen at Mal Al Sham: The Taste Of Damascus is dominated by a pair of shawerma rotisseries, and skewered meats on the menu likewise reinforce the link between Arab and Mediterranean cuisines. For something more distinctly Syrian, look to the kibbeh makkliyah: fried dumplings stuffed with seasoned ground beef and crushed walnuts. Better yet, if you have 30 minutes to spare, wait on the grilled version: kibbeh mashweeyeh.
Salad at Crafted Greens
It’s not al halal in El Cajon. This scratch kitchen at Crafted Greens on Jamacha Road embraces modern terms such as grass-fed, organic, free-range, and sustainable. That said, the keys to Crafted Greens’ success are its myriad salads, flatbreads and hot sandwiches loaded with house-made dressings and vibrant produce sourced from California farms.
Baklava Taco at Al Sultan Baklava
Not to be confused with downtown El Cajon’s stylish baklava bakery Sultan Baklava, Al Sultan sits farther east, just off Jamacha Road. This Turkish dessert specialist offers little to look at beyond bare walls, meaning all eyes are on its rich phyllo-dough pastries, decadently soaked in honey and simple syrup, stuffed with ground nuts, and perhaps drizzled with chocolate.
Phở at Grandpa Táo Kitchen
Another of El Cajon’s refugee populations recently scored a win with his new restaurant devoted to Vietnamese fare, alongside a limited assortment of sushi. But reason number one to pay attention is Grandpa Táo Kitchen‘s phở menu. Whether based in chicken or beef stock, they’re made fragrant thanks to long hours steeped with clove, onions, and star anise—and the best noodles east of the 15.
Based in San Diego, Ian Anderson writes contemplative features about food, drinks, travel, and culture. On the side, he authors left coast road trip guidebooks, and is currently at work on a collection of autobiographical essays, Stories from Before We Were Connected. He did not form British prog rock band Jethro Tull in 1967.
Most San Diego spots serve phở bò—the dark-brothed, beef-boned Southern Vietnamese specialty, loaded with the loud spices (star anise, cloves, cardamom, etc.). But Kim Pham, one of the sisters behind Crab Hut and perennial best-restaurants list-maker Kingfisher, is doing her mom’s phở gà.
The Northern Vietnamese original has a lighter, cleaner broth, using runner chickens (free-range diet and action means more flavor), the garlic from Gilroy’s famed Christopher Ranch (intense garlic-garlic), organic ginger, and housemade noodles. For condiments, Phở Gà Go uses Red Boat (the gold standard, barrel-aged 12 months). It’s essentially the same broth made at Kingfisher, served casual in Mira Mesa.
Best Fish Party for a Purpose
Dockside Night Market
This issue isn’t about shame, but let’s add a touch for emotional tension. We live on the water, but only about 10 percent of seafood eaten in San Diego is caught locally. Meanwhile, the local fishing industry that once employed 40,000 people is down to about 130 commercial fishers. Local fishing families are a crucial (my words, and they feel right) but endangered species. And three groups have joined forces for one pretty killer event that does a lot about it.
Puffer Malarkey Group (operator Chris Puffer and celeb chef Brian Malarkey) joined with Tuna Harbor Dockside Market—the spot where local boats drop their catch every weekend, a waterline treasure. Each year, Dockside Night Market gathers live musicians and the city’s top chefs who cook with local boat fish on the water. Even better: 100 percent of the profits go to the San Diego Working Fishermen’s Group (the third group—the actual fishers). Make it a quarterly/monthly thing, for chrissakes.
Best Home Away From Home
Make Cafe
Hard to find a more special place to eat lunch than Make Cafe. Finally with a permanent address, Make is where refugee women new to life in the US cook recipes from their various home countries: like mandazis (East African fry bread, like a beignet), koftas, congees (Asian ginger-rice bowls), lemongrass soda waters, and clean-eating creations. Exec chef Ashley McBrady (who helped turn Cellar Hand into a farm-obsessive hit) oversees the operation and teaches the women everything she’s learned.
Make Projects (which includes a farm and a training center) is a nonprofit that director Anchi Mei spun off from the International Rescue Committee—and now includes the cafe, a farm, and a training center. The idea is to help women refugees—often those who’ve worked fields and didn’t get great access to education—develop job, language, and cultural skills to adjust to this radically new and disorienting life. Even if you’re immune to an emotional backstory: Normal Heights has a charming new 5,000-square-foot bistro with a talented chef.
Courtesy of This Musubi Love
Best Way to SPAM Your Friends
This Musubi Love
The slander of SPAM is part of its allure. Those who have either been raised in the musubi arts or converted to the minor food religion tend to exude a higher-than-expected life happiness. This Musubi Love, a Leucadia musubi speakeasy (you heard that right), focuses exclusively on the Hawaiian/Asian tradition of SPAM “sushi.” It’s a MEHKO (Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operation) from founder Roger Post, serving classics and riffs like the Cordon Bleu-Subi made with panko-fried SPAM, shredded rotisserie chicken, Swiss cheese, and Bachan’s Japanese BBQ sauce. Or try the Dawn Patrol with SPAM, egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, and spicy mayo.
Best Lead Restaurant Singer
Todd Henderson, General Manager at Valentina
How many of your favorite bands don’t have a talented lead singer? Due respect to Charles Mingus, but kinda hard to get emotional without someone expressing a story in a compelling way. The same is true for restaurants: a likable storyteller who deeply knows their stuff and can translate the stories of the food, drink, people, and place is both key and exceedingly, exceedingly rare. Well—found one.
Valentina General Manager Todd Henderson is a likable certified sommelier who can wax on about the history of the breed of pigs used to create the famed jamón (Cinco Jotas), trace each Spanish pintxo back to its origin tale, or orate the Ken Burns doc of 20 different types of Champagne. Valentina had the design charm and the roots (Leucadia locals wanted better restaurants, so they built them). But with Henderson and chef Enrique Ñol (who trained under Davin Waite at Wrench & Rodent), Leucadia’s date-night bistro feels like it pulled up a rung.
Some local legends engrave so deep that it’d feel wrong if even their original locations they outgrew became, like, some chain lamp store. Kiku Room feels like a rightful heir to the Casbah’s first throne. Kurt Cobain played in this tiny box on Kettner, dammit. Kiku’s a minimalist steel-concrete-and-punky-wheatpaste box, loaded with enough red lights to summon some beanie diehards and chill demons. One “bar” is a DJ deck (dark disco, Balearic house, everything), and the other is proper craft cocktails. They even brought back Midori Sours. The room is small and the line is not, so plan ahead or amiably accept fate.
Some locals would prefer if Coronado’s historic charms were flash-frozen and preserved. Others feel that Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story (the 19th-century developers who modernized the “island” and birthed the Hotel del) were radical change agents, and that spirit should be renewed. Undoubtedly, Baby Grand is a renewal. The newest hotel from CH Projects (Lafayette Hotel) turned an old, meh motor lodge (La Avenida Inn) into a freshly feral cocktail lagoon with Greek food and statues and plus-sized plant life, a tuckaway bar (Fallen Empire), and rooms with clamshell beds and obscenely giant bathrooms. All due respect to our hearts’ desire to embalm old magic—this feels like a grand Coronado win.
Best Places to Visit Captain Keno’s Ghost
Anigma and Breakers
Two local dreamers truly understood the emotional voltage of Captain Keno’s, Leucadia’s affordable family restaurant/dive bar (a real hospitality mullet). When owner Gerry Sova closed it after 54 years, they basically battled it out to buy Keno’s beloved bones—knickknacks, plucky furniture, signage—and memorialized that old meatloaf-and-vodka-cranberry voodoo in their own places. The first is Encinitas’ tuckaway bar, the highly designed, Tarot-fied Anigma (from the DIY industry vets who own The Roxy). Second is Breakers, the Hawaiian-inspired hang from pro surfer Benji Weatherley, who grew up between Encinitas and Oahu. Long live Cap.
Photo Credit: James Tran
Best Homecoming for Food City
Ironside Fish & Oyster
When it opened in 2014, Ironside Fish & Oyster hit all the right notes. A giant fish house and craft cocktail spot dedicated to local fishing lore—created by locals. They put in the area’s first oyster bar at the time. It didn’t make the rapid evolution of Little Italy feel like a cheap land grab, and filled holes rather than piling more glitter on already-filled holes. A key part of that magic was opening chef Jason McLeod, who was in charge of Ria in Chicago when it earned two Michelin stars. Twelve years later, after bouncing between big projects, he came back this year and set down permanent roots in a landmark kitchen.
Renewable energy companies building hundreds of power plants. Biotech startups using artificial intelligence to create personalized medicine for children with rare diseases. Hospitality companies quietly powering thousands of local events. Consumer brands growing from beach-town startups into national businesses. These are the kinds of companies driving San Diego’s economy today, and the businesses recognized at this year’s San Diego Business Impact Awards offer a snapshot of where the region is headed.
Hosted July 23 by San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and JPMorganChase, the second annual awards event honored four local companies for innovation, growth, and economic impact. More than 100 nominations from San Diego’s middle-market businesses were reviewed by a 10-person judging committee, with winners selected across four categories: startup, early-stage innovator, rising star, and established heavyweight.
Two-time honoree Jimbo Someck, founder of Jimbo’s organic grocery stores, also joined the event for a fireside chat on buying local, supporting emerging brands, and giving back to the community.
“San Diego’s strength comes from its makers and builders—the resilient people who endure great risks and overcome obstacles to build and scale a company,” says Aaron Ryan, San Diego Region Manager and Middle Market Banking at JPMorganChase & Co. “These awards aren’t just recognition; they spotlight the talent, grit, and innovation shaping our region’s future. By celebrating those who create and build, we foster connections and fuel the growth that keeps San Diego thriving.”
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Building the Infrastructure Behind Clean Energy
Heavyweight honoree SOLV Energy has grown alongside the country’s rapid investment in renewable power. “It’s an exciting time for SOLV Energy as we are experiencing significant growth,” says CEO George Hershman. “The business has doubled over the last year and has almost double-digit growth since its inception.”
The Rancho Bernardo-based company designs, builds, operates, and maintains utility-scale solar and energy storage facilities. Since its founding in 2008, SOLV Energy has built more than 500 power plants.
Growth has translated directly into hiring. About 200 employees work from the company’s local headquarters, including roughly 20 interns. “Our intern program is a big part of the way that we grow our workforce,” Hershman says. “Last year, 43 percent of our interns became full-time employees. We believe San Diego is a great community to build and grow a high-tech infrastructure and technology company because of the incredible workforce—the ability to attract top talent and draw from world-class universities.”
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Developing Medicine One Patient at a Time
Startup honoree La Jolla Labs is tackling one of medicine’s biggest challenges by developing personalized RNA therapeutics for patients with rare diseases—many of them children with neurological disorders like ALS. Using proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, the biotech company develops treatments tailored to each patient’s specific genetic mutation.
CEO Tamar Grossman says the recognition reflects how far the company has come despite limited resources. “We’re honored to be recognized for our ability to change and save patients’ lives and turn our lean startup into a clinical company with very minimal resources,” she says.
Grossman credits San Diego’s concentration of research institutions—including UC San Diego, the Salk Institute, and Scripps Research—with creating a pipeline of talent and collaboration. “San Diego is one of the world-leading centers for technology, genomics, and RNA therapeutics,” she says. “We have over 30 RNA therapeutics companies here, and we support each other and help with anything related to drug discovery.”
She says that collaborative spirit extends beyond formal partnerships. “You can walk around Torrey Pines, go into a café, and find colleagues from the industry and have an ad hoc conversation,” Grossman says. “That’s something very unique to San Diego.”
While Snake Oil Venue Company may not be a household name, chances are many San Diegans have attended one of its events. The early-stage innovator honoree has expanded from beverage catering and mixology consulting into venue management, operating Julep Venue in Mission Hills, Bramble Bay Venue in Imperial Beach, Vesper Venue, the Chapel at Liberty Station, and five outdoor venues throughout Liberty Station—more than 500,000 square feet of event space altogether.
“We do a lot of launch parties for corporations and new products,” says CEO Mike Esposito. “I really like working on the entrepreneur side of things, where new businesses are entering the San Diego market and looking to make a splash.”
Snake Oil has executed more than 16,000 events, employed more than 1,000 people, and partnered with more than 900 local vendors, including caterers, florists, photographers, entertainers, and other hospitality businesses. The company also works with many of San Diego’s nonprofits, museums, and cultural institutions. “We get to celebrate people’s most important moments,” Esposito says. “Whether that’s a wedding, celebration of life, or quinceañera, we’re fortunate to be involved in the community in so many different ways.”
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Growing a Beach-Town Brand into a National Business
Rising star honoree ALOHA Collection is proof that a simple idea can grow into a thriving company. Founded by two roommates who wanted a better way to carry wet swimsuits after a day at the beach, the lifestyle brand has grown into a business while maintaining strong year-over-year growth.
Now headquartered in Carlsbad, ALOHA Collection employs more than 100 people and operates its California flagship store in Encinitas, which is slated for a remodel. With roots in Hawaii, the company is known for its lightweight, splash-proof travel bags that have become a familiar sight on beaches in San Diego and beyond.
“‘Aloha’ is part of our name, but it’s also how we move through the world,” says CEO Lynna Barnard. “It’s how we show up for people, the way we travel, the way we give back.” Since day one, the company has maintained a 5 percent giveback to Hawaii conservation efforts, contributing millions of dollars over the years.
“I think what’s so inspiring about ALOHA Collection, and the founders in particular, is when you dream big, those dreams can come true when you work hard and trust in the universe,” Barnard says. “It’s inspiring to be a role model for other people wanting to start businesses from humble beginnings. Start small and watch it grow.”
Together, businesses like these form a cornerstone of San Diego’s economy—not only through the jobs and revenue they generate—but through the local workers they hire, vendors they support, and investments they make in the region. Their growth doesn’t happen in isolation; it ripples outward, strengthening the broader business community and the people who call San Diego home.
If I have to choose between letting a trusted friend pick a bottle of wine or some random algorithm boosted by a faceless entity, I’m gonna go with the human 10 out of 10 times. And when you have friends like Amanda Sarich and Robert Blair, it’s pretty easy to trust their picks are going to be unique, tasty, and probably something I haven’t seen before.
Between the two of them, they have over three decades of experience working in wine. From buying to operations to building wine lists, they’ve worked together, wined together, and now, are going into business together with the Word of Mouth Wine Club.
Word of Mouth is a members-only monthly subscription that sends you two handpicked bottles each month, chosen entirely by the duo’s palates. It’s less “build your own box” and more “enjoy the surprise.” “The goal with the wine club was basically to get members that want to turn over their faith in our collections,” Sarich says. “Trust us—we’ll send you the cool stuff.”
The two first met while working at We Olive wine bar and shop in La Jolla, where Sarich joined the opening team in 2011 before eventually becoming a corporate wine director overseeing stores and franchises throughout California. Blair arrived the following year, after stints at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido and Alternative Wines in Carmel Valley, later spending nearly a decade helping build Village Vino in Kensington.
When Village Vino closed last November, Sarich had recently returned home to San Diego after years in the Bay Area and brought Blair on board for a project she’s working on—Serafino, a cafe and wine bar slated to open in Mission Hills next fall. But to bridge the gap between Village Vino closing and Serafino opening, the two partners kept the momentum going by launching Word of Mouth.
Blair says once Serafino opens, the team will launch a wine club for that business that will focus on everyday drinking wines from anywhere. Word of Mouth is for us “to geek out a little bit,” he says, with more adventurous or hard-to-find options from small production family farmers. (But as a bonus, Word of Mouth subscribers will become Seraphino’s founding members, receiving exclusive benefits for supporting the project from day one.)
Current memberships include two bottles delivered monthly—usually a red and a white, though sparkling, rosé, orange, or skin-contact wines are always fair game. Members can choose three-month, six-month, or annual subscriptions, and every shipment includes detailed tasting notes, producer stories, pairing suggestions, and fun extras like playlists, puzzles, and the occasional surprise.
The selections often revolve around loose themes. For instance, they used the idea of what wines they’d drink at a summer barbecue to select the two bottles in the July box—which happened to be a pale French rosé and Mourvèdre from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France.
Over the last decade, places like Rumi, Clos, and Vino Carta have helped transform the San Diego wine scene from mainstream labels and a stodgy vibe to eclectic discoveries that break a lot of the former rules. Word of Mouth hopes to continue that evolution.
“I think it’s fostered a more adventurous sense of exploration,” Blair says. “There’s room in San Diego to keep expanding people’s palates.” Sarich agrees. “We’re trying to bring our fun wine palate to the world.” Bottoms up.
An’s Gelato continues its march towards worldwide domination this weekend when it opens its fifth storefront at the Top Gun House at Mission Pacific in Oceanside. An’s Gate D5 opens on Saturday, July 25 with an airport-inspired theme that follows in the footsteps of its previous stores (An’s Dry Cleaning in North Park, An’s Hatmakers in Del Mar, etc.) and will offer rotating flavors like “Checked Bag,” “Carry On,” and global flavors like “Ho Chi Minh” with banana and Saigon coffee, or “McAllen” with strawberry and grapefruit.
Tony Gwynn Day returns to AleSmith Brewing Company on August 15 in celebration of Mr. Padres’ 2,000th and 3,000th hit anniversary. Grab one of the special beer releases and a bite from one of the onsite food trucks and watch the Padres take on the Guardians at 4 p.m. Go Dads!
Celebrate 10 years of the San Diego Sake Festival on September 27 at the Julep Venue, where guests can dive into over 100 premium sakes from 50 booths, plus food pairings, workshops, and kagami-biraki (the ceremonial opening of a sake barrel). VIP tickets get you in an hour earlier, plus a $10 food voucher, and that’s not even mentioning getting first taste of some of the rarest and most limited sakes at the festival. This is the real deal, so get your kanpai on and toast a decade of deliciousness.
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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.
Ask any local, human or shark—San Diego summer doesn’t really start until August. After June Gloom lifts and children file back into the halls of academia, our coastline comes to life with more space on the sand and a water temperature that finally rises above muscle-clenchingly frigid.
What better way to welcome Local’s Summer than by celebrating the bounty of the sea? At least, that’s what the gang at Puffer Malarkey Collective (PMC) figured when they launched Dockside Night Market four years ago.
Despite being born and raised in San Diego, Lillian Dang (the event’s co-producer and marketing director for PMC) says she didn’t know how abundant our local seafood scene was until she left and came back. “We are spoiled here,” she says, pointing not only to our plentiful produce from local farms, but also our sea-borne treasures.
When she and her co-producer Lucien Conner (PMC’s director of operations) brainstormed over what they felt the city’s food scene lacked, they realized: “What’s missing is an event that really celebrates the local seafood,” explains Dang.
Photo Credit: Enrique Espinoza
Dockside Night Market is meant to be a “San Diego summer party on the pier,” she says, bringing together local fishermen and local chefs to highlight the fruits of the local seas. Chefs from some of San Diego’s best restaurants clamor to be a part of the 15-chef-max roster, including Travis Swikard (Callie and Fleurette), David Sim (Kingfisher), Aidan Owens (Herb & Wood), Chianne Mallari (Herb & Sea), Tara Monsod (Animae), Jacob Ruck and Eric Bost (Jeune et Jolie), not to mention Mabel’s Gone Fishing, Bica, The Lion’s Share, Nine-Ten, Marisi… you get the idea.
Part of the intrigue is not knowing exactly what seafood will appear—in past years, there’s been uni, bluefin tuna, halibut, black cod, but it ultimately comes down to what’s fresh and what’s available. And with a chef lineup like that, it’s fun to imagine what sorts of surprises await. (If you’d like a small hint, there arecalendars of seasonal availability in the area.)
The one-night-only annual event takes place at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Tuna Harbor Pier (598 Harbor Lane), the same spot as the weekly fish market every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. or sellout (it’s usually the latter). VIPs get in at 6 p.m. and general admission is 7 p.m., and 100 percent of all ticket profits go to support the San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to support the best interests of the region’s commercial fishermen. There’s also four cash bars and a live DJ (but leave the kids and pets at home).
“I think this is an event that can only happen in San Diego,” says Dang. Our city’s culinary cache is on the rise, and our proximity to some of the best fishing waters in the world make it a pretty dynamic duo. “It’s curated, it’s intimate, it’s all the things,” she promises.
The future of one of San Diego’s quintessential restaurants is up in the air. For 50 years, Kearny Mesa’s 94th Aero Squadron has slung its signature champagne brunch buffet, lunch, and dinner from a WWI-inspired restaurant and events space that looks like it was dropped straight from the French countryside. Recently and without fanfare, the restaurant added a message to its website that reads “Our restaurant is closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Mysterious, alarming, and vague—one can only hope it takes flight once more.
Apparently July is “National Pickle Month,” and if I’d known sooner, I would have celebrated accordingly (by stealing all the leftover pickles from people’s plates at lunch). I’m already deeply devoted to TNT’s pickle pizza any month of the year, but Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley is joining the briny fun with two specials at the lobby bar Monkeybar through the end of June—the Monkeybar Spicy Pickletini (vodka, spicy pickle juice, dry vermouth, the the resort’s housemade Riki Tiki hot sauce) and the “What’s the Big Dill” pizza, a not-terribly-creatively-named pie with mozzarella, red sauce, dill pickles, bacon bites, and a dill garnish. I’ll admit I haven’t had a pickle pie with red sauce before, so I’m interested in checking it out for that novelty alone. (Have you tried either? I’m genuinely curious how they are, so drop me a line at [email protected] to let us know!)
Since 2009, restaurateur Tracy Borkum’s Urban Kitchen Group restaurant collective has operated places like Cucina Urbana, The Kitchen at MCASD, and more, racking up local likes and an IYKYK reputation for solid food at decent prices. Now, all three of her Cucina locations (San Diego, Newport Beach, and Irvine) are offering new price-conscious specials that help ease the financial stress for people who just want to eat some damn good food without going broke. One example: for $145, their Sunday Supper special feeds four people with a family-style Italian feast of focaccia, salad, a whole spatchcock chicken, veggies, polenta, a choice of Rigatoni Bolognese or Bucatini Amatriciana, and tiramisu to finish things up. For a casual pizza and wine night, their happy hour bar special from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. gets you a margherita or pepperoni pizza, plus a bottle of red or white wine for $45. Simple? Yes. Savings? Also yes. Scrumptious? Undoubtedly.
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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.
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