Gold Finch deli in Torrey Pines
Kimberly Motos
Welcome to our new food column! Each week we’ll bring you the latest in the industry from openings and closings, to new chefs in town, and what’s in the works for our favorite city by the sea. Check back next Tuesday for our next edition.
The Mains
Carte Blanche Bistro & Bar Closes
The Ross family behind Oceanside-based Carte Blanche Bistro and Bar announced recently that they were closing their doors after two years, citing “unforeseen circumstances” such as the Covid-19 pandemic and a health issue in their family, as factors leading to their closure. The family also shared on their website, in part, “we are grateful to the Oceanside community for welcoming us with open arms and all the support shown to us throughout our time in Oceanside.” Carte Blanche’s final night of service was October 2.
A “Modern Delicatessen” Opens in Torrey Pines
Gold Finch, described as a “modern delicatessen rooted in Ashkenazi and Sephardic-style cooking,” opened in the Torrey Pines area at the end of September. Urban Kitchen Group’s principal, Tracy Borkum, who is behind San Diego-staples like CUCINA urbana and CUCINA enoteca opened the space in hopes of “helping to fill a void in Jewish-inspired culinary options in San Diego.” Diners can enjoy items like Borkum’s grandmother’s matzo ball soup, housemade bagels and bialys, a loaded giant latke and nearly a dozen sandwich options. For a quick meal on-the-go, there is also a deli counter.
Matsu Celebrates One Year in Oceanside
The team at Matsu, who specialize in modern Japanese cuisine, just celebrated their first anniversary in Oceanside.“I’m mostly looking forward to continuing to push to be the best Matsu we can be for our guests. It’s been an amazing rollercoaster of a year, with a lot of growth and I’m very excited to continue to share my vision and story with everyone who dines at Matsu,” said Chef William Eick. He also shared that the team plans to have more chef collaborations in the future.
A look at the Halloween-inspired cocktails at Oculto 477 in Old Town
Arlene Ibarra
Quick Bites
Tacotarian, a plant-based Mexican restaurant in North Park, recently launched a new brunch menu which will be available on the weekends. Guests can enjoy dishes like a birria grilled cheese sandwich, a soyrizo breakfast bowl or chilaquiles, amongst other breakfast favorites. The restaurant opened in July and is located at 30th and El Cajon.
Old Town speakeasy Oculto 477 is now serving up seven Halloween-inspired cocktails. Some of the featured cocktails include rum-based drink “Oculto Zombie,” “Garden of Death” which mixes mezcal with a chile liqueur and “Fire in the Cemetery,” a mix of a single malt scotch whisky and brandy, amongst other flavors.
Nonprofit Berry Good Food says they are offering up to $10,000 in funding to K-12 schools with garden projects or to nonprofit organizations which work with K-12 garden projects in San Diego County. The “Seeds for the Future” school garden grant program was on hiatus for three years due to the pandemic, according to the organization. Grant applications are open until October 31.
