INCOMING: Muy Bueno Coconut Ice Creams

Bartenders see more faces of adulthood than most of us would care to. Along with the toasts and emotional effervescence, there’s also the unquenchable thirst, the drinking to obliterate undesirable parts of us, the binge and the sour soul odor of belligerence.

Maybe that’s why one of the city’s top bartenders is launching a healthier, gourmet brand of Mexican ice cream. Going from booze to mole banana splits is a bit like going from the stripper pole to the “Hokey Pokey.” And for Ian Ward, who made his name by creating inventive cocktails at places like Whisnkladle, Searsucker and Puesto, that sounds like a great new direction.

Ward recently started writing a book about his own life in alcohol, and its inherent deleterious effects. He’s realized that life behind the bar just isn’t his one true calling.

So, with partner Andrew Schiff, owner of North Park’s successful gourmet peanut butter (and organic food) restaurant/company Spread, Ward will unveil Muy Bueno Coconut Ice Creams sometime around Memorial Day. They’ll start with an ice cream truck, then plan to expand into a brick-and-mortar and beyond.

Why ice cream?

Ward: We were sitting on the beach one day and an ice cream truck drove by—an Astrovan—and they were selling a ton. I thought “Why is there no good ice cream truck in San Diego?” We’re a beach town. Hearing the song and then running to get $1.25 from your mom and then chasing the truck down is one of my favorite memories. So I decided I was going to make it. It also came out of the book I started writing. I was going through the booze industry over and over again and going to AA meetings. Ice cream seemed like a healthy place to get a new start. If you told me I was going to own an ice cream truck as a kid, that’s something I could be proud of. If you told me, “One day you’re going to grow up and be a miserable bartender working for tips,” I’d be a little upset with myself.

Schiff: One of the reasons I started Spread was because I was the antithesis to the organic lifestyle. I had a bunch of nightclubs in New York City. I saw the darkest side that you could ever possibly see. Now I only “run to the light.” For me the challenge was to make something sexier, to blow people’s palates. When Ian came to me, ice cream just seemed like another canvas like peanut butter. Something that could be viewed as so mundane, but then you trick it out and take a healthier approach. It’s a completely different way of eating. Our ice cream will deliver electrolytes into people’s systems.

Electrolytes from the coconut milk?

Schiff: Yeah. We’re looking at a Mexican approach to Ben & Jerry’s. The focus is going to be Mexican-style flavors—horchata vanilla bean, mole ice cream banana splits, strawberry churro ice cream, Mexican wedding cake ice cream, Vera Cruz coffee, fried ice cream.

It’s healthier?

Schiff: There’s zero butterfat because it’s coconut-based, not dairy. So you don’t have any lactose problems. It’s vegan, and it’ll have so little sugar compared to other ice creams. The typical sugar in ice creams run in 20-24 grams per serving. Ours are running in the 8-10 range. That is a manifest difference in the approach.

Why not just stick with the addictive sugar-bomb ice cream model that’ll keep the consumers lined up around the block?

Schiff: The old way of thinking is, “Hey, if there are 84 grams of sugar in our ice cream, that’s OK. We’ll deal with the next generation later.” I mean, goddammit, if there’s going to be an ice cream truck why shouldn’t it be healthier? Kids should be able to go back week after week and not have diabetic fits and hospital visits. Moms can feel better. Everything’s going to be as local as possible. My restaurant has never had a delivery from one company since we opened—all the ingredients are either hand-picked by myself or grown hydroponically in our garden behind Spread. We currently grow 80 ingredients. It’ll be colorful, natural and beautiful. Our coconut milk is high quality, too.

Ian, does this mean you’re done with the booze industry?

Ward: No, I’m not done. It became a sense of who I am or who I’m identified as. I’ll never turn my back on that. It’s still what I do. With ice cream, it’s still developing flavor profiles. This is my penance. Doing something I believe in. Plus, we saw a hole in the market.

What about the truck itself?

Schiff: The truck is a standard ice cream truck, but it’s going to be tricked out. We’re going to be using flip paint. When this thing drives by you, it will literally be changing colors. If you don’t look at it, then you must’ve been looking the other way. Our approach to the auditory experience of the ice cream truck is going to be a reinvention. We’re going to take the ice cream truck song and remix it. It’s going to be so funked out and elegantly approached. Like jazz.

Why a food truck? San Diego’s not known for being too friendly to mobile food vendors.

Ward: It’s not really a food truck. It’s more of a mobile freezer. There’s no grease traps or fryers. Plus, how are you going to kill the ice cream man? That’s a ridiculous thing to get rid of.

Schiff: We won’t be the problem. We’re not going to be dumping our oil on people’s properties or creating various health hazards. This is the way ice cream has been delivered since the advent of time. I swear in Egypt there was an ice cream truck. Tutankhamun was like, ‘This is my favorite flavor, thanks so much.’”

So there might be some alcohol-influenced ice creams?

Schiff: Yesterday, Ian was sampling a new ice cream I made that’s called The Tequila Shot and you get the salt burst and the lime and you think you just did the shot of tequila. We have to be able to look at our fears and know you triumphed them.

Coconut water is the new holy nutrition savior. How come no one’s done this?

Because coconut is by far the hardest ingredient to make ice cream out of. It has a completely different freezing temperature. It doesn’t have the milk fat. But I understand the chemistry and have figured out the trick, because I’ve spent 10 to 12 years working with flavors in peanut butter and different ingredients. You have to know how the ingredients are going to react when they’re first made, and how they’ll react when they expand over the next 20 minutes, just like wine.

Where are you getting your coconuts? Not locally, obviously.

Ward: We’re talking to a friend right now who owns coconut farms in Thailand, so hopefully we’ll have our own farm.

What about organic?

Schiff: If this were from an FDA perspective, yes we’re organic because most of our ingredients are organic. But at some point, Little Timmy can’t afford a $15 scoop of ice cream. So we have to get ingredients that make sense for both organic and for our customers. The mission is to complete that to be 100 percent organic. The coconut water isn’t going to be organic. But you don’t have the same concerns you’d have with milk. With milk, the question is whether or not this cow had a good life, whether it hung out and ate some grass with its family or whether it’s been fed a ton of hormones and antibiotics and kept in a pen. The difference between organic and non-organic milk is the difference between eating poison or not. With coconuts, well, they’re not being put on conveyor belts and slaughtered.

Price point?

We’re shooting for $5 to $8 a scoop with trimmings. One of the flavors is an interpretation of grandma’s mole—a mole banana split. Something like that is going to be $8.

And the toppings?

This isn’t going to be M&Ms and Gummi Bears. We’ll be looking at live, local honey. We’re trying to find locally a source for churros. Bee pollen. Whatever is literally day to day in season. French strawberries. Passionfuit. Someone is going to make organic Mexican wedding cake cookies for us. Little pieces of those, all hand done. Not out of a bag with a shell that’s meant to last 15 summers.

You have to be crazy or a genius to name a restaurant Fish Guts. You have to be even crazier to open a restaurant that holds maybe two dozen people at a time—if you don’t mind elbowing one other while scarfing down some of the best fish tacos in San Diego.

And yes, “best” is a relative term. But in Fish Guts’ case, it’s for real—and that’s saying something in a town literally world-famous for fish tacos. 

Ever since Pablo Becker opened up his diminutive eatery in 2023 at the corner of Logan Avenue and Sampson Street in Barrio Logan, Fish Guts has been named one of the city’s best new restaurants in 2023, Critic’s Pick for the best fish tacos in San Diego in 2024, 2025 and 2026, as well as readers’ top pick in 2024. It’s like if Rubio’s married into the royal family. 

Most of his ingredients come straight from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, which happens to be down the street. His de espada (blackened swordfish) taco is the stuff of legend. He’s kept Fish Guts operating at an elite level, which tends to happen when you work for five years in Chicago under chef Richard Sandoval (who, by chance, is also his cousin) and open an ahead-of-its-time high-end modern Mexican restaurant in East Village (El Vitral Restaurant & Tequileria, 2009-2013). 

Now Becker is branching out again, opening two new concepts in Barrio Logan this fall. 

The first will be upstairs from Fish Guts, which at one point was destined to become an intimate omakase counter. Santo Poco will be a lunch-only sandwich shop, offering takeout and delivery (no dine-in), and the sandwiches will be a little Mexican, a little French, a little Italian, a little from Chicago, a little from New York. Basically, a bunch of different styles all on really, really good bread. 

“There’s probably going to be a Cuban-style sandwich in there with a touch of Mexican, some cold cut Italians, too, putting my touch on them,” he says. “That’s what I feel like is my style of cooking.” 

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Things will be traditional, but inventive. Like his fish & chips taco at Fish Guts: two classic dishes, one killer mash-up. There will also be a hat tip to the late, great Anthony Bourdain, a sandwich called the Antonio Bourdain. 

The second will be across the street from Fish Guts in the former Lia’s Lumpia space. Concrete Cowboy will be a taco-driven joint on the same wavelength as Fish Guts (keep it simple, keep it special), but featuring land animals rather than sea brethren. Think tacos made with duck confit, ribeye, pork belly, skirt steak. 

The inspiration behind Concrete Cowboy comes from Becker’s father, a lifelong Western obsessive, despite growing up in Mexico City’s urban metropolis. “He always liked that cowboy life, that vibe,” he says. “I always say ‘Dad, you just grew up in the wrong city.”

He’s aiming to open Santo Poco in October and Concrete Cowboy in November. Neither require massive renovations, and while the former Lia’s Lumpia space will keep the cabin-esque aesthetic, he’s creating more of an adobe-style exterior and an interior lined with Western-themed wallpaper and taxidermied animals. He’ll also tweak the bar layout to move from a fast-casual feel to full service. 

Local designer Dane Danner is designing both spaces and visual direction for menu layouts, logos, and packaging, going for low-key, but high on vibes. Once Concrete Cowboy opens, Fish Guts will temporarily close to remodel the space to switch its white palette for a warmer feel, plus introducing a refreshed menu featuring some new tacos and other items. 

Could another Fish Guts be on the way somewhere else in San Diego? Not likely, says Becker. “Fish Guts is cool, “ he says. “I feel once you start branching out, it’s more forced, not as organic.” So for now, count on Becker staying in the neighborhood. 

Santo Poco opens for lunch daily October 2026, 2222 Logan Avenue (above Fish Guts). Concrete Cowboy opens Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner November 2026, 2219 Logan Avenue.

Ten years ago, restaurant design centered around sleek minimalism. Fonts lacked serifs, clean lines dominated, and any manufacturer that made globe-shaped chandeliers must have made an absolute killing.

Things have changed since then, and Jeff Fink says it’s time for Madison on Park to glow up. On September 7, Madison will temporarily close its doors for a top-to-bottom renovation of the space and concept. Fink hopes to reopen this fall ahead of the busy holiday season, with a new look he calls moody mid-century maximalism. 

“We have to take into consideration what’s going on culturally,” he says. When Madison first opened, TikTok wasn’t a thing in the U.S. and craft cocktails felt relatively cutting-edge. Today, he sees a resurgence in the vintage look, handmade goods, and low-to-no ABV drinks dominating menus everywhere. 

Fink and his partner Matt Sieve have already dabbled with that sort of motif at Sonny’s Pizza, their Brooklyn-inspired joint around the corner. Fully half of the cocktail menu is made up of spritzes, mocktails, and Negronis. Madison 2.0 will take it further.

The new concept doesn’t have a name yet—Fink says they have to feel out the vibes as they make progress with the design. “The name comes when you see it appear,” he says. But he has a few design elements in mind: things like more artwork and more uplighting. “Not cluttered and overstuffed… I want to keep it intimate, sexy, and immersive.”

Madison rightly earned its rep as one of the best-dressed eateries in San Diego, nabbing an Orchid Award for interior design its first year. The returning designers Anna and David Sindelar originally transformed the space from weird padded walls and fake greenery at Lei Lounge into a mid-century modern wonderland, complete with a signature arched ceiling and geometric patterns aplenty. Michelin-recognized chef Mario Cassineri (Ciccia Osteria, Bice Ristorante) built a menu heavy on Mediterranean flavors mixed with California classics. 

The new menu shouldn’t feel completely jarring, but will take cues from Fink’s recent travels in Spain with his family. Expect shareable plates with lighter ingredients. “Americans eat way too much, and our portions are way too big,” he says. “I like the idea of smaller plates, healthier plates, and being creative… I’d rather see 15 items on the menu that are all less than $20 so that I can try different ones.” Bar manager Danny Kuehner will continue developing craft cocktails and mocktails for the new venture, as well as curating a selection of wine from Europe and locally. 

This isn’t the only project on their plate. Besides running Sonny’s in University Heights and Madi in Normal Heights, later this fall, Fink and Sieve will also open Josie’s, a modern all-day, Midwestern-style diner inspired by Sieve’s Minnesota roots. Like all their restaurants, it’ll hold a special part of their families’ legacies—something Fink hopes people feel as soon as they enter.

“You walk into Sonny’s, you’re like ‘Oh, Jeff’s at home,’” Fink laughs. “[Josies’] will be ‘Matt’s at home.’” The next version of Madison? We’ll have to wait and see. 

Madison on Park will temporarily close on September 7 until October (barring any unexpected delays). Keep up with the newest updates on Madison’s Instagram.

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When I was pregnant, my food craving was singular and intense. If I didn’t eat at least one thing doused in cinnamon every day (ideally, more than one), I was—to put it gently—a complete monster. 

Since then, my obsession has tempered somewhat. But cinnamon buns still perch high on my top treats list, so I’m always on the lookout for the next great place to indulge. IMO, The Huddle in Mission Hills’ mondo cinnamon roll remains top-tier, but after eyeing the ooey, gooey goodies from Sinner Buns, we might have a contender. 

Originally from Ukraine, Daria Nadar had already done everything one can do at a bakery—business operations, wholesale contracts, actually baking, you name it—so during the pandemic, she started dabbling with perfecting her cinnamon rolls. After she got a couple fans over social media, she threw her first pop-up to see how they’d be received. She sold out.

After a few false starts with a couple storefronts and business deals, Nadar officially launched Sinner Buns in October 2025 with her partner Filipe Pazi. After making it through an unexpectedly hectic season stuffed with holiday orders, the team closed temporarily to get everything in line and reopened this April. Business has remained in full swing ever since. 

There are only so many ingredients in a cinnamon roll, but “the process is what makes it special,” she says, adding they use fresh yeast rather than powder and a 48-hour process for each batch of brioche dough made to order. (Thus the need for pre-orders.) Customers can preorder until Thursday each week for pickup Friday, Saturday, or Sunday from Sinner Buns’ ghost kitchen at 780 Hollister Street, just east of Imperial Beach.

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You can also catch her at various pop-ups around San Diego. Eventually, Nadar opens to offer nationwide shipping (once she figures out the logistics and quality control) and one day, her own storefront. 

But it’ll be on her terms, not the whims of social media. “We already learned how to not only rely on virality of the product, because you go viral and then it fades,” she says. “It’s a slow burner, and I know eventually, it’s going to grow much more.”

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• Get spirited away at the 17th annual San Diego Spirits Festival. If you understood that reference, I regret to inform you that it is not a Studio Ghibli watchathon, but it’s still a win with a bonanza of craft makers pouring libations at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla for two full days. On September 26-27, try sips, glugs, and guzzles from brands like Condesa Gin and Uncle Nearest (with some bites to wash it all down, of course). Could you ask for a more picturesque venue? Spoiler alert: no.
• You love to see a longtime employee take the reins of a beloved local institution. That’s exactly what happened at Konito’s Cafe in Pacific Beach, which is currently transitioning to Pablo’s Cafe, which is now under new ownership. (Yes, his name is Pablo.) Will their breakfast sandwich still slap? Guess we’ll have to go find out. 
• I’ve yet to visit Tigawok, the small California-based chain serving mini bowls like Kung Pao chicken and Mapo tofu. But the latest storefront (and the first in San Diego) is now soft open in La Jolla, and it’s only a matter of time before their Sichuan shredded chicken gets in my belly.

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When San Diego launched Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO), it changed everything. Riverside County first established the experimental program in 2019, with San Diego introducing its own countywide pilot program in 2022 and granting it permanent status in 2024. The new category allowed people to launch at-home retail food operations—basically, home restaurants—with special requirements and restrictions to ensure food safety and smooth operations. Over two dozen counties across California have since adopted their own versions with over 1,200 permits issued, around 100 of them in San Diego alone.

Some have a dizzyingly long waitlist (Warung RieRie), others are still getting their name out there (The Hidden Gazebo Eatery), and still others use MEHKO for pickups rather than fully opening their home as an onsite dining facility. Love Pupusas falls into that category.

Yanira Majano came with her family from El Salvador to the United States when she was 11 years old, bringing a love of cooking and desire to share the country’s cuisine along with her. “There’s a lot of similarity [between Salvadoran food and] Central, South America, even Baja Mexico,” she says. Salvadoran cooking tends to be less spicy than some Mexican cuisines, with an emphasis on ingredients like corn, staples like yucca root (cassava), meats like crispy pork (chicharrón), and sides like curtido, a tangy cabbage slaw that’s typically either naturally fermented or vinegar-based. 

And of course, the signature dish of El Salvador—pupusas. 

In San Diego, Salvadoran food lacks the widespread availability of other Latin American cuisines like Mexican or Peruvian food, but Majano says she’s seen pupusas gain popularity over the past few years. But she likes to think her recipes, which have been passed down by her mother and kitchen partner Martha, contain a certain special something.

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Some pupuserías use rice flour to create the handheld stuffed tortillas, but she prefers the more traditional gluten-free corn flour. Still, it’s what’s inside that really counts. “That’s where we put our own touch,” she explains. Most of Majano’s pupusas come with cheese and different fillings like carnitas, black beans, mushrooms, or zucchini, but she also offers vegan options. Every one comes with a side of curtido and salsa, each made fresh daily.

Showing people the magic of home-cooked food might not have been possible without the MEHKO program or The Cook Alliance, a MEHKO support and advocacy coalition. Opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant requires a huge amount of start-up capital—at least six figures, generally. Not exactly pocket change. “But when the MEHKO program started in 2022, I said, ‘Oh my God, this is for me,’” says Majano. 

Now with four years under her belt, she says she’d love to bring Love Pupusas to more food festivals, host more pop-ups, and eventually open a food truck to keep serving the humble dish of her homeland, taking pride in every bite. “[I put] a lot of love in everything I do. You see it when you taste the food,” she promises. 

Pre-order Love Pupusas for next day pickup in Rancho Peñasquitos between noon and 5 p.m.

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San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• It’s not the end of the road for Catalina Offshore Products—just the end of an address. The local family-owned fish market announced that come September, they are moving from their longtime location in the Morena District to The Old San Diego Seafood Building at 1842 McKinley Avenue in National City. Normal business operations will resume in October with the same retail market fully stocked with premium seafood and local catches, so it’s not goodbye, it’s just “see you later.” (And yes, 5202 Lovelock Street is still open until moving day.)
• Don’t come at me with complaints about autumnal seasonal creep—I got an email this week about holiday shopping. In August. In comparison, the 2026 release of Karl Strauss Oktoberfest seems right on time. For the 38th year in a row, ahead of the Munich-inspired festivities, the 5 percent ABV malty amber lager is now available in bottles, with draft coming to the brewpubs in September. Despite the lack of chill in the air, there’s no reason why your fridge can’t be stocked with this frosty German delight.

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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].