When Nugent’s Firegrille was on the outs, Steven Markano and Alex Etheredge decided to jump on the Scripps Ranch location. Markano was a former busser at Nugent’s, climbed the ranks to manage the place its last year and a half and rode the inside track to now co-owning Edge of the Ranch with Etheredge.
Edge of the Ranch (12015 Scripps Highlands Drive) opened in January under new ownership to the two Scripps locals, just 24 years old.
“We know everyone in Scripps,” says Markano. “We’re getting a lot of community support from not only Scripps Ranch, but Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Penasquitos too.”
They’re going for a community feel at the 2,400 square-foot, 150 to 200 seat restaurant. The floor-to-ceiling wood hopes to evoke an old-school ranch style. Just as welcoming can be the TVs in the bar. The process for redesign seems never ending, as they are still enduring construction.
Chef Lionel Landeverd, a 20-year Nugent’s vet, is overseeing the kitchen. Not a steakhouse in name, Edge of the Ranch still boasts several cuts. They’re doing an 8oz filet, an 8oz top sirloin, a 10oz rib eye and the greatest weekend breakfast meat out there, prime rib. Less turf, more surf? Fish or shrimp and chips, cedar plank roasted salmon and macadamia nut encrusted snapper are all on the menu. Most items will run you about $15.
Behind the bar they’ll have 12 rotating handles of mostly San Diego craft beer. You know the names: Ballast Point, Stone, Green Flash, etc. Liquor isn’t taking a back seat though; bar manager Gary Bourquin is twisting classics, like “Gary’s Famous Mexitini” made with tequila, Grand Marnier and fresh lime. Bourquin is 60 years young and, as Markano describes, “a real entertainer.”
What’s in the pipeline for the young resto? Local bands on acoustic guitars and some buddies who’ll likely bring some color to the bar with graffiti art.
NEW IN TOWN: Edge of the Ranch
Sam Jones
