The Mains
Karl Strauss Brewing Opens All-Outdoor Taphouse in San Marcos
There are few duos more definitive of San Diego than craft beer and tacos. And, now, North County folks have an open-air space to grab both at Karl Strauss Brewing Company’s new San Marcos location. Taking advantage of our county’s eternally perfect weather with a fully outdoor space, The Outpost features lots of shaded seating for warm days and fire pits for cooler evenings. “We’re a little bit different from the traditional brew pub that Karl Strauss is really well-known for,” says The Outpost’s general manager Lucia D’Elia. “This is definitely a more laid-back feel. We wanted it to feel very homey, like you’re hanging out in the backyard with your best friends. ”
One thing you probably don’t have in your yard at home, though? Twelve craft beers on tap, plus wine, cider, and kombuchas. Strauss’s new location offers an exclusive new sip called the Outpost Lager, a collaboration with fellow San Marcos brewery My Yard Live. The brewers played with mosaic, el dorado, and citra incognito hops to create what D’Elia describes as a hoppy lager with a clean finish.
The site’s food truck will dish up five varieties of street tacos, including smoked chicken tinga tacos made with chipotle, tomato, cilantro, onion, cabbage, chili-lime crema, and a salsa roja. The pork carnitas come topped with pickled onions, cilantro crema, and salsa verde, all served on tortillas from a local NoCo vendor.
Quick Bites
Elliot and Kelly Townsend, the husband-and-wife culinary couple behind North Park’s Long Story Short, are hosting a four-course sommelier dinner on Saturday, November 11, with local sommelier Matt Bone. Expect local, seasonal ingredients and four thoughtful wine pairings.
Black Radish in North Park is offering a five-course, prix-fixe Texas Night Dinner on Sunday, November 12, featuring Texas-inspired dishes like a smoked Wagyu ribeye with a kiwi barbeque sauce, fingerling potato salad, charred savoy cabbage, and pork shoulder with yam purée, spicy pork jus, and collard greens.
Los Angeles–based Nashville hot chicken joint The Red Chickz is set to open at the Shoppes at Carlsbad on December 2. The halal eatery serves supersized sandwiches, plus chicken and waffles, wings, and a plant-based version that coats cauliflower in their signature crispy breading.
