“I’ve gotta know—why pirates?” I ask Justin Ayoub. For the last 20 minutes, he’s been telling me all about Pirate Pita, the pop-up pita concept he’s getting ready to launch. I know about the food and his culinary background—as sous chef, he helped launch CH Projects’ jam-packed Middle Eastern hit, Leila—but I can’t quite figure out the theme.
“It’s so fitting for San Diego!” he laughs. “I’ve got this 1974 VW van—it’s black—and I’m going to make that my pirate ship… I hope to be at every kid’s birthday up and down the West Coast for the next 10 years.”
He doesn’t plan on vanning it forever, of course. It’s just the start of what Ayoub hopes could one day be an entire fleet of fast-casual, quick service restaurants. Pirate Pita centers around his “Jolly Roger,” a smash patty with a mix of both beef and lamb and his super-secret spice blend, all stuffed in Angel pitas.
“It’s an unbelievable pita,” he promises.
For dessert, a “Lost Boys” cheesecake with coriander whipped cream looks like it came straight from the iconic Hook food fight. There’s black labneh streaked with shatta (Middle Eastern hot sauce), à la Rufio’s signature hairstyle. There’s no end to the pirate puns, he promises. “I’m having so much fun with the pirates—there’s so much low-hanging fruit.”
It’s not Ayoub’s first attempt at restaurant ownership. He launched and ran Everyday Gyro, a small gyro shop in his hometown of El Paso for three years before getting serious at the Culinary Institute of America’s San Antonio outpost. He transferred to CIA Hyde Park and “then Covid happened,” he explains. Rather than slog through virtual learning, he accepted a job with CH Projects in San Diego to open Seneca Trattoria, the group’s Roman trattoria. It wasn’t quite ready to open, so Ayoub ended up at Born & Raised for a few months in the interim. When he heard about Leila, he knew his Lebanese heritage would be the perfect fit.
But he couldn’t stay away from the fast-casual life, where you get off at 10PM.
Pirate Pita sets sail March 6 as a pop-up series on Thursdays at Sycamore Den and will continue throughout the city at various locations. He’ll start with the Jolly Roger pita and hopes to expand the menu to eventually include items like honey feta French fries, but all with a more health-conscious spin that other food made fast that’s not fast food.
“I know how to do all kinds of food, but Middle Eastern is just my lane, you know?” he says. “That’s my heritage, and I feel like that’s where people are going to accept me, and where I know the most about, where I feel the most comfortable. And you know what? I love eating. I love to eat gyros.”
Me too, captain. Me too.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Bincho Taco Gets Permanent Weekly Pop-Up at Kairoa Brewing Company
Did I call it the year of the pop-up or what? Pop-ups aren’t just tents on the sidewalk anymore, either—they’ve glown up so much that even restaurants with their own kitchens are getting in on partnering up. The latest residency kicks off on March 4, when Kairoa Brewing Company hosts Bincho Taco every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on their upstairs patio overlooking the University Heights sign. If you crave $5 tacos, $7 wine and beer, and $10 wine spritzer specials, head to the rooftop. . (Kairoa’s regular kitchen will be closed, so you’ll have to get your mushroom bulgogi fries another day.)
Beth’s Bites
- The food court at H Mart remains, in my opinion, one of the most foolproof places to score an amazing meal. It doesn’t even matter which H Mart—they all have at least one (if not more) epic food stall that I can’t resist, and while I do miss a few old favorites (R.I.P. It’s Boonsik!), it’s always fun to try whatever’s new. The Balboa H Mart is about to get a new stall called Cho Dang Tofu House, and as long as it doesn’t replace Zzang Hot Dog, I’m ready to line up to try whatever they have.
- The restaurant at 815 F Street has bid farewell to the bayou, and hello to pizza. Saffron Pizza Kitchen appears to be open—at least, there’s a Yelp page for it—or it’s getting ready to.
- Japanese restaurant Chef Jun soft opened its second location at 3309 Rosecrans Street, Suite B this week, offering the same menu at their original Bay Ho location. Don’t expect flashy decor or tons of influencers snapping pics—this is a sushi-first spot, with a pretty decent selection of fresh fish well prepared by sushi chefs with decades of experience. The restaurant is closed on Mondays, but open for lunch and dinner every other day.
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