Sunset Poolside Jazz Series
Where: The Westgate Hotel, 1055 Second Avenue, Downtown
When: Every Thursday at sunset
The Westgate is one of those elaborately ornate, old world shrines in San Diego. The kind with grandfather clocks that look like they should talk and sing Disney duets. Every hipster likes to cosplay like they’re from another generation, so this is right up cool alley. Plus, the series is curated by a living San Diego jazz icon, Gilbert Castellanos, who’s blown his trumpet alongside everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Alison Krauss and Michael Buble. Every Thursday the rooftop pool is the site where his friends play, with bites from chef Fabrice Hardel (his octopus carpaccio is excellent), craft beers, cocktails, and wine. In a city where jazz often seems dead, it’s a great summer series.
Cost: Must order $25 worth of food or drink.
Agave Festival
Where: Bagby Beer Company, 601 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside
When: July 22, 4-7 p.m.
Jeff Bagby is kind of a beer icon around these beer parts. When he opened his own joint, he chose Oceanside, because Oceanside is the new Brooklyn. It’s a good beer place. But if you know beer, you’re usually a general fermentation nerd. Thus, his first Agave Festival. For three hours, he’ll have tastings of all sorts of tequilas and mezcals and agave-based cocktails, and agave people will teach you agave things. The kitchen team will fire up Mexican dishes on the grill.
Cost: $45
Goonies at Street Food Cinema
Where: Ruocco Park, 600-698 North Harbor Drive, San Diego Harbor
When: July 28, (opens 5:30 p.m., music at 6:30, film at 8:30)
Goonies is the basically Gone with the Wind for the 13-year-old in us all. One of the great badly acted preteen action films of all time. Legendary. If you’ve seen it, you need to see it again. If you have children who haven’t seen it, you owe it to them. And no better place than under the night sky by the San Diego harbor. Street Food Cinema pulls in DJ Decon for this event, plus food trucks (Cousins Maine Lobster, Scrugnizzi Pizza, Simply Fresh, Sushi Uno, Taco Picasso, Sicilian Breeze Gelato, Beachin’ Boba, etc.). The event is kid and dog friendly.
Cost: Adults $14-$19, kids 6-12 $6, kids 5-under free
Best Food & Drink Events in San Diego in July
Photo by Ramazan Benrashid / Raymond Elstad
