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Whether you prefer a classic spread, communal meal, or something more casual, there's a Thanksgiving celebration (and cocktail) in San Diego for you
For a Thanksgiving Feast with a Southwest flair, locals and travelers alike can head to Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa’s Adobe. The restaurant will display a family-style spread of classic, savory dishes. Reservations required.
Date: November 22
Time: 2–7 p.m.
Price: $68 adults, $34 children
9700 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla
Celebrate the season’s produce at Amici’s Fall Harvest Dinner, which includes a pre-fixe menu created by Chef Rhoelle Gabriel that features traditional fall ingredients—think pumpkins, potatoes, turkey, and more. Book a 12-person table or opt for communal seating.
Date: November 18
Time: Seatings at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Price: $35
5980 Village Way, Del Mar
The Lodge at Torrey Pines’ fine dining restaurant is hosting a four-course meal led by Executive Chef Jeff Jackson and overlooking the 18th hole of the iconic Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Date: November 22
Time: 4–10 p.m.
Price: $115 adults and $60 children under 12
11480 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla
Bo-Beau
All three San Diego locations (Hillcrest, La Mesa, and Ocean Beach) are cooking for Thanksgiving. Choose from a three-course menu of sweet corn bisque, melted brie, slow roasted turkey with garlic mashed potatoes, and butter cake topped with vanilla ice cream. There’s also a kids’ menu for the little ones.
Date: November 22
Time: Varies by location
Price: Varies by location
At the Hilton Garden Inn San Diego Del Mar, the property’s signature restaurant will host their three-course prix fixe dinner for the holiday. The meal includes a first course of soup or salad, before moving on to roasted turkey and orange cranberry sauce, and an assortment of pies for dessert.
Date: November 22
Time: 3–9 p.m.
Price: $41.99 adults, $22 children
3939 Ocean Bluff Avenue, Del Mar
The French restaurant will honor Thanksgiving traditions with a gourmet three-course holiday dinner and specialty cocktail created by owner and executive chef, Ken Irvine. The meal will have options including soupe de citrouille; a pumpkin-hominy soup with crispy parsnips and chive crème fraiche; dindon prepare deux facons, Diestel Family Ranch turkey from Sonora, California; and mousse au chocolat, a rich dark Callebaut chocolate mousse with seasonal red berries.
Date: November 22
Time: Noon–8 p.m.
Price: $59.95 adults, $20 children
4090 Adams Avenue, Kensington
Destination diners and local guests can savor an eight-course tasting menu at the award-winning Addison restaurant and a special all-day three-course menu with various options at Amaya. The hotel’s Explorer’s Club will offer outdoor games and activities on the Aria Lawn from 11 a.m.–1 p.m., complimentary for resort guests and restaurant diners.
Date: November 22
5300 Grand Del Mar Court, Del Mar
At the more casual restaurant at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, sip on beer or wine pairings alongside your pre-fixe three-course meal, while overlooking the greens at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Date: November 22
Time: 1–10 p.m.
Price: From $60 adults and $35 for children under 12
11480 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla
Turkey season is here at Fiore, and they’re serving up fall-inspired feasts. Dine on turkey breast filled with fresh spinach and traditional stuffing, a savory bread pudding, and caramelized yam gratin.
Date: November 22
Price: $28
777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Funner
Dine on a three-course, family-style Friendsgiving menu that includes turkey, bacon and apple stuffing, and pumpkin spiced lattes. A portion of the proceeds will benefit No Kid Hungry. Reservations encouraged.
Date: November 22
Time: 3–8 p.m.
Price: $75 (plus tax and gratuity)
616 J Street, East Village
Take in the turkey from atop the iconic Bankers Hill building with a three-course meal that spans lobster bisque, truffle macaroni and cheese, roasted organic turkey, vegan chickpea fritters, and desserts like pumpkin cheesecake.
Date: November 22
Price: $74.50
2550 5th Avenue, Bankers Hill
Head to the oceanfront restaurant for a special three-course menu, and choose from a variety of classics, like free-range roasted turkey, prime rib, and more. They’re also offering a special kids’ menu.
Date: November 22
Time: Noon–9 p.m.
Price: $51 turkey entrée, $61 any other entrée
1555 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar
Get your Turkey Day meal with a French twist. The Bankers Hill restaurant is serving a roasted organic turkey, along with French staples like steak frites, escargots, short ribs bourguignon, and more.
Date: November 22
Time: 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Price: Varies
2760 5th Avenue, Bankers Hill
Felice Ringraziamento! The Italian restaurant is opening its doors for a new family tradition—offering the restaurant’s first-ever prix fixe Thanksgiving dinner. The menu features a three-course meal, with a specialty cocktail.
Date: November 22
Time: 2–8 p.m.
Price: $70
932 Orange Avenue, Coronado
At the expansive, family-friendly resort, Avant will offer a three-course holiday menu with roasted pancetta-wrapped quail and at Veranda Fireside Lounge & Restaurant, settle in for a three-course Thanksgiving menu for lunch and dinner.
Date: November 22
17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, Rancho Bernardo
Enjoy Turkey Day at the downtown restaurant with a three-course, prix-fixe menu on Thanksgiving that includes apple-honey glazed pork belly, turkey roulade, seared scallops, and pumpkin pie cheesecake.
Date: November 22
Time: 2–8 p.m.
535 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter
Let the picky diners have their choice with an à la carte menu at this waterfront restaurant. Choose from a wide selection of savory appetizers like sweet corn autumn panna cotta, entrees including the Julian cherry cider brined turkey breast, seasonal sides, and desserts like a bonfire toffee liqueur crème brulee.
Date: November 22
Time: Noon–7 p.m.
2000 Spindrift Drive, La Jolla
Enjoy Thanksgiving by the water this year at Paradise Point Resort & Spa’s signature restaurant for cheese and charcuterie, a housemade honey roasted kabocha squash bisque, orange ginger-brined turkey, lemongrass roasted prime rib, and a smoked salt roasted Atlantic salmon. End the meal on a sweet note with treats including handcrafted mini French macarons and a variety of mini cheesecakes.
Date: November 22
Time: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Price: $69
1404 Vacation Road, Mission Bay
Like your turkey with a side of bayside views? At this Harbor Island restaurant, they’re serving roasted butternut squash soup, sage-infused stuffing, green beans almondine, and a carving station that includes turkey, pork, and slow-roasted prime rib. Save room for the pies (apple, pecan, and pumpkin), as well as the cakes, pastries, and cookies.
Date: November 22
Price: $65 adults and $18 children 6–12 (kids under 6 complimentary)
The resort and spa will also be offering a holiday buffet at The Clubhouse Grill. Families are encouraged to enjoy a day of fun as the Explorer’s Club hosts outdoor games and activities on the Aria Lawn from 11 a.m.–1 p.m., complimentary for resort guests and restaurant diners.
Date: November 22
5300 Grand Del Mar Court, Del Mar
For a more casual experience at the resort, guests can indulge in orange clove glazed bone-in ham, prime rib of beef au jus, and classic pumpkin cheesecake.
Date: November 22
Price: $33
777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Funner
Spend Thanksgiving on the Bay, and best of all, Hornblower will do all the cooking and cleaning. Date: November 22
Time: Brunch 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m., dinner 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Price: Brunch $75 adults and $45 children; dinner $99 adult and $59.40 child
1800 North Harbor Drive, Downtown
The crown jewel of Coronado is celebrating its 130th birthday this year—celebrate with one of the most lavish spreads in town. You can opt to dine in their iconic Crown Room or oceanfront ballroom.
Date: November 22
Time: Noon–6:30 p.m.
Price: $145 for adults and $50 for children ages 6–10 (children under 5 are complimentary)
1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado
Beyond Avant’s seated dinner, Aragon Ballroom at the Inn will also be offering a holiday buffet complete with hot carvings paired with live music and more.
Date: November 22
17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, Rancho Bernardo
Give thanks with some bubbly at the Manchester Grand Hyatt’s restaurant. The champagne brunch menu includes selections from a raw seafood bar, risotto station, cheeses and charcuteries, a Thanksgiving-esque carving station, and desserts.
Date: November 22
Time: 11 a.m –5 p.m.
Price: $74 adults, $34 children
7714 Market Place, Downtown
The Hornblower’s on-land venue will be offering a rare, refined uptown option for Thanksgiving. (Originally constructed as an Episcopal church, this 1910-era landmark is San Diego’s only remaining Classic Revival structure.) Enjoy an elaborate seasonal buffet, decadent desserts, and live jazz by Republic of Music.
Date: November 22
Time: 3–5:30 p.m.
Price: $59
2825 Fifth Avenue, Bankers Hill
The Pink Lady is one of the most popular and iconic places to dine on Thanksgiving. A buffet stocked with a raw bar and carving station will accompany seasonal selections like soups and salads, wild mushroom pappardelle, and winter heirloom carrots. Reservations required.
Date: November 22
Time: 2–8 p.m.
Price: $89 adults, $39 children
1132 Prospect Street, La Jolla
Give thanks with an oceanfront view and buffet of appetizers, main courses including orange blossom ricotta crepes, seasonal sides, and pies. In addition, there will be a children’s station filled with picky-eater favorites.
Date: November 22
Time: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Price: $64 adults, $38 children
8110 Camino Del Oro, La Jolla
Celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends at Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa with fall-inspired activities, live entertainment, and plenty of eats. To work up an appetite, kids can play in the jumphouse, decorate ornaments, hop on a hayride, and take snaps at the photo station. Come mealtime, dine on a buffet with decadent desserts.
Date: November 22
Time: 1–5:30 p.m.
5921 Valencia Circle, Rancho Santa Fe
Provisional Kitchen, Café, & Mercantile
Inspired by the spirit of Thanksgiving, eight of San Diego’s most renowned chefs are coming together for one night only, to host a very special “ChefsGiving” dinner at Pendry San Diego hotel to benefit the San Diego Food Bank. The “ChefsGiving” menu will include a different creative holiday dish from each chef—from truffled beggars turkey to “twice baked” clams, coal roasted beets, and more that reflect their unique cooking styles and delicious deserts—prepared in the restaurant’s open kitchen. Dinner will be served family-style and paired with complimentary Cambria wines at communal tables.
Date: November 14
Time: 6:30–9:30 p.m.
Price: $145 (includes a $25 donation to the San Diego Food Bank)
425 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter
Indulge in a three-course menu offering butternut squash soup, kurobuta pork short rib, pumpkin risotto, and more. After dinner guests can enjoy a tableside pie or gelato and sorbet station for dessert. Sit inside the all-day eatery’s communal dining space or head outside to the patio, where guests can warm up next to heaters while people-watching along Fifth Avenue.
Date: November 22
Time: 2–10 p.m.
Price: $80 adults, $25 children
425 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter
It’s fall in a glass, with the Little Italy eatery’s Carina cocktail, which combines cinnamon honey simple syrup, cardamom bitters, nutmeg, coconut cream, and chai spiced rum.
Date: Through December
Price: $12 each
1917 India Street, Little Italy
For those looking to cheer on their favorite team before or after the big feast, they’ll be showing the big games all day long. Plus, look for discounts on drinks and bites.
Date: November 22
715 J Street, East Village
If a traditional turkey dinner isn’t your thing, consider Cerveza’s Taco of the Month, the Thanksgiving Taco. It combines all the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner—turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce—to create a holiday-centric taco.
Date: Through November
Price: $5 each
1165 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach
Fall may signal Halloween candy and pumpkin pie for kids, but for adults, it means cocktails inspired by the warm, crisp flavors of fall. Brian Malarkey’s restaurant is serving up their take on an autumn classic, the Rye & Pie, made with rye, calvados, Peychaud’s Bitters, herbsaint rinse, and a house made apple pie syrup.
Date: Through December
Price: $16 each
2210 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
Celebrate this Thanksgiving with Turkey’s & Touchdowns. Watch your team play on one of their 23 TVs while enjoying the Chef’s Special Hand Carved Turkey Sandwich during the afternoon games.
Date: November 22
Time: 9 a.m.–close
570 J Street, Gaslamp Quarter
At Sam the Cooking Guy’s ode to nontraditional tacos inside Little Italy Food Hall, try the Thanksgiving Breakfast Taco all the month. It features a corn tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, roast turkey, stuffing, sautéed onions, peppers and mushrooms, cheese, cranberry sour cream, and crispy onions.
Date: All month
Price: $4 per taco
Time: 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Sunday– Thursday; 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
550 West Date Street, Little Italy
Enjoy a seasonal Thanksgiving Leftover Toast with a healthy twist, comprising roasted butternut squash on toasted walnut bread and topped with garlic sage mushrooms, balsamic reduction, and goji berries.
Date: Through November
Price: $12
90 North Coast Highway, Encinitas
The upscale California grocer, located in La Jolla, offers uncooked and cooked holidays meats (including non-GMO, pasture raised turkeys), as well as fully cooked sides, like scalloped potatoes and roasted butternut squash with cranberries, and desserts (pumpkin crumb pie or apple cobbler crisp).
Price: Varies
8510 Genesse Avenue, La Jolla
Chef Nick Brune is behind this sustainably minded catering company that serves the San Diego Gulls, L.A. Dodgers, and other bold-faced brands. They do buffets (organic, vegetarian, or vegan), cocktail parties, tacos bars, Italian spreads, and more.
Date: Ongoing
Price: Varies
Giardino will be offering traditional and Italian-inspired dishes (i.e. pumpkin and turkey lasagna) to go. Head to their website to check out their menu, order ahead of time, and pick up on Thanksgiving. (Your family and friends will thank you.)
Date: November 22
8131 Broadway, Lemon Grove
The Bay Park outpost of this beloved catering company has an extensive to-go menu that includes organic butternut squash soup with maple Chantilly cream, housemade Parker rolls, and Mary’s all-natural free-range turkey among other options. You can also opt for their pre-set Thanksgiving for Four menu ($230).
Date: Pick up on November 21
Price: Varies
San Diego Thanksgiving Guide 2018
Here’s where to celebrate, connect, give back, and make a difference this month
Former NFL quarterback Drew Brees will host a slew of celebrity athletes, chefs, and other hunger-relief supporters for a Celebrity Pickleball Tournament to raise money for Feeding San Diego. The tournament at the Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma is part of the Del Mar Wine & Food Festival, which has raised more than $100,000 for Feeding San Diego and other local nonprofit organizations since 2023.
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute will celebrate 50 years of groundbreaking research at its Illumination Gala at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar. Support from the gala will help Sanford Burnham Prebys continue to advance medicine and change lives.
San Diego Humane Society supporters—both people and pets—will get dressed to the nines for the 40th annual Fur Ball. Proceeds from the event at San Diego Humane Society’s Gaines Street campus will support the organization’s efforts to care for more than 40,000 animals each year.
Voices for Children will celebrate the impact of its Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) at its Starry Starry Night Gala on the Heron Lawn at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort. The 46-year-old organization is the only agency in the county designated to provide CASAs to advocate for local foster children.
Show off your sparkle at the Autism Society of San Diego Diamond Anniversary Gala at the Town & Country Resort. The nonprofit will celebrate six decades of service with dinner, entertainment, and special guests.
More than 30 performers will take the stage to support Robin’s Nest Rescue at its fourth annual Rockin’ Robin Music Fest. The five-acre animal sanctuary in Ramona will also celebrate America’s 250th birthday, showcase local artisans, and introduce guests to some of its rescue animals.
Local nonprofit Adjoin will host a whimsical garden party fundraiser at a private home in La Mesa. The Soil to Soul Garden Party will support Adjoin’s mission to build inclusive communities and support independence for people with disabilities and veteran families experiencing homelessness.
Enjoy bites, beverages, and animal encounters at Living Coast Discovery Center’s Farm to Bay fundraiser. The annual event at the nonprofit zoo and aquarium on the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge will support coastal conservation efforts.
Sarah Sapeda is San Diego Magazine’s Custom Content Editor. In her 15 years in San Diego journalism, she has covered charitable events, health care, education, crime, current events, and more.
Stop by Adams Avenue Street Fair, sample the Capital of Craft Beer Fest, and experience the new exhibition Visiones Nocturnas: Queer Nightlife in Contemporary Art
This week marks summer’s last hurrah before the seasonal transition to fall, and there are plenty of ways to make the most of it. There’s the Surf Lounge Festival, the fifth annual BirdStock, and the two-day Adams Avenue Street Fair, all of which boast a plethora of live music options and local artisans. There are also world premieres, including the first chances to see the play A Black-billed Cuckoo at La Jolla Playhouse and MCASD’s Visiones Nocturnas: Queer Nightlife in Contemporary Art exhibition. On top of that, the Padres are back in town, and fans can pack the stands at Petco Park to support the team in their playoff push.
JUMP TO: Food & Drink | Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do
With September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the Emilio Nares Foundation will present its 23rd annual Harvest for Hope fundraiser dinner this Thursday (5:30 p.m.). Guests will have the chance to try food from a curated selection of more than 20 chefs, breweries, and wineries from the SoCal and Baja regions while supporting a worthwhile cause. General admission is $250 online; tickets support free medical transportation, emotional care and critical services through the Emilio Nares Foundation for kids facing cancer and life-threatening diseases.
5300 Grand Del Mar Court, Del Mar
Though San Diego Beer Week won’t start pouring until Nov. 6, Christmas has come early for enjoyers of locally crafted brews. The 21-plus Capital of Craft Beer Fest returns Saturday (1-4 p.m.) at Broadway Pier, with local food and merchant vendors, performances by 80s Resurrection and Agent 51, and best of all, more than 70 beers to sample via unlimited two-ounce tastings.Ticket options include general admission ($57) and VIP passes ($78), which come with in-and-out privileges and an exclusive hour of premium beer sampling from noon to 1 p.m.; a portion of proceeds will go towards the San Diego Brewers Guild.
1000 North Harbor Drive, Embarcadero
Toast to Bonita’s culture, history, and cuisine this Saturday (5-9 p.m.) during the Taste of Bonita. Held at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center, this charitable and educational soirée will feature tastings from local restaurants, as well as silent auction drawings, children’s activities, artisans and craft items, and a gallery exhibit on BonitaFest. Tickets, which come with unlimited tastings and a beverage, are $55 for guests ages 12 and older, $20 for ages 5-12 years old, and free for kids ages four and younger; proceeds will help support the year-round free programming offered by the Bonita Historical Society.
4355 Bonita Road, Bonita
September 19
Who needs Woodstock when there’s BirdStock? This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., all are invited to La Jolla’s Bird Rock neighborhood for entertainment from local musicians, an artisan market, and all-day activities to fundraise for arts and music programming at La Jolla Coastal Conservancy and Bird Rock Elementary. The 5th annual BirdStock Music Festival & Artisan Market will also include live DJs, a wine and beer garden, VIP libation areas, food trucks, pro BMX athletes and skateboarders, pickleball, a pet parade, and a custom hat bar.
5500-5700 La Jolla Boulevard, La Jolla
September 19
The legend of Pacific Beach’s bygone Surf Lounge lives on this Saturday from 2-10 p.m. during this 21-plus party at The Soap Factory. Surf Lounge Festival is a passionate celebration of surf culture with a healthy dose of indie rock, featuring performances by the bands Summer Salt, Three-Legged Dog, Tropa Magica, Couch Dog, and Bēd. The festivities will also include five vinyl DJs, tattoos, and 20 local vendors. General admission is $50, and $60 the day of the festival.
2995 Commercial Street, Logan Heights
September 19
Technically, “the 21st of September” doesn’t arrive until Monday, but any concert from Earth, Wind & Fire is certainly cause for celebration. The legendary group is still carrying its legacy of love, soul, and R&B brilliance more than five decades after its formation. Experience the jubilant rhythms of the band’s greatest, most danceable hits when they play the Civic Theatre this Saturday (8 p.m.). Tickets start at $138 for this concert.
1100 Third Avenue, Gaslamp
September 19-20
Ryan Hardison is a freelance arts and entertainment writer and recent graduate of San Diego State. When he's not staring at his laptop, he's likely eating an adobada burrito or getting sunburnt at the beach.
Check out the stacked lineup of talent participating in this year’s celebration of food, cocktails, wellness, and SoCal energy
Tickets to the Del Mar Wine & Food Festival get you in the door. The real fun is figuring out who you’ll run into once you’re there. This year’s weeklong schedule of exclusive events, running September 30–October 4, includes dinners, tastings, and loosely-supervised chaos where celebrity chefs and local icons finally let their hair down.
The festival has a track record of the unexpected: Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul once toasted their mezcal brand Dos Hombres with an intimate dinner at the Lodge at Torrey Pines (and then, evidently unsatisfied, kept drinking it on the cliffs above Blacks Beach with a rotating cast of San Diego and Food Network chefs. Alex Morgan showed up for a dinner under the lights honoring the country’s most badass women chefs). Drew Brees ran a celebrity pickleball tournament where the guy from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia got absolutely humbled by locals.
If you scored a ticket to last year’s Grand Tasting, you might’ve caught Guy Fieri doing exactly what Guy Fieri does: strolling the grass, signing t-shirts and foreheads, and hanging off the DJ surf van like it was built for him. Meanwhile, local chef Ethan Yang of Glass Box walked off with the Chef Competition surfboard.
So whether your plan for 2026 is to corner legendary San Diego chefs like Victor Jimenez of Cowboy Star and Jon Sloan of Juniper & Ivy in person, or just aim for a spontaneous golf cart ride with a Food Network star—here’s your cheat sheet for where to run into a celebrity chef, TV personality, award-winning winemaker, or pro athlete at this year’s Del Mar Wine & Food Festival.
Consider this your soft landing into festival week—the walk-around tasting that eases you in before things get chaotic later on. Monarch Ocean Pub hands its patio over to the flavors that define San Diego eating: Baja seafood done right, coastal bites, Mexican flavors with some heat behind them, all the staples locals will fight you over.
The celebrity sightings here lean more “bump into” than “spot from across the room.” Troy Johnson—Food Network judge, San Diego Magazine chief content officer and co-owner, Emmy-winning host, a man who has eaten his way across the entire country professionally—is the type to materialize at whichever station has the longest line, because he already knows it’s worth the wait. Ask him what he’s had so far. He’ll have opinions.
Then there’s celebrity pastry chef Karen Krasne, owner and executive pastry chef of Extraordinary Desserts, James Beard House alum, and a woman Forbes once ranked among the top 10 pastry chefs in the country—which tracks, because you might find her holding court next to a tray of her roasted pecan shortbread dipped in white chocolate, explaining exactly why this is the flavor combination. You will listen to every word, too, because you’ll want to try that cookie.
This is an opening night party where the person next to you in line might just be the one who baked the thing you’re about to eat.
Fifty years ago, a Napa Chardonnay beat France at its own game and rewrote what the world thought it knew about wine. This dinner is that legacy, poured by the family who built it, course by course.
Under the arches at Fairmont Grand Del Mar, Ernie Hahn and the Hahn family, who partnered with the Barretts to revive Chateau Montelena into the Napa powerhouse it is today, host an evening built entirely around the winery’s most iconic pours. Every course gets its own pairing straight from the Montelena portfolio, so you’re not just hearing about the Judgment of Paris, you’re tasting the wine that started it.
Chef Mawa McQueen, a former James Beard Best of the West winner out of Aspen, brings globally inspired cuisine and serious technique to the table. Alongside her, Fairmont Grand Del Mar’s executive chef Bryn McArthur leans into farm-to-table sensibility shaped by a career of global kitchens. Together they’re building a menu meant to hold its own against wine that already changed history once.
This is the rare dinner where the wine isn’t just accompanying the meal, it’s the reason the meal exists. Fifty years after Paris, the rematch is happening right here in Del Mar.
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
At Vi at La Jolla Village, residents don't have to choose between security and adventure, connection and independence. They get all of it.
Today’s seniors are more connected than ever, with a renewed focus on retirement as a time of discovery and enriching experiences. The ultimate reward for a retirement well-earned is the wisdom to appreciate it all, and what better place to enjoy that unique perspective than Vi at La Jolla Village, in the heart of San Diego.
All-access pass to good living.
As a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), Vi provides access to a connected and fulfilling community while making it easy to plan for future care, should the need ever arise. With a care plan in place, residents enjoy greater financial predictability and long-term value, freeing them to focus on making the most out of retirement.
Resort-style amenities at the epicenter of a cultural hub like San Diego offer a retirement experience unlike any other. Paired with exceptional dining, spacious accommodations and dedicated staff, the best of maintenance-free living is all around. And with the introduction of Vista 360 Well-Being, Vi’s panoramic approach to wellness, there are more ways than ever for residents to access it all.
The harmony of mind, body and community.
The key to longevity is striking the right balance in maintaining an active lifestyle with an active mind in a fulfilling community. With newly renovated community spaces and restaurants, Vista brings a variety of opportunities for residents to elevate their well-being through Vi-exclusive “Signature Experiences.”
Vista Enrich takes an evidence-based approach to brain vitality, keeping residents at the forefront of cognitive health through exergaming (exercising + gaming), nutritional plans and informative workshops. It is also home to The Brain Vitality Studio, an innovative facility dedicated to cognitive fitness that has garnered national recognition.
Vista Discover invites residents into stimulating educational experiences, from chef-led cooking demos and guided wine tastings to lectures at local universities and intimate lectures following cultural outings.
While Vista Enrich focuses on brain health and Vista Discover engages residents intellectually, Vista Explore cultivates a sense of adventure through curated travel and local excursions. But broadening one’s horizons doesn’t always require a plane ticket. One recent event brought a taste of the world right to the community: an onsite “jazz cruise” featuring live music and global cuisine served at a series of themed “ports” all within the community’s own ballroom.
“Location, location, location”
One of the biggest perks of life at Vi at La Jolla Village is its proximity to just about everything. With easy access to transportation and local attractions just steps away, residents can explore and engage with their community at their own pace.
“There are trolley and bus stops within a 5-minute walk that will get you to the beach, UCSD Campus, medical appointments, downtown La Jolla or San Diego, et cetera. We rarely use our car,” said resident Tom Yager.
With the best of San Diego just steps away, residents don’t just live in the city, they live within reach of everything that makes it special.
The best of all worlds.
At Vi at La Jolla Village, retirement isn’t a chapter to slow down; it’s an invitation to discover more. Tailored community experiences created by Vista, paired with the vibrant pulse of San Diego just outside the door, mean that residents don’t have to choose between security and adventure, connection and independence. They get all of it.
This is what an all-access pass to good living looks like: the comforts of an elevated lifestyle, a community built for growth and a city made for discovery – all in one place.
To learn more about Vi at La Jolla Village or for details on available floor plans, visit ViatLaJollaVillage.com/SDM.
Your checklist for the best stage performances, museum exhibits, and one-night-only cinematic events hitting San Diego this autumn
Fall Arts Preview presented by SDFC Playmakers
Now through Jan. 10, 2027
Sift through over 200 photographs, sketches, letters, and costumes from “The King of Vogue,” who photographed World War II, modernized royal portraits, and created the aesthetic for 1920s socialites in London.
Now through Feb. 28, 2027
Walk through an 18-foot whale ribcage (and a couple dozen other marine-creature sculptures) made entirely of plastic bottles, flip-flops, lighters, rope, and other plastic detritus found on the beach in the Nat’s 3,000-square-foot second-floor gallery.
Now through May 31, 2027
Part of SDMA’s centennial, “Forging a Legacy,” highlights artists from the past (Picasso, Monet) and modern day (Hugo Crosthwaite) who contributed to the museum’s collection.
Now through 2027
See the stars (without the smog) at their best from the winners of the world’s largest astrophotography competition—all in the Fleet Science Center’s new basement gallery, specifically dimmed to let the cosmos shine.
Sept. 6–Oct. 11
From the 2013 silver screen to this year’s The Old Globe stage, you can “Begin Again” (again) with a world-premiere musical adaptation featuring new songs—courtesy of Train—and a story overflowing with hope.
Sept. 9–Oct. 4
“On the outside, always looking in…” marks the emotional crux of the Tony-, Grammy-, and Emmy-award winning musical coming to the Cygnet Theatre.
Opening Sept. 12
Learn the history of the Kumeyaay Nation from the perspective of the members themselves in an immersive exhibit inspired by graphic novels “Our Past, Present, and Future,” and “Beyond Gaming.”
Sept. 16–Oct. 11
During Oscar Levant’s appearances on “The Jack Paar Show,” he explained his reality with mental illness—the institutionalizations, electroshock therapies, nothing was too taboo for him. “Good Night, Oscar” takes us backstage in the raw moments before his 1958 television appearance.
Sept. 19–Jan. 17, 2027
A disco ball isn’t just a disco ball. It’s a symbol of where queer communities can finally exhale and be their fullest selves. “Visiones Nocturnas” uses paintings, sculptures, textiles, performances, photos, and videos from Latin American artists to explore what’s at stake when nightclub lights shut off.
Sept. 21, Oct. 26, Dec. 7
Guest organists from across the country will come to the Balboa Theatre to accompany a new silent film for each performance. This year closes out with The Headless Horseman (1922), Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920), and a holiday triple feature of Laurel and Hardy films.
Sept. 29–Oct. 4
“What if Abe’s assassination wasn’t such a bad thing for Mary Todd Lincoln?” was the question that inspired Cole Escola’s play “Oh, Mary!” In the production, Mary Todd desperately tries to return to the cabaret stage, but her husband (President Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War) keeps getting in the way.
Oct. 3–4
Conductor Rafael Payare opens the San Diego Symphony’s 2026-2027 season with a three-part concert featuring composers Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Richard Strauss.
Oct. 8
Two dozen of Emily Dickinson’s poems are turned into songs—composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts and performed by Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato—for a one-night-only exploration of love, loss, loneliness, and mortality.
Oct. 8–Nov. 1
Roommate beef has no age limit. The latest play from Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire turns that experience into a comedy through retirement home roommates Marilyn and Abby and the bet between them to see who will break first and move out.
Oct. 12
Composer Olivier Messiaen has chromesthia, so for him, sound evokes a visual connotation. His work “Des Canyons aux Étoiles” brings desert rock and the night sky to mind. See what he means from La Casa del Zorro in the Anza-Borrego Desert, in this performance immersed within nature.
Oct. 13–18
San Diego International Film Festival salutes the silver screen for a 25th time, now with a sixth day adding extra time for parties, screenings, and movie-star tributes.
Oct. 23–25
Considered one of the masterpieces from opera great Giuseppe Verdi, San Diego Opera’s “Rigoletto” sees what happens when the prurient Duke of Mantua and his sharp-tongued court jester become entangled in a fatal curse.
Oct. 27–Nov. 29
When the Grim Reaper’s job becomes too…grim…and he retires after 300,000 years, his daughter picks up the family business. But when she falls for a human and finds beauty in the souls she’s meant to reap, she questions her purpose.
Nov. 21–May 9, 2027
San Diego is nothing without skate culture. Mingei’s “Skate Craft” portrays skateboarding as “living folk art” via its DIY roots (skateboards built in garages) and shows how that ethos shapes the future.
Emma Veidt is an editor at San Diego Magazine. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Missouri School of Journalism. She loves running, hiking, and rock climbing, but really, she mostly loves encounters with the street cats around North Park.
Ryan Hardison is a freelance arts and entertainment writer and recent graduate of San Diego State. When he's not staring at his laptop, he's likely eating an adobada burrito or getting sunburnt at the beach.
Joe Dreamz built a local following by asking strangers about their ambitions and turning their answers into songs
People remember the first time they see Joe Dreamz.
Mine was a mile into the 2023 Carlsbad Half Marathon. He was standing on a speaker in the middle of the course, singing: “Hey you with the shoes, are you living Joe Dreamz?” Clearly not. I’m running uphill at 7 in the morning, I thought.
Months later, walking out of The Rady Shell, there he was again—parting the crowd of concertleavers Moses and the Red Sea style, singing the same song: “Hey you with the purse, are you living Joe Dreamz?”
Who’s this man at every public spectacle, singing metaphysical questions in a hand-altered, color-coordinating suit that would make James Brown proud and standing on a Soundboks speaker with a microphone and tip bucket?
A few years ago, San Carlos–born, El Cajon–based Joe Dreamz wasn’t exactly living Joe Dreamz—making $5 footlongs at Subway, dealing with croissant coworkers at Costco’s bakery, and selling life insurance. After he got let go from the life insurance gig and his car broke down in the middle of a 2020 road trip in Seattle, he used his emergency savings to buy a microphone and a speaker; a self-taught musician, he pulled from the only skillset he knew to monetize. He’d set up at Seattle’s Pier 55 and ask people what their dreams were. Then, for $5, create a freestyle rap to commemorate (and hopefully activate) those dreams.
“The goal is that someone listens to a Joe Dreamz song, and they don’t have to wait until metaphorically their car breaks down before they chase their dreams,” he says.
A chance encounter with an airport worker led to a free flight back to San Diego, and Joe Dreamz came home “transformed,” he says. He started busking at the Mission Beach boardwalk, Kate Sessions Park, outside Gaslamp bars; then Padres games, farmers markets, marathons. He also hit the mic outside of Coachella this year (“Joe-chella,” he says).
It’s not a get-viral-quick gimmick; people’s lives are changing. One fan finished writing her book after a dose of Joe Dreamzpiration. Another named his own daughter Joy Dreams.
Now, he’s working on the upstart “Tell Me Your Dream” podcast and DREAM Week in local schools, where each day represents a step toward achievement (D is destination day, R is reason day…). He doesn’t want inspiration to reach you only after hearing a song or watching a video: He believes in this message so much that he literally got DREAM tattooed onto his forehead.
“It’s on my face, so people have no choice [but to see it],” he says. “I’m a local celebrity here, so everywhere I go, people ask me for pictures. In every selfie, the message goes along for the ride too.”
Emma Veidt is an editor at San Diego Magazine. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Missouri School of Journalism. She loves running, hiking, and rock climbing, but really, she mostly loves encounters with the street cats around North Park.
San Diego Magazine's Private School Guide 2026
NewBridge School is San Diego’s only school dedicated to the education of students with dyslexia and related learning profiles. For 30 years we have successfully served students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, receptive/expressive language disorders, ADHD, executive functioning and memory deficits. Students transition successfully into academically rigorous high schools and colleges across the country. Why NewBridge? Training, training, training (plus intensive individualization, and comprehensive program design). All teachers are trained and retrained biennially in Orton-Gillingham, the only approach proven to remediate dyslexia based on Science of Reading research, and complete a year-long training program. Every aspect of our program is designed around our students’ learning styles and needs. Every class is taught by a highly-trained expert, and our Speech/Language and Occupational Therapy teams embed throughout the day. Our multisensory, multi-tiered math program has been developed in conjunction with sister schools and experts across the country. Don’t wait—early intervention is magic!
Enrollment: 100
Grades: K – 8
Tuition: $30,000
Deadline: Rolling
Gender: All-inclusive
Details Nonsectarian
Open House Tours by appointment
12285 Oak Knoll Road • Poway, California 92064
858-679-5744 • [email protected] • thenewbridgeschool.com
