Industry fave Lion’s Share just celebrated 14 years of glorifying nontraditional proteins; the chef who helped launch Cesarina has a sleeper hit in UTC; and there’s a stiff drink at the new Padres lounge-club-bar. These are the best things we ate and drank this month across San Diego, which we think are worth your serotonin receptors.
Bacari North Park
Mediterranean Street Corn
L.A. standout Bacari just opened its first San Diego spot—inside the iconic ornate, yellow, two-story building in North Park that was long home to Urban Solace. The Venetian restaurant and wine bar concept is helmed by chef and co-founder Lior Hillel (ex-Jean Georges), so very few dishes falter. But a standout was the Mediterranean street corn with fire-roasted corn, toum crema, crispy shallot, hazelnut pistachio chili crunch, feta, and lemon. It’s a brighter, herbier, tangier version of the famed Mexican street food. –Nicolle Monico
Provisional Kitchen
Birria Skillet
Brunch food tastes better simply due to the fact that we’re bubble-drunk and have booted laundry to the basement of our to-do list. But too often the booze is the best dish. Provisional Kitchen’s birria skillet is an exception—and that’s saying something because everyone with access to a slow-cooking device is doing birria now, so there’s no room for half-assed Mexican stew meat. Chef de cuisine Dara Steinrichter serves slow-braised short rib, melted bell peppers, onions, two eggs sunny, cotija cheese and cilantro with corn tortillas. Also try the brick-sized pistachio french toast (a decadent breakfast riff on Dubai chocolate). –Troy Johnson
Pizza Cassette
Fearless Flyer Salad
Recommending salad at a pizza joint—and a damn good pizza joint at that—feels sacrilegious and slightly almond-mom. But I swear, this one’s worth it. It’s a classic kale Caesar with a mountain of roasted chicken breast, freshly made dressing, heirloom cherry tomatoes, thick parmesan shavings, and house-made croutons. It’s perfectly simple, not too anchovy-ous, and big enough to share with a few friends before the pizza comes around (you didn’t think we weren’t getting pizza, too, right?) –Lili Kim
Lion’s Share
Duck Aguachile Negro
Lion’s Share never shoulda worked. It’s in a sliver of Kettner Blvd by its lonesome (OK, there’s a coffee shop next door). Almost everyone passes by it and hits up nearby Headquarters or Seaport Village. And those people should be sad for themselves. LS became an industry favorite, a dark hovel of obsessive cocktails and alternative proteins (boar, elk, frog legs, bison, etc.). Last year, it got new owner blood in chef-duo Danny and Dante Romero—the former who’d been a cook at three-star Michelin, Addison, and who both were opening chefs at Wormwood. For the duck, they fry it, freeze it, then slice it thin and warm to order. For sauce, they char peppers, onions, corn tortillas and blend it with oil and jugo maggi (a secret umami-sauce weapon in Mexican cooking), and serve it with fried green plantain slices dusted with salt, sugar, and lime zest. –Troy Johnson
Diamond Room
The Dirtiest Martini
I once heard a story of a man who never ate the third olive in his martinis. He believed skipping the last one had once saved him from being trapped in a hotel bar with a bomber. I say this because if you drink two of the seriously tasty dirty martinis at the Diamond Room—the new red-lit, ’70s-style lounge from the Padres on the perimeter of Petco Park—you’ll be spouting superstitious stories all night long, maybe even some conspiracy theories. For what it’s worth, theirs only has two olives. So you’re safe. –Nicolle Monico
Tunaville Market & Grocery
Jalapeño Cheddar Smoked Fish Dip
Owned by five longtime local fishing families, TunaVille is a San Diego treasure that’s simultaneously got the best and worst location. The best because it’s on the dock at Driscoll’s Wharf, with a parking spot for local boats. They dock every morn and unload right into TunaVille’s seafood case (boat to throat distance, about 50 feet). The worst because foot traffic’s just the bay walkers and their dogs. Locals who are in the know are rewarded with the freshest catch in town, plus this dip, which is one of the most delicious and dangerous things you’ll ever taste. –Troy Johnson
Ciccia Osteria
Ubriaca
It’s impossible to speak of Barrio Logan’s Italian charmer without mentioning its mushroom flan, and oh, look, we did it again. But there’s another dish, an Italian specialty usually associated with the chianti-drenched region of Tuscany. You rarely see it on menus in San Diego, and it’s worth a trip. The ubriaca is essentially gemelli pasta that’s cooked in red wine in lieu of water. So it has that good Saturday night wine breath—like stroganoff—and is tossed with sausage, ricotta, and shallots. –Troy Johnson
PARTNER CONTENT
Mitch’s Seafood
Fisherman’s Stew
If I were a fisherman out at sea, this is the meal I’d write shanties and ardent poems about. It’s got the works: shrimp, squid, clams, mussels, and white fish in a warm, tangy tomato broth, paired with a 6-inch baguette for tearing and dunking. Best enjoyed sitting on Mitch’s outdoor deck with a view of the harbor boats and the occasional giant stingray that loafs about in the shallows. –Lili Kim
Pazza Market & Cucina
Mushroom Risotto with Seared Sirloin
UTC’s metamorphosis from a mall to a destination food city is complete, but they don’t seem to be slowing down. Pazza is the local spot among the big national names featuring Patrick Money, who was opening chef of San Diego’s pasta star, Cesarina. His mushroom risotto is textbook. Carnaroli rice is cooked in stock, then tossed with a trio of sauteed and caramelized mushrooms—porcini (depth and umami), cremini (body and earthiness), and white button (almost sweet). Finished with butter and Parm-Reg, then topped with med-rare seared sirloin. –Troy Johnson
