Hailing from Palermo, Italy, chef Ignazio Tagliavia opened his first restaurant in Abruzzo and eventually became a master of the Pizza News School Grandi Molini Italiani in 2016. (It’s like going to the Culinary Institute of America, but just for pizza.) He’s worked in Europe, Egypt, L.A., New York, Miami, and most recently at Elvira in Ocean Beach, so it’s safe to say that he can toss a mean ‘za. And when Bianchi Pizza & Pasta opens at Bahia Resort Hotel in late May, guests and locals can once again chow down on his Neapolitan-style slices and pies.
Bahia has zhuzhed itself up a bit over the past few years, including opening Dockside 1953 in 2023 and undergoing renovations here and there on the 1950s-era property. Bianchi will be another step into the 21st century, with wood-fired pizza and Negronis mixed by food and beverage director Benjamin Dunn served in an indoor/outdoor space designed to emulate an Italian piazza, plus a 12-seat bar and private dining room.
The resort’s general manager, Stefan Peroutka, says the menu is intended as a mix of classic Italian techniques and ingredients, but with an approachable feel. Plus, he adds, the drinks are going to be as good as the pizza, with plenty of Italian favorites like spritzes, amaros, and signature cocktails made with Italian liqueurs. There will also be wine, beer, and non-alcoholic cocktail options, all designed to pair with chef Tagliavia’s creations.
The pizza program centers around a wood and gas-fueled Marra Forni Pizza Oven, which uses a traditional brick oven setup with a rotating pizza deck to quick-fire pizzas in 90 seconds—a process that guests can watch first-hand. The menu includes classics like margherita pizzas; rapini and sausage pizza made with fennel sausage, rapini (sometimes called broccoli rabe), mozzarella, stracciatella, cherry tomatoes, and black pepper; plus pastas like a tagliatelle Bolognese with homemade ragù, tomato, parsley and Italian Parmigiano Reggiano; and an Amalfi Coast-inspired seafood salad with squid, shrimp, mussels, potatoes, red onion, fennel, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, and a citrus dressing.
Mission Bay is much more known for its watersports than culinary prowess, but with Bianchi, Bahia may be upping the ante. After all, who doesn’t like pizza? And with a bonafide pizza king behind the oven, the area is poised to start offering as much on shore as off. I say—bring on the paddleboards and the pizza.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
It’s Finally Lager’s Year
If you, like me, have been waiting for lager to make a triumphant comeback and vanquish the scourge of Hazy IPAs defiling our land and palates, then it’s time to rejoice—North Park Beer Company’s Lager Day in the Park is back. The third annual event returns to its Bankers Hill taproom on Sunday, June 15 (Father’s Day) with over 30 breweries bringing their best lagers along with them. Lagers aren’t just light yellow beers crushed at barbecues and baseball games. No, no. Lagers can be crisp and refreshing, malt forward or hoppy, fruity, bitter, and everything in between. Come see what all the fuss is about.
Beth’s Bites
- It’s bagel’s year and it’s just getting started. Soon to join the ranks of San Diego’s best bagel shops is PopUp Bagels, a growing chain known for its “grip, rip, and dip” technique. A PopUp rep says it hopes to open 10 locations across the county in the coming years, with the first one(s) debuting this fall.
- I’ve had tea, and I’ve had cheese, but I can’t say I’ve yet tried cheese tea. Soon, I’ll get my chance when Heytea opens at Westfield UTC. First launched in 2012, the eatery now has over 4,000 stores across the world. Heytea says they invented “new-style” tea, and based on the description alone, I can’t argue with that.
- I want so much for chef Priscilla Curiel to find her forever home. Her concepts, which include Tuetano Taqueria, Mujer Divina, and now Mujer Divina Brunch Cafe, have moved from San Ysidro to Old Town to Chula Vista, where I hope—I pray—they find stationary success. Her brunch cafe is now open at 214 Third Avenue (next to Mujer Divina Burrito & Coffee House) and based on history, I’d say get it while the gettin’s good. But if all goes well (and it should for this Michelin-recognized talent), I have a feeling everything is staying put.
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