1
One trend we’ve seen on San Diego menus lately is prominent local chefs collaborating with special guest chefs for one-night-only meals, along with themed dinner series. A culinary event we’re especially excited about is the one cooked up by chef JoJo Ruiz, who recently launched Serea, the new seaside restaurant in the iconic Hotel Del, and was honored by the James Beard Foundation for his commitment to sustainable seafood practices. Ruiz has been bringing out the big guns for his ongoing Winter Waters dinner series at Serea: On February 24, the special guests are Diego Galicia and Rico Torres of Mixtli in San Antonio. The final guest in the series is, well, kind of a big deal. Jose Luis Hinostroza (pictured) of Arca Tulum, was formerly at Noma in Copenhagen and its pop-up restaurant in Tulum, Mexico, where people paid $600 for 15 courses. Hinostroza culminates the winter dinner series on March 23 (and the cost is $120, a fraction of what you’d pay at Noma).
2
In other culinary event news, it was announced that Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins will be the chef at the month-long Dinner with a View pop-up event at Liberty Station that debuts on February 6. As of today, about 70 percent of the available tickets are sold out.
3
Little Italy institution Indigo Grill, which chef Deborah Scott founded in 1994, is going to close. Its last day of service will be Saturday, February 8.
4
Cardellino is now open in Mission Hills, in the space on Goldfinch where Brooklyn Girl was for several years. Troy Johnson got the First Look at the new Italian-American restaurant.
5
A new Sicilian restaurant, Rusticucina, will be opening on Park Boulevard on February 3. The team behind the new eatery has been involved with Giardino in Lemon Grove, Farmer’s Table, and Osteria Panevino.
Chef Jose Luis Hinostroza
courtesy of Arca Tulum
