That’s because two restaurants from two of the area’s top chefs—Galaxy Taco by Trey Foshee (George’s at the Cove), and Bracero by Javier Plascencia (Mision 19, Romesco)—are about to help San Diego’s Mexican food scene take a giant leap forward.
Up first is Galaxy Taco. Foshee has long been one of the most respected chefs in the country. In 1998, a year after Food & Wine magazine named him “One of America’s Ten Best New Chefs,” Foshee joined owner George Hauer as chef of George’s at the Cove in La Jolla. It’s been one of the city’s iconic restaurants ever since. It only took them 16 years to spin off another concept—a 4,200 square-foot taco joint with craft tequila and mezcal cocktails, house-ground masa and wood-smoked specialties from Foshee and chef de cuisine Christine Rivera.
“For years, George wanted to keep all partners focused on George’s,” explains Foshee. “It was the right decision. We first started talking about Galaxy two years ago. The original idea was to do something super simple and fun and not very expensive. We were just going to do tacos and good music and good drinks. That got turned all upside down. The space dictated what we were going to do.”
The space is half of the old La Jolla Shores Market (2259 Avenida de la Playa) in the Kellogg Building. They also annexed two adjacent cottages (one a former kayak rental shop) with room for 160 guests (about 80 inside, 80 on patio seating). It’s an area where, right next to one of San Diego’s most bustling beaches, neither locals nor visitors could get a good taco and a margarita—until now.
Foshee designed the menu along with Rivera, who’s been at George’s for four years. They’ll base as much food as possible off their wood-burning grill (a staple of Baja cuisine). Also key to the food: grinding their own masa from scratch. Foshee and Rivera have been working for a couple years on the recipe and technique; Foshee built on his past experience working with chef John Rivera Sedlar and consulted with chef Carlos Salgado (of Tacos Maria in O.C.). To do it right, Foshee sent Rivera to work with chef Daniela Soto-Innes of famed NYC restaurant, Cosme. They had a $10,000 molino (masa grinder) custom-made for Galaxy, and will use heirloom, non-GMO corn from Masienda in Mexico.
Foshee also helped design the space with Mark Steele (of M.W. Steele), enlisting his neighbor Ross McDowell to paint a skeleton mural and surf icon Brian Szymanski (owner of Ding King and a paddleboard champion) to build weatherproof patio tables out of surfboard materials. The end result? Well, we’ve got the first photos in the known universe below. As for why one of the country’s top chefs would open a taco shop (albeit a pretty fancy one)?
“All those conversations we’ve had about what is San Diego food,” says Foshee, a longtime surfer. “Well, fish tacos and Mexican food and margaritas are part of that and I love that. You get off the beach, you go have some ceviche and a good margarita. It’s the little things done well. We’re not reinventing the wheel. People aren’t going to come in here and say ‘Wow, I’ve never seen that before.’ Hopefully they’re going to come in here and say, ‘Wow, that’s fu**ing delicious.'”
Westfield UTC mall is adding yet another “first” to the ever-growing roster of restaurants. The first US location for China’s stir-fry sensation Chef Fei is on the way later this year, Japan already reinvented crispy rice pioneer Katsuya by opening the first Katsuya Ko, and now, it’s Spain’s turn—Telefèric Barcelona opens early this summer.
The family-owned, Barcelona-based tapas joint first opened in the US 10 years ago in Walnut Creek, California, but co-founder and CEO Xavi Padrosa says they’ve had their eye on San Diego for years. Westfield UTC “just clicked,” he says, pointing to the burgeoning collection of world-class eateries already within the mall’s walls. Plus, La Jolla’s breezy vibe echoes Spain’s easygoing tapas culture.
The indoor/outdoor space spans 5,526-square-feet, with seating for 150 inside, 60 on the patio, and 16 more at the bar. Xavi’s sister and co-owner Maria Padrosa designed the Mediterranean-inspired space as a contemporary take on coastal Catalonia, using imported furniture and materials from Spain like hand-glazed tiles and wood accents. And if all the dining spaces are planets, the center of the suite’s universe is the bar.
Courtesy of Telefèric Barcelona
Padrosa points to signature favorites like patatas bravas (fried potatoes drizzled with a spicy red sauce and house aioli), jamón ibérico de bellota (Spanish ham from free-range pigs raised on acorns, cured for 38 months and sliced to order), gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), pulpo Telefèric (octopus with potato purée and pimentón XO, a spicy Spanish/Cantonese fusion sauce), and croquetas (a popular fried tapas dish coated in breadcrumbs and made with béchamel mixed with fillings like jamón or king crab.
There are a very small handful of legit paella spots in San Diego (Costa Brava in Pacific Beach and Cafe Sevilla in Gaslamp Quarter come to mind), so I’m personally looking forward to giving Telefèric’s a go—especially the squid ink paella negra, which is perhaps the most goth paella of all. Every location also offers different weekend specials, La Jolla’s being seafood-driven and meant to pair with beverage director Alex Serena’s drinks. There are over a hundred Spanish wines, Spanish-inspired cocktails, sangria, and of course, plenty of twists on the iconic gin and tonic. The restaurant will also have a gourmet market called The Merkat with imported Spanish sundries.
Courtesy of Telefèric Barcelona
With more US locations in the works (Newport Beach will open soon after La Jolla), Padrosa says the company hopes to open more across California, but are open to anywhere in the country that feels right. “We don’t know exactly what new cities will appear on our map in the coming years,” he says. But in true Catalan fashion, anywhere they go should be ready for big plates of hearty Spanish cuisine.
Telefèric Barcelona La Jolla opens early summer 2026 in Westfield UTC. Opening hours will be Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Most of the time, you have to be 18 years old to change your name. In Arcana’s case, it was about a month. The immersive speakeasy behind Archive in Encinitas updated their moniker to Animga (a play on “enigma”) earlier this month, after what one can only assume was an upset letter from a similarly-named business. However, partner Paula Vrakas promises that the concept remains the same—mystery, cocktails, and a forthcoming bottle locker membership club. Since the only constant is change, Anigma is off to a good start!
Courtesy of Good Honey
Beth’s Bites
It’s not a salad bar—Mary’s Gourmet Salads is a salad experience. And soon, Bankers Hill will get a taste of the green when the local eatery opens its third location at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Upas Street in the Park Summit building. Yes, that’s the same building as Cowboy Star’s new venture She Rode West, so it sounds like veggie lovers and carnivores alike will be covered.
Speaking of expansion plans, La Corriente is likewise on a roll. The Mexican seafood concept opened its first location in the US in La Jolla in 2024, followed by Coronado in 2025, and announced plans to open a third branch in Oceanside in the Freeman Collective. With neighbors like Tanner’s Prime Burgers and Little Fox ice cream, the culinary collective is only getting more ridiculously tasty.
One delicious event that will occur before both of the aforementioned openings is a honey + cheese + focaccia tasting at Pastaria Vivi on July 17. With the help of Good Honey (which took top honors as the highest-rated honey in the U.S. at the International London Honey Awards) and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company (easily one of the best artisanal cheesemakers in California), the Encinitas-based pasta shop and market will host a free pairing event from noon to 3 p.m. And if you’re an aspiring apiologist, don’t miss Good Honey’s on-site observation hive to watch these busy bees in action.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
The day I spoke to chef Travis Swikard, his furniture had been stuck at the border for weeks. Upholstery detained, a uniquely modern snag. The biggest restaurant opening of Swikard’s life was a couple days away, and there were gaping holes in his dining room where the sort of significant, vibe-defining furniture would go. There are many reasons people enjoy restaurants, but sitting is one of them.
“This project has tested our patience in every way,” he says. “But we figure it out.”
Add to that a broken foot. He smashed it the day before Thanksgiving. Dropped an employee locker on it. He spent the next day not getting a cast and justifying whiskey as therapy. Instead of going to the ER, he worked a full holiday shift at his first restaurant, Callie, the one that made his name in San Diego.
Courtesy of Fleurette
Swikard has that old (and endangered) grin-and-bear-it nature—no doubt at least partly seared into him by the restaurant world he came up in. He learned in some of the world’s most revered kitchens under some of the most devout, old-school chefs. The only promise for a young, serious cook was that the work would be grueling, highly instructive, repeatedly humiliating, and character-building.
Swikard got all that and some restaurateur renown as well. Fleurette in La Jolla is the restaurant that should put him on the national stage for good. He’s already there, but the cement’s still wet.
The final pieces of furniture finally cleared customs a month after opening. Fleurette is the peacock at the base of La Jolla Commons—a LEED-Platinum glass tower filled with enterprises in finance, life science,and capital-L law. Now, it also houses a deadly good beef tartare in anchovy sauce and a cocktail that tastes weirdly like a refreshing pesto. Once you get lost trying to park, walking through the Commons’ immaculate courtyards makes you want to throw a few bucks at cryptocurrency, cure cancer, and work up a hunger for gougères with 21-month Prosciutto di Parma and black truffle fonduta.
Photo Credit: Zack Benson
For the latter, search for the yellow doors. Among all the very official, floor-to-ceiling glass, those doors look like a portal to a wonderland where Alice is sharing suspect tea with Aldous Huxley.
Swikard’s concept here is a southern French one, built on the “cuisine du soleil” movement that’s credited to legendary French chef Roger Vergé. Vergé opened his restaurant Moulin de Mougins in a village near Cannes, the famed coastal town in Provence (in the southeast corner of France). While the rest of France was cream-and-buttering its way to culinary glory, here was this village chef cooking light, fresh, seasonal fare (mostly seafood) dressed with olive oil and herbs. His bouillabaisse was the stuff of legends. In many ways, cuisine du soleil was mere practicality: Provence is mainly cliffs, and it’s hard to raise a dairy cow on a cliff.
“This is the way I’ve been cooking my whole life,” Swikard says of what he’s doing at Fleurette. “I feel like classic is the new nouveau.”
Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
Let’s back up.
Born and raised in Santee, Swikard did what most chefs with big dreams do—headed to Europe for a bit and wiggled his way into the doors of the greats, like bad-boy Marco Pierre White. Then he went to New York to serve as a chef de partie (station-specific cook) at Café Boulud, a Michelin-starred spot from one of the most renowned French chefs in the world, Daniel Boulud. There, he worked under Gavin Kaysen—a former San Diego chef who was Boulud’s right-hand. After Kaysen’s departure (to Minneapolis to become a regional food capo with James Beard Awards and multiple restaurants, most famously Spoon and Stable), Swikard became Boulud’s go-to guy and culinary director.
Finally, thanks to San Diego restaurateur David Cohn, Swikard came home in 2019. Cohn (who is a semi-secret investor in what feels like a vast majority of boldfaced San Diego restaurants) had visited Boulud Sud and eaten Swikard’s food. He offered to financially back a restaurant for Swikard if he returned and built it in San Diego. Not a Cohn restaurant—a Swikard restaurant, run by Swikard and his team, including his operational partner Ann Sim (formerly of Eleven Madison Park) and his wife Mia.
Swikard agreed. When Callie finally opened in 2021, it was the closing of a circle, since Cohn’s business partner—chef Deborah Scott—had given Swikard his first restaurant job as a line cook 20 years prior at Kemo Sabe in Hillcrest. Cohn and Scott are integral partners in Fleurette, as well.
Here’s the important part: Callie had been scheduled to open long before it did. Due to a prolonged global shitshow that included wet bats, bleach shooters, and an ideological cage match between politicians and scientists, it was delayed. That delay was at least the partial key for just how special Callie became. Swikard spent that awkward couple of years going to meet farmers, fishers, ranchers, small shop owners, and people tinkering with rare foods in San Diego garages.
Photo Credit: Zack Benson
This is why boat captains will call Swikard to report they’re pulling up to the dock with a line-caught bluefin. They’ll bring it to his back door. At Callie, he serves what looks like a heap of damn carrot shavings—pre-compost as fine dining. Except, instead of shoving that fresh tussle down the garbage disposal, he pickles and ferments it for days and tosses it with a housemade burnt-orange cashew cream (he slow-bakes an orange until it’s charcoal-colored, and the flavor is wild) and a house-ground dukkah. He keeps his spot prawns (a California delicacy) in a tank of perfectly calibrated seawater that he gets from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and only ends their journey when they’re ordered (most restaurants will kill them, then store them in the walk-in, which does some mushy damage to the texture).
The point of all this Callie talk is to note the iceberg of process under what looks like simple dishes, which also happens at Fleurette. Swikard tends to source raw ingredients from people as obsessive as he is. Consider the anchoïade sauce for Fleurette’s tartare. The key is colatura di alici, a revered Italian fish sauce made by resting layers of anchovies and salt in a barrel for months. He adds just enough (fish sauces are like cologne—a dab is perfect and two dabs are a public menace). It’s mixed with a confetti of egg yolks (cured, which means they’re rubbed with salt and sugar and rested until they become a firm umami bomb that can be shredded like golden Parm). Both explain why what looks like a pretty simple pile of raw beef (albeit the very best beef, from Flannery, one of California’s most sought-after first families of beef, known for USDA Prime Holstein cuts with a snow-flurry of marbling) tastes so wildly alive.
At Fleurette, the sauce work is textbook heritage—from soubise (onion) to vierge (tomatoes and herbs) to garlic persillade and a fairly mind-blowing fennel marmalade Swikard serves with a duck liver and bone marrow pâté (when foie gras became the PETA homing beacon of the restaurant world, he learned how to replace foie’s trademark fatty magic with marrow).
Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
His kitchen setup is the same one that Daniel Boulud has in New York—a French Athanor, the Aston Martin of chef suites with all the bells, whistles, and flux capacitors (“We clean it with fresh lemon juice every night,” Swikard says). But the classic French in him meets the San Diego lifestyle in him here. The ingredients are mostly local (A-list produce is chief among the reasons to be a chef in this county, since it has more small farms per capita than any other in the US and the growing seasons are laughably long).
“[Boulud] would buy all the best produce from across the world,” Swikard once told me. “So, every morning I’d come in and see the boxes of produce, and every time, on the side of the box it said, ‘San Diego.’”
There’s not much gluten on the Fleurette menu, nor dairy. It’s classic French food with fewer naps—more olive oils and poached fish than heavy cream and fat-bathed proteins.
“People think French food is heavy and rich,” Swikard says, echoing French predecessors who introduced nouvelle cuisine and cuisine minceur (“slimming cooking”), both styles based in less unctuous takes on the mother sauces. “Fleurette is not rich. It’s lighter, brighter, cleaner—the way I like to eat.”
Photo Credit: Eric Wolfinger
You see that lightness in one of the first menu’s star entrees. Copper River steelhead trout (like the river’s equally famous salmon) is prized because these fish swim hundreds of miles against fast-moving currents to spawn; that requires massive energy reserves (loads of omega-3 fats) and causes them to develop huge muscles (those create texture). The result is a remarkable, remarkable fish, which Swikard’s team poaches in olive oil with cauliflower, pine nuts, and grape vierge. His bouillabaisse (hello, chef Vergé) employs local rockfish and spiny lobster as seasonal anchors. He’ll also use bocaccio (another local rockfish). “People call it a trash fish, but it’s one of the most flavorful fish there is,” he says.
Swikard’s dad Larry, a San Diego landscape architect, built a modest herb and citrus garden out back. The herbs are largely Provence.
For Swikard, Fleurette’s about the next gen of chefs. He wants to use that big Athanor and this new dream to help young cooks slow down, learn, drill the basics into their DNA. It’s a training ground that will, ideally, spawn more Callies and Fleurettes in the years to come. There’s a fairly big trend of cooks skipping the craft-building and going straight to wild fusion-concept cuisine.
Photo Credit: Zack Benson
“Stuff that I feel is pretty classic hasn’t been done in San Diego—this generation of dining hasn’t seen it,” Swikard says.
He points to French master chef Jean-Michel Diot of La Jolla’s Bistro Du Marché as the role model. “Doing classic at a high level consistently—there’s no better level of cuisine than that,” he adds. “I wanna build a foundation for cooks in San Diego and train them how to cook in this style.”
The current cast: Mia Swikard runs marketing for both restaurants. Ann Sim is director of opps for both concepts. His chef de cuisine is Roman Garcia, who was also CDC at Selby’s in Atherton, CA when it won a Michelin star. The GM is Steve Dreifuss, formerly of Little Italy’s now-shuttered Camino Riviera. Callie’s beverage team—wine director Tracy Latimer and head bartender James Roe—have made moves as well, leaving heirs to oversee Callie.
“Callie was what I felt was right for San Diego at the time, and I feel like this is what’s right for San Diego now,” Swikard says. “I couldn’t have done this without doing Callie.”
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
Americans often have our own regional cuisine preferences—for instance, I tend to go for Carolina-style whole hog barbecue over Texas brisket (but certainly wouldn’t kick a Kansas City burnt end out of bed, either). So why is it when it comes to Mexican food, we’re occasionally guilty of lumping the entire country’s cuisine under one broad brush?
There’s far more to Mexican cuisine than tamales, pozole, and chilaquiles—Oaxaca is as famous for its seven moles as Baja California is for the Ensenada-style fish taco. And when it comes to Sonora, the northwestern Mexican state bordering Arizona and New Mexico features plenty of cattle ranches and wheat fields, giving the region its signature ranchero grilling culture and paper-thin flour tortillas. San Diego is about to get a taste of the fire-grilled flavors, when TacoNora opens in Pacific Beach on Saturday, March 7.
Renata Vázquez, founder of Tyche Food & Beverage Consulting and cofounder of TacoNora, says it’s the first location for the family-owned brand (although the ownership group operates four other taquerías in Sonora under a different name), and they are already actively looking to open more locations in North County and Arizona. But Pacific Beach felt like a good place to start for the grill-forward, fast-casual concept.
Courtesy of TacoNora
“Guests start by choosing their protein,” she explains, pointing to options like asada, pork belly, chicken made with a house seasoning mix, trompo-style ribeye or sirloin steak, or grilled Anaheim chiles. Then they can choose if they want it as a regular taco, lorenza (an open-faced, crispy taco), caramelo (a Sonoran specialty where carne asada and melted cheese are sandwiched between two crispy flour tortillas), costra (a “crust” of caramelized cheese wrapped around the chosen filling), a Sonoran-style burrito, or TacoNora’s signature taco pizza.
“Each format highlights the tortilla and the grill differently, but the meat remains the focus,” Vázquez explains.
TacoNora will also offer housemade guacamole, beans slow-cooked with pork fat and red chile, and a salsa bar with 10 different housemade salsas. The entire experience is meant to be interactive, customizable, and something new, but still unfussy. “We wanted to create a concept where the quality of the meat speaks first, the tortilla supports it, and everything else enhances it—without overcomplicating the experience,” she says. “Sonoran food deserves a voice in San Diego.”
TacoNora opens Saturday, March 7 at 956 Garnet Avenue.
Courtesy of Tip Top Meats
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Tip Top Meats Is Back In Biz
Tip Top Meats, the iconic European deli and market that closed in 2024, officially soft re-opened at 6118 Paseo Del Norte in Carlsbad, bringing back its famous meats and Old World sundries. While the team and family may have decades of experience under their belts, it’s still a new era, so give ‘em some grace during the soft opening as they get their feet (and meat) under them once more. Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Courtesy of Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa
Beth’s Bites
‘Tis the season for Irish whiskey. The Library at Fairmont Grand Del Mar is certainly one of the toniest spots in town to imbibe some high-end options. On March 10 at 6 p.m., the speakeasy will host a guided tasting of Jameson, Redbreast, and Midleton whiskeys, explaining the nuances and history of the spirit. (And yes, you should practice your pronunciation of “Sláinte!” ahead of time.)
As far as chef collabs go, Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa’s Chef Series dinners are some of the best of the best. On Thursday, March 19, chef Roberto Alcocer of Michelin-starred Valle in Oceanside is heading to the culinary garden for a four-course prix fixe meal. Before dinner, guests will enjoy a welcome hour starting at 6 p.m., where they can sip on signature Valle cocktails and curated wine offerings.
Liberty Public Market is turning double-digits this March, and yes, that makes me feel a little old. But the Point Loma market has plenty of events for the young at heart lined up for the 10th anniversary weekend, including tons of live music, beer tastings, food specials, and more. It all takes off March 21 and 22, so strap on your party shoes and boogie on down to grab a bite or two for the big 1-0.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
Stake Chophouse & Bar isn’t your average steakhouse. Blue Bridge Hospitality’s Coronado outpost is a modern interpretation of a big-city steakhouse nestled in the heart of the small coastal community. The team at Stake has reimagined the whole steakhouse experience. By prioritizing a seasonal farm-to-table sourcing philosophy, a personalized guest experience, and unique service touches, like a formal steak presentation and a bespoke knife selection process, Stake distinguishes itself in a sea of steakhouses.
Exceptional steaks, including Wagyu from Japan, Australia, and the U.S., and fresh seafood flown in daily form the core of Stake’s culinary identity. The menu features a five-course omakase-style steak experience highlighting house favorites, plus an array of cuts, and classic steakhouse staples—think a wedge salad, baked potato, or pasta carbonara—refined for a contemporary palate without losing their traditional appeal. Stake focuses on seasonal sourcing from the region’s best family farms and specialty purveyors, and incorporates intentionally unexpected touches to create something truly unique.
“I challenge our chefs and myself to take it a step further in sourcing,” says Chef Ronnie Schwandt. “It’s important to us to highlight different farms, unique one-off farms—whether it’s cattle, strawberries, a local fisherman or from anywhere in the United States, we’re always trying to find that niche.”
Beyond the menu, Stake emphasizes outstanding service, says Vinny Spatafore, Director of Hospitality Operations. Staff maintains detailed notes, allowing them to remember guests by name, recall previous orders such as a favorite martini (also memorable for the customer since it’s served in an extra tall, distinctly-shaped glass), and celebrate special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
“When you have those points of topic that you remember about a guest, they appreciate that,” he says. “Our servers are really good with that—we have a couple servers who have been here since the beginning and they’ll remember somebody from years ago, their name, their kids’ names, where they live. I’m really thankful to have a great front of house staff.”
Award-winning wines, rare whiskeys, special events, and a complementary black car service that provides transportation for guests throughout Coronado add to Stake’s appeal.
Schwandt stresses that Stake offers more than a meal; they aim to give patrons something unforgettable.
“It starts when you walk up the stairs and are greeted by the hostess—that sets the tone for the night. Then you’re greeted by a server, who may know you by name, and can guide you through the menu and curate as they get to know you,” says Schwandt. “Most people leave kind of blown away; they leave feeling like they just had an experience. That’s the goal, right? Whether you’re serving smash burgers or high-end steak, you want somebody to leave thinking, Wow, that was awesome.”
A staff member unveils the caviar tableside, opening the box like a jeweler presenting stones that have bedazzled some of the most famed fallopian tubes in marine history. The “25” on the inside of the lid is massive. The caviar brand, N25 (German-based; sourced from Yunnan, China), wants you to know the exact northern latitude where these eggs started their long journey to this moment, this ceremonial dispensing into your lucky mouth.
(Before we go further, it’s important to note that N25 is not contributing financially to my existence in any way. I just love a solid educational hyperventilation on food ingredients, and this one in particular is instructive of the experience-slash-obsession that is Lucien, a 30-seat, tasting menu–only restaurant in La Jolla. The three partners who own it worked at high levels of the most rarefied restaurants in New York and other parts of the country. Among them is chef-partner Elijah Arizmendi, who, before this, was chef de cuisine at L’abeille when it earned its first Michelin star.)
Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos
Anyway, each egg of N25 caviar goes through a four-part audition process. Only 10 to 25 percent of the entire harvest will make the cut. That’s fairly standard for high-quality foods and drinks—tequila, for instance. Imagine a long hose in the shape of a wave. After distillation, that entire hose is filled with booze that is technically tequila. The bottom of the hose contains enamel-stripping gasoline, and as you go up the wave, you get an increasingly better product. Gas-station brands will take the whole batch and shove it into a bottle. The result is as you’d imagine—like you crammed your used gym clothes into a suitcase with your special-occasion tux. Premium tequila makers will only bottle the very best stuff, selling the lesser liquid to brands who specialize in wince-fuel destined for rush-week bloodstreams.
N25 only selects large, fatty pearls of caviar that can stand up to the rigors of the aging process. They’re then cured in mineral salt, which draws out the moisture, intensifying the flavor—but not so much that it tastes like you’re licking the bottom of a forgotten dingy in the crime part of the harbor. The caviar is aged in sub-zero temps for three to 12 months. An ID tag on the back of the box allows you to trace the caviar all the way back to the individual sturgeon, a sort of 23andMe for the luxury food space. The ID also offers details on the size of each roe in that tin, plus color and texture and flavor characteristics—like wine-tasting notes for caviar people.
Oh, wait, there’s more. The caviar is not even the star of the Lucien egg show.
Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos
Because on your table in front of that unrealized school of fish is 80 percent of an eggshell, sitting upright in a bed of rare, hard, white heritage Amber Eden grains, which can be traced back to Persia, where Adam and Eve smote God with their choice in fruit. (Note: Don’t attempt to eat that decorative pile of raw wheat—apparently some guests have, to predictably WTF dental trauma.) The egg’s top has been surgically removed, revealing a bone-white cream. The server spoons a mid-size dollop of N25 onto the top, essentially giving it a zillenial perm made of caviar and producing a fertility shrine for Michelin inspectors.
Inside that egg is the eighth through 12th wonders of the world. Eating this should flood you with enough happiness to prevent you from posting dumb political hot takes on the internet for at least 24 hours.
The “ouef” is a magic trick pulled frequently from the hats of Michelin chefs (Thomas Keller, most famously), for good reason. First, it looks as though you’ve come to a mount of culinary talent, where food is profoundly transformed and priced accordingly, and the server’s handed you a damn egg from the fridge.
Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos
The egg is the single most humble, farmy object—one that us average so-and-sos cook very averagely multiple times a week. But, here, inside that raw grocery pellet is the most un-you concoction imaginable: a multi-layer dip of silken, fluffy food clouds (okay, fine, it’s just dashi custard and chantilly cream) and possibly the highest possible manifestation of the egg arts, all due respect to chawanmushi.
Scrape your spoon inside; make sure to get all of the layers. It is rich, so rich, and I want some bread with it. Lucky for me, there’s a bite-sized loaf of buckwheat bread (made with Amber Eden) topped with grilled banana and nori, which is the second-most delicious thing you will have at Lucien—if it ever appears again, since Lucien’s menu changes with the wind and seasons and is never really the same.
Here’s why I spent so much time reviewing a damn egg: Placing that humble American farm totem in the art spotlight that hangs above each table of this highly ambitious restaurant—and metamorphosing it in such a remarkable way—says just about everything you need to know about Lucien; Arizmendi; and the other partners, Brian Hung and Melissa Lang.
Dinner here is meal as manifesto. Arizmendi and his kitchen crew (half of whom seem to have moved from New York to San Diego to join him on this venture, which says something either about Arizmendi or, more boringly, about our weather) are crafting a 12- to 16-course tasting menu of tiny treats using the most peak-of-peak-season, rare, raw ingredients from farms that specialize in things grown in sacred loams and eggs laid by hens with self-care instincts, probably. The Lucien experience is less of a meal and more of a live-action, audience-participation documentary about sublimely good ingredients from across the globe but mostly from local dirt and waters and whatever field Arizmendi wanders to forage.
Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos
Okay, so now let’s talk about Lucien’s highly interesting design mistake or genius way to facilitate overhearing insider-trading tips during dinner.
The booths in the restaurant are half-domed, as if you’re dining in exactly half a snowglobe or a moody cantina booth suited mostly to hiring Han Solo to fly your mercenary ship. Visually, very cool. And each half-dome is the most wildly successful whispering gallery in the world—a more delicious version of St. Paul’s Cathedral. A man seated 25 feet away from us murmurs something to his dining companion, and I hear every syllable as if I have bugged his table and am listening through an ear piece. Secrets are slutty here. Sweet nothings become sweet everyones. I can hear the chefs on the line having what used to be hush-hush conversations, which must suck for them (complaining about diners is one of the prized relief valves of a fairly grueling industry which, to the chefs’ credit, they don’t do). By the end of the meal, I am clairvoyant. I can hear synapses forming thoughts.
Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos
And since I started this review off with deifying praise of what mortals can do to an egg, let’s balance it out with a tempering. As I mentioned, the housemade bread uses that Amber Eden grain. It’s dense but flavorful. The cultured seaweed butter it’s served with is one of the most jarring ordeals my mouth has been through (and it’s been a lab mouth for American restaurant culture for many years). The best way I can describe it is “butter as low tide.” When you hear the word “butter,” you expect a warm, emotional embrace of semisolid milk fat melting in live-time in your mouth. Instead, you get specks of (albeit immaculately sourced) beach flotsam mucking up the hug.
Lucien doesn’t serve it cold, per se. But it’s also not that room-temp, near-melting-point pat with a dash of sea salt you expect in Michelin-style shops (likely because compound butters need to be stored cooler in order to carry their payload).
Side science discussion: The closer you can serve food to the temperature of the human mouth, the better it tastes. How our mouths detect flavors is a whole litany of biological processes. But our taste buds’ main amplifiers of three main tastes—sweet, bitter, and umami—are microscopic proteins called TRPM5 (transient receptor potential melastatin) channels. These flavor dials are real hothouse flowers. When food is not warm enough, they pretty much refuse to work. But when food is served around 98.5 degrees, it’s estimated their ability to process flavors increases by over 100 times. That’s why ice cream doesn’t taste nearly as sweet until it starts to melt in your mouth and, honestly, why soft-serve (served at a warmer temp) whoops major ass on traditional ice cream. It’s also why mediocre beer companies request that you drink their products ice-cold, so you can’t taste their mouth treason.
Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos
The reason I bring this up is because even though I’m not particularly enjoying the experience of this seaweed butter, it’s exactly what I want when I sign up for Lucien. I want risk. Lucien’s unique and pricey thrill is to pierce the safely oxygenated atmosphere of the usual restaurant experience (“here’s a flatbread and a thing with birria and melted cheese”) and get you out into uncharted food space. If you’re receiving a tasting menu and nothing makes you uncomfortable or maybe even say “oh, hell no” at least briefly, then the chef is giving you the khaki, unlimited breadsticks version of the experience.
Years ago, at famed chef and restaurateur David Chang’s Momofuku Ko, the tasting menu was, as expected, largely fantastic. And one dish tasted almost exactly a replica of hot, wet, effervescent garbage. (Note: I’m sure someone with a different mouth than my own was freaking out over this dish—like, finally, someone had heard their prayers about wanting to eat compost in a formal setting.)
The point is, seemingly half of New York’s most talented young cooks, sommeliers, and hospitality pros have moved to San Diego and are putting on a show in La Jolla at Lucien. Some dishes are sublimely good, some miss like a Radiohead b-side, and your secrets are so unsafe.
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
It’s been 29 years since famed Japanese chef Katsuya Uechi opened his first restaurant Sushi Katsuya in Studio City and nearly as many years since he gave the world one of the most iconic Japanese dishes in the modern world: spicy tuna crispy rice (it’s been replicated a billion times over).
Ten years ago, he partnered with global hospitality group SBE at Katsuya in Brentwood, and today, there are four Katsuyas in Los Angeles, one in the Bahamas, and another coming to Toronto in 2028.
That slow, but strategic expansion introduced Uechi’s signature brand of modern Japanese cuisine to a Western audience. With Katsuya’s 20th anniversary looming, culinary director Ben Dayag says the time was ripe for a fresh new idea—a new baby, if you will.
And so the name, ko, which means child in Japanese.
Katsuya Ko is designed to be a more youthful, laid-back version of the original’s trademark elegance and extravagance. And La Jolla is where it all starts—the first Katsuya Ko opens at Westfield UTC on February 5, 2026.
The 3,000-square-foot space seats 80 guests inside and 32 on the patio, with shades of peach, dark pink, burgundy, cream, and natural wood throughout for a calming, upscale, feminine vibe. The open kitchen concept allows guests to watch chefs slowly smoke food on the robata grill, toss in the wok, prepare hot stone dishes like Korean-inspired bibimbap, and roll fresh sushi.
Katsuya Ko’s Asian menu falls into three general sections, all of which are mostly shareable—salads, meats, seafood, and tempura from the robata—explains Dayag.
“The third section would be [the] sushi section—sushi, sashimi, makis,” Dayag says, pointing to staples like California rolls and cucumber rolls. Classics like spicy tuna crispy rice are paired with locally-inspired specials like a salmon citrus rolls with spicy tuna in the middle, topped with fresh salmon sashimi, local orange segments, and drizzled with onion ponzu “to kind of give it that umami bomb at the end.”
Courtesy of Katsuya Ko
“I would say, if you want to get the total experience, order a couple of dishes from each of the sections, especially coming in with a group of four people,” he suggests. “But again, you can come in by yourself and order two items, three items, and also have a great experience.”
To head Katsuya Ko’s kitchen, Dayag tapped local talent. Chef de cuisine Alex Carpio has worked at both Kimpton and Hilton hotels, as well as Ironside Fish & Oyster and Underbelly in North Park to bring a San Diego sensibility into the burgeoning new brand. Ko will also offer sake, beer, wine, soju, and cocktails.
Dayag says that while they selected La Jolla for the first Ko as a jumping-off point for the concept, it’s not meant to be the last. “We’re looking nationwide,” he says, pointing to both freestanding locations as well as opportunities within sbe’s hotel ventures. “We have some in the pipeline. [I] can’t say yet, but there are some coming very soon.”
Sounds like Ko has some siblings to look forward to very soon.
Katsuya Ko opens at Westfield UTC on Level 1 near the corner of Genesee Avenue and La Jolla Village Drive on February 5, 2026. Hours will be Sunday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m.; Friday through Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.
Photos Courtesy of Katsuya Ko
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Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
While glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agents have been used to treat Type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, their recent emergence as weight-loss wonder drugs marked a new frontier in medicine. But their effectiveness has left some patients wondering what to do once they’ve reached their goal. Stopping the medication could mean regaining some, if not all, of the weight. A Scripps Clinic internal medicine physician recently conducted a small study of whether GLP-1 patients who had reached their goal weight could maintain that weight by taking their regularly prescribed injection every other week instead of weekly. Spoiler alert: 30 of 34 patients did. Read more about the study here and what that may mean as pharmaceutical companies roll out oral GLP-1s.
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