Over the past year, chefs Nic Webber and Jacob Jordan realize that many hands don’t always make light work.
They’ve both got hefty pedigrees. Webber cooked at Michelin three-star Benu, and was running a Korean fried chicken food truck in Portland when he got a text from Addison exec chef William Bradley saying, essentially, “time to come back and get some Michelin stars.” Jordan was at Boulder’s one-star Michelin Frasca before joining Addison, helping then-chef de cuisine Stefani di Palma launch the restaurant’s bread program.
Both fans of Chinese food, in 2012 they launched a side gig—a Chinese culinary pop-up concept at places like Nola on 5th, Wormwood, Lion’s Share, and random kind strangers’ backyards. They thought about opening a food truck. Then they took over an old dive bar in Oceanside and changed the names six or seven times.
And finally, on Jan. 31, Jordan and Webber will officially open 24 Suns at 3375 Mission Avenue to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Lunar New Year, sometimes called Chinese New Year, begins the start of spring. As an important Chinese holiday that marks fresh starts, Webber says it’s one of their biggest times of the year.
“We have a whole new menu… every dish has a lot of intentionality and tradition and meaning behind it,” he explains. The two dishes he’s most excited to add to the spring menu are Yi Mein (known as “longevity noodles”) and Yi Sangh (“prosperity salad”).
“The longer the longevity noodle, the longer the life,” says Webber. So, 24 Suns’ take is to serve one single noodle—that happens to be 12-feet long “We really want you to have a long life!”
Lunar New Year is a tradition rife with symbolic dishes—like the prosperity salad, which uses homophones to glean meaning. “Tangerine, for example, is a homophone for abundance,” Webber explains. “It’s a really intentional salad made with families, where every family member adds an ingredient, and each ingredient has a purpose and a blessing that you say into the salad as you make it.”
He instructs his cooks to whisper their own blessings as they assemble the ingredients, and invites guests to toss it at the table. “The higher the toss, the higher the prosperity.”
Jordan and Webber have brought on Kyle South, lead sommelier at Addison and wine expert for Service Animals (the hospitality group behind Ponyboy at the Pearl hotel) as general manager. Usually, to make cocktails fit a food menu, bartenders will take a traditional cocktail and replace one of the ingredients with a spice being used in the food (in the case of Chinese, maybe five spice or cinnamon going into an Old Fashioned). But 24 Suns will lean on the chefs’ prowess to create a more ambitious cocktail program.
“We’re being very intentionally not Pan-Asian,” Webber explains. For example, don’t look for any matcha, which did originate in China, but for centuries has been much more widely found across Japan. Of course, they’re still having a bit of fun, creating things like a “Sazer-quack” by rendering duck fat in brown butter and washing Cognac with it.
Although 24 Suns has been quietly operating since last July, they’re currently closed for renovations for a true grand opening on January 31. It’s taken them a while to get here, but each hiccup helped them hone the vision.
“It forced us to take that leap,” says Webber. I was calling it a dive bar with lipstick [in the beginning]. Now, we will not be that anymore. We’ll be a nice-looking restaurant that will match the quality of the food.”
24 Suns will hold 50-60 guests, including 16 at a stone bar, plus four big booths and tables.
24 Suns will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 4-10 p.m. starting Jan. 31.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Enjoy Champagne and Chamber Music Series by Le Salon de Musiques
Every month during Le Salon de Musiques concert series, a musicologist (the second coolest-sounding -ologist job, after geologist, IMHO) starts the musical festivities with a chamber music concert, followed by a Q&A with the performers.
But wait, there’s more—the party continues with Champagne and a high tea buffet provided by Clement Le Deore (Desserts by Clement). The next iteration of the 15-year-strong series takes place on Sunday, February 2, featuring masterpieces by Borodin, Rachmaninoff, Catoire, and Taneyev performed on strings and piano. Music? Treats? Champagne? Sounds like it’s time to head to the La Jolla Woman’s Club.
Beth’s Bites
- I’ve followed Cassandra Shaeg’s career over the past few years, so I was thrilled to hear her SIP Wine & Beer concept will be part of the airport’s brand-new Terminal 1 dining options. San Diego may be known for craft beer, but she’s helped put our wine scene on the map, and now, everyone from around the world going through SAN will know it.
- I strongly prefer my oysters raw than grilled, but the chargrilled oysters at Lala were Parmigiano-crusted perfection. Next time, I probably won’t share any with my dining companion (I am nothing if not ruthless with my bivalves).
- Do you even wassail, bro? A wassail is an ancient Nordic winter tradition where revelers sing, dance, and make merry in orchards to bless the year’s harvest. Wearing a cool hat is encouraged; banging pots and pans to scare away evil spirits even more so; and of course, drinking plenty of cider is mandatory. (Not really, but it’s a whole vibe.) Calico Cidery is throwing their fifth annual Wassail at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, so start weaving your crown of twigs now.
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].
