HIGHER GROUND

Wade Hageman can cook. The one-time white tablecloth chef has become an Encinitas icon since opening his pizza joint, Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizzeria. After that, he did a more full dining concept a bit east with The Craftsman. His foray into Hillcrest didn’t work so well (a story told by numerous, numerous restaurateurs who don’t own Baja Betty/Urban Mo’s/Gossip Grill). But now he’s announced he’s next concept—Open House, a riff on Asian flavors with his take on yakitori (Japanese barbecue), ramen, and poke. He’s secured the former spot of El Callejon, which passed into the restaurant afterlife in January after 22 years in business. It’s scheduled to open by the end of the summer…

Everyone’s favorite pork joint, Carnitas Snack Shack, is finally looking ready to open at the Embarcadero this spring. This space (1004 N. Harbor Dr.) will have cocktails from San Diego’s RMD Group (Fluxx, Sidebar, Rusted Root) and tons of outdoor waterside seating….

Hey, Del Mar. New chef in town for you guys this spring. Steven Lona is relocating from the L.A. area, the former exec chef of Bistro 45 (Pasadena) and worked under James Boyce and Craig Strong at Montage in Laguna Beach. He’s part of the team opening Tasting Room Del Mar (next to the Starbucks at 15^th Street and Camino Del Mar) with a talented wine connoisseur in Rusti Gilbert, formerly of Addison at Grand Del Mar, which is like the Coachella of sommeliers…

I love Carlsbad. But its food and drink scene has needed to wake up and smell the decade for a while. It’s got some standouts, like Land & Water Co. (one of the best sustainable seafood chefs in San Diego in Rob Ruiz). But the most exciting opening-to-be is Campfire—creator John Resnick was one of the main faces and brains that helped Consortium Holdings (Craft & Commerce, Ironside) develop into a top-notch food and drink company. He’s hired Bells and Whistles to design his new 6,000 square-foot space, which will include a Quonset hut, for that post-WWII barracks drinking vibe. Carlsbad will be better off for this one, slated for sometime mid-2016…

I was mixed on my review of The Hake on Prospect Street a couple years ago, but have since returned and had some seriously good dishes (their ahi taco with jicama tortilla is pretty fantastic). And not a week goes by if someone asks proudly if I’ve tried the place. Well, now they’re adding 2,000 square feet to their subterranean semi-ocean perch, which means they’ll have a new outdoor dining space and an ocean view. Trying to do business on Prospect without an ocean view is like trying to do business on Morena Boulevard without a stripper pole…

Pizzeria Mozza’s sad and not terribly surprising demise at The Headquarters was big news. Now its replacement is nearly ready for business (early March). Flour & Barley is a concept from our bedazzled brethren in Vegas that does brick oven pizzas, plus Italian apps and over 150 draft, bottle and canned beers….

Westgate Hotel is one of my favorite hotels in Downtown San Diego. Looks like a fossilized doily, in a good way. They just announced their second annual Spirit of Baja Dinner, which’ll take place on April 15—inviting chef Javier Plascencia (Bracero, and new James Beard nominee) to collaborate with Westgate’s talented chef, Fabrice Hardel on a meal. Mezcal reception, Baja wines. You can buy tickets here. …

Now that the craft beer movement is into its 30s, its expanding its horizons. No longer is it “just a lot of hops plus fermentation and a beard.” We’re seeing lighter beers, sour beers, and now, especially, citrus beers like Grapefruit Sculpin. Now one of my favorite breweries in San Diego, Green Flash, just announced its new lineup under new brewer Erik Jensen, and he’s got a Passionfruit Kicker (American Wheat Ale with passion fruit), a “Soul Style” (tangerine India pale ale). They’re also releasing “Cosmic Ristretto” this Friday, a Baltic Porter with espresso and Candico, a caramelized Belgian candy sugar. For more on the new lineup, click here…

The other release of note is from the ever-awesome Lost Abbey. They’ve partnered with North Carolina’s Wicked Weed Brewing and tomorrow (Feb. 24) will release the finished product—Ad Idem, a French oak-aged golden sour ale with peaches and brett. It’s a blend, between a brettanomyces blond ale and a sour blond ale, aged in neutral wine barrels with whole, local peaches…

Everyone likes a free meal. And Leap Year babies (those of you born on Feb. 29, feeling like you don’t exist every three out of four years) get a free one from the Hard Rock Café on Feb. 29….

I love pairing dinners, mostly because I like food and drink. But I also like poking fun of pairing dinners. And that’s what San Diego band Splavender will do on March 18 at Mike Hess Brewing. Instead of pairing the beers with food, the beers will be paired with original Splavender songs written for the beer. For example, the Honeysuckle & Sho’Nuff Beer, a rye imperial stout, will be paired with a deep, contemplative groovy synth song. Sounds absolutely ridiculous. I like ridiculous…

San Diego Magazine’s cocktail feature is coming out in the March issue. In there, I express extreme admiration for Grant Grill and mad-scientist cocktail guy Jeff Josenhans, who has ushered a slew of “firsts” into San Diego’s cocktail scene. However, more needs to be said about the Grill’s “chef de bar,” Cory Alberto. Well, now’s the chance to see his work. He just released a menu of cocktails inspired by his favorite musicians, including Howlin’ Wolf (Johnny Walker Red, cane sugar, chocolate, bitters and cigar foam), Ella Fitzgerald (Remy Martin 1738, Crème Yvette, rose water, tangerine, prosecco), Dick Dale (Mt. Gay Black Barrel US Grant Blend Rum, El Silencio mezcal, La Gitana sherry, tarragon orgeat, lime, pineapple, tiki bitters and a splash of absinthe), plus boozy odes to B.B. King, Ali Farka and Preservation Hall (the legendary venue in N’Awlins)…

Info Tapas

The Howlin’ Wolf cocktail, part of Grant Grill’s new menu dedicated to music legends.

Excellent local steakhouse and butcher shop Cowboy Star has been rumored to expand for a while. And now it’s official. They’ll recreate their butter-blood-and-whiskey magic with a second location in Colorado Springs, slated to open in August. No word from owners Jon or Angie Weber on why they chose Colorado’s second-most populated city (pop. around 430K). But the collective appetite of Colorado got a jolt when the state legalized weed.

SOUTH AFRICAN UP NORTH: Local restaurateur William Sussman is bringing sosaties (curried lamb kebab), boerewors (coriander sausage) and other South African specialties to inland north county with his restaurant, Peri-Peri. Originally set to open in La Jolla, Sussman will now put the concept off the 56 Freeway in the former spot of Twisted Vine. Chef Kenny Raponi’s menu will pull from Mozambique cuisine—including the signature spicy dish, peri-peri—as well as Portuguese, Malaysian and Indian. South African wines, too.

JAZZ FLUTE: One of San Diego’s biggest jazz talents is trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, who’s played with everyone from Willie Nelson to Queen Latifah and Michael Buble. On April 3, he and his wife will team up with Westgate Hotel chef Fabrice Hardel to recreate a 1940s-50s jazz supper club. Hardel will create a three-course dinner while the Gilbert and Lorraine Castellanos Quintet channels the ghosts of Billie Holiday and Dizzy Gillespie with music from Lady Day. Guests are encouraged to dress “retro glamorous.” It should sell out, so get your tickets soon and get ’em here. $69.

HIGHER GROUND

Midway through my phone conversation with Shannon English, owner of The Delicate Squash, I hear an alarm shrilling in her background. 

“Sorry, I’ve got to pull some cookies out of the oven right now!” she apologizes. After a few beats, she picks the phone back up and laughs. “I feel like I’m bouncing around all over the place.”

After hearing her run through a list of her professions and current hobbies, I’d have to agree. English runs The Delicate Squash, a gluten- and dairy-free bakery; teaches cooking demos; pops up at farmers markets; wrote a book of poetry (Deep Water came out this month from Beyond the Veil Press); hosts a monthly open mic night; dipped her toe into ballet; recently joined a running club; volunteers at local farms; and finally, teaches at a play-based, nature-based preschool.

I’m tired just talking to her. 

Surprising no one, English seems to have unlimited energy and enthusiasm for all this work, notably in education. Early childhood education is one of the most pivotal times for nurturing lifelong learning, but she also aims to educate the public on how to eat cleaner, feel better, and support your local food systems. She started The Delicate Squash in late 2023 after discovering she has a chronic illness, going through the typical standards of care and even strict elimination diets, to no avail. 

“I’m not going to say I found a diet that has ‘cured’ me, but I have found that taking a more mindful approach to a lot of things, including diet, has made symptoms far more manageable for me,” she says. 

Even people with dietary restrictions deserve a little treat from time to time, but she had a hard time finding anything that tasted good and made her feel good. Thus, The Delicate Squash was born.

All of her baked goods avoid gluten and dairy, and use natural sweeteners like coconut sugar or maple syrup as well as herbs, fruits, foraged flowers, and other natural flavorings. Her signature cookie, the “Delicate” cookie, is a sea salt dark chocolate cookie that’s soft, a little salty, a little sweet, and made with oatmeal to keep it gluten-free. Other crowd favorites are thumbprint jam cookies with jams made from scratch with change seasonally; breakfast pastries like orange, dark chocolate and cardamom scones; brownies; orange and black sesame banana bread; seasonal pies; and custom and seasonal cakes (currently, the late summer flavor is a dark chocolate coconut milk ganache with berry jam).

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English says some people are surprised she can produce such a variety of goods with the dietary restrictions she adheres to. “A lot of feedback I get is ‘I could never do that,’” she says. But if she can do it, she assures me that anyone can. “I like to say ‘practice makes progress, not perfection.’” 

Her advice? Focus more on being present than presentation, and don’t be afraid to experiment to keep things interesting. And if that doesn’t work, you can always hit her open mic night to ask for tips.

Customers can order from The Delicate Squash’s online store, check her upcoming schedule of pop-ups, or find her goods at various independent retailers around San Diego.

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Vinyl Listening Room Opening Inside Escondido’s Distinction Gallery

Escondido is getting in on the listening bar phenomenon. On September 5, musicians Mat Rakers, Kevin Capacia, and Billy Petty will open Plot Armor, a Japanese-style vinyl listening bar that Rakers says they aim to feel “curated and intelligent.” 

“Currently, there are not a lot of ‘cool’ spots in Escondido,” he says. Backed by The San Diego Music And Art Company and The Escondido Music And Art Company, Plot Armor will soon offer sake, wine, beer, and soju cocktails, plus Japanese non-alcoholic options and cold brew. Eventually, they’ll add Japanese-inspired snacks, but the focus will be creating a small place (very small—the seating capacity is 20) where vinyl junkies can come listen, linger, and libate. 

Beth’s Bites

• Ocean Beach has a new watering hole. The Jetty opened in July at 4934 Voltaire Street (where Voltaire Beach House used to be), and while I don’t think OBceans were hurting for where to get a drink, the more the merrier. 
• Chinese restaurant powerhouse Chef Fei is finally making it to the U.S., opening a spot at Westfield UTC mall on September 5. Known for Hunan-style stir fry dishes, it’s often lauded as one of the most consistently solid chains in the world—in fact, in 2018 chef Fei Lianghui took home the highest honor a Chinese chef can earn, the China Golden Chef Award. Again, I don’t think mallgoers were hurting for great places to slurp some noodles, but there’s always room in my heart for more stir fry.
• In past years, Fairmont Grand Del Mar didn’t exactly jump to mind when I looked for different Día de Muertos celebrations around San Diego. That changes this year, when the five-star resort will debut its first Día de Muertos celebration on November 1. Michelin-recognized chefs like Javier Plascencia (Erizo, Animalon), Roberto Alcocer (Valle), Drew Deckman (Deckman’s En El Mogor), and more will come from both sides of the border for one night only, with proceeds going to Fundación Tijuana Sin Hambre. Get ready for what will undoubtedly be San Diego’s most upscale take on the Mexican holiday.

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].

Basque grandmothers have not been making it for centuries. If you’re a millennial, there’s a strong possibility you’re older than the dessert itself. Yet somehow in less than 40 years, the Basque cheesecake—a half-pudding, half-cake creation with a top that looks like a mistake—managed to ooze its way onto menus all over the world.

It became the undisputed dessert star of San Diego’s restaurant world this year. So we invited 19 of the top restaurants, pastry chefs, and bakers to bring their best to the San Diego Magazine office for a blind taste test to find the best in the city.

First, a little history and context.

In 1987, after failing to find a job as an electrician, Santiago Rivera started working as a bartender at his parents’ unassuming pintxo bar La Viña, in San Sebastián, Spain. He was a naturally curious, self-taught cook who spent his free time testing recipes, tinkering with ingredients, and tweaking techniques.

So when it came to the cheesecake—which hadn’t changed much since its invention (a rudimentary version was served at the first Olympics in Greece 4,000 years ago, and the modern New York version in 1872)—he got radical with it.

He removed the crust (partly just to speed up the process because time is money for a small business). Without the crumbly crust, the experience was far creamier, less granulated. Then he cranked the oven to 400 degrees, nearly 100 degrees hotter than the normal baking temperature.

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The result? The top became deeply caramelized, almost burnt, while leaving the center luxuriously soft and loosely set. The restaurant became a legend because of this breakthrough in the dairy arts, and his father never let him stop making it after that.

Now, 67 years after the restaurant’s opening, La Viña stands out for the unceasing line spilling onto the street, and the remarkable amount of curd cultists standing nearby, hovering over cream-smeared plastic containers. It’s the kind of scene that makes you stop and think: What the hell are they eating?

Now, the blind tasting. To keep things fair, the contenders were divided into four categories: Restaurant Traditional, Restaurant Flavored, Bakery Traditional, and Bakery Flavored. (It’s a tad unfair to pit a baker who specializes in the one glorious thing against a restaurant that cooks dozens of things.) Each entry was served blind and judged on texture, flavor, and number of vaguely inappropriate food moans.

The logistics were chaotic, to say the least. Our fridge—not a walk-in, sadly—was packed to the brim. Each cake was sliced, secretly labeled, and shuffled onto plates while the team gathered in the conference room. The whole shebang was not in any way sponsored by Lactaid, despite our various attempts to convince them of this ripe marketing opportunity.

The judging became gloriously unhinged. We heard it all, from “I don’t care how the cheesecake gets in my mouth, it just needs to happen,” and “Is it supposed to be this jiggly?” to “Kind of a baby throw-up situation,” “Straight cheese,” and “I’m getting vague socks there.”

But four Basque cheesecakes stood out among the rest, earning themselves the title of Best Burnt Basque Cheesecake in San Diego.

Restaurant: Traditional

Mesa Agricola

A restaurant for the people. Rosarito native chef Juan González and Megan Strom are the ideal married couple to be running a farm-to-table joint. She’s been a farmer for decades, selling top-notch produce to some of the best restaurants in California—which is how the two met. A couple years ago, she started working at the small organic farm in Valley Center run by Mike Reeske, who had spent decades breeding the perfect heirloom beans for SoCal’s climate. He recently retired, and gifted those strains to Strom—who grows them (and other crops) for their tiny Escondido taco/burrito shop specializing in guisados (Mexican stews).

A Basque cheesecake in a taco shop? You bet. Juan’s got family roots in Spain and has cooked in Spanish kitchens.

Mesa Agricola’s winning Basque is by far the most “burnt” of all contenders—so much so that an Instagram follower declared it a mistake. But as Chef Juan notes, there’s an art to hitting the sweet spot where “the bitterness of the char balances the richness and sweetness without turning it into ‘chicharrón.’” Plus, char is a core charm of Baja cooking. It’s the perfect Basque for the people who prefer setting their campfire marshmallows fully on fire.

Restaurant: Flavored

Moe’s Steakhouse

With red leather booths and a retro steakhouse vibe, Moe’s in Mission Beach is a good cheat day destination. The menu is flavor maximalism—dry-aged steaks, housemade pastas, brown liquors, and sides like the lobster truffle mac ’n’ cheese. Pastry chef Eli Peralta (whom some might remember as the creator of The Patio on Lamont’s “Twisted Elvis”—a peanut butter-banana brûlée stunner) brings that same intensity to the dessert menu.

Baked at sister restaurant Molly’s (6 feet away), his Basque is served on a bed of caramel with walnut brittle and a dollop of whipped cream, an indulgent recipe that converted the pastry chef himself. “I wasn’t crazy about cheesecakes,” Eli admits. “Then I started making different flavors, and I started to like them.” He’s not the only convert: During our blind tasting, one judge likened the cake to crème brûlée, concluding, “I don’t even like crème brûlée, but I like this.”

Bakery: Traditional

Muse Cheesecakes & Bakery

Every creative pursuit starts with a muse—and Lada Sadovnyk’s has been the Basque cheesecake for years. In Ukraine, she baked them for friends and family gatherings, never imagining she would one day build an entire bakery around them in the US. “When we moved to San Diego,” she explains, “I kept thinking, ‘What can I do? What do I really love to do?’”

The answer is pretty fantastic.

After obsessing over proportion and techniques, chasing that molten center and deeply caramelized top, what began as an online recipe evolved into something entirely of her own.

She moved from her home kitchen to a rented commercial kitchen close to Sports Arena. The orders kept coming, and so did the pressure. “At one point, I was thinking about divorcing my husband,” she says with a laugh (while sitting next to him). The grind paid off: Today, Muse Cheesecakes bakes roughly 1,200 cheesecakes a month and is planning to open its first brick-and-mortar home in Pacific Beach.

For our competition, the expectations met reality. Muse has made a quick name in San Diego as the Basque to beat. In a blind taste test, there’s no bias, no reputational shine to sway a room. The response on reveal: “Oh, of course.”

Bakery: Flavored

Bite Cheesecakes & Bakery

Husband-and-wife duo Alex and Anastasia Kiperband pulled off the number of failures (and then some) that are required of any search for the best recipe. After adjusting baking temps, sugar rations, and experimenting with different brands of cream cheese and heavy cream—they finally landed on something worthy of a business license.

“When we started this business in America, we were really nervous,” Anastasia says, co-owner of Bite Cheesecakes & Bakery.

Once they won over those first customers, their confidence grew enough to start tinkering. When Dubai chocolate took social media by storm, they developed their own version, making the pistachio paste from scratch before layering the buttery kataifi pastry beneath a glossy chocolate shell to create its signature Dubai Chocolate Basque Cheesecake.

“In a lot of situations, we’re converting cheesecake haters to cheesecake lovers,” they say. “That’s probably the best feedback that we get.”

There aren’t many places left in San Diego with a lack of specialty coffee options. This week, we can add La Jolla Shores to that list—Casa Del Lobo has arrived. Life-and-business partners Christine Silver and Saul Moreno came to San Diego the same route so many of us have: coming for vacation and falling in love with the city and each other.

Silver was working on Wall Street in New York City and decided to visit some friends in SoCal after the pandemic clouds lifted. Moreno happened to be visiting from Mexico City at the same time. The two met, moved here, got married, had a baby, and thought, “Hey, why not start our own business?” 

Apparently, their whirlwind lives needed more windy whirls. (Windy whirls? They like to stay busy.) Casa Del Lobo isn’t either of their first rodeos, although it’s both of their first forays into the coffee space. “We’re both serial entrepreneurs,” laughs Silver. She runs a venture capital business that invests in women-owned wellness companies, and he runs his own logistics company out of Mexico City. “We keep saying, ‘Oh, it’s the last time we’ll start a business. Then all of a sudden, a year or two later, we can’t help ourselves.’”

The idea to open Casa Del Lobo initially started when the pair began decorating their house in Windansea. After looking for large-scale ceramic planters and outdoor fountains that met their quality expectations without egregious price tags (something Moreno was used to seeing in Mexico), they realized there simply weren’t any comparable options here. 

So rather than continuing to drive over the border to go shopping, they decided to bring Mexican ceramic style to San Diego. 

The partners now run a manufacturing facility in Tecate, specializing in large-format ceramics and specialty glazes. As they sought out potential locations to open a planter store, they realized they could go one of two routes. One, get a warehouse in an industrial area and rely on marketing to get the word out. Or two, they could diversify by opening a homey retail store where people have to walk through the shop area to get a cup of specialty coffee.

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They went with option two, and coffee quickly became their primary objective. 

“My husband and I, we love coffee,” she says, adding that whenever they go on vacation, no matter where they are in the world, figuring out where to get a java fix every day is their number one goal. (Side note: I can strongly relate.) Mexico City coffee and design culture lean heavily urban and industrial in feel, mixing both an Old World architecture with modern sensibilities—something Silver says they felt was missing locally, specifically in La Jolla Shores.

Casa Del Lobo, which translates to “house of the wolf” in Spanish, soft opened this week, with traditional coffee offerings like lattes, cappuccinos, and Americanos, along with four housemade syrups that will change seasonally (currently, they are vanilla, lavender, orange blossom, and brown sugar cinnamon). For now, the food is simple pastries from Knead Artisan Bakery, but Silver says they plan to add more options like breakfast burritos, paninis, and natural wine in the future. Eventually, customers will also be able to purchase their signature ceramics online, and one day, they may open more locations along the California coast. 

But for now, they’re just getting started in La Jolla. “We’ll be here forever,” says Silver. “We want this to be the first of many.”

Casa Del Lobo is now open at 2246 Avenida de la Playa every Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites