Coronado deserves better restaurants.
Don’t get me wrong. There are some great ones there—Serẽa, Little Frenchie, The Henry, and Nobu coming next year. But for every decent meal worth what I call the Coronado tax—have you seen their gas prices??—there are five more overpriced, mediocre meals to be had. It pays to have a view.
Still, I never mind paying a premium for quality, and it sounds like more quality is headed to the island when J.T. Prime Kitchen & Cocktails opens this spring at 932 Orange Avenue.
It’ll be the third iteration of chef Alex Trujillo’s concept, which currently operates locations in Yuma and Scottsdale, Arizona, and will take over the former Primavera Ristorante space. The menu for J.T. Prime Coronado will feature the group’s signature dishes like roasted pork belly, house-made short rib ravioli, and plenty of steakhouse favorites, as well as items taken from Trujillo’s J.T. Bros Handcrafted Sandwiches for Prime Lunch Hour, which will be unique to the Coronado location. Expect plenty of cocktails as well, along with a full bar of wine, beer, and spirits.
There’s a lot to love about Coronado. It’s my personal favorite beach in San Diego—there’s so much sand!—and ice skating at the Hotel Del during the holidays is practically a rite of passage. It will be great to have one more (delicious) reason to cross the bridge.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Tribute Pizza Is Hot, Hot, Hot (Honey)
I don’t mix sweet and savory. Syrup on sausage? Ruinous. Kettle corn? Popcorn is supposed to be salty, people! And don’t get me started on honey mustard.
But there’s one big exception to my (admittedly personal and possibly incorrect) preference. It’s drizzling hot honey on pizza. It’s always a treat, and no one does it better than Tribute Pizza. They’re bringing back their third annual Mike’s Hot Honey Party on Saturday, March 23. Tickets for two sessions are available, either from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. There will be cocktails from Happy Medium, Swan Bar, and more. There will be Mutual Friend ice cream. There will be DJs. There will be swag. There will be a photobooth. Will there be you?
Beth’s Bites
Florida-based barcade Arcade Monsters is coming soon to the former Coffee & Tea Collective space at 704 J Street in the East Village. It’s been in progress for a while now, but their Instagram stories show arcades getting wheeled in the front door, so fingers crossed.
Michimichi, a baking collective headed by founder Vanessa Corrales and executive pastry chef Arely Chavez, is (almost!) open at 2800 Fifth Avenue. I can’t wait much longer for the cream puffs!
Counterpoint in Golden Hill is still knee-deep in renovations, but hopes to reopen by the end of this month. Good, because I need their Nashville hot chicken sandwich pronto.
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