True Food Sustainable Seafood Dinner
WHEN: June 15, 6 p.m.
WHERE: True Food Kitchen, 7007 Friars Rd., Fashion Valley Mall
It used to be a lot easier to write off mall food. Now, real chefs are heading up real restaurants, and serving things other than six-cheese mac ‘n’ cheese and potato skins. One of those is True Food Kitchen—the healthy gourmet concept that stemmed out of Arizona. Heading their kitchen is Nathan Coulon, who used to be executive chef of the Quarter Kitchen at the former Ivy Hotel in San Diego. He’s a talent. For this four-course dinner they’ll focus on sustainable seafood. It’s no small thing. 90 percent of the ocean’s predators have disappeared; some scientists are predicting depletion in this century. First course, uni with watermelon radish, cucumber, cucumber, soy, yuzu, jalapeno and avocado; second course, local spot prawn ceviche with sweet pepper, Thai herb and sesame; third course, meyer lemon glazed black cod with spring onion veloute, chanterelle mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns; plus dessert and wine pairings.
COST: $55
San Diego Magazine‘s Best Restaurants Party
WHEN: June 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Pirch UTC, 4545 La Jolla Village Drive #1, La Jolla
Every year, this magazine’s readers vote for the best food the city has to offer. Then we throw a big party to celebrate it all. The whole thing goes down at Pirch, a high-end appliance store at the Westfield UTC mall. A ticket gets you unlimited bites from some of San Diego’s top restaurants — including Addison, Cucina Urbana, and Herringbone — plus wine, beer, and music. There are some SD foodie events you just don’t want to miss; this is one of them.
COST: $60
North Eats
WHEN: June 26, 4-7 p.m.
WHERE: Cape Rey Carlsbad, 1 Ponto Road, Carlsbad
North County doesn’t get enough love. As a native of that region, I feel qualified and saddened to say that for a long time, it didn’t deserve it. But it’s come a long way, with the population boom and more people moving along the 78 corridor. North Eats, put on by Baker & Olive, is a celebration of some of the best restaurants in the area. There’ll be over 30 chefs, restaurants and food brands on hand, including Blue Ribbon Pizza, Craftsman New American Tavern, Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub, Panca Peruvian, Petite Madeline Bakery, Bull Taco and a ton more, with a cooking competition hosted by 94.9’s Cantore & Woods. Five bucks from every ticket will go to Feeding America San Diego.
COST: $65
Collections By Addison
WHEN: July 2, reservations start at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Addison at Fairmont Grand Del Mar, 5300 Grand Del Mar Ct., Del Mar
William Bradley is cooking on a level attained by only a handful of chefs in the country. For this series, he brings in some of the country’s top chefs and they collaborate on an eight-course tasting menu. Last year I was present for his collaboration with Josiah Citrin (of Melisse in Santa Monica), and it was easily the best meal of my life. This year he has three chefs in line: two-star Michelin chef Michael Cimarusti of Providence on July 2, James Beard winner Gabriel Kreuther on Oct. 22, and the legendary Gary Danko on Dec. 10. It’s quite a show. The two chefs will volley back and forth, dish for dish, until the end. It’s not cheap by any means, but I’ve seen people pay more for concert tickets. And for some people—myself included—a world-class meal is as good as a world-class show.
COST: $275 ($200 more for wine pairings)
The Best Food & Drink Events This Month: June-July 2016
June 26: North Eats
