The Food Hit List: March 2023

Every time I drive past Jacobs Medical Center, that hospital with a mirrored façade on the 5 near La Jolla Village Drive, I wave to my dad’s old lungs. Even though his lung transplant was almost two years ago—and in a different building, the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center 200 feet away—I still imagine his original lungs resting in some nice, shaded dumpster outside Jacobs. They were actually taken to a lab for UC San Diego’s medical students to learn about pulmonary fibrosis, an altruistic second chapter of their life, but in my daydreams, they’re just hanging out in some hospital dumpster speakeasy with other jettisoned organs.

My dad is still kickin’ because of the medical staff at UC San Diego Health (and because of one very kind anonymous organ donor). I don’t just mean his team of doctors who performed the actual surgery; I also mean his nurses, physical therapists, case manager, social worker, transplant coordinators—it takes a village. And that village not only educated me, my mom, and my brother on what my dad was going through, it also kept us calm(ish). As calm as you could be before your dad gets his lungs yoinked out of his body.

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During all of this, my family learned that UCSD is the place to go if you need a lung transplant. Its résumé of successful transplant surgeries dates as far back as 1968, and patient survival rates exceed the national average. How lucky were we that our local hospital is the transplant destination for people coming as far as the Middle East. Lung transplants are new in terms of human history—the world’s first successful double lung transplant, the same one my dad got, was in 1986. My dad’s surgery was one of 54 lung transplants that UCSD performed that year. The biggest day of our lives was just an average Tuesday for his doctors. And that’s kind of how you want it.

UCSD helped me and my family, but San Diego’s healthcare system as a whole ranks as one of the top in the country. We have the most hospital beds per population than any other city in the US, and Scripps, Sharp, Palomar, and Kaiser all rank near the top nationally. The whole county’s the epicenter of medical innovation. People like Luca De Vivo Nicoloso and Joshua Pelz saw the flaws in traditional prosthesis development and used a 3D printer and inspiration from the unique skeleton of cholla cacti to create a groundbreaking solution. Also, care at home seems to be a long universal dream, and a few San Diego designers are reimagining home design to cope with the physical challenges of aging and disability while maintaining the elements that make a home feel like home.

And if you’re confronted with a diagnosis that rattles your sense of agency within your own body, what do you do? Mastectomy surgeries can leave scars that turn a part of your body—one tied to personal identity—into a visual reminder of trauma. We feature Pacific Beach–based artist Shane Wallin, who has spent years helping people with scars reclaim their personal space with elaborate, gender-affirming tattoos. He’s even on the board of directors for the Alliance of Medical Tattooing. Even though he’s not a doctor per se, he’s a part of San Diego’s distinct medical ecosystem. We all are.

I’d like to close with a personal plea: Be an organ donor. An organ donor saved my dad’s life. I receive the benefit of a stranger’s generosity every time I come home. Whenever I’m done in this realm, hopefully a long time from now, I hope I get to be that generous, too. In the meantime, I’ll keep waving to that old lung by that shiny building off the 5, on my way to see my dad.

For over two decades, the San Diego County Medical Society (SDCMS) has worked collaboratively with San Diego Magazine to recognize physicians who are held in the highest regard by their peers. Votes and nominations are open to all physicians in San Diego. The voting physicians are asked to vote for physicians within and outside their specialty to whom they would refer their friends and family. Through this process we have identified 968 physicians in 102 specialties.

In a synchronized effort, SDCMS confirmed every individual nominee’s Medical Board of California licensing and current practicing status. Through this exhaustive process, 968 physicians are being honored this year. Many of them have also been recognized for multiple years since we began publishing this list. Multi-year honorees will have the number of years they have been selected listed in brackets behind their name.

Although not all our superb physicians are represented on this list, we still acknowledge and appreciate their contributions. The selection criteria are strict, with only a small percent of physicians selected in each specialty. Many additional physicians received multiple votes from their peers, however, did not reach the threshold to be on the list. The best choice of physician for a patient includes many factors and we all work hard to meet their needs. We are proud to recognize that all physicians in San Diego work collaboratively to provide the very best care for all.

We welcome and encourage all San Diego County physicians to participate in their county and state medical societies as we work toward the SDCMS vision: “Physicians United for a Healthy San Diego.” The strength of our united voice as a medical community depends on the leadership and advocacy of all of us. We appreciate the assistance of all the physicians who voted, and we thank San Diego Magazine for their support.

Congratulations to all of our 2026 Top Doctor selectees! For more information regarding membership, voting, future events and becoming more involved with the medical society, visit www.SDCMS.org. 

San Diego Top Doctors List 2026

* Brackets denote the number of years chosen as a Top Doctor

Abdominal Surgery

Garth Ross Jacobsen, MD [4]
UC San Diego Health
9300 Campus Point Dr, MC 7220
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 657-7025

Addiction Medicine

Long H Nguyen, MD [2]
Kaiser Permanente
3420 Kenyon St
San Diego, CA 92110
(800) 290-5000

Addiction Psychiatry

Kimberly A Fitzgerald, MD [2]
Kaiser Permanente
3420 Kenyon St, Bldg B 1st Floor
San Diego, CA 92110
(800) 290-5000

Adolescent Medicine

Azadeh Shirazi, MD [2]
Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group
16899 W Bernardo Dr, 1st Floor
San Diego, CA 92127
(858) 499-2777

Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology

Dalia Abadeer Banks, MD [8]
UC San Diego Health
9500 Gilman Dr, MC 0898
La Jolla, CA 92093
(858) 657-6510

Adam Brent Barrus, MD [3]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Francesca Betti, MD [2]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Arsh Chopra, MD [1]
Kaiser Permanente
360 Rush Dr
San Marcos, CA 92078
(800) 290-5000

William T Connell, MD [12]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Andres Falabella, MD [2]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Alexander M Girgis, MD [5]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Austin J Henry, DO [3]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Paul James Himaya, MD [7]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Brian Alexander Janda, MD [2]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Tse-Sun Ku, MD [9]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Jason Philip Lujan, MD [17]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Kris Cheryl Lukauskis, MD [1]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Lars R Newsome, MD [20]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Deena Helen Perotti, MD [1]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Gabriel Rene Rubio, MD [2]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Alaa Saghbini, MD [3]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

David Maged Seif, MD [8]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Edward Harding Sherer, MD [4]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Kevin James Staggenborg, MD [2]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Sepehr Shokri Tabibzadeh, MD [12]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

Kris Kishore Vasant, MD [2]
Anesthesia Service Medical Group
3626 Ruffin Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 565-9666

There’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sign tacked on a utility pole on a residential street in La Mesa with one word scrawled across it: SOURDOUGH. Megan Loney has lived in the Academy Heights neighborhood all her life—in fact, her parents reside next door and she lives in the house she grew up in. Out of her kitchen, she runs Gemini Twins Bakery. But based on demand, she may need to start looking for space somewhere else.

“We already have, let’s see, one, two, three…” she counts the equipment around the room. “Six fridges in the house.” (One fridge even gets delivered in the middle of our conversation.) Of course, not all of them are for the bakery, she adds. Half are dedicated to fermentation, from pickling peppers to making kombucha. 

September 25, 2026

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Scientists have long touted the benefits of yeast and bacteria converting sugars as a way to improve digestion and overall gut health (among other benefits) for many years. Handmade, housebaked sourdough bread has particularly regained popularity after a dip in production during the commercial bread heyday of the mid-20th century, driven in part by at-home attempts during the pandemic. Loney began experimenting with her sourdough starter in 2019, hoping to improve her family’s nutrition and eating habits.

It didn’t click right away. “It took me a year to keep my starter alive,” she laughs. “I didn’t bake any bread until 2020.” Once she did manage to nurture her starter to life, she taught herself how to bake better versions of store-bought items. “Look at anything on a label in a store these days, and it’s terrifying!” she says. “I was like, ‘No, no, no, we can do this fresh.’”

Loney started selling loaves and baked goods to friends and family before officially launching Gemini Twins (named after her twins, naturally) in 2024, first appearing at La Mesa Oktoberfest. Now, you can pick up her products at the Lakeside farmers market on Thursday afternoons, the Sharp Grossmont farmers market every other Friday morning, Cardiff farmers market on Saturday mornings (although not as the main bread vendor), and the first and third Saturdays of every month in her driveway—just follow the sourdough signs. 

Gemini Twins mainly sells sourdough loaves, both traditional and flavors like blueberry lemon basil (made with lemon basil, not lemon and basil) and Dilly Jack (dill, Monterey Jack cheese, and dried onion), plus cookies, cinnamon rolls, scones, and bagels. Loney makes her own in-house blend of fresh-milled whole grain wheat that she mills herself, along with Central Milling organic high-mountain bread flour, a blend of spring wheat and high protein winter wheat. Using organic is key, she says, to avoid negating the health benefits of fermentation with possible exposure to pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals. 

After leaving a steady job in construction to launch Gemini Twins, she’s determined to make it work by any means necessary—literally. When she was pregnant with her youngest child, she was baking up until and actually on the day she gave birth. “It’s a dedication for sure, but it’s one that I love,” she says. Launching a viable sourdough brand isn’t exactly the easiest business to get into—most farmers markets and small grocers already have an overabundance of products. But the chance to be her own boss, support her wife who’s currently going to school full-time (as well as their kids), work from home, and share her wares across San Diego? It’s worth it. “The most important part is that it’s family-based,” she says. “We’re just hoping to see it grow… there’s a pretty big horizon in front of us.”

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

As a child, Chantal Partolan never considered cooking as a viable job route. Rather, it was a passion she could turn to as a way to flex her creative muscle, from the time she was in school all the way into adulthood working in a corporate space.

“I never felt like [cooking] was a chore, like some other people feel,” she says. To feed that passion, she started hosting supper clubs in 2022, creating menus and full tablescapes to bring together friends and family. With each successful gathering, she wondered: Could she take this further?

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In 2024, she did. Officially launching as Bik-Lun, she began small, hosting baking pop-ups in Long Beach before moving back to her hometown of San Diego in 2025. Now, Partolan still mostly pops up at small local businesses like Moniker General and Joon Shoppe, but now also offers small batch catering and private chef services, all centered around her father’s Filipino and her mother’s Chinese heritages.

Bik-Lun (pronounced bik-LUHN, like “fun”) is named for her mother. “When she migrated to America when she was younger with all her siblings, they all got American names,” Partolan says. She doesn’t strictly adhere to rigid culinary rules—instead, she lets memories drive her creations. 

“Now that my grandparents are no longer here, trying to revisit those memories and share them with others has been a really important part of this journey for me,” she explains. Ingredients like red bean and black sesame reflect her Chinese roots, while more savory items like sinigang (a sour and savory Filipino soup) pay homage to her father’s family. 

Collaborating with other children of immigrants is another way she experiences flavors through a fresh lens. There are so many Filipino-run small businesses willing to share their own familial memories and inspiration, she says. “Hearing their experiences sometimes helps me recount my own.”

You can next catch Bik-Lun on September 27 at Home Ec + Best Bud with Magnaye (formerly One of One), October 3 at Patine’s new location in Bankers Hill, and October 10-11 at the Mingei Museum for Merkado Kultura, a makers market for Filipino producers. Partolan says since most customers are familiar with her sweet products, she’s planning to offer more savory items—like a breakfast sandwich—at the Home Ec event to give people a taste of her creative versatility. 

Eventually, she hopes to add some permanent residencies to Bik-Lun’s schedule—a few are already in the works, so stay tuned—while also looking for ways to combine her food and photography expertise. (A cookbook? Maybe, she says.) But in the meantime, Partolan will remain curious about where she comes from—and how it can take her to where she’s going. 

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• Izola Bakery has long discussed its expansion plans, and at long last, there’s finally some traction. The award-winning East Village bakery will officially move into its second location at the former California English space in Sorrento Valley, hopefully by the end of the year, according to owner Jeffrey Brown. In the meantime, the downtown location will continue to churn out plenty of buns, croissants, sourdough, and more to keep your carb cravings at bay. 
• Why settle for beer at Oktoberfest when you can have cider? Bivouac Ciderworks is throwing their version of Septemberfest, on Saturday, September 26 from noon to 5 p.m. at their North Park taproom and restaurant. Entry is free, and there will be plenty of German-inspired bites and eats to enjoy. I’m particularly eyeing the apple strudel cider float and Bavarian cider-kraut, but in all likelihood will also be getting a soft pretzel or two as well. 
• San Diego’s coffee scene is still on a roll—local roaster Talitha Coffee took home a gold medal at the 2026 Global Coffee Awards for their Sunset Serenade decaf espresso. Not too shabby for our not-so-small town!

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].

As a kid, Jacob Chen scrounged up whatever odd jobs he could—running lemonade stands, organizing garage sales, reselling appliances on Facebook Marketplace. But there was something about cooking that kept him coming back to the kitchen. “It started as a way for me to spend time with my mom,” he says. “In a way, I think it was inevitable that I would begin a food-based business.”

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That business ended up being Made for MeiMei, a line of low-sugar, high protein and fiber mochi flavors like ube, matcha, red bean, black sesame, peanut butter and jelly, and chocolate hazelnut. “‘Mochi’ is derived from ‘mochigome,’ which is the special type of short grain rice that gives mochi its stretchy, chewy texture,” he explains. Traditionally served in Japan as a dessert to celebrate the new year (similar to bibingka in the Philippines and nian gao in China), American-style mochi tends to taste sweeter and often comes as mochi ice cream. However, Chen points out that wasn’t always the case.

“Before mochi was synonymous with ice cream and refined sugar, it was simply a rice based snack filled with whole food ingredients,” he says. “That’s the version of mochi we’re trying to bring back.”

Made for MeiMei’s primary ingredients are rice flour and coconut milk, plus the featured ingredient for each flavor. But rather than using refined sugar, Chen sweetens his mochi with monk fruit and uses organic pumpkin seed protein and chicory root fiber to create what he calls “the first better-for-you mochi.” 

Recent collaborations include a mochi-wrapped gelato with An’s Dry Cleaning, strawberry daifuku cream puff with Mon Chourie, and a funfetti chantilly cream dip mochi with The Clovery, but Chen has his sights set on retail expansion. Currently, Made for MeiMei products are available online, locally at Easy Does It Cafe, Bodega Market, or at upcoming events like Embolden Beer Company’s Taste of Shogun on September 27 (admission is free!) and a pop-up with Organic Oren on October 5. 

Besides being better for you nutritionally, Chen’s goal for the business is to also be better for the world. He’s worked in rehabilitation clinics and volunteered at San Quentin when he lived in Berkeley—experiences that transformed his worldview. “It really doesn’t take much to be on the other side of the fence,” he says. That’s why he donates portions of proceeds to organizations like Second Chance San Diego (which helps formerly incarcerated people find steady employment), Immigrant Defenders Law Center (a nonprofit deportation defense law firm), and Border Angels, an advocacy group working to reduce fatalities of people crossing the United States and Mexico border.

Chen has his sights aimed high, hoping to bring Made for MeiMei to more local grocery stores and cafes before hitting national retail shelves. Will he stop at mochi? Maybe not.

“There are so many childhood treats that could use an ingredient upgrade,” he says. “Mochi is just the beginning!”

San Diego Restaurant News & Events

Leave It Up To The Chefs at Roppongi 

There’s no such thing as too much omakase, and we’re leaning in. On September 24, chef Davin Waite (The Plot, Wrench & Rodent) will join chef Mark Correa at Roppongi Restaurant & Lounge for a one-night-only, eight-course omakase experience with an optional (but personally recommended) beverage pairing curated by sommelier Humberto Ramirez. You definitely need to snap up a reservation for this one before they’re gone—and with a dream team like this, they will be gone. 

Beth’s Bites

• Another weekend, another food festival—not that I’m complaining! On October 3, the 15th annual Taste of North Park hits the streets with over 50 tastings and 15 beverage stops awaiting your arrival. The event sells out every year (for real), thanks to participants like the newly opened One of Us, Falafel Heights, Finca, and many, many more. (Leave the parking stress at home—this is the ideal time to take advantage of the not-utilized-enough North Park parking garage.)
• Swells Sourdough Bakery is movin’ on up—to Little Italy, that is. The farmers market favorite officially opens at 2254 India Street on October 1, but eager patrons can stop by during the soft opening starting September 26. Swimsuit season is over, people. It’s time to get our bagel on. 
• Longtime Point Loma watering hole Paradise Lounge & Grill is closing its doors, but only temporarily. I’m keeping an eye out for an official opening date, but the business has posted they hope by the end of September. Hopefully, it’ll be in time for the Padres to make the playoffs—manifestation!

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].