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The once-snobby craft cocktail scene enters its fun phase
“People started taking classic drinks really serious. Everyone had to dress the part with the suspenders. It started to get in this really serious and nerdy direction and people were demanding respect because they were a cocktail bartender. It started to get snotty, the way sommeliers were.”–Steven Tuttle, Kettner Exchange
If the last decade of the craft cocktail movement has taught us anything, it’s that being a pretentious boob is necessary.
In the 80s and 90s, the bar became a riot of unsophisticated booze-chugging. Canned juices, with their deceased, metallic charms, ruled the day.
It’s understandable. Restaurants don’t make money on food. In fact, some menu items are loss leaders. The bar is the cash register of any food and drink operation. It’s the Gordon Gecko of the joint, whereas the dining room is the feel-good, romantic nonprofit worker.
So, to fund their food operation, business owners needed to churn out as many drinks as possible in as few minutes as possible. Pay a prep staff to fresh-squeeze juices by hand? What are you, a Democrat? Do you burn money for warmth in the winter?
And so canned juices and bulk garnishes and cheap syrups helped turn the bar into a hyper-efficient assembly line. Customers didn’t seem to mind this level of quality, which is best described as “utter crap.” Because while we may wait 20 minutes for our steak to be cooked to perfection, we need our cocktail right now. We’re out in the public, we’re apprehensive, we need the social lubricant, the wet courage, we’ve punched the clock all day and deserve a drink rather immediately.
So, man, hangovers were especially bad during the 80s and 90s. Sugary drinks and mixers—Midori! Blue Curacao!—went into our bodies with all the productivity of a home invasion. The drinks kicked puppies in our blood systems. We woke up and felt as if our souls had been forcibly evicted through our temples.
Half-naked gals downed shots and danced on the bar, just like Gloria Steinem always wanted. Tom Cruise was winking and flairing his way into hot Hollywood babe hearts. Bar life turned into a tawdry spring break affair with black lights, blackouts, and behavior unbecoming of a non-jungle species. Tons of T&A, very little art.
And so the craft cocktail scene arrived to save us from our douchey selves. It’s hard to boat race with a negroni.
Just the word “craft” indicates a certain seriousness. Bars and restaurants participating in this movement even, for a brief moment, called their bartenders “mixologists.” That didn’t last long, because it was the verbal equivalent of a fanny pack. But the reason they did so was understandable—the word “bartender” had become so denigrated, so artless, that there had to be a better word, right?
Craft cocktail bartenders were doing everything from scratch. Juicing their own juices. Making their own orgeat (almond) syrups, falernum, everything. They were researching the history and culture of cocktails, resuscitating ancient tinctures and sodas and recipes. It was like an excavation project for a time when sitting at the bar was a more sophisticated, adult experience and not a mere spigot to turn the bar into an ad-hoc, Saturday-night sex farm.
Craft cocktails ARE art, in comparison to the gun-and-done bartending of the 80s. The bartenders started dressing the part, what with their suspenders and vests and topiary mustaches. Instead of drinking five mediocre drinks, they promoted drinking fewer drinks of higher quality. They encouraged patience. They encouraged not being a jackass.
People paid attention. They enjoyed this rebirth of cool. They enjoyed feeling sophisticated again.
And then it went too far. As the movement swelled and people became fans, bartenders got an over-inflated sense of self-importance. They became snobs. “You don’t know what a swizzle is? There’s a Bud Light bar down the street, pal.”
Craft bartenders embodied the same off-putting, pretentious blow-hardery that sommeliers did in the 90s. In their efforts to reclaim some respect for the craft, they became unbearable hipster elitist tools.
The pendulum swung so far in the direction of seriousness that having a drink almost became an exercise in sobriety. People were afraid to go into craft cocktail bars because they didn’t want to be mocked. Beginners weren’t welcome. It became an insider society whose adherence to deep cocktail knowledge was suffocating itself.
And now that is over. As bartenders pointed out to me in our cocktail feature (read it here), cocktails are fun again. They’ve realized they went a little too far, and are smiling again. “Hospitality” is the most common word they speak of. Over the next year, San Diego will see an explosion of tiki menus and bars. Why? Because it’s hard to be a pretentious boob when you’re drinking a tiki drink out of an elaborate, colorful mug with an ornate garnish.
But back to the point. The pretension was necessary. With any part of society that’s been reduced to a joke of itself—please re-watch the movie Cocktail—you need that overcorrection in order to achieve, eventually, a more reasonable, welcoming middle ground.
Without all those bartenders sporting man parasols and sneering at your drink order, the craft cocktail scene might not have been taken as seriously as it’s become. That dedication to quality spirits and ingredients may not have stuck as hard as it has. Thanks to the judgy craft cocktail nobs, it’s now more shocking for a bar or restaurant NOT to source the best stuff.
So, thanks, pretension. And good riddance.
That said, we must be careful with our fun. Don’t go too far down the who-cares rabbit hole.
“I’ve seen these bartenders work so hard to educate people about craft cool boozes and now you’re bringing them back to blue curacao?” says David Thyne, who was the bartender at Lion’s Share until recently. “It’s like falling back down.”
I’m not going to tell you how to fun. But in my perfect world, it would always promote quality over speed, and include some sense of decorum. Hopefully the craft cocktail scene can now let its hair down without taking its pants off.
The Rebirth of Fun!
Paul Body
San Diego's tiki boom continues with this new spot in Pacific Beach
The tiki just keeps on coming. Once marginalized as a chintzy reminder of canned juices and island-dreaming American kitsch, the most astute craft cocktail minds have revived Polynesian pop. Earlier this year, Consortium Holdings partnered with world-renown tiki expert Martin Cate to open False Idol in Little Italy.
And now, the team behind Kettner Exchange and Vin de Syrah is set to open The Grass Skirt and Good Time Poke in Pacific Beach. Going into the former spot of Good Time Charlie’s (910 Grand Ave.), the concept should be a solid addition to P.B.’s slowly improving food and drink scene—which was a quagmire of Jagermeister and fried drunk food for years.
Chef Brian Redzikowski oversaw the development of the menus, and he’s a talent, having worked at Le Cirque, Nobu, and Joel Robuchon. Good Time Poke will be the daytime grab-and-go poke spot, with traditional and not-so-traditional riffs on the classic Hawaiian dish (including octopus, yellowfin, etc.) and kombucha on tap.
Grass Skirt, designed by Davis Krumins (Fluxx, Parq, Rustic Root, etc.), will be the nighttime hangout with fuller dishes designed by Redzikowski, such as: big-eye tuna cones with bonito flakes, pickled ginger, and sesame; kimchi fried rice; shrimp toast sandwich with Vietnamese herbs, hoison and spicy aioli.
Beverage director Steven Tuttle is also a top talent, and he started R&D’ing the tiki cocktails at Kettner Exchange last year. Grass Skirt’s menu will be chock full of falernum and assorted tropicalia, with drinks like the “Carmen Miranda” with white rum, añejo rum, overproof Jamaican rum, lime, pineapple, coconut, banana, and cinnamon; and “Oaxacan Dead,” with mescal, a signature rum blend, pineapple, lime, passion fruit, pomegranate and absinthe.
Inspired by Lost Lake tiki bar in Chicago, Grass Skirt will have plenty of booth seating, fire pit tables, swings, and plenty of Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber-inspired design.
Enough with the words. Please enjoy the first known photos of The Grass Skirt.
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
FIRST LOOK: The Grass Skirt
Sinner Buns is building a following for its slow-made, seriously gooey weekend treats
When I was pregnant, my food craving was singular and intense. If I didn’t eat at least one thing doused in cinnamon every day (ideally, more than one), I was—to put it gently—a complete monster.
Since then, my obsession has tempered somewhat. But cinnamon buns still perch high on my top treats list, so I’m always on the lookout for the next great place to indulge. IMO, The Huddle in Mission Hills’ mondo cinnamon roll remains top-tier, but after eyeing the ooey, gooey goodies from Sinner Buns, we might have a contender.
Originally from Ukraine, Daria Nadar had already done everything one can do at a bakery—business operations, wholesale contracts, actually baking, you name it—so during the pandemic, she started dabbling with perfecting her cinnamon rolls. After she got a couple fans over social media, she threw her first pop-up to see how they’d be received. She sold out.
After a few false starts with a couple storefronts and business deals, Nadar officially launched Sinner Buns in October 2025 with her partner Filipe Pazi. After making it through an unexpectedly hectic season stuffed with holiday orders, the team closed temporarily to get everything in line and reopened this April. Business has remained in full swing ever since.
There are only so many ingredients in a cinnamon roll, but “the process is what makes it special,” she says, adding they use fresh yeast rather than powder and a 48-hour process for each batch of brioche dough made to order. (Thus the need for pre-orders.) Customers can preorder until Thursday each week for pickup Friday, Saturday, or Sunday from Sinner Buns’ ghost kitchen at 780 Hollister Street, just east of Imperial Beach.
You can also catch her at various pop-ups around San Diego, the next one taking place on Saturday, August 22 at Infusion Lab Coffee in Pacific Beach. Eventually, Nadar opens to offer nationwide shipping (once she figures out the logistics and quality control) and one day, her own storefront.
But it’ll be on her terms, not the whims of social media. “We already learned how to not only rely on virality of the product, because you go viral and then it fades,” she says. “It’s a slow burner, and I know eventually, it’s going to grow much more.”
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].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
From her Rancho Peñasquitos kitchen, Yanira Majano is sharing family recipes through San Diego’s growing home-restaurant movement
When San Diego launched Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO), it changed everything. Riverside County first established the experimental program in 2019, with San Diego introducing its own countywide pilot program in 2022 and granting it permanent status in 2024. The new category allowed people to launch at-home retail food operations—basically, home restaurants—with special requirements and restrictions to ensure food safety and smooth operations. Over two dozen counties across California have since adopted their own versions with over 1,200 permits issued, around 100 of them in San Diego alone.
Some have a dizzyingly long waitlist (Warung RieRie), others are still getting their name out there (The Hidden Gazebo Eatery), and still others use MEHKO for pickups rather than fully opening their home as an onsite dining facility. Love Pupusas falls into that category.
Yanira Majano came with her family from El Salvador to the United States when she was 11 years old, bringing a love of cooking and desire to share the country’s cuisine along with her. “There’s a lot of similarity [between Salvadoran food and] Central, South America, even Baja Mexico,” she says. Salvadoran cooking tends to be less spicy than some Mexican cuisines, with an emphasis on ingredients like corn, staples like yucca root (cassava), meats like crispy pork (chicharrón), and sides like curtido, a tangy cabbage slaw that’s typically either naturally fermented or vinegar-based.
And of course, the signature dish of El Salvador—pupusas.
In San Diego, Salvadoran food lacks the widespread availability of other Latin American cuisines like Mexican or Peruvian food, but Majano says she’s seen pupusas gain popularity over the past few years. But she likes to think her recipes, which have been passed down by her mother and kitchen partner Martha, contain a certain special something.
Some pupuserías use rice flour to create the handheld stuffed tortillas, but she prefers the more traditional gluten-free corn flour. Still, it’s what’s inside that really counts. “That’s where we put our own touch,” she explains. Most of Majano’s pupusas come with cheese and different fillings like carnitas, black beans, mushrooms, or zucchini, but she also offers vegan options. Every one comes with a side of curtido and salsa, each made fresh daily.
Showing people the magic of home-cooked food might not have been possible without the MEHKO program or The Cook Alliance, a MEHKO support and advocacy coalition. Opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant requires a huge amount of start-up capital—at least six figures, generally. Not exactly pocket change. “But when the MEHKO program started in 2022, I said, ‘Oh my God, this is for me,’” says Majano.
Now with four years under her belt, she says she’d love to bring Love Pupusas to more food festivals, host more pop-ups, and eventually open a food truck to keep serving the humble dish of her homeland, taking pride in every bite. “[I put] a lot of love in everything I do. You see it when you taste the food,” she promises.
Pre-order Love Pupusas for next day pickup in Rancho Peñasquitos between noon and 5 p.m.
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].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
Behind every beautiful space is a thoughtful process, and ASID San Diego is helping homeowners understand the value of professional design.
A perfectly designed home rarely happens by accident. Those kitchens that feel effortless and rooms that seem to tell a story the second you walk in? They’re usually the work of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.
It’s knowing which ideas will actually work, which materials will hold up over time, and how to turn a collection of choices into a space that feels intentional. That’s where a professional interior designer comes in.
For the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) California San Diego Chapter, the goal is to help people see interior design as more than just the finished look. Behind every well-designed space is a process built on technical expertise. Designers are educated in everything from professional software and construction details to building codes, space planning, materials, and functionality.
“People don’t always realize how much goes on behind the scenes,” Kirsten Recce , current president of the ASID California San Diego Chapter, says. “Our designers are not just doing furniture placement and color selection and picking out new fluffy pillows. That’s not what they’re trained for.”
ASID members bring formal education, continued learning, and industry knowledge to their projects, helping create spaces that are not only beautiful, but designed to work. A paint color that changes completely depending on the lighting. A material that looks beautiful in a showroom but doesn’t make sense for everyday life. A layout that photographs well but doesn’t function for the people living there. These are the details where professional guidance can make all the difference.
Still, one of the biggest misconceptions about hiring an interior designer is that it’s reserved for massive renovations, luxury homes, or people who already know exactly what they want. The process can feel intimidating. Where do you begin? Is a designer worth the investment? What if you only need help with one room?
ASID’s answer: start with one hour.
ASID’s Spruce Up events break down one of the biggest barriers between homeowners and professional design: knowing where to begin. Held twice a year, the community program gives homeowners the chance to work directly with an ASID designer through a one-hour, $125 consultation in their own home. Whether you’re looking for advice on furniture placement, window treatments, kitchen and bath updates, remodeling ideas, vacation rentals, color selections or something else entirely, the upcoming September 2026 event offers an approachable way to get expert guidance before committing to a full project. Signups are open through Sept. 7, with consultations taking place Sept. 21 through Oct. 31. Proceeds benefit ASID San Diego’s educational and community programs. Register here!
“It’s a great opportunity for people who are in that exploratory phase,” Recce says. “Maybe they’re not sure they want to hire an interior designer yet, or they think it sounds daunting or expensive. This gives them a chance to discover what working with a designer is actually like.”
Design is personal. A good designer isn’t just creating a beautiful room; they’re helping create a space that fits the way someone lives.
“We’re a resource to all of San Diego County,” Recce says. “It doesn’t cost anything to pick up the phone and call and ask. We’ll answer.”
Follow ASID San Diego on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for updates on upcoming events, or connect with the chapter directly at [email protected] or 619-548-8847.
After two years of farmers markets and pop-ups, the San Diego baker is bringing its Korean-inspired pastries to University Heights
The folks at Kairoa Brewing Company must never be lonely. It seems like there’s always a local pop-up or event at the University Heights space, from Bincho Taco slinging Japanese coal-fired tacos on the rooftop patio every Tuesday to Yipao Coffee serving coffee from a window on the ground floor. Later this year, the New Zealand-inspired brewery will bring yet another resident into the fold—Mon Chourie is launching its first bakery counter service window along Park Blvd.
Mon Chourie owner and baker Kelly Kim first started selling her Korean-style cream puffs at farmers markets and places like Pizza Kaiju, Pho Ga Go, and Mixed Grounds, collaborating with a myriad of other makers (like Amor ice cream and Ming Oun’s) before nabbing a regular spot at Michi Michi Bakery every Wednesday. San Diego Magazine readers even voted Mon Chourie the Best Pop-Up for 2026.
In French, the word for an airy puff pastry is “choux,” which is pronounced generally the same way as “syu,” the Korean word for the same item. (Both sound like “shoe.”) Mon Chourie plays with both iterations with a dash of whimsy by referencing the song My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder, which translates to “my darling love.”
As long as all the permits and inspections move forward without issue, Mon Chourie should open in Kairoa before the busy holiday season. She’ll continue appearing every Wednesday at Michi Michi and other pop-ups in the meantime. Once open, expect best-selling flavors like the savory potato croquette (a collaboration with Karanchi chili crisp) and a sweet Dubai chocolate choux au craquelin, a version of puff pastry with a delicate cookie crust.
Classic cream puffs are fluffy, softs and often filled with custard cream in the United States. “What makes a difference for us is we use a very light version of diplomat cream, which is my mom’s recipe,” she explains. Diplomat cream is a lighter French pastry cream that uses whipped cream for a lighter, airier end result.
Choux au craquelin’s signature crunchy top comes from adding a thin disc of cookie-like dough on top of the pastry, which crackles as it bakes, leaving a thin layer of crispiness atop the final product. “It contrasts with the creamy, fluffy cream inside, so it gets that better, deeper texture experience,” she says.
Along with her popular cream puffs and her bite-sized “mini-choux” options, Kim is also planning on offering more of a newer-to-her item: salt bread, a rich butter pastry topped with sea salt that originated in Japan, but went completely viral in South Korea. There are a few places to get it in Los Angeles and New York, “but I know that a lot of people here are interested in trying out new stuff, or maybe they had it in Korea or Japan, and they came back, but they couldn’t find it anymore,” says Kim. At first, she didn’t really get why it was so popular. Then she tried it in South Korea earlier this year.
“I was in love,” she laughs. “This is what the hype is about.”
Ideally, Mon Chourie will eventually open its own storefront and introduce more events in North County to satisfy demand. “I would also love to have our own drink program that reflects what’s popular in Korea,” she says. And to mark two years of puffy pastry prosperity, Mon Chourie is throwing a two-year anniversary party at Easy Does It (5375 Kearny Villa Rd., Suite 112) on Wednesday, August 25 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. with drink specials like a misugaru latte (a Korean roasted multi-grain powder with espresso), a DJ, photo booths, special ceramic merch created by local ceramicist Whale Tran, and a few other vendors. Get there early.
Mon Chourie will open inside Kairoa Brewing Company by the end of 2026 and posts the next week’s schedule of upcoming events and pop-ups on Instagram every Monday.
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].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
Bring home a taste of the city with local coffee, conchas, chili crisp, hot sauce, and other suitcase-worthy finds
Snacks are the best vacation souvenirs. You get all the novelty of having something to unwrap without any of the burden of keeping random crap around. I’m always game to try some chips from a place I can’t find on a map with ingredients I can’t identify by taste. Gimme that spice mix from that Southern barbecue pit whose wine list consists of light beers from lesser-known appellations. Don’t think I won’t lick the inside wrapper of some chocolate bar homemade by a grandma at a farmers market you stumbled upon in a small Midwestern town best known for giant yarn balls.
Even though San Diego is best known for our thigh-sized burritos, fish tacos, and craft beers, those travel about as well as room-temp mayo. So we gathered some of the city’s best food souvenirs: snacks, spices, and sauces worth sliding into your carry-on or gifting to a lucky out-of-towner.
Inside Bread & Salt—Barrio Logan’s old Weber Bread Factory turned into one of the city’s most vibrant art, culture, and community spaces—there’s a cafe in front of a giant, now-defunct bread mixer. Mexican-owned specialty brew shop and roastery Provecho! Coffee started as a pop-up in 2020, but its success quickly bricked-and-mortared. Although Provecho! specializes in sourcing and roasting Mexican coffees, its consistency is variety: The lineup changes regularly as Provecho! finds new sources around the world. Get a to-go taste via the coffee bags that range between 250 g and 2 kg.
Superlova!’s Chinese-inspired, seed oil–free sauces are grocery list mainstays for San Diegans. The sesame sauces (Dan Dan is spicy, May May is tame) pair with noodles, dumplings, or any meal that could use a little more oomph. They don’t have tahini, which is de-hulled; they have Chinese sesame paste, which is dark-roasted for a nuttier flavor and packed with fiber and calcium.
San Diego is known for beer, sure. But real locals pour from a different tap. JuneShine’s low-sugar, yet still refreshingly sweet, hard kombucha is an SD favorite. The brand has joined the canned cocktail tidal wave and now sells vodka mules, tequila palomas, and vodka sodas—all with about two shots per can, real juice, and sparkling water. But for a classic food gift, get a variety pack of the booch. Fit it into your checked bag. It’s worth it.
Double entendre is key to hot sauce brand Down To Ferment, aka DTF. (Popular sauces have flavor names like CornHub, Smokin’ Hot Date, and Ghosted.) But it’s no gimmick. The homemade, kombucha-based sauce is seriously good: DTF’s That’s What Shishito Said made it onto Season 30’s lineup on Internet-famous interview show Hot Ones.
As discussed, carne asada burritos travel about as well as a toddler with emotional-regulation issues. But the soul of a truly great, San Diego burrito? It’s not the fillings. It’s the tortilla. You can’t go wrong from any locally owned spots, but our favorites are Tortilleria Los Reyes in Vista, Windmill Farms Market in Del Cerro (which uses Pancho Villa’s old tortilla press), Esperanza’s Tortilleria in Escondido, and Tortilleria Lily in City Heights.
Handcrafted in small batches, Karanchi’s Sichuan peppercorn–packed chili oil comes in two varieties: original and spicy. The original warms your palate and adds depth to your meal, and the spicy is a form of mealtime masochism. Founder Nguyen Le’s favorite way to eat his garlic-studded chili crisp is on avocado toast—which makes an already San Diego meal even more San Diegan—but it’d make old shoes taste pretty good.
Fresh fish ranks low on society’s acceptable realms of carry-on items. But canned fresh fish straight from local fishermen? You’re the best part of a bruschetta. Every Saturday at the docks behind Seaport Village, fishermen step off their boats and sell what they caught as recently as that morning. While getting yourself some fresh sea urchin and squid, grab a couple cans of locally caught albacore tuna for the tinned-fish lover in your life.
Started as a pandemic baking hobby for BFFs Natalie Rodriguez and Lesly Mendoza, Tus Chefs is now a South County favorite spot for conchas with a twist. The menu is expansive enough to get over a baker’s dozen without any repeats—why not get one of each, anyway?—but if you only have enough space in your carry-on for a few, start with popular “chocolate abuelita,” churro, mazapan, horchata, and brownie conchas.
Emma Veidt is an editor at San Diego Magazine. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Missouri School of Journalism. She loves running, hiking, and rock climbing, but really, she mostly loves encounters with the street cats around North Park.
Innovative treatment could offer cancer patients new options with fewer side effects
Chemotherapy and radiation have long been considered gold standards of cancer treatment, but they can cause severe side effects. A promising new approach called theranostics—a combination of “therapeutics” and “diagnostics”—could offer patients with certain types of metastatic cancers new hope. It’s a two-step process that uses a drug that binds to specific receptors on cancer cells. Advanced imaging detects this radioisotope, allowing doctors to then use a second radioisotope that binds to the cancer cells and destroys them. Click here to learn more about how specialists at Scripps Cancer Center are using theranostics.
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