Stone 17th Anniversary & Invitational Beer Festival
WHEN: Aug. 17, 11AM to 6PM
WHERE: Cal State San Marcos, 333 South Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos
Stone is to modern craft beer what Sierra Nevada was during the’90s. The jumbo shrimp. The big small guy. The giant elf. And this festival—held at a place of higher learning and higher per capita beer consumption—is their biggest production of the year. It’ll feature over 50 guest breweries, 100 beers, special Stone brews on cask, homebrewed sodas and Mike’s Beer Cheese. A full 100% of proceeds to go local charities, including Surfrider Foundation, Boys & Girls Club, Palomar Family YMCA and Fight ALD. Plus, you get a free commemorative glass to round out your collection of fine beer china.
COST: $40
FOR MORE INFO: www.stonebrewing.com/anniv
Saltbox Hotel Palomar
Summersalt Cocktail Showdown
WHEN: Aug. 21, 6-9PM
WHERE: Summersalt Rooftop Pool Bar, Hotel Palomar, 1047 5th Ave., Downtown
If you were designing your dream home—the modern one that looks like a place business titans mingle with rap stars next to a pool that costs more than countries’ GDPs—Summersalt would be that place. The $150 million hotel is now under keeps of Kimpton, one of the country’s most progressive, likeable hotel groups. And this showdown invites a few of center city’s top cocktail havens, including Noble Experiment, Lion’s Share, Giajin Noodle + Sake House and Hotel Palomar’s own Satlbox. Teams will create one cocktail and one dish, hopefully paired so well it’ll make you pass out and have fever dreams of James Beard playing drunken leap frog with Captain Morgan. No need to do crunches; this party is fun, but not in a Girls Gone Rehab sort of way.
COST: $30/pp
MORE INFO: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/429053
San Diego Mag’s Best-Of Party
WHEN: Aug. 23, 6-9PM
WHERE: NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Rd., Point Loma
A biased pick, admittedly. But it sells out every year for a good reason. Hard to argue with 52 food and drink standouts from around the city all gathered in one outdoor summer courtyard, thousands of people converge for a decent time, and weird yoga-circus-contortionism breaking out for no apparent reason except your own pure amusement. (Note: The Cirque-du-downward dog-ists were last year, but I’m betting our event planner Megan Smith has something similar planned.) Restaurants serving food include Addison, Bencotto, Cafe Secret, Donovan’s, Donut Bar, Great Maple, Lucha Libre, Phil’s BBQ, Prepkitchen, Puesto, Romesco, Truluck’s, URBN, Whisknladle, etc. Come, hang.
COST: $60/pp
MORE INFO: http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/January-2013/Best-of-San-Diego-Party/
“Mexitalian” Showdown
WHEN: Aug. 23, 7PM
WHERE: BICE, 425 Island Ave., Downtown, 619.239.2423
For Italian in Downtown, hard to beat BICE and chef Mario Cassineri. A good reason to visit their place of business? The fact that you’re awake and care about the quality of your life. Another good reason? This dinner. It’s a big trend these days to invite a Baja chef up for a special feast, and Cassineri dips into the trend by inviting “Chef Pancho” from Tijuana’s steakhouse La Esquina Restaurante. It’s an 8-course cook-off, each chef doing their best riffs on chicken, beef and pork (sorry, gaunt-looking vegan pal). Poncho’s menu includes pork medallions with Baja-style framboise sauce and spinach-and-cheese organic chicken with cilantro sauce. A couple sample highlights from Cassineri’s menu: a Barbera porcini risotto with beef cheeks and chicken scaloppini with Parm, prosciutto, sage in a marsala sauce. A portion of proceeds will go to the SD Police Foundation, which will help BICE owners get out of speeding tickets.
COST: $65/pp
MORE INFO: http://bicesandiego.com/events
