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The Ultimate Burger Draft with Monarch Ocean Pub & Bebemos Tequila

This week, we sip zero-additive tequila and pit local patty joints against each other at Del Mar's go-to perch

By Jackie Bryant September 4, 2025

NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDES Know the Neighborhood Where to eat, where to drink, and what it's like to live there. EXPLORE THE GUIDES

On this week’s Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant camp out on Monarch Ocean Pub’s waterfront deck in Del Mar Plaza where owner-operator Drew Vick runs plates of halibut ceviche, pepperoni-and-broccolini flatbread, and five-day brined short-rib pastrami. Joining us is Bebemos Tequila cofounder Preston Caffrey pouring crisp paper plane cocktails, talking zero-additive agave, and discussing his San Diego roots.

We hit festival season high notes like *cough cough* Del Mar Wine & Food Festival kicking off here next week, and then slide into a lively burger draft that swings from Drugstore Burger at The Lodge to Rocky’s, Majorette, Beef ’n Bun, Wise Ox, and a sleeper Wagyu at Gaslamplighter.

About Jackie Bryant

Jackie is a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.

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