Lafayette Pool

Rendering Courtesy of Post Company

North Park’s Lafayette Hotel & Swim Club will temporarily close on Oct. 1 for a $26 million restoration project under new ownership by local hospitality group Consortium Holdings (CH Projects). The 1940s Colonial-style property is scheduled to reopen in May 2023 following a complete overhaul of its 141 guest rooms, lobby, restaurant and bar.

CH Projects purchased The Lafayette for $25.8 million in March 2021 and plan to maintain the historic, 2.5-acre property as a social and entertainment hub. So don’t worry, its raucous pool parties may still be here to stay.

The hotel remodel is being led by Brooklyn design firm Post Company. The company promises that upon arrival, patrons will be greeted with a European-style bar serving classic cocktails in the atrium lobby, while guest rooms will have custom-designed linens and personal bar setups.

Lafayette Guest Room

Rendering Courtesy of Post Company

CH Projects founder Arsalun Tafazoli believes food and beverage is the quintessence of a great hotel, which is why he’s laid out plans for seven distinct culinary venues at The Lafayette, all open to the public.

Among these will be Beginners Diner, a 24-hour Worcester Lunch Car-style diner; vintage bowling alley, game room, and cocktail bar, Gutter; Mexican-inspired restaurant and agave bar, Mama Intento; continental fine dining restaurant, Faux Pas, featuring table service carts; rum bar, Mississippi Room; Chef’s Table, which will host a rotation of guest chef events; and Pool Bar, serving Italian cocktails and aperitifs. The Lafayette’s current restaurant, Hope 46, will be shuttered.

The aspirational Lafayette project is the first foray into the hotel scene for CH Projects, but the hospitality group is no stranger to creating food and beverage concepts with provocative conversation starters. Current CH Projects ventures include Born & Raised, Craft & Commerce, False Idol, Fortunate Son, Invigatorium, Ironside Fish & Oyster, J & Tony’s Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse, Morning Glory, Neighborhood, Noble Experiment, Part Time Lover, Polite Provisions, Raised by Wolves, Seneca, The Reading Club, Underbelly, and Youngblood.

lafayette-hotel-renovations-1.png

Rendering Courtesy of Post Company

lafayette-hotel-renovations-2.jpg

Rendering Courtesy of Post Company

lafayette-hotel-renovations-3.jpg

Rendering Courtesy of Post Company

lafayette-hotel-renovations-6.jpg

Rendering Courtesy of Post Company

The post A Classic San Diegan Haunt Closes for Renovations appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Born & Raised is arguably the biggest opening of the year in San Diego, and Consortium (Neighborhood, Ironside, Underbelly, Craft & Commerce, Soda & Swine, Polite Provisions, etc.) is arguably one of the only local restaurant groups who could shoulder the significant investment.

The 10,000-square foot location (seats 200-250) at the corner of India and Fir in the middle of Little Italy is the Times Square of San Diego’s hottest restaurant neighborhood. Consortium helped bring the renaissance to the area, and they didn’t want the marquee spot in their hood to fall into less inspiring (corporate) hands. So they took on the gigantic project, and as usual, didn’t shave a single corner on the build-out with their long-term design guy, Paul Basile of Basile Studio.

It is your weird, arty friend’s steak house. The punks have scaled the walls of yet another stuffy institution. It’s custom-built with brass and walnut and green marble and camel leather and fur on the seats. Instead of oil paintings of old white men, a steakhouse staple, they have massive framed photos of gangster rap icons like Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The upstairs (not yet finished) will be build like a garden from the atomic age, with black velvet booths and views of Downtown. It’s mid-century, it’s art deco, it’s the kind of place that’s built to outlive trends or whims.

For the menu, Michelin-star chef Jason McLeod are using a 40-foot, glassed-in dry-aging room to season their own steaks. The main menu will have all the classics (filet, New York, Flat Iron, Ribeye, Porterhouse, Ribeye, Tomahawk, etc.), plus specials like tournedos Rossini (foie gras, truffle, Madera), slow-roasted prime, rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding and peppercorn sauce, steak Diane, and Wagyu. There’ll also be a vegan “steak Dyyyanne,” plus charcoal-roasted lamb, dry-aged duck, pork, roasted chicken, whole fish, caviar,and four different types of potatoes. Steak without potatoes, after all, is like eating cereal without milk.

On the apps section, you’ve got crab claws, crudo, lobster bisque, spaghetti (with uni, chile, and lemon), dry-aged meatballs, escargot, and a French Onion soup.

And then the tableside presentations, on ornate-as-hell carts—hand-tossing Caesar salads, omelets, mushroom tartare, steak tartare, shrimp Louie, etc.

The whole idea is a grand, elaborate investment in America’s past. The steakhouse is as much an American tradition as jazz and blues. And CH is a sucker for near-lost American pastimes (soda fountains, speakeasies, meatballs, etc.).

Multiple restaurateurs I spoke with about this project seem to think that CH is crazy for trying to pull it off. In the current industry trend toward casualization and the rise of vegetarianism and yoga pantsism, it’s a risk. Then again, they said the same thing when CH opened a craft beer bar (Neighborhood) before craft beer was really a “thing.” And they said the same when they opened a cocktail bar (Craft & Commerce) and refused to serve America’s favorite spirit, vodka.

Let the grand experiment that is CH continue on.

Enough talk. Please enjoy the first photos of Born & Raised, opening this weekend if all goes right.

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

First Look: Born & Raised

The post First Look: Born & Raised appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Campfire is the project from one of the best front-of-house men in San Diego—John Resnick, who spent years opening the hyper-creative concepts of Consortium Holdings (Craft & Commerce, Ironside Fish & Oyster). Campfire is the first project of his own, a 6,000 square-footer in the former home of an auto shop. Instead of doing it in hipsterville, he smartly brought it to a part of town that isn’t flooded with creative concepts.

Just like Consortium projects, Campfire is big on design. They tapped local firm Bells + Whistles (Bracero, Starlite) to create a rustic spot intended to evoke the times you and the fam spent those vacations camping in the great outdoors.

The main building is a WWII-era Quonset hut with corrugated metal arch salvaged from the Camp Pendleton Marine base up the street. There’s a handmade, 12-foot banquette from San Diego designers Bradley Mountain, a 25-seat copper bar, a three-dimensional wood-carved mural of a mountainscape, and, outside, a 12-foot custom teepee for the kids.

The menu from executive chef Andrew Bachelier (ex-Cucina Enoteca and Addison) will be open-fire on a custom 12-foot hearth powered by a Grillworks grill that’ll burn wood, charcoal, embers, and ash. That means a lot of roast and smoke on dishes like duck liver pate with grilled date, pecans, red wine and griddled bread; carrots with goat cheese, licorice, honey and almond; long beans with opah belly, soft-boiled egg, olives and shallots; seafood pozole with mussels, white fish, calico corn and guajillo chile; leg of lamb with Sea Island red peas, lettuce, goat milk and pistachio; and, of course, s’mores with five-spice graham phylo dough, chocolate and marshmallow.

For cocktails, they’ve pulled one of Consortium’s better talents, Leigh Lacap, who created drinks for Ironside, Sycamore Den, and Coin-Op. He’ll be putting a little camp into the glass, too, with a whole section of drinks called “From the Fire.” Drinks like “Roasted Corn” with tequila, charcoal, lime and salt; or the “Smoked Almond” with mezcal, rice, pecan, lime and cinnamon. Don’t be scared—he’ll also have a “Shaken & Refreshing” selection of cocktails, as well as a “Stirred & Direct” for spirit heads.

Campfire debuts on Sept. 14, and will be open 11 a.m.-midnight on Sun-Thur, and 11 a.m.-1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

2725 State Street, Carlsbad, 760.637.5121. thisiscampfire.com.

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

FIRST LOOK: Campfire

The post FIRST LOOK: Campfire appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

False Idol may only be 1,000 square-feet, but it’s a big deal. It marks the fifth bar for America’s first man of tiki, Martin Cate—a partnership with San Diego’s premier cocktail group, Consortium Holdings. Cate owns and operates Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco, considered by many the best tiki bar in America.

Opening Sunday, False Idol is the second shoe to drop on the corner of Beech and Kettner Streets. The first was the multimillion-dollar renovation of Craft & Commerce, which opened yesterday. False Idol is the “hidden” Polynesian oasis attached to C&C.

Guests step through a walk-in cooler in Craft & Commerce, and emerge into False Idol. The space is a throwback to the golden era of tiki, before canned juice and corporate chains ruined the movement. There are vibrant pieces from tiki artists Bosko Hrnjak and Ignacio “Notch” Gonzalez. There are false idols everywhere. The ceiling is covered in glass buoy balls. Maori-style wall carvings. Petrified puffer fish. The whole place is exploding with tiki paraphernalia.

As for the drinks? Cate reportedly has the largest collection of rare rums, and he’s showcasing some of his favorites at False Idol. He and CH beverage director Anthony Schmidt worked with CH designer, Dane Danner, to create custom-designed tiki mugs for their tropical drinks, including a Trader Vic Mai Tai and Eastern Sour. They’re also paying tribute to San Diego’s once-thriving tiki scene, excavating recipes from the former Luau Room and Barefoot Bar.

False Idol opens Sunday, September 4 at 6pm. And it will be open every day thereafter from 6pm on. Make reservations at FalseIdolTiki.com.

675 W. Beech St., Little Italy.

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

FIRST LOOK: False Idol

The post FIRST LOOK: False Idol appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

If mapping out spots where the modern craft cocktail movement started in San Diego, C&C would be one of them. For the redesign, owners Consortium Holdings (Ironside, Neighborhood, Polite Provisions, etc.) expanded to the corner of Kettner and Beech with a wrap-around patio and built-in fire pit tables.

If taxidermy bothers you, prepare to be bothered. Designer Paul Basile (Ironside, Underbelly, Soda & Swine) partnered with the San Diego Natural History Museum to create a predatory tableau. Right in the door, a lion preys on a hog in a grassland scene above the bar. In the back of the dining room, another lion just chills. Various animal heads mount the wall.

Quotes from famous authors are scrawled into the walls of the 3,300 square-foot space, books are stacked on shelves made of shattered glass. Your granddad who hunted and read books and smoked pipes and fancied himself a Hemingway character would feel at home here. Think Sean Connery as Indiana Jones’ dad.

The chef for the new C&C era is Ted Smith, who spent years under top San Diego chef Carl Schroeder—both at Market and Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant. His menu continues the San Diego trend of wood-firing, with grilled oysters, various roasted and grilled vegetables, plus a rotisserie chicken, aji chile-marinated pork chop. Southern fare like corn bread skillet and Brussels sprouts with bacon are offset by ideas like Korean BBQ chicken wings. A small bevy of entrees includes yellow curry, chicken-fried quail, short rib Bolognese, veggie fettuccine, and their C&C burger.

And, of course, the cocktails will continue to be the calling card of C&C.

The bigger news of this project is False Idol—the “hidden” tiki bar that will open a few days later. It’s a collaboration with one of the world’s foremost tiki experts, Martin Cate, who owns Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. The tiki revolution is already happening in San Diego, and that will cement it.

C&C opens today at 4 p.m. They’ll be open every day, same time. On weekends, they’ll serve brunch starting at 9 a.m.

675 W. Beech Street, Little Italy, craft-commerce.com.

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce

The post FIRST LOOK: Craft & Commerce appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Everyone’s favorite pork joint, Carnitas Snack Shack, is finally looking ready to open at the Embarcadero this spring. This space (1004 N. Harbor Dr.) will have cocktails from San Diego’s RMD Group (Fluxx, Sidebar, Rusted Root) and tons of outdoor waterside seating….

Hey, Del Mar. New chef in town for you guys this spring. Steven Lona is relocating from the L.A. area, the former exec chef of Bistro 45 (Pasadena) and worked under James Boyce and Craig Strong at Montage in Laguna Beach. He’s part of the team opening Tasting Room Del Mar (next to the Starbucks at 15^th Street and Camino Del Mar) with a talented wine connoisseur in Rusti Gilbert, formerly of Addison at Grand Del Mar, which is like the Coachella of sommeliers…

I love Carlsbad. But its food and drink scene has needed to wake up and smell the decade for a while. It’s got some standouts, like Land & Water Co. (one of the best sustainable seafood chefs in San Diego in Rob Ruiz). But the most exciting opening-to-be is Campfire—creator John Resnick was one of the main faces and brains that helped Consortium Holdings (Craft & Commerce, Ironside) develop into a top-notch food and drink company. He’s hired Bells and Whistles to design his new 6,000 square-foot space, which will include a Quonset hut, for that post-WWII barracks drinking vibe. Carlsbad will be better off for this one, slated for sometime mid-2016…

I was mixed on my review of The Hake on Prospect Street a couple years ago, but have since returned and had some seriously good dishes (their ahi taco with jicama tortilla is pretty fantastic). And not a week goes by if someone asks proudly if I’ve tried the place. Well, now they’re adding 2,000 square feet to their subterranean semi-ocean perch, which means they’ll have a new outdoor dining space and an ocean view. Trying to do business on Prospect without an ocean view is like trying to do business on Morena Boulevard without a stripper pole…

Pizzeria Mozza’s sad and not terribly surprising demise at The Headquarters was big news. Now its replacement is nearly ready for business (early March). Flour & Barley is a concept from our bedazzled brethren in Vegas that does brick oven pizzas, plus Italian apps and over 150 draft, bottle and canned beers….

Westgate Hotel is one of my favorite hotels in Downtown San Diego. Looks like a fossilized doily, in a good way. They just announced their second annual Spirit of Baja Dinner, which’ll take place on April 15—inviting chef Javier Plascencia (Bracero, and new James Beard nominee) to collaborate with Westgate’s talented chef, Fabrice Hardel on a meal. Mezcal reception, Baja wines. You can buy tickets here. …

Now that the craft beer movement is into its 30s, its expanding its horizons. No longer is it “just a lot of hops plus fermentation and a beard.” We’re seeing lighter beers, sour beers, and now, especially, citrus beers like Grapefruit Sculpin. Now one of my favorite breweries in San Diego, Green Flash, just announced its new lineup under new brewer Erik Jensen, and he’s got a Passionfruit Kicker (American Wheat Ale with passion fruit), a “Soul Style” (tangerine India pale ale). They’re also releasing “Cosmic Ristretto” this Friday, a Baltic Porter with espresso and Candico, a caramelized Belgian candy sugar. For more on the new lineup, click here…

The other release of note is from the ever-awesome Lost Abbey. They’ve partnered with North Carolina’s Wicked Weed Brewing and tomorrow (Feb. 24) will release the finished product—Ad Idem, a French oak-aged golden sour ale with peaches and brett. It’s a blend, between a brettanomyces blond ale and a sour blond ale, aged in neutral wine barrels with whole, local peaches…

Everyone likes a free meal. And Leap Year babies (those of you born on Feb. 29, feeling like you don’t exist every three out of four years) get a free one from the Hard Rock Café on Feb. 29….

I love pairing dinners, mostly because I like food and drink. But I also like poking fun of pairing dinners. And that’s what San Diego band Splavender will do on March 18 at Mike Hess Brewing. Instead of pairing the beers with food, the beers will be paired with original Splavender songs written for the beer. For example, the Honeysuckle & Sho’Nuff Beer, a rye imperial stout, will be paired with a deep, contemplative groovy synth song. Sounds absolutely ridiculous. I like ridiculous…

San Diego Magazine’s cocktail feature is coming out in the March issue. In there, I express extreme admiration for Grant Grill and mad-scientist cocktail guy Jeff Josenhans, who has ushered a slew of “firsts” into San Diego’s cocktail scene. However, more needs to be said about the Grill’s “chef de bar,” Cory Alberto. Well, now’s the chance to see his work. He just released a menu of cocktails inspired by his favorite musicians, including Howlin’ Wolf (Johnny Walker Red, cane sugar, chocolate, bitters and cigar foam), Ella Fitzgerald (Remy Martin 1738, Crème Yvette, rose water, tangerine, prosecco), Dick Dale (Mt. Gay Black Barrel US Grant Blend Rum, El Silencio mezcal, La Gitana sherry, tarragon orgeat, lime, pineapple, tiki bitters and a splash of absinthe), plus boozy odes to B.B. King, Ali Farka and Preservation Hall (the legendary venue in N’Awlins)…

Info Tapas

The Howlin’ Wolf cocktail, part of Grant Grill’s new menu dedicated to music legends.

The post Info Tapas appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

WILLIAM BRADLEY, ADDISON, “BEST CHEF: WEST”

A dinner at Addison at the Grand Del Mar is a nightly ritual for visiting princes and IPO jackpotters, and a special occasion spot for the rest of us. Any serious gourmand in San Diego has to try Bradley’s cuisine at least once. It’s world-class in every way. He is an immaculate, obsessive manipulator of food. His “hot dishes” are served at the temperature of your mouth. The service is like choreographed swimming. I’ve been lucky to dine at a few Michelin-starred restaurants across the U.S. But I have had the best two meals of my life at Addison, and it wasn’t close. This is the fourth time Bradley has been nominated; the fact that he hasn’t become the first San Diego chef to win a Beard Award is almost criminal. The restaurant is also nominated for “Outstanding Wine Program,” as their Library of Congress-sized collection includes some of the rarest in the world. Addison has long been considered a sommelier farm in San Diego, where the best and the brightest in the wine world work. I wouldn’t be surprised if the hostess is a certified somm.

BRACERO COCINA DE RAIZ, “BEST NEW RESTAURANT”

The best new restaurant in America. Yes, here in San Diego. California cuisine—that hell-yes mix of all of California, meaning the U.S. state and Baja, California, Mexico—is just about the most talked about food on the planet right now. And anyone in America looking to try it should start at Bracero Cocina de Raiz. You know what Mexican chefs do very well? Big, bold flavors. Smoke, citrus, herbs, chile peppers, spices, heat. It’s not a gentle or polite cuisine. It’s not shy. And the culture braises meat better than anyone. They can turn a “less desirable” cut of meat into salivary gland catnip. Every bite precipitates flavor. And if you’re looking for some of the best seafood in the U.S., it comes from Baja. “Whereas California has cities with centralized runoff that pours all of our bad stuff into the ocean, Baja doesn’t—so the water is pristine,” says one of the city’s best fishmongers, Tommy Gomes of Catalina Offshore (speaking of, buy tickets for his Collaboration Kitchen Dinner here). Chef Javier Plascencia has been the focal point of this cross-border cuisine since the start, and Bracero is his showpiece with chef de cuisine Claudette Wilkins. A stunning restaurant in San Diego’s culinary mecca, Little Italy. Try the birria, or the carnitas tacos with chicharrones, or the phenomenal shrimp and bone marrow sopes. At the bar, ask Christian Siglin to introduce you to the alt-Mex spirits, like mezcal, sotol, raicilla or bacanora.

POLITE PROVISIONS, “OUTSTANDING BAR PROGRAM.”

Next month, we have our big cocktails feature in SD Mag. As one bartender told me, “There’s Consortium Holdings, and then there’s the rest of us.” Consortium (Craft & Commerce, Noble Experiment, Fairweather, Rare Form, Ironside, Polite Provisions, etc.) has just done it right. They’ve brought in some of the country’s best craft cocktail minds to educate their staffs. They start trends and they end them. And Polite Provisions is their stunning neighborhood hangout in Normal Heights, with cocktails on tap and one of the country’s best booze alchemists, Erick Castro, orchestrating.

San Diego’s James Beard Nominees Are…

Bracero Cocina de Raiz nominated for Best New Restaurant in America. | Photo by Paul Body

The post San Diego’s James Beard Nominees Are… appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

For the last 60 years, Anthony’s has occupied 31,608 square-feet of prime, waterfront restaurant and event space along North Harbor Drive with their three concepts: Anthony’s Fish Grotto, Fishette and Star of the Sea Room. It is the restaurant in the heart of The Embarcadero (next to the Star of India and the cruise ship terminal), which has seen dramatic redevelopment over the last decade.

Their current lease is up on Jan. 31, 2017. The Port of San Diego has found Anthony’s does “not meet the definition of a tenant in good standing” under the terms of their lease. So this week the Port will send out an official RFP (Request For Proposals) on the space.

Tonight, you can bet most major restaurateurs will be calling their architects, designers and assorted brainstormers. This is big. The space will likely harbor three different restaurant concepts and operators in the relatively near future.

Anthony’s had submitted a proposal for a $9.5 million renovation of the space, which included partnering with The Fish Market. The Port was impressed by the proposal, according to the minutes of their May 12 meeting. But it may be too little, too late. The current building was last dramatically improved in 1965. Although “minor improvements” have been made over the last 52 years, the Port concluded Anthony’s has “not completed any significant capital investment” to warrant an extension of their lease.

One of the Port’s criteria Anthony’s failed to meet was “maintenance of the leasehold in good condition, free of deferred maintenance.” In other words, the restaurant has looked pretty shoddy for decades.

The space is too valuable. After 60 years, why not see what grand ideas the open market will bring?

You can bet the country’s top restaurant groups like Orlando-based Darden (Eddie V’s, Olive Garden, etc.) and Costa Mesa-based King’s Seafood Company (Lou & Mickey’s, Water Grill, etc.) will be submitting proposals.

At the risk of sounding preciously provincial—it would be a shame if such an iconic space went to an out-of-town operator. Ideally, an iconic San Diego restaurant space would go to a San Diego icon. Or icons. (Note: The RFP is also open to “commercial recreation” proposals.)

San Diego has enough locally based restaurant groups with the clout to pull off a concept of this size—whether it be Consortium Holdings (Ironside, Craft & Commerce, etc.), Urban Kitchen Group (Cucina Urbana, Cucina Enoteca, etc.), Whisknladle Hospitality (Whisknladle, Prepkitchen, etc.), Solace Restaurants (Urban Solace, Sea & Smoke, etc.) or Cohn Restaurant Group (The Prado, Bo Beau, etc.).

Anticipating this redevelopment, the Port commissioned a study by commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to find the average characteristics for a successful coastal restaurants in San Diego. They found that the average successful operation was 7,500 square feet, with seating for 215 diners, and revenues of $857 per square foot per year. Based on those numbers, JLL suggested the space might be best suited for three separate restaurants.

Anthony’s redevelopment proposal is not out of the running. But with the Port concluding they don’t meet the criteria to be in good standing, it seems unlikely.

So let’s pretend that three new San Diego restaurants win the right to the space. Which three would YOU want to see?

Anthony’s Out at Embarcadero?

Troy Johnson

The post Anthony’s Out at Embarcadero? appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

***

North Park is getting Milkbar—a donut, fried chicken and milk bar joint at the corner of Lincoln and 30th Streets.

***

If you say you hate piano bars, you lie. Every time you find yourself with your fun-loving, gin-loving aunt at the dueling piano bar you end up having a blast. Then you discovered Rick Lyon with his amazing hair and computer-aided piano tunes at the Imperial House. Well, Hillcrest is about to get a piano bar. Not a dueling piano bar. Not a Bon Jovi-and-mom-jeans piano bar. A better piano bar, if the owners of The Dirty Bird Lounge pull of their vision. It’ll go into the former spot of Commonwealth at 1263 University Ave.

***

Looks like chef Chris Idso, longtime chef-partner of Pacifica Del Mar, will be moving with his family to Hawaii. That’s the end of an era for the Del Mar seafood restaurant that’s managed to stick it out for 25 years amid the new-new-new-hot-new-hip-new restaurant scene. No timetable yet for Idso’s departure; he’s currently on the lookout for his replacement. Idso’s been the soul of the restaurant, so those are no small shoes to fill. Interested chefs should call the restaurant.

***

While in Tijuana at great third-wave coffee shop Caffe Sospeso (who are launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund a North Park location), I ran into the owner of beloved Aqui Es Texcoco—the famed lamb barbacoa specialists with places in Tijuana and San Diego. He said he’s looking into making a food truck for the enterprise. Food trucks have really cut into his business on both sides of the border. Rather than complain, he’s acting.

***

Solana Beach’s Culture Brewing is expanding into a new spot in Ocean Beach next to the new Cohn restaurant, O.B. Warehouse. It’ll have about 20 taps and hopefully open doors in November.

***

A restaurant industry insider recently pointed out that he’s absolutely, 100% certain that one of the more prominent restaurants in San Diego is lying on their menu about the free range/organic thing. We hear rumblings about this all the time. I’d really rather not launch an investigative report into restaurant fraud. And 95% of the restaurateurs in San Diego are good people who don’t lie to get extra bucks out of you. But it does, sadly, happen.

***

Cohn Restaurant Group announced their next big project—a $10 million, 24,000 square-foot food-party-wedding-everything-bonanza space where the old Reuben E. Lee paddle boat was once docked (880 Harbor Island Dr.). The space will be anchored by a 322-capacity restaurant focused on Mexican food (Baja mania continues), plus a deck that’ll fit 1,000 people. Jesus that’s big. They’ve partnered with Sunroad Enterprises for the new food-drink city. The project will be set right next to C Level/Island Prime, already one of the nicest view restaurants in San Diego. “There’s a tremendous desire by San Diegans and those who visit the city to be on the water—not near the water, or with a view of the water—but directly on the water,” says David Cohn. Set to open summer 2015—which means, after the city delays them multiple times, we’ll see it sometime by the fall.

***

Local designer Paul Basile won an Orchid—the city’s top interior design award—for his work on Polite Provisions and Soda & Swine. Basile and Consortium Holdings make pretty things.

***

An email from a friend: “What happened? Craft, artisanal, reclaimed wood, Edison bulbs, garage doors, industrial yada yada yada. When are you going to write a story about how incredibly ****ing cliché San Diego has become?” I emailed him back some Xanax.

***

A text from a gay rancher friend: “When are you going to do a story about the gay mafia taking over San Diego’s farming and ranching scene?”

***

The Cottage Food Act, passed in January 2013, basically allows you to make certain approved foods (baked goods, candies, dried foods, etc.) at home and sell them at, say, a local restaurant or store. So Mieko Sunbury, a Qualcomm employee and craft beer devotee, is going to make gourmet beer nuts worthy of the local craft beer culture. It’s called North Park Nuttery. “I’m going to make spiced nuts that incorporate beer into the recipe,” she says. “One’s going to be a very hoppy flavor nut and another savory-sweeet, stout-based nut. My target audience is going to be beer tasting rooms. They just recently passed a bill that’ll allow tasting rooms to serve snacks. Living in North Park and being in the beer scene, I’ve noticed there’s a lack of something like that. People are bringing in food trucks, but what about a nice healthy snack? Keeps you from getting too drunk.” She doesn’t have any clients yet, but good ideas find homes.

The new waterfront project from the Cohn Restaurant Group.

The post THE DIGEST appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

***

North Park is getting Milkbar—a donut, fried chicken and milk bar joint at the corner of Lincoln and 30th Streets.

***

If you say you hate piano bars, you lie. Every time you find yourself with your fun-loving, gin-loving aunt at the dueling piano bar you end up having a blast. Then you discovered Rick Lyon with his amazing hair and computer-aided piano tunes at the Imperial House. Well, Hillcrest is about to get a piano bar. Not a dueling piano bar. Not a Bon Jovi-and-mom-jeans piano bar. A better piano bar, if the owners of The Dirty Bird Lounge pull of their vision. It’ll go into the former spot of Commonwealth at 1263 University Ave.

***

Looks like chef Chris Idso, longtime chef-partner of Pacifica Del Mar, will be moving with his family to Hawaii. That’s the end of an era for the Del Mar seafood restaurant that’s managed to stick it out for 25 years amid the new-new-new-hot-new-hip-new restaurant scene. No timetable yet for Idso’s departure; he’s currently on the lookout for his replacement. Idso’s been the soul of the restaurant, so those are no small shoes to fill. Interested chefs should call the restaurant.

***

While in Tijuana at great third-wave coffee shop Caffe Sospeso (who are launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund a North Park location), I ran into the owner of beloved Aqui Es Texcoco—the famed lamb barbacoa specialists with places in Tijuana and San Diego. He said he’s looking into making a food truck for the enterprise. Food trucks have really cut into his business on both sides of the border. Rather than complain, he’s acting.

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Solana Beach’s Culture Brewing is expanding into a new spot in Ocean Beach next to the new Cohn restaurant, O.B. Warehouse. It’ll have about 20 taps and hopefully open doors in November.

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A restaurant industry insider recently pointed out that he’s absolutely, 100% certain that one of the more prominent restaurants in San Diego is lying on their menu about the free range/organic thing. We hear rumblings about this all the time. I’d really rather not launch an investigative report into restaurant fraud. And 95% of the restaurateurs in San Diego are good people who don’t lie to get extra bucks out of you. But it does, sadly, happen.

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Cohn Restaurant Group announced their next big project—a $10 million, 24,000 square-foot food-party-wedding-everything-bonanza space where the old Reuben E. Lee paddle boat was once docked (880 Harbor Island Dr.). The space will be anchored by a 322-capacity restaurant focused on Mexican food (Baja mania continues), plus a deck that’ll fit 1,000 people. Jesus that’s big. They’ve partnered with Sunroad Enterprises for the new food-drink city. The project will be set right next to C Level/Island Prime, already one of the nicest view restaurants in San Diego. “There’s a tremendous desire by San Diegans and those who visit the city to be on the water—not near the water, or with a view of the water—but directly on the water,” says David Cohn. Set to open summer 2015—which means, after the city delays them multiple times, we’ll see it sometime by the fall.

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Local designer Paul Basile won an Orchid—the city’s top interior design award—for his work on Polite Provisions and Soda & Swine. Basile and Consortium Holdings make pretty things.

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An email from a friend: “What happened? Craft, artisanal, reclaimed wood, Edison bulbs, garage doors, industrial yada yada yada. When are you going to write a story about how incredibly ****ing cliché San Diego has become?” I emailed him back some Xanax.

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A text from a gay rancher friend: “When are you going to do a story about the gay mafia taking over San Diego’s farming and ranching scene?”

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The Cottage Food Act, passed in January 2013, basically allows you to make certain approved foods (baked goods, candies, dried foods, etc.) at home and sell them at, say, a local restaurant or store. So Mieko Sunbury, a Qualcomm employee and craft beer devotee, is going to make gourmet beer nuts worthy of the local craft beer culture. It’s called North Park Nuttery. “I’m going to make spiced nuts that incorporate beer into the recipe,” she says. “One’s going to be a very hoppy flavor nut and another savory-sweeet, stout-based nut. My target audience is going to be beer tasting rooms. They just recently passed a bill that’ll allow tasting rooms to serve snacks. Living in North Park and being in the beer scene, I’ve noticed there’s a lack of something like that. People are bringing in food trucks, but what about a nice healthy snack? Keeps you from getting too drunk.” She doesn’t have any clients yet, but good ideas find homes.

The new waterfront project from the Cohn Restaurant Group.

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