But it’s good to be home. Now I’m re-energized and ready to dive into San Diego’s food and restaurant culture anew. Let’s catch up on some news, with perspective:

1. SAN DIEGO WILL GET A JAMES BEARD AWARD THIS YEAR

For the third time, Addison chef William Bradley has been nominated as a semifinalist for the James Beard Awards. No San Diego chef has ever won a Beard. That’s largely because San Francisco, Vegas and L.A. are lumped into the same region (the West), so San Diego has been like the expansion team in a league with the Red Sox and Yankees of food. Still, it’s a bit of a crime that one of San Diego’s long-established talents (Bernard Guillas, Trey Foshee, Jason Knibb, Patrick Ponsaty, Jeff Jackson, Carl Schroeder, Bradley, or one of the younger chefs) have not pulled home a single award. I won’t say anything derogatory about the James Beard Foundation or its voting contingent. It’s a good organization raising awareness about Americans who make good food. But San Diego is no longer an “up and coming” food scene. It’s up. World-class cuisine has been here for a long while; now there’s more of it. I predict this is the year Bradley wins the first JBA for San Diego. Bradley has been handpicked by Thomas Keller as one of the best chefs in the United States. I’ve been lucky to eat in a few of the country’s best restaurants, and Bradley’s work at Addison is every bit as phenomenal. The focus on our region (thanks, in part, to Baja’s ascent) is at an all-time high. The timing feels right. Bradley takes home the Beard Award. It’ll be announced on March 24. Feel free to gloat if I’m wrong.

Speaking of Bradley, he’s joining a good tradition of having guest chefs come and cook in his kitchen. With Bradley’s pedigree, the talent for his “Collections” series is unsurprisingly elite: including Josiah Citrin (Melisse, Lemon Moon Café), Justin Cogley (ex-Charlie Trotter, current Aubergine in Carmel), Barbara Lynch (No. 9 Park, and the only female Relaix & Chateaux Grand Chef in North America), and Patrick O’Connell (the legendary Inn at Little Washington). For tickets, go to addisondelmar.com.

2. PHIL’S BBQ TAKES OVER ELEPHANT BAR

Phil’s BBQ has finalized a new location in Rancho Bernardo. They’ll take over the former Elephant Bar space, just east of 1-15.

3. HARNEY DOWNTOWN?

Rumor has it one of the principals of Harney Sushi is working on a concept in Downtown, near or associated with the Keating Hotel space that’s really struggled to keep a decent restaurant concept in there. Harney’s a rock solid operation, so if it or a spinoff from one of its owners does surface it stands a chance of beating those odds.

4.  LADEKI’S TINKERING AGAIN.

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza & Grill has launched a new fast-casual concept in Vegas called Table 89—a counter-service soup-sandwich-pasta joint. Owner Sami Ladeki is known for being a savvy restaurateur. He had dipped his toes into the fast-casual waters before with an express version of Sammy’s. This is how the restaurant world is trending now. Fast-casual joints with counter service (meaning you order there, and the restaurant doesn’t need to hire servers). If the concept works, insiders think he’ll bring it to San Diego.

5. BANKERS HILL GETS IN THE DAY PARTY GAME

Banker’s Hill Bar & Restaurant—the casual offshoot of Market in Del Mar—will launch Sunday brunch starting March 29. Expect dishes like French toast (made fancy with Meyer lemon curd), chicken schnitzel with béarnaise, a Black Angus hash, house-cured gravlax, and cocktails from Christian Siglin. Example: Milk Punch Out, with bourbon, blackstrap rum, vanilla, milk, cinnamon and a purple orchid. Sounds like a horchata with a prison record.

6. GO SHAVE YOUR HEAD

It’s nearly St. Patrick’s Day. That means the annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation is hosting its nationwide Shave-A-Thon to fund research for children’s cancer research. The Commons in Downtown has become the epicenter of the event. Go shave your head on March 7 for a good cause.

William Bradley of Addison Del Mar.

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Like many local food pundits, both Champion-Cain and property owner Jeff Silberman (of Carleton Management) speak about a potential restaurant explosion in Mission Hills. “I live in north Mission Hills,” says Champion-Cain. “I always felt it was under-served with restaurants, so I was very happy when Red Door and Brooklyn Girl opened. I’m hoping Mission Hills can experience the same growth that North Park did on 30^th Street—a sort of restaurant row. There is the density, with a lot of sophisticated people who eat out a lot.”

The ink on the lease is still wet, but Champion-Cain gives a few advance details on the 3,900 square-foot spot. Though certain menu items and personality traits from the P.B. location will carry over—focus on sustainability, farm-to-table ethics, dog-friendliness and the fact that “every Patio will have a patio”—the Goldfinch outpost will be concepted specifically for Mission Hills. Expect more seafood and a “refined” concept with a full liquor license that’ll seat about 200 people. Lahaina Architects—who designed the original Patio, plus ArcLight Cinemas—will oversee the build-out, and they’ll be shooting for platinum LEED-certified with the help of Sustainability Matters. Like the P.B. location, most of the furniture will be handmade.

“We’ll have a cheese cave—we have an expert on staff,” says Champion-Cain. “We’ll also have a full display kitchen for teaching and show. We’ll have a chef’s table. And of course the patio with a living green wall and fireplace that’ll be pet-friendly.”

A real estate expert by trade, Champion-Cain helped bring House of Blues to the no-man’s land between the Gaslamp and the financial district. So when she speaks of her main philosophy—”restaurants have to know the ethos and the personality of that community and be part of the fabric”—she’s not just guessing. She’s run the demographics, analyzed retail analysis, identified the needs.

“I don’t believe in being somebody who comes into a neighborhood and says, ‘I’m a brilliant chef and restaurateur and force this down its throat,'” she explains.

So why did this building—originally started by restaurateur Phillipe Beltran, then abandoned when the economy dried up funds—sit abandoned for so long?

“I honestly don’t know,” says Silberman, a Mission Hills native whose company brought Snooze, D-Bar, Urban Outfitters, Bombay and Amici’s (coming soon) to Hillcrest. “About six months ago made contact with the owner, Phil Pace [of Phil’s BBQ]. We convinced him to let us buy the parcel. We’re very picky about who we do business with. We didn’t even list the property. Gina’s got a proven track record—extraordinarily high integrity, very interested in sustainability, very involved in her community and philanthropy.”

Well OK, then. She sounds pretty great. Now let’s see it. The Patio on Goldfinch is projecting an April/May open.

INCOMING: The Patio on Goldfinch

Sam Wells

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