South Park, San Diego Restaurants and Bars

Shawarma Guys

Once highlighted on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Shawarma Guys’ popular Middle Eastern food truck is a South Park staple, with plans to open a brick-and-mortar store in the area soon. Yelp also named Shawarma Guys the top place to eat in the country in 2020. 

3012 Grape Street

Communal Coffee

Slinging lattes, teas, matcha, and café bites (sandwiches, toasts, pastries, and bowls) out of a vintage trailer, Communal Coffee invites those passersby to stop, sit, and sip on the shop’s sprawling patio before browsing the thoughtfully curated onsite boutique.

2221 Fern Street

Il Posto

An Italian-born trio founded Il Posto, an airy eatery serving pasta and pizza for happy hour and dinner. The robust vegan pizza menu makes this a friendly spot for plant-based diners. If you’re down with a little meat and dairy, try the lasagna. 

2145 Fern Street

Dark Horse Coffee Roasters

At the corner of Juniper and Fern sits Dark Horse Coffee Roasters. The popular San Diego coffee shop brews pick-me-up drinks (try the salted maple latte) and serves sweet treats from sister company Mutual Friend Ice Cream.

3004 Juniper Street

Rad Habits Juice Co.

A one-stop shop for futuristic-sounding wellness products (quinton shots and “neuro gum,” anyone?) and healthy bites, Rad Habits Juice Co. is best-known for its smoothies, boosted with hard-to-find ingredients like cordyceps, bee pollen, and sea moss.

2967 Beech Street

Curryosity

In addition to Indian classics like butter chicken and veggie korma, Curryosity cooks up fun fusion dishes, including chicken tikka poutine and naan bruschetta. Diners can also order creative craft cocktails made with Indian spices.

3023 Juniper Street

Kindred

Plant-based eats for hardcore peeps. Guests at Kindred will hear heavy metal while sipping thoughtful bevs and chowing down on seasonal, animal-free brunch, dinner, and late-night bites that make interesting use of standby vegan ingredients such as seitan and Gardein “meat.”

1503 30th Street

Whistle Stop Bar

A fun neighborhood hang, Whistle Stop Bar is a great place to grab a drink with friends. Divey in the best way, the watering hole hosts live music, DJ-driven dance parties, and raucous Saturday night shindigs dubbed “Booty Bassment.”

2236 Fern Street 

Seven Seas Roasting Co.

Seven Seas Roasting Co. specializes in direct-trade coffee, meaning that the team buys their beans directly from farmers (a more transparent process that gives more money to the source). They use ’em in tasty lattes like the choco-cherry-cinnamon Cherry Bomb.

1947 Fern Street

Station Tavern

South Park restaurant Station Tavern dwells in a building that was a trolley stop from 1929 to 1948. The restaurant has incorporated that history into its design and theme. Stop by for burgers, sandwiches, and salads, plus a full bar.

2204 Fern Street

Fernside Bar & Kitchen

The food can sometimes be an afterthought at laid-back bars like Fernside, which slings boozy slushees and cocktails both inventive and classic. But you can’t go wrong with anything from the kitchen here, especially the fried chicken sandwich and citrus salad.

1946 Fern Street

Buona Forchetta

Italian spot Buona Forchetta opened its first location in South Park in 2011, with numerous other San Diego outposts following. With a fun build-your-own pasta option and more than 30 different pizzas (including vegan and gluten-free pies), options abound here.

3001 Beech Street

Matteo

A member of Buona Forchetta’s family of restaurants, Matteo is a nonprofit eatery and bakery that donates all profits to community and educational programs for local kids. Matteo serves breakfast classics, coffee, and pastries in the morning, then switches to Italian bites at night. 

3015 Juniper Street

Meraki

Another Buona Forchetta–owned business, Meraki is a new addition to the South Park neighborhood. The bar, restaurant, and event venue draws upon global influences, offering beef cheek empanadas alongside Wagyu burgers and Roman flatbreads. 

1648 30th Street

The Rose Wine Bar

The Rose Wine Bar is a local favorite for date nights or friend group catch-ups. The woman-owned spot lays down natural wines by the glass and the bottle, plus bar snacks, small bites, and more robust entrees like the “salad pie,” a pizza loaded with greens on top.

2219 30th Street

Secret Sister

Two words tell you everything you need to know about the Rose’s not-so-secret sister business, Secret Sister: sourdough everything. A 150-year-old starter forms the base for breads, donuts, and pastries. Check the oven schedule online to know when to score the treat you’re craving.

2215 30th Street

Café Madeleine

Like the French bistros that inspired it, Café Madeleine spills out onto the sidewalk. Grab a patio table—or venture inside the vibrant red storefront—for breakfast and lunch eats like crêpes, paninis, and quiche.

2248 30th Street

Mothership

Take an intergalactic trip to Mothership, a funky space-themed bar from the folks behind Kindred. An illustrated menu lays out details on tiki-adjacent drinks with names like Wormhole and Polaris, plus plant-based bites. Don’t miss the bathrooms here.

2310 30th Street

Harland Brewing Co.

Harland Brewing’s fourth location is nestled in South Park at the corner of Beech and Dale. A vast menu includes IPAs, lagers, kombucha, ciders, and more from Harland and other local brewers, as well as wine and beer-friendly eats.

2953 Beech Street

Carbón

A newer addition to the South Park scene, Carbón charcoal-grills proteins like picanha steak and whole fishes, serving them with sauces from around the globe (try Argentine chimichurri with the former and Moroccan chermoula with the latter). 

2318 30th Street

Things to Do in South Park, San Diego

Quarterly Walkabouts

The best way to familiarize yourself with a neighborhood is to take a stroll around the block. South Park hosts quarterly walkabouts that highlight the businesses, restaurants, and people that make the community special.

Grape Street Dog Park

An expansive canine mecca in South Park’s slice of Balboa Park, this five-acre, off-leash play area includes open fields, water fountains for dogs, a restroom for people, and views of Balboa Park Golf Course.

1998 28th Street

Cobalt Gallery

Painter Susan Snyder founded Cobalt Gallery as a working studio in 2019. The space also showcases the work of local contemporary artists, including Vicki Leon, whose glass sculptures beautify public areas throughout San Diego.

2965 Beech Street

Plants Por Favor

Got a space seriously lacking some green? Or perhaps the houseplants you do have aren’t looking so hot? Plants Por Favor can help with that. The studio offers consultations and plant delivery, plus pro maintenance services, to help you curate your own oasis. 

3011 Ivy Street

Trash Lamb Gallery

A quirky gift shop and eclectic haven for bold, occasionally macabre art, Trash Lamb Gallery carries conversation-starting pieces from more than 40 artists. Collectors with idiosyncratic taste and tight budgets can shop tons of pieces under $200.

2365 30th Street

South Park, San Diego Shopping and Boutiques

Emerald & Ivy Plant Boutique

Grab new leafy friends—and gorgeous vessels to keep them in—at houseplant heaven Emerald & Ivy. The cute boutique even has a soil bar, where you can pot new plants inside the shop, and a floral design arm for weddings and other shindigs.

2367 30th Street

The Book Catapult

Hit independent bookstore The Book Catapult for excellent recommendations from staff, plus a variety of events, including open mic story events, book clubs, and monthly discussions about what’s new in the literary world.

3010-B Juniper Street

Native Poppy

Woman-owned business Native Poppy is known for stunning wedding florals and art installations, as well as a daily flower menu and bouquets to treat yourself to. The shop also sells books, florist tools, home décor, bath and body products, and more.

3009 Grape Street

Vinyl Junkie Record Shack

Launched in 2012 by Eric Howarth, former owner of record label Hi-Speed Soul, Vinyl Junkies began as a mobile record shop. Now settled in South Park, the outpost carries new and used vinyls in a wide range of genres. Don’t miss the Digger’s Den back room, where records are all $5 or less.

2235 Fern Street

Bad Madge & Co.

Funk up your closet and home with pre-loved finds from Bad Madge & Co. Named the top vintage and consignment store in the US by Yelp in 2022, Bad Madge is a particularly great stop for lovers of retro costume jewelry and mid-century furniture. 

2205 Fern Street

AYI

AYI is an inclusive concept store and art space that brings together works and goods from emerging designers and sustainable and BIPOC- and LGBTQ-owned brands. Head to the back of the shop to explore contemporary art exhibitions. 

2234 30th Street

Thread + Seed

Airy dresses, dainty jewelry, great denim—all the hallmarks of San Diego style are on sale at Thread + Seed, a charming boutique also offering styling services and giftable goodies. The shop also curates clothing to suit different shapes according to its own nature-inspired body type system. 

2220 Fern Street

La Loupe Noir

The alt sister to Normal Heights’ La Loupe Vintage, La Loupe Noir slings goth-approved apparel, jewelry, and presents. Patent leather, silver buckles, spider web–inspired lace, and, of course, the color black rule here. 

1947 Fern Street, Suite 5

Gold Leaf

It’s easy to get lost in Gold Leaf, a gift shop packed wall-to-wall with the kinds of little luxuries that brighten up ho-hum tasks and daily activities: tiny shell spoons for scooping salt, a compliment-courting picnic blanket, handmade leather slippers.

2225 30th Street

Moon & Sun

Founded in Mission Hills, Moon & Sun recently opened its South Park location, vending gifts and clothing for women, kids, and babies. Gear up for family photos here—the shop has an adorable selection of matching “mommy and me” digs. 

3022 Juniper Street

The post San Diego Neighborhood Guide: South Park appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

I am continually dumbfounded by this little marvel (Note: Impossible Burger does not pay me)—a chorus of chlorophyll that food scientists somehow made “bleed.” It still shocks me how close it is to the real thing. Up until the last half-decade or so, a veggie burger was a puck-like mash of black beans, twigs, birdseed, and misery. Growing up, I always remembered vegetarians being thin and lithe—possibly because their diet was healthier than mine, or possibly because they had little to no interest in eating the terrible food of their people.

Claire and I are still omnivores. I still use bacon as a joyful verb. But more and more, we choose plant food. We have our reasons, but they’re not important right now. Because my selection of a vegan death metal restaurant as the city’s Best Restaurant in 2021 had nothing to do with expressing food philosophy or politics.

It was an acknowledgment that A) in the US, plant-based food is now some pretty amazing stuff, and its cultural cachet has never been greater, and B) in San Diego, Kindred is its star. Put very simply: Kindred took a once off-putting scene—veganism—and made it an attractive place for everyone.

I have friends who recoil as if freshly tazed when they hear the word “vegan.” “Look at it this way,” I tell them. “At least your side dishes are getting better. It’s no longer just a rib eye and some pale broccoli that tastes like butter and steam.” Even those friends would be charmed by what this little restaurant in South Park is, and what they’ve done.

Warning: I’m going to paint with broad strokes here, and wildly stereotype an entire part of our culture. Let’s be clear. I know some very nonjudgmental vegans who just want to share the joy of plant-based cooking. But let’s also be clear: some of the most intolerable, opinionated people I know are vegans. The kind of people who seem to insert their food politics into any conversation. “The thing about bitcoins,” they might say, “is that it takes 1,800 gallons of water to raise a pound of beef.” While the pursuit is admirable—eat plants, not animals—somewhere along the way the execution became elitist and proselytizing. It became a Culture of Should—telling us what we should be doing. No one likes being Shoulded.

I will also vilify myself. Maybe my gross generalization is just a projection of my own guilt over still eating meat. I could very well be projecting my interior dissonance on them. Maybe the intolerance is mine, refusing to hear perspectives that don’t align with my own.

But there’s more. For years, I found most vegan restaurants to be a huge bore. Since veganism was cast as a lofty, quasi-spiritual and humanist pursuit, the restaurants specializing in it tended to have a sanitized, yoga-studio, car-dealership-for-Plant-Jesus sort of vibe. White walls, soothing furniture, some mixture of Yanni and John Tesh whale-songing from the speakers, a numbing quietude.

And Kindred managed to make a place free of all that. They took all of the cultural and political baggage out of veganism and just created a rad place for even the most bacon-reeking food lover to come and enjoy a meal and a craft cocktail. There’s a massive demon on the wall. The pink wallpaper is subverted with Tolkien-on-shrooms images. There is doom metal music. The food is indulgent, decadent, and excellent. The cocktails are heady and creative and worthy of an obsessive’s dedication to the craft.

It’s a party, not a parish. In managing to pull this off, they did more for plant-based and vegan culture than any pamphlet or statistic will ever do.

And that’s why, ogling in wonder at that Impossible Burger, I decided it was time to really sing the praises of one of the coolest restaurants in America.

The post Why Kindred Is My Best Restaurant of 2021 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

That’s because, as the name indicates, it is a gallery—or showroom—of Noah Feldman and Graham Loper’s proudest midcentury finds. Look, learn, and, if you feel so obliged, suggest a price.

“It’s a gallery in that we only have a few pieces displayed,” explains Feldman. “People can come in and buy. But we’re wanting to use this as a space to not just sell things but also to teach people more about midcentury furniture.”

Co-owners Feldman and Loper are capable teachers. They’ve each built their career out of a love for midcentury pieces, and their joint venture started because of one simple truth: Furniture can be heavy and hard to move.

They met about four years ago when they showed up at the same time to make an offer on a Mastercraft brass-framed sofa for sale in Point Loma. As Feldman recalls: “It was a slightly awkward situation. We were both curly-haired, scraggly guys. We’re both twins. We had all these things in common. We recognized we could help each other out, so we teamed up on that sofa and the rest was history.”

They’ve been “flipping furniture” together ever since, finding undervalued midcentury furnishings across the US, buying them—sometimes refurbishing—then selling them to those who see greater value. That’s mainly interior designers and architects, but also avid midcentury collectors.

And even as the Feldman and Loper didn’t write the book on the midcentury furniture craze, the self-taught collectors do own plenty of those books—stacked all over the floor, Loper admits—and can authoritatively argue for style’s timelessness.

“This was the first furniture designed for modern living, and that’s why it stays around, because it’s made for the spaces we still live in,” Loper explains. “It’s also a bit of a rebellion from your parents’ or grandparents’ furniture. If you sit on a piece of furniture from 1890, it’s not comfortable. They wanted to torture you a little bit. The pieces from 1950 onward, there’s an emphasis on comfort that didn’t exist before then.”

Feldman adds that many midcentury pieces can also be considered collector’s editions, since they’re often tied to a certain name, like Charles and Ray Eames, Vladimir Kagan, or Isamu Noguchi. “People are collecting them as they would art,” Feldman says. “It’s functional sculpture.”

Whatever Gallery 2

Chad Kelco

Much of Whatever Gallery’s sales are conducted through their website and Instagram, and they have a space in Barrio Logan that houses their inventory. They consider the South Park showroom, which opened just before the new year, a means for them to directly play to the demo of San Diego’s own midcentury enthusiasts and midcentury-curious.

In light of the pandemic, shoppers or even browsers can visit by appointment only. Eventually, Feldman and Loper plan to have open hours. Make an appointment by email at [email protected], or do as the millennials do and simply DM them with sourcing requests.

“We can source anything,” Feldman says. “That’s what we do.”

Whatever Gallery

2202 30th Street, South Park 

Noah Feldman (left) and Graham Loper, owners of Whatever Gallery

Chad Kelco

The post South Park’s Newest Tenant Is an Ode to Midcentury Furniture appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Eat

Since our last guide to South Park, the neighborhood’s impressive roster of eats has expanded with newcomers, rebrands, and pandemic pivots. Order a wagyu beef shawarma pita or plate of lemon cream chop fries at Shawarma Guys to see why this food truck was ranked no. 1 on Yelp’s list of top places to eat in 2019. Buona Forchetta’s Matteo is a 100 percent nonprofit eatery where you can shop freshly baked goods, pastas, sauces, and more to raise money for educational programs for San Diego’s youth.

Matteo

Justin Halbert

Down the street, Grant’s Market recently relaunched as Grant’s Coffee Room to better reflect its standing as a favorite for a caffeine fix. (It still offers beer and wine!) And when it’s time for your next homebound happy hour, sip one of Kindred’s to-go cocktails, like the lemon-basil Palace of Certainty.

Shop

Stop in to Thread + Seed to see owner Melanie Michaud’s refreshing rebrand. In 2020, she transformed her clothing boutique Graffiti Beach into a second location of her Bankers Hill home goods shop. Here you’ll find clean beauty products, decor, and curated gift boxes fit for every occasion.

Thread + Seed

Justin Halbert

Vintage enthusiasts will want to set aside some time to sift through Bad Madge & Co.’s expansive collection of vintage, resale, and locally made fashion and home goods. In addition to its regular business hours, the shop also offers appointments for private shopping. At Vinyl Junkies, by Eric Howarth and the Casbah’s Tim Mays, crate diggers can add to their record collection in a fun and funky setup.

Vinyl Junkies

Justin Halbert

Support

In a year already full of tough challenges, cherished local haunt Hamilton’s Tavern suffered a major blow when a devastating fire broke out in November. But when owner Scot Blair estimated the damages at around $1 million, dedicated patrons rose to the occasion. A GoFundMe was launched, raising money to go directly to Blair and his efforts to keep Hamilton’s, and its neighbor South Park Brewing, afloat. Show support for this longtime small-business owner here: gofundme.com/f/help-hamilton039s-tavern.

Switzer Canyon

Justin Halbert

Get Outside!

Nearby Switzer Canyon hugs the east side of Balboa Park in an easy—albeit a little rocky—out-and-back trail. Plan your trip during the spring season and you’ll be treated to a bounty of bold wildflowers.

Kindred

Justin Halbert

The post San Diego Neighborhood Guide: South Park appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Matteo is a nonprofit breakfast and lunch restaurant in South Park, the part of town where Cattaneo made his name with Buona Forchetta, one of the city’s top pizza restaurants. What is a nonprofit restaurant? It means any profits made at Matteo after operating costs (salaries, food, overhead, etc.) will not go to Cattaneo or investors. It will go to “early childhood development” for San Diego kids (ideally, those in low income areas who need it). 

Restaurants already have micro-thin profit margins. So the joke when people first heard about it was, “Aren’t all restaurants nonprofit?” 

“We’ve been very lucky,” Cattaneo says over a prosciutto-burrata breakfast pinsa (a pizza made with rice flour as well as wheat, for a lighter, more digestible crust) created by his chef Luca Zamboni. “The community has really supported us and our business. We’ve got enough. How much more do you need?”

How much is enough? In San Diego, where the median home price is $606,000, the answer is a lot. But Buona Forchetta has done exceedingly well. They’ll open their fourth location, Garage Buona Forchetta, in Coronado this month; a pizza stand in North Park called Gelati & Peccati; and Carbón, a barbecue joint in South Park. 

So Cattaneo isn’t done making profits. He and his team—which at Matteo includes baker and general Joanne Sherif, who owned North Park’s Cardamon Cafe before closing last year—will sell more food, more drinks, make more jobs. But Matteo is one for the community. I don’t know the exact recipe for restaurant success, but I know part of success in any business is giving along with taking. Just look at TOMS shoes, Patagonia, Warby Parker, etc. You almost have to build it into the model now. Whether that’s just a PR move or not I’ll leave to the cynics. 

“This spot was perfect,” he says of the large corner space on Juniper & 30th Streets, across from Station Tavern and Whistle Stop Bar. “But this space has always been a place for the community. I saw it was available and knew it didn’t belong to a business, it belonged to the community.” 

The nonprofit process sure wasn’t easy, Cattaneo says. The biggest concern was having a say in where the money goes. Schools, god bless them, are run by a bureaucracy. If he funneled the money directly to that machine, some funds would end up going to a school that didn’t really need it (schools in Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe are probably OK on funds, for instance). So Cattaneo set up a foundation where they can analyze which communities—beyond just South Park—and make their own decisions about who needs help. 

“With the foundation, we can work directly with the schools and see where there’s the most need,” he says, noting they’re starting with Chavista Cesar Chavez Service Clubs, which put on a lot of after-school enrichment programs for kids. “They help in areas where a lot of moms and dads are working 12 hours a day. They can teach them how to eat well, how to study, give them more opportunities.”

Matteo will rotate its beneficiary a few times a year. 

This isn’t a half-assed restaurant, either. Along with Sherif, who has a great name as a baker (try her almond croissant or coffee cake), Zamboni has a hell of a track record in pizza. For five years, he worked under Gabriele Bonci, known as the “king of pizza” in Rome. The menu is full of benedicts, toasts, frittatas, croissant sandwiches (the smoked salmon is excellent), bowls, pastries, and those breakfast pinsas. They’ll also start offering kids’ takeaway school lunches parents can pick up daily, with vegan and gluten-free options. 

I know the “why” of the project. I just wonder about the hours. I want to know “how” he can pull it off. 

“It just added four hours to my work day,” he smiles. “I didn’t sleep at night anyway and was up at 4AM looking for something to do.” 

Matteo officially opens Saturday, March 7. 3015 Juniper St., South Park. 8AM-3PM.

The post Matteo Shares a Piece of the Pie appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

To be fair, the badgering went both ways. Vegans (some, not all) accused omnivores of being murderers driven only by our own gluttony, environmental nihilists ushering in doomsday with every callous bite. Omnivores (some, not all) in turn belittled vegans as sickly looking crusaders, just another wacky religious sect, the Scientologists of food. Eventually, I assumed we’d get to a less judgmental middle ground. Someone would give San Diego an exciting vegan restaurant and bar that was less a territorial pissing and more of a come-all plant party.

Kindred in South Park is that place. It’s a restaurant for any human, really, who likes cool things. I’ve been a fan for years. I hadn’t, however, ventured in with their late morning crowd and seen the full evolution. Now that the food is catching up with (or caught up with) the cocktails, Kindred is a force.

Their breakfast strudels are some intoxicating carbs. Our favorite is the savory shaved seitan with tapioca mozzarella and pickled peppers. It’s spicy, meaty, cheesy, bready. The cinnamon and brown sugar strudel with candied pecans and coconut syrup is flaky on the outside, pure molten, thick, and gooey cinnamon roll inside. The pancakes with bruléed bananas, bourbon butterscotch, and whipped coconut cream aren’t good for your waist size, but they are good for your soul. Their hash is also very good, with fried potatoes, black beans, smoked coconut (vegan bacon), soy curls, maitake mushrooms, charred kale, jicama salsa, and Creole aioli.

The vibe has always been modern art. It’s the massive shiny-black demon head that lords over the main dining area. What an elegant, imposing beast. It’s the ornate pink wallpaper that appears cute and grandmotherly until a closer inspection reveals illicit scenery. It’s the gothic windows and the two-top tables that look like desks pulled from pagan Sunday school, or sidecars for Wiccan motorcycles. It’s the sludgy heavy metal on the speakers offset by the flood of fresh, natural light pouring in.

Previously, plant-based restaurants had a reputation as antiseptic prayer rooms for self-serious wellness people. Kindred owner Kory Stetina decided not to do that, and enlisted art-restaurant makers Consortium Holdings (Morning Glory, Born & Raised) to build a noisier temple for more entertaining urges.

In doing so, he positioned Kindred to be the Casbah or CBGB of vegan food and drink.

Because the plant-based movement is not just here to stay—it’s remodeling a sizable wing of the restaurant industry. Overall, the stats are still small. Gallup reports that about 5 percent of Americans claim to be vegetarian, and 3 percent vegan. But a report by The Economist in late 2018 raised eyebrows when it reported a full quarter—25 percent—of Americans in the 25-34 age demo claim to be either vegetarian or vegan.

There’s a good chance some of those people secretly cheeseburger in the dark. But even if they’re pretending to be plant-based, that means the lifestyle is now an aspiration, a status badge for an entire age demo.

If your eyes are open, you know it’s at least partially real. Meatless Mondays have been growing in number for years. Serena Williams and Tom Brady are vegan. So are Ellen Degeneres, Bill Clinton, Joaquin Phoenix, Paul McCartney—just lots of famous people. Plant-based meat companies like Impossible and Beyond are booming. Some of the world’s top chefs have plant-based menus (at French Laundry, we preferred the plant-based menu) or even entire restaurants (like ABCV from Jean-Georges in New York).

In San Diego, Kindred is the weird and fuzzy center of the movement. It’s not a trap meant to get omnivores drunk on Prohibition cocktails and guilt them into declaring legumes the one true god. At least from an outsider’s perspective, there doesn’t seem to be any agenda aside from being an exciting restaurant. And it’s pulling this off.

Kindred’s vision of the future isn’t the only one, but it is one of them. And their brunch is excellent whether you’re omnivore, vegan, or merely ambivalent and hungry.

Kindred, 1503 30th St., South Park

The post Destination: Kindred appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

“I didn’t want it to feel surf- or beach-centric,” says the Carmel Valley native. “I wanted it to be a different side of San Diego maybe people hadn’t seen before,” We caught up with Malmuth to find out more.

Abby’s airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. 

Why choose South Park for the setting?

I just love it there. Writing for TV, it’s more practical to live in L.A., so maybe it’s a way to keep one foot in San Diego. There’s a really interesting mix of people down there. You’ve got the strong military influence, and also the younger generations who are doing really interesting things in food and beer. South Park is really multi-generational and diverse, I knew it would be a good setting for a show of people hanging out at the bar. I wanted to create this place where an audience could come and hang out and have a good time—San Diego has that feel built in.

What are some very San Diego aspects of the show?

Abby, the main character, was a marine. That’s how she ended up in San Diego to begin with. Her stalwart regular is a guy named Fred who worked doing commercial fishing and deep sea fishing charters with tourists. Another character is an engineer who works at Qualcomm. I wanted it to feel relatable to people who aren’t in San Diego also, so I tried to balance a specific sense of place with things everyone has in common.

Are any other San Diegans involved?

A couple of people on the crew are from San Diego, and another one of the writers, Russ Finkelstein (Malmuth’s fellow graduate of Torrey Pines High School). Russ used to a do a lot fishing and spearfishing, so he was my go-to person for that stuff.

You’ve already turned heads with how you chose to shoot this show.

We shot it outside, with an outdoor audience, which has never been done before. Part of the experience was dealing with planes, and a few skunks walked through the set when we were shooting.

Four Questions With…Josh Malmuth, Creator of New NBC Sitcom Set in South Park

Josh Malmuth on the set of Abby’s | Photo courtesy of NBC

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Taste of Downtown

Where: East Village, City Center, and the Gaslamp Quarter

When: Sept. 13, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Downtown San Diego has far too many eateries to explore at once. The next closest thing to doing that is the Taste of Downtown, a four-hour extravaganza of sample bites from 40 restaurants. Tickets ($40, day of) include free shuttle service around the participating areas. Among the eateries are names like McFadden’s, Gaslamp BBQ, Ciros Pizza, Café Sevilla, Monzu Fresh Pasta, Gaslamp Fish House, Gourmet India and plenty more.

Taste of South Park

Where: South Park at Fern St.

When: Sept. 15, noon to 4 p.m.

Take yourself on a tasting tour of some of South Park’s—and San Diego’s—most notable eateries. Ticketholders will be given a map to 20 participating restaurants, including Buona Forchetta, Kindred, The Rose Wine Bar, Cafe Madeleine, Communal Coffee, and Mariscos Nine Seas. The event is for all ages and limited to 400 people. Purchase tickets here.

Two Food Festivals You Won’t Want to Miss in September

The Daily Scoop is among the participating locations in Taste of South Park

The post Two Food Festivals You Won’t Want to Miss in September appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

When this issue is released, my inbox starts to swell with people’s opinions on it. They range from “THANK YOU!” to “YOU’RE AN IDIOT!” to “AMAZING!” to “IT’S RIGGED!” to “YOU’RE AN IDIOT!”

So this year, I figured I would answer a few of the questions I usually get, to hopefully clarify things ahead of time.

Q: Do advertisers pay to win categories? Is it rigged?

A: No. Absolutely not. Nyet. The Best Restaurants list is divided into two sections: Readers’ Pick and Critic’s Pick. The readers make their votes, and those votes are tabulated using a non-subjective tool called math. We do not insert advertisers in there, or give them extra votes, or help them in any way. This list is as pure as we can make it. The only thing that could change the readers’ pick is bad math or if it looks like a restaurant stuffed the ballot box (see below).

The Critic’s Choice is simply me and the hamster in my brain. I keep a list throughout the year of the best things I’ve been lucky enough to put in my mouth. It’s my little black book of San Diego’s most amazing food. In seven years as San Diego Magazine’s food critic, I have never, ever been asked by someone from the magazine to include an advertiser. I just fill out my ballot like the readers, based on my personal experience. A few restaurants have, however, offered upwards of a couple thousand dollars to name them a winner. I declined, which may explain my current living situation.

Q: Are Readers’ Picks a popularity contest? Can’t restaurants stuff the ballot box?

A: They can, and they do. But we have ways of sniffing out shenanigans. One way is that we can look at IP addresses and see if one was used hundreds of times. We also notice when a voter names the same restaurant in every category, e.g. an Indian restaurant wins every field, including “Best Mexican” and “Best Restaurant That’s Anything But Indian.” We don’t allow spam, and we account for that, but restaurants are allowed to promote and campaign.

Q: How the hell did readers pick XX Restaurant as Best XX?

A: The readers like what they like. I learned a while ago that my aesthetic tastes are not universal. My palate was not dipped in the River Styx. And therefore I will not begrudge the readers their favorites. After all, I named William Bradley my favorite chef in town, but I’ve been known to crush a rotisserie chicken in my car on the way home from Sprouts. And Thomas Keller, a very fine world-famous French chef, famously purchased In N Out for a staff party.

Q: Why isn’t my restaurant included?

A: To be honest, I don’t like naming restaurants “best.” Restaurant culture isn’t a tennis match. And because, with any category, there are usually a handful of restaurants that could “win” a category for me. For instance, with “Best New Restaurant,” I was hemming and hawing between Trust in Hillcrest and Herb & Wood in Little Italy. The ultimate deciding factor for me was that the team at Trust didn’t have the “name” going into this project that chef Brian Malarkey does at Herb & Wood. Malarkey’s restaurant is excellent, and beautiful, and deserving. But he also had more resources and momentum. The fact that Trust pulled off what they did with fewer resources inspired me. They MacGyvered a really great restaurant.

Also, every year I forget restaurants, or fail to get restaurants into the list. Last year, I completely spaced on Kindred, winner of this year’s “Best Vegetarian/Vegan.” This year, I’m ticked off that Flying Pig (Oceanside and Vista) and Land & Water Co. (Carlsbad) aren’t included in my picks. Those are two of my favorite restaurants in town that somehow didn’t fit the puzzle. And that’s what a list like this is—a puzzle.

Q: How is Sushi Ota not your Best Sushi Restaurant? Is your mouth injured? Everyone knows Master Ota is untouchable!

A: For those of you who still don’t know about Master Ota, do yourself a favor and find his restaurant. It’s in Pacific Beach, next to a 7/11 and a freeway. Ota has, and will be during his time on earth, the apex of sushi in San Diego. Local fishermen literally make all other restaurants wait at the docks until Master Ota has had his pick of the day’s very best catch.

That said, our sushi scene has evolved, and there are very excellent sushi chefs who deserve a nod. For me as a critic, sustainability plays a huge part. Our oceans have been looted, and they’re in danger of collapsing. Sushi is a major contributor to that plundering. That’s why, last year, I gave the award to Land & Water Co.—whose chef-owner, Rob Ruiz, is now one of the country’s top sustainable seafood experts, and runs his restaurant as such.

And this year, I picked another sustainable sushi chef who’s got major chops: Davin Waite of Wrench & Rodent in Oceanside. First of all, Davin’s a punk and has built a little skate-zen place that’s fun to hang out in. Second, he’s a really good, respectful, obsessive sushi chef. Third, he’s as sustainable as it gets. Ota will always be the yoda of the scene, but younger jedis deserve credit for helping in saving the universe.

Q: Hey, Critic! You chose Kettner Exchange as “Best of the Best, Casual”? That’s a fancy restaurant whose chef has cooked at the James Beard House!

A: You’re right. That’s odd. And not quite right on my part. Here’s what happened. There was no ignoring George’s California Modern this year as “Best of the Best, Fancy.” Trey Foshee has been one of the country’s top chefs for decades. This year they underwent a massive renovation of their bar area, and bartender Stephen Kurpinsky has become a real inspiration and innovator for the city’s cocktail scene. It was the year to honor one of the country’s best restaurants.

I had actually considered Kettner Exchange for that award, since it’s a beautifully designed spot and Brian Redzikowski’s food absolutely blew me away over the last year. So, I reasoned—Kettner has two very active bars, which makes it a social scene as much as a dining one, and aren’t bar areas, even nicer ones like theirs, casual? It may be flawed reasoning, but it was mine. And I wanted to shine as much light on KEX and Redzikowski and bartender Steven Tuttle as possible.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I will answer as many as possible. Thanks, guys. Hope you enjoy the issue.

Behind the Best Restaurants Issue

Critic’s Pick for Best Caterer 2017: Miho. | Photo: Sam Wells

The post Behind the Best Restaurants Issue appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Win the Lottery!

Original cast members Rema Webb, Andrew Rannells, and Josh Gad  (photo courtesy of Broadway San Diego)

It’s the show everyone’s buzzing about. Broadway San Diego’s production of the hilarious Book of Mormon runs through June 8. From the creators of South Park and the co-creator of Avenue Q, the laugh-out-loud musical won nine Tony Awards, and is making its San Diego premiere at the Civic Theatre.

Don’t have tickets? Not to worry. The producers are offering a lottery system on the day of each performance, and a lucky few will get $25 seats to the show.

Here’s how to do it:

• Head to the box office 2.5 hours before curtain. Note: The lottery happens before each performance including matinees.
• Print your name and the number of tickets you want (one or two) on the provided card.
• The winning names will be drawn at random two hours before show time.
• Tickets are $25 each. Only one entry per person. Cards will be checked for duplicates before the drawing. Two tickets per winner.
• You must be present to win and have a valid ID, so stick around after you turn in your card.

Good luck to all who enter! Of course, we hope that you win the real lottery. But if you don’t, we think some hearty belly laughs (courtesy of Trey Parker and Matt Stone) are a pretty good consolation prize.

The Book of Mormon runs through June 8 at the Civic Theatre. For show schedule, please visit broadwaysd.com. 

The post Win the Lottery! appeared first on San Diego Magazine.