He was raised in a gas station in Alsace, France. Went with his mom every day to the butcher shop and bakery and grocer—gladly, because snacks. Salami or knackwurst, warm breads and oh man the cheeses. He learned to cook by his mom’s side, saw what good meals did to people. He learned work ethic sweeping his dad’s station.
“That’s where I learned the ethic of being quick and efficient,” he says. “Brooming, organizing, serving gas, cleaning windshields, keeping the station tidy. And that’s what I do here, now. It’s something I carried with me. Nothing is not my job here.”
That’s why Stephane Voitzwinkler has been the exec chef of Mister A’s—the icon in the sky of San Diego’s dining scene—for 21 years. That’s not a job, it’s a biography. Talent gets you in the kitchen, ethic makes you a part of the place.
The dish you gotta try: the duck. They constantly dry-age their own in the kitchen. Dry-aging is like reducing a stock or editing the rough draft of a story. You’re removing the fluff (in this case, moisture), and cranking up the best parts. He serves his with a carrot puree, harissa chickpeas, and huckleberry gastrique. It’s one heck of a canard.
Longtime GM Ryan Thorsen became the new owner two years ago. Infused new life, revived the historic Blue Room, renewed the chakras and the buzz of the place. It’s packed in here now. A second or third or sixth life for a San Diego classic.
