San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour

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We Chat With Michelin-Starred Chef William Bradley of Addison to Talk the Future of Fine Dining Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

Happy New Year! We took a break from taping during the holidays, and now we’re back and looking forward to 2021. We kicked off our first episode of the year with chef William Bradley of Addison, San Diego’s first restaurant to receive a Michelin star, which it was awarded in 2019. William is a San Diego native, and he's been leading the kitchen at Addison since 2006. He’s been nominated four times for a James Beard Award, won Robb Report’s Culinary Masters, and has served on the council for Bocuse d’Or USA since 2013. Addison is also just one of 87 restaurants in the world to have the Relais & Châteaux designation. To adapt to the current stay-home order, Addison is now offering a takeout program so you can enjoy their fine dining at home. In this episode, we learned that William is from Chula Vista, and that he was a competitive soccer player—as a teen, he even played on a men’s league in Tijuana. He says a lot of people don’t know that before he pursued a career in the culinary arts, his first love was soccer (and he is still an avid fan of the sport). Growing up in Chula Vista, his palate was heavily influenced by the cooking of his Latinx friends and neighbors. When he moved to New York, he didn’t think he would come back to San Diego, but he eventually did to lead the kitchen at Loews Coronado Bay Resort. Addison is unfortunately closed for in-person dining again, so the team decided they needed to pivot to offer takeout (for the first time in the restaurant’s history) to keep their workers and the ecosystem of local businesses that supply the restaurant employed. How can fine dining, which is experiential, translate to takeout? William said they didn’t want to go the route of offering an extensive tasting menu to go, so instead their new program, Addison at Home, is more approachable. The four-course meals, which are available four nights a week, are “what you’d make at home, but we’ll make it for you.” There is also an option to add on wine that is selected by their sommelier, as well as breakfast for the following morning. Last, we talked a lot about the future of fine dining, and William shares what he’s looking forward to in 2021. Listen to find out! In Hot Plates, we discussed the news that Karl Strauss is leaving La Jolla after 25 years because they decided not to renew the lease (two locations remain open for takeout). The owners of Farmers’ Table just opened Smokey and the Brisket, a new barbecue restaurant near Lake Murray; and coming soon to Golden Hill is Kingfisher, a modern Vietnamese restaurant from the owners of Crab Hut. They’re doing monthly pop-up dinners to showcase the new menu, starting January 15 at Crab Hut’s Mira Mesa location. Sam the Cooking Guy is opening a new burger concept soon in Little Italy Food Hall that will be a permanent home for the “Samburgers” that he launched at a ghost kitchen in Seaport Village. In Two People for Takeout, William had two picks for his favorites: Bitchin’ Sauce, a locally made almond-based dip available at Costco and farmers’ markets (he recommends the chipotle flavor), and the Double-Double at In-N-Out Burger. Troy’s pick this week is the OBecian pizza with white sauce at Sisters Pizza in Bankers Hill, and David recommends the family-style crab boil from Louisiana Purchase in North Park. My pick is the birria ramen from The Birria Truck, which has two locations in Chula Vista and City Heights. Thank you for listening and starting the new year with us! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com. See you next week!

We Reminisce on 2020: Our Most Memorable Guests, Favorite Foods, and Hopes for the Future Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Happy Holidays to all our listeners, and welcome to the last episode of 2020! We are wrapping up this unprecedented year with our most memorable guests, our favorite foods, and some predictions and hopes for the new year. Note: This was recorded on December 12.08.20. Troy, Marie, and David all reminisce about the first podcast we recorded after the pandemic and how it felt to be back on the air after three months. They looked back at some of their favorite episodes: Marie enjoyed our first ever cross-border episode with Fernando Perez Castro from La Lomita Winery, when we learned about Mexico’s wine industry and imports. Both Marie and Troy enjoyed the episode featuring Esthela Davila, cofounder of Mujeres Brew Club, talking about gender exclusivity in the craft beer industry. Troy’s other top picks included the episode featuring Frontline Foods and their efforts to support restaurants, like El Borrego, and front-line workers alike during the pandemic, and the episode with chef Phillip Esteban, this year’s Critic’s Pick for Best Chef, who recounted his experience as a Filipino American in San Diego and how he is sharing his culture in the food industry. The first episode this summer was one of David’s favorites, when we chatted with Brad Keiller from Nomad Donuts about the Black Lives Matter movement and his experiences and perspective as a Black business owner. Another one of David’s standouts was the in-person podcast recording at Hotel del Coronado, when we finally got to see one another (from a distance, of course) and enjoy some cocktails and appetizers on their brand-new Sun Deck. There may not have been a lot of good news in 2020, but there was definitely some good food! Marie’s pick is Angkorian Pikestaff, a Southeast Asian lunch pop-up that’s run out of an East Village commissary kitchen by chef Socheath Sun. Its menu is a single dish that’s different each day. If you’ve kept up with Troy’s search for the best birria, one of his favorite spots is ED Fernandez Restaurant & Catering. Some other standouts he recommends are the bone marrow tacos from Tuétano Taqueria, empanadas from Empanada Kitchen, ramen from his top pick, Hiro Nori, and good quality meats from The Wise Ox Butcher and Eatery. David’s go-to meal for 2020 was the Signature phở S&B from Shank and Bone, as well as their take on the bánh mì. He also recommends the pizza and soft-serve ice cream from Tribute Pizza. We also discuss the future of the restaurant and food industry, our predictions for what that may look like, especially considering the rollout of the vaccine. While we are concerned about what’s going to happen this winter, we’re optimistic that by summertime, the dining scene will pull through and things will be looking up. As for the magazine, Marie shares some things to look forward to reading, including a story devoted to tacos, which you can keep an eye out for in February. We thought we’d end 2020 with news of what we can look forward to. A sushi restaurant that Buzzfeed made famous is going to open a location in San Diego. Sushi Stop, an LA-based restaurant known for its affordable prices, was featured on Buzzfeed’s Worth It series and judged against an omakase place that charges $100 per person. They’re opening a location in Kearny Mesa early next year, called Sushi Hachi, with the same concept. Brad Wise, the owner of Trust, Fort Oak, and Rare Society, is offering steak dinners for restaurant workers who were laid off. So far, he’s raised $5,000 for the program, but still needs donations to keep it going. If you are able to donate, you can do so here. The final news of 2020: A Ferris wheel might be coming to Balboa Park. The temporary attraction still needs approval from the city, but the Balboa Park committee approved the plans for it to go up in the Plaza de Panama next spring. The community is divided over this—and a petition was recently created to stop the project. Do you love or hate it? Tell us what you think!

We Chat with Arturo Kassel of Whisknladle Hospitality about the Second Shutdown Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

Our special guest this week is Arturo Kassel, CEO of Whisknladle Hospitality, which brought us restaurants like Prep Kitchen, Catania, and Whisknladle in La Jolla. He also owns Gravity Heights Brewery, which opened last summer in Sorrento Valley, and the Park Commons food hall. Arturo and his business partner, chef Ryan Johnston, opened Whisknladle in La Jolla in 2008. After 12 years in the neighborhood, they had to close the restaurant this spring because of the pandemic. We featured Whisknladle’s closure in the October/November issue of San Diego Magazine, where we also ran the restaurant’s recipe for their mussels appetizer, provided by Ryan. Arturo has been on the show before, and we invited him back to talk about the latest Stay Home Order. This time around, restaurants can only serve takeout or delivery, and breweries and wineries were ordered to close their tasting rooms. Currently, Catania is open for takeout daily, but Gravity Heights and Park Commons has been temporarily closed. Arturo shares that he fully supports the shutdown of indoor dining, and he understands the need to move to outdoor dining only, but has several frustrations about the current closures. He says that the hospitality industry represents around 9 percent of the outbreaks that have occurred in San Diego County, which would mean that 91 percent are attributable to other sectors. He feels that the restaurant industry is being scapegoated. The PPP loans that came during the first shutdown are what kept their restaurants alive—but another shutdown without PPP funds, or any kind of aid, makes the future very uncertain. Arturo says he’s not as panicked this time around. At the first shutdown, he thought he was seeing 14 years of his life’s work come to a crashing halt, and he was devastated. This time around, they were better prepared, compared to March when they had to throw away thousands of dollars worth of food. He remains cautiously optimistic that there will be some form of relief eventually, but admits that hope is not a great strategy. Despite everything, he remains incredibly proud of and grateful for his team, who managed a seemingly impossible situation. Arturo sees a silver lining in the way the pandemic has forced everyone to take stock of what’s really important in our lives, and believes that on the other side of this, we’re really going to appreciate those simple things—the places we go, the things we do, and the people we see. In Two People for Takeout, Troy recommends supporting any local caterer, like his favorite, Miho Catering Company. Marie got caldo de pollo at Lourdes to satisfy her chicken soup craving. David recommends checking out Sushi Uno, one of many food trucks that, without local breweries, have lost their biggest avenue of distribution. Arturo didn’t pick one specific place—instead, he encourages people to order takeout from the experiential, full-service dining restaurants in their neighborhood. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com. Be sure to tune in next week for our final episode of 2020.

We Reveal to Chef Accursio Lota of Cori Pastificio That He’s a Best Restaurants Winner! Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to another Happy Half Hour episode! Today's special guest is Accursio Lota, chef and owner of Cori Pastificio in North Park. Before opening Cori Pastificio, he was the head chef at Liberty Station’s Solare Ristorante for seven years. During his time there, he was presented with the prestigious Tre Gamberi by Gambero Rosso, an Italian award similar to the Michelin star system. Just one year prior, he won the Barilla World Pasta Championships. He’s originally from Menfi, Sicily, and now resides in North Park. Accursio talks to us about his journey opening Cori Pastificio and shares that when you work in the restaurant industry, the final dream is to have your own place. He was set on a North Park location within one mile of his house, which is what business owners in his small town in Sicily do, and says opening a restaurant anywhere else would’ve been unnatural. The opportunity presented itself, and Cori took over where Cardamom Café was. Cori Pastificio opened in mid-December 2019, and barely three months later, the pandemic hit. The first week was the hardest for him, and he was afraid they would have to close down permanently—being open for only three months meant they didn’t have regular customers to rely on. But Accursio says that from day one, there was huge engagement from the community trying to help them and other businesses survive. He’s made several adjustments since the spring, such as downsizing the menu and occasionally changing it, and selling housemade dry pasta as more people are cooking at home. In the next few months, he hopes to sell Cori’s pasta at small groceries and markets. To wrap up our time with Accursio, we wanted to end on a good note, so we shared the exciting news: In our annual Best Restaurants issue, Cori Pastificio won the critic’s pick for Best of the Best Casual and the readers’ pick for both Best New Restaurant and Best Chef! You can find them and the rest of the winners in the December issue, and to check out their menu, visit their website and Instagram. We taped this episode well before Thanksgiving, so this Hot Plates segment won’t be news by the time you hear it, but we still wanted to catch you up on the latest headlines. Small Bar in University Heights closed. Amarin Thai, which has been in Hillcrest for over 20 years, announced that it permanently closed. The owners have a sister restaurant, Siam Nara in Mira Mesa, that is open with outdoor dining and takeout, which you can support. A fire at Hamiltons Tavern in South Park caused an estimated $1 million in damage to the business. On to the good news: Maya's Cookies just opened its first retail store in Grantville. Priscilla Curiel, who owns Tuétano Taqueria, one of our favorite taco shops, is opening a new café, Mujer Divina, in National City. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Marie’s pick is khinkali (Georgian beef soup dumplings) from Pomegranate, a Russian-Georgian restaurant in North Park. Featured earlier in Hot Plates, Troy goes with Siam Nara in Mira Mesa, where he recommends their drunken noodles with duck and mango sticky rice. For a good glass of wine and some tapas, Accursio picks De Nada Kitchen and Market in University Heights, and David recommends the mole y huevos at WestBrew in Del Mar, as well as their IPAs and seltzers. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com. And if there’s another patio you think we should record on, let us know.

It’s Almost Time for Pumpkin Pie! We Chat with Steven Torres of Pop Pie and Stella Jean’s Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! Today’s special guest is Steven Torres, founder and CEO of Pop Pie Co. and Stella Jean’s ice cream. Steven and his husband, Gan Suebsarakham, own the two shops in University Heights, which feature modern takes on American dessert staples: pie and ice cream. Leaning on his background in business and accounting, Steven handles the day-to-day operations and oversees all Pop Pie Co. and Stella Jean’s locations, including expansion, menu development, and management. Steven walks us through the inspiration behind Pop Pie Co., their first business venture out of the two. When brainstorming what to focus their business on, the duo recognized that pot pie was a staple dish in a lot of cultures around the world but not in the US. Their strong desire to bring the classic dish to the states and present it in a different way led them to dream up Pop Pie Co. Before pie and ice cream were even a thought in his mind, Steven was trying to navigate his solo move from his small hometown to San Diego. His first job was as a doorman and server at Bourbon Street Bar & Grill, and he also worked the door at The Brass Rail, one of San Diego’s most popular gay bars. Although Steven says that it was intimidating at first, he had great experiences learning about the community and culture. In fact, it was his love for University Heights that ultimately led them to choose it as the location to start their business. The community there embraced them from day one, and the emotional goodwill they’ve experienced has been carrying them through the pandemic. Right now, Pop Pie Co. and Stella Jean’s have switched fully to counter service. Steven says they saw a trend toward instant gratification, that people value time as a determining factor of where to eat. With pies and ice cream, their businesses are geared up for that grab-and-go setup. The opportunity to start Stella Jean’s came when they were approached to take over the lease next door to Pop Pie. They brainstormed what to do with the space—possibly expanding seating for Pop Pie—but Gan’s pastry background and interest in ice cream turned the light bulb on. Steven says it was all an organic process and that if you have an idea, it’s all about how you make it yours. For Thanksgiving, they just announced their annual turkey pot pie. They’ve also begun a presale for their whole pies, which are going out pretty fast. They have five options: vegan apple crumble, salted caramel apple crumble, salted honey chess pie, honey bourbon pecan pie, and pumpkin pie. In Hot Plates, we have good news all around this week! There’s a new distillery and barbecue restaurant in Barrio Logan: ReBru and Hott Mess. Teriyaki & Bao opened in Carlsbad Village right next door to Blue Ocean Sushi Bar, which is owned by the same company. They have lots of Instagrammable food—namely, bao that look like cartoon animals. In breakfast and brunch news, Fig Tree Cafe is opening in East Village on Sixth Avenue and G Street, taking over the spot where Double Standard was. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Troy makes his final ramen pick: the stone soup with brisket from The Whet Noodle. Marie celebrates California spiny lobster season with the lobster plate at Mitch’s Seafood, and Steven picks Soi 30th in North Park, recommending their papaya salad. Also in North Park, David goes with the pretzel grilled cheese at Pretzels and Pints. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com. And if there’s another patio you think we should record on, let us know!

We Chat with Timothy Parker, Navy Veteran and Owner of Chula Vista Brewery Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! We honor Veterans Day this week with our special guest, Timothy Parker, co-founder of Chula Vista Brewery! Timothy is from Chicago, and he moved to San Diego to pursue a career in the Navy, where he met his wife, Dali, and was introduced to Chula Vista. He opened up Chula Vista Brewery on Third Avenue as a way to bring quality craft beers to South Bay. He retired from the Navy at the end of 2019 following two decades of service, and he is now a full-time presence at the brewery. Chula Vista Brewery is one of the only Black-owned and veteran-owned breweries in San Diego, and its Browner than Ivan American-style brown ale won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival last year. Timothy’s love for beer was sparked during his military career, as he traveled and was able to taste beer all over the world. When he returned home and looked for those international beers, he wasn’t able to find them. For him, it was a snowball effect: He started brewing at home, and as his imagination grew, it turned into a brewery. Although their profit margins have suffered because of the pandemic, Timothy shares how they were able to branch out using their new canning machine. Before the pandemic, they were selling so much off the tap that they didn’t have a need to can their beer, but now they had the opportunity to pivot. Now, their beers are available in Bevmo, Grocery Outlet, and Sprouts. Timothy himself is the distributor and sales person, and he shares about how work-intensive it is. Many breweries face the challenge of selling food onsite to keep their tasting rooms open. Timothy says that they had to get creative, so they collaborated with a kitchen down the street, and they use a barcode system separate from the brewery. It sends orders directly to the restaurant so the cash doesn’t mix in with the brewery’s cash, a problem Timothy said you could easily run into with food trucks. Timothy says the local veteran community has shown support for his brewery, and they recently collaborated with War Planes, a veteran-owned company that makes bodysurfing gear, to release their War Planes Hazy Pale Ale. As a Black business owner, he says the Black Lives Matter movement brought an uptick in support, especially from within the Black community itself and out-of-town visitors. He also shares how the support has been growing, and how it’s actually helping get their community more into craft beer. As for their collaborations, Timothy shares about Brewing the American Dream, which allowed them to collaborate with Samuel Adams when they were first starting out and get their name out there. In Hot Plates, Winston’s in Ocean Beach, a long-time institution for live music, is temporarily closed. Royale, a burger restaurant in Point Loma owned by couple Jordan and Mariah Brownwood, who also own a farm in Valley Center, announced they're closing permanently. Now for some good news, Mujeres Brew House had their soft opening in Barrio Logan. It's a women-led craft brewery, and we had one of the founders, Esthela Davila, on the show earlier this summer. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, everyone stayed in Chula Vista for their picks. Tim swears by Teriyaki Grill and recommends grabbing a poke bowl from this hole-in-the-wall spot. Marie selected the tortas ahogadas (a “drowned” sandwich) from the food truck El Gallito. Troy picked the quesadilla ahogada from Birrieria Don Rafa, while David did Two People for $50 drinking style with craft beer at Bar Sin Nombre. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com. And if there’s another patio you think we should record on, let us know!

We’re Back at The Del’s Sun Deck and Talking Cocktails Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Just like last week’s episode, we are out here once again at our sponsor the Hotel del Coronado’s new Sun Deck enjoying the sun, beach views, and this time, refreshing cocktails courtesy of our special guest Amanda McNeil, the hotel’s director of beverages. Amanda has been at Hotel Del since 2018, overseeing 10 of their outlets. She is a Level 1 Sommelier, and this summer she helped launch five new bars and restaurants at the resort simultaneously, including the new Sun Deck. Previously, she was the general manager of 1500 Ocean. Before we started this week’s episode, Amanda spoiled us with the best part of her job—the drinks. We sipped one of the Sun Deck’s signature cocktails, “Workin’ On My Tanlines,” as she talked about the research and development that went into building a unique drink menu at each outlet. For the open-air, beachfront Sun Deck, she went for light, refreshing drinks; while the 1940s-themed Babcock & Story Bar is stocked with classic bourbon and whiskey selections. Amanda’s first project, Beach + Taco Shack, launched during the renewed popularity of the tiki aesthetic, which explains its vacation feel and selection of classic beachy drinks. Eno Market & Pizzeria, on the other hand, is focused on supporting local companies, so they offer a lot of local beers, though their wine list features Mediterranean options. Amanda also says they have the best pizza you might ever taste! Amanda loves her job, but she admits you get bored of drinking after a while. Her coming to The Del was a “simple twist of fate,” since she just happened to apply after working at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. She also shares her two favorite drinks at The Del: the Japanese Highball at Babcock & Story Bar, and the Double Sesh at Beach + Taco Shack. In Hot Plates, we talked about the news that Michelin included five San Diego restaurants in its list of new “inspector discoveries.” San Diego Beer Week kicks off November 6 with lots of virtual events, tastings, and deals at local breweries. Chef Claudette Zepeda has some exciting news: Her next restaurant, Vaga Restaurant and Bar, will open at the new Alila Marea Beach Resort in Encinitas early next year. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Amanda started us off with two options, Dija Mara in Oceanside and Death by Tequila in Encinitas for some tacos and tequila. Troy picked the vegan burgers at EVE in Encinitas, and for her first time dining out (outdoors) in eight months, Marie went to Barbusa in Little Italy. David went to Dirty Birds in La Jolla for their salt and vinegar wings as he watched the World Series. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com. And if there’s another patio you think we should record on, let us know!

Join Us on the Hotel Del’s New Sun Deck! Oct 30, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This is our first live recording of the podcast since this spring. We taped this episode, at our sponsor, the Hotel Del Coronado’s brand new Sun Deck, a bar and restaurant that overlooks Coronado Beach. It was the first time in seven months we’ve been outside and together for a podcast (socially distanced, of course!), and the fresh air and ocean view made for a welcome return. Today’s special guest is Stefan Peroutka, the executive chef right here at Hotel del Coronado. Stefan is from Austria, and he was classically trained at the Salzburg Hospitality and Culinary School. He earned his chops as executive sous chef of the Michelin-starred Aureole restaurant at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where he was invited to join the prestigious Les Amis d’Escoffier Society of Las Vegas. After serving as executive banquet chef of The Venetian and The Palazzo Resort, he landed at Hotel Del, where he now oversees the resort’s wide range of culinary offerings. Stefan walked us through some dishes that are on the Sun Deck’s menu (which Troy and David made sure to sample right away). This included the California mezze plate, which features whipped goat cheese and edamame lemon hummus, and charred octopus served with fennel and olive oil puree, David’s pick as the best. Stefan says the menu features light California fare with lots of vegetables and seafood. Stefan spent a lot of his career in Portugal. He shares that the culinary scene around Europe is completely different from Vegas, something he had to navigate when he moved and started working as a sous chef at Stratosphere Casino and Resort. Stefan talks about the pressure of being a chef, and how different cooking as a chef is versus cooking at home or even at culinary school. He says it’s a stressful profession, and while you can be an amazing cook, running a restaurant or an even bigger operation like in a hotel is not something that can be learned in school. While he said working in Las Vegas was an awesome run, California was always on his radar as he looked for his next step. In Hot Plates, the beloved Rubio’s, which was founded in San Diego, just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They closed restaurants in Colorado and Florida, though none yet here in California. They are operating as normal, so you can still get the famous fish tacos. Martinis Above Fourth in Hillcrest announced they filed for Chapter 7. The restaurant and bar was known for its live shows and extensive martini menu, but the owners’ post on Facebook sadly said that it wouldn’t make sense to reopen. We tried to end this segment on a high note: El Cruce+241, a restaurant in Chula Vista devoted to Baja cuisine and ingredients, is finally open on Third Avenue. It specializes in seafood, wine, and beer from Baja with dishes like grilled octopus, oysters, fish tacos, and craft beer from breweries such as Tijuana’s Insurgente. In Two People for Takeout/Two People for $50, Stefan recommends the seafood at TJ Oyster Bar. Marie went with ice cream from Salt and Straw: They have a special Halloween edition that mixes matcha ice cream with chocolate-covered crickets. Troy continues his ramen quest at Hironori Ramen in Hillcrest, giving rave reviews of the shoyu ramen and creamy tonkotsu ramen. David ventured out of North Park all the way to Miramar to Ballast Point Tasting Room, putting aside his dislike of pumpkin spice for the Pumpkin Down Scotch Ale. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com. And if there’s another patio you think we should record on, let us know! This episode is sponsored by Hotel del Coronado.

How Is Limited Indoor Dining Going? We Asked Sandy Vuong of Dumpling Inn Oct 22, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Our special guest today is Sandy Vuong from Dumpling Inn and Shanghai Saloon. Dumpling Inn was one of the first restaurants in San Diego to offer xiao long bao, Chinese soup dumplings. Sandy’s family also owns Minh Ky, a beloved Chinese restaurant in City Heights. Sandy moved to Orange County to study at UC Irvine, and after graduating she moved back to San Diego to become co-owner of Dumpling Inn. The restaurant moved right next door from its original spot on Convoy Street to a bigger space. They’ve been there ever since, and just opened back up for dine-in. Sandy chats with us about what it’s been like to reopen the restaurant for indoor dining at a limited capacity. As a restaurateur, dealing with angry customers is always a difficult but necessary part of the job, and she shares that unfortunately it’s not any better under the new pandemic restrictions. However, she and her staff have been making a real effort to enforce the mask-wearing and social distancing rules. Sandy says they’ve been able to set up outdoor seating in their parking lot in the meantime, and that some newly added street parking in the neighborhood has helped bring more customers to the area. Looking to the future, Sandy hopes that customers can appreciate the whole dining experience when all the rules and restrictions go away. One of their mottos is “from our family to yours,” and they really believe that when customers are dining in with them. She tells us about the current struggles of dealing with third-party delivery apps, to-go orders, and contact tracing, and hopes that people can understand and appreciate the level of service they can get when they are able to dine in again. For Hot Plates, Burger Lounge launched a plant-based test kitchen and expanded the menu at their Hillcrest and Del Mar locations to include vegan dishes. There are now plant-based options for their popular burgers, vegan cheeses and sauces, and cashew-based dairy-free milkshakes. We also have some beer news! Dozens of local brewers won awards at the San Diego International Beer Competition, the largest of its kind in the region. This year, the awards ceremony was done via Zoom; Rouleur Brewing Company in Carlsbad won Best in Show for their Domestique Blonde Ale, and Eppig Brewing won for their special lager. For some lighthearted national news, a recent map came out that shows which Halloween candy is the most popular in every state. California’s favorite is the Crunch bar, our neighbors in Oregon and Arizona picked Reese's Pieces and Mr. Goodbar, respectively, and Vermont went with Tootsie Pop. And Florida picked Airheads…no comment. For Two People for $50 / Two People for Takeout, Sandy’s seafood cravings typically take her to Submarine Crab or Bluewater Grill. Marie’s pick was also seafood: Kikos Seafood Lunch Truck in Mission Valley, especially on Tuesdays for their three fish tacos for $5 deal. Troy recommends Station Tavern over in South Park if you’re looking for good burgers and good beer. David took us on a little tour of North County, first with The Confessional by The Lost Abbey for some ales and a coupon for a slice of pizza at East Coast Pizza right next door, then down to Cardiff Seaside Market for their famous tri-tip, or “Cardiff Crack,” to take home and cook. I joined this week with some all-you-can-eat Korean barbeque from Manna BBQ. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com.

How Hanna’s Gourmet Went from a Catering Business to a Beloved Bistro Oct 15, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! Today's guest is Hanna Tesfamichael, chef and owner of Hanna's Gourmet in Normal Heights. Born in Eritrea, Hanna came to San Diego to study food and nutrition at San Diego State University. She worked for a while at Jenny Craig, and then in 2008 she opened her own catering kitchen before opening Hanna’s as a full-service restaurant in 2011. Hanna chatted with us about her unexpected journey from nutrition coach to caterer to restaurant owner. Throughout college, she worked at a catering company and fell in love with it. She was always drawn to the kitchen, and that led her to become a personal chef. But when she started Hanna’s Gourmet, she had no intention to turn it into a restaurant, much less a beloved neighborhood bistro. We then dove into how she began her catering company, which included a three-year journey finding a place to rent. It was no easy endeavor—she and her husband had to build from the ground up. Between 2008 and 2011, Hanna’s functioned as a caterer, but as customers kept asking her to do takeout, she converted the storage area next door into the dining room we know today. Unfortunately, the future of catering looks grim, and we discussed what that might look like for businesses everywhere. Hanna’s Gourmet is one of the many that’ve had to adapt, and they are now offering a weekly menu of small-batch, made-to-order dinners. While some of the favorites stay the same—like the tortellini with pear, Parmesan cream sauce, prosciutto, and their best-seller, the Moroccan chicken—everything else on their global menu changes. Hanna told us that she loves to get her customers involved, having them send in recipes and seeing what they like. You can order through her website, which has all the information. In Hot Plates, North Park is getting some Thai street food. The owner of Mngo Cafe on Convoy is opening Kin Len on 30th Street in the old Berkeley Pizza spot. There's a brand-new Mexican restaurant in Ocean Beach: La Doña OB Cantina opened last Saturday, taking over the spot on Bacon Street where Nati's was for 60 years. The list of new restaurants continues with Seaport Village, which is getting a Malibu Farm restaurant. The restaurant is known as a spot for celebrity sightings, and has expanded to eight locations around the world. It's going to replace Harbor House, which has been on the waterfront for 40 years. But don’t get too excited just yet—you will have to wait a little longer as the restaurant won't open until 2022. In Two People for Takeout / Two People for $50, Troy kept his ramen hunt going strong with Menya Ultra Ramen, one of the most esteemed ramen places in both San Diego and Tokyo. Marie followed up Troy’s journey with her recommendation for quality noodles at Ramen Ryoma in Hillcrest. Hanna couldn’t decide between two, so she chose both: the Azerbaijani-inspired fare from Cafe 21 and the classic Italian appetizers and pastries at Ciccia Osteria in Barrio Logan. David took us on a little trip to the Little Italy Food Hall, where he tried a flatbread from Graze by Sam and Bobboi Natural Gelato’s charcoal-infused vanilla ice cream. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Do you have a question for Troy? Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at happyhalfhour@sdmag.com.

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