Ready Party One: Legends of Fantasy

July 24 | Parq Nightclub

Don’t worry, your 80’s film-inspired cosplay outfit begging to be worn just found its ticket to a fantasy dreamland. Ready Party One: Legends of Fantasy, XLE’s signature SDCC kick-off after party, returns on July 24 at Parq Nightclub. With tickets beginning at $52, journey through classics like Labyrinth, Princess Bride, and Lord of the Rings. This is your portal to mythical adventures, dancing in enchanted forests and castle ruins, with live performances by The Flux Capacitors and DJ Elliot. VIPs get extra perks with the Villains VIP Lair. Seriously, don’t miss out on a chance to see Frodo Baggins in a nightclub. Must be 21+.

615 Broadway St, Gaslamp Quarter

Paramount+’s The Lodge

July 24 | Happy Does Bar

Ever dreamed of exploring SpongeBob Squarepants’ Bikini Bottom while sipping a drink from a Tulsa King–themed saloon? Paramount+’s The Lodge is making its comeback to the Gaslamp District for its 2024 tour stop. From July 24 to 28 at Happy Does, immerse yourself in everything unique to the world of Paramount+. Step onto a Star Trek starship, fuel up for the night at the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts energon station, and hit the Paramount+ pub. While admission is free with a reservation, a standby line is also available daily. All ages welcome; guests 18 and under must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian.

340 Fifth Ave, Gaslamp Quarter

Fandom Party Presented by Dragon Age: The Veilguard 

July 25 | Hard Rock Hotel’s Float

Fandom is back in San Diego for its seventh annual fan-first immersive party. From 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel’s Float rooftop bar, this event, sponsored by gaming publisher EA, features previews of BioWare and EA’s upcoming role-playing game and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, along with activations from Z2 Comics and Pinfinity. Enjoy food, drinks, and endless entertainment, including a themed scavenger hunt, custom photo booths, giveaways, and a Z2 graphic novel exhibition. Being a part of a fandom is not for the weak …you deserve to feel like your favorite character on a 360-degree red carpet. Must be 21+.

207 5th Ave, Gaslamp Quarter

Hosnian Prom: The Bash

July 25 | Wicked West

In a galaxy far, far away (also known as Wicked West in San Diego), Hosnian Prom promises a night of ultra-galactic prom looks and otherworldly dance moves. Enjoy guests like Mesmerizing Cantina Hour Crooning by Jeremy Russell, Interstellar Beats and Cosmic Melodies by DJ RUE and more. Tickets start at $103 with proceeds benefiting the Starlight Children’s Foundation and include an open bar, gourmet bites, and swag. May the force be with you (and your galactic drinks). Must be 18+.

1735 National Ave, Barrio Logan

Anti-Hero After Party

July 25 | Parq Nightclub

If you’re looking to find the Joker to your Harley Quinn, or vice versa, the Anti-Hero After Party at Parq Nightclub might just be what you need. Inspired by Deadpool, Harley Quinn, and The Boys, the evening celebrates the unconventional with gritty music, dynamic performances, and epic cosplay. The night includes sets by For the Girls, DJ Elliot’s beats, and the exclusive Villains VIP Lair with burlesque shows. GA tickets start at $40, VIP tickets are priced at $162 and include separate entry, a Hallmark gift, a commemorative acrylic VIP badge, and access to the Villains VIP Lair. Get your face paint ready and embrace the chaos. Must be 21+.

615 Broadway St, Gaslamp Quarter

Geeki Tiki at False Idol

July 26 | False Idol

Enjoy Geeki Tiki’s annual False Idol event on Friday, July 26 this year. Channel your inner god-like spirit and sip on special WhistlePig Whiskey and Planetary Rum cocktails with three seating options: 4:30-6:30 p.m., 7-9 p.m., and 9:30-11:30 p.m. For $65, you get two drinks that double as raffle tickets, plus a swag bag worth over $50. Tickets are available via Instagram and Open Table. Must be 21+.

675 W Beech Street, Little Italy

IGN and Zenless Zone Zero Party

July 26 | Hard Rock Hotel’s Float

Ready to party like the gaming legend you are? IGN is hosting an after-party on Friday, July 26, from 7:30–11:00 p.m. at Float rooftop bar at the Hard Rock Hotel. Enjoy photo ops, live performances, and themed cocktails that will transport you to another gaming console. Title sponsor, HoYoverse, will be celebrating the launch of their action role-playing game, Zenless Zone Zero, so expect a little extra gaming magic. Tickets are limited, but you can win your way in through contests and giveaways. Gamers, this is your time to shine. Must be 21+.

207 5th Ave, Gaslamp Quarter

Mosh Eisley: The Best Party in the Galaxy

July 26 | The Music Box

Oftentimes, things are better in pairs. Star Wars and early 2000’s punk rock…an extraordinary duo. Enter Mosh Eisley, where Thank the Maker Podcast merges the universe with emo nostalgia, featuring bands like Bayside and Story of the Year, to put on “The Best Party in the Galaxy.” General admission starts at $67 and doors open at 8 p.m. Must be 21+.

1337 India Street, Little Italy

Shrek Rave

July 26 | House of Blues

So, what exactly goes down at a Shrek Rave? You’re going to have to grab your ogre ears and find out. This annual dance festival, spanning across North America and the UK, has made its way to San Diego for Comic-Con weekend and aims to remix those iconic Shrek anthems with immersive visuals (Shrek possibly breathing fire?!). Tickets are selling fast, so grab them before you miss your chance to join a mosh pit with Donkey. Must be 18+.

1055 Fifth Ave, Gaslamp Quarter

Digital LA – Comic Cocktails

July 27 | Location TBD

Whether you’re into comics, animation, or simply just love a good party, Comic Cocktails by Digital LA is the event for exclusive networking, mingling with fellow enthusiasts, and, obviously, enjoying themed drinks. This is the time to trade notes on your top SDCC panels and connect with Hollywood industry players. The event’s location is currently top-secret but will be revealed through email to registered attendees as a secret HQ on the weekend of SDCC. Tickets are currently $13 with rumored surprise guests. Must be 21+. 

Comic-Con Bar Crawl San Diego 

July 27 | Starts at American Junkie

Nothing screams Comic-Con more than hundreds of people in capes taking over the streets of the Gaslamp Quarter. The highly anticipated Comic-Con Bar Crawl returns for its fifth year, inviting San Diegans to showcase their best cosplay with an all-access pass to 10+ bars and nightclubs. Tickets for this annual Heroes & Villains Bar Crawl start at $29 and include free welcome shots at select venues, drink discount coupons, free nightclub entry passes, and a bar crawl map that serves as a souvenir of survival. It’s essentially Halloween in July for adults—who can say no to that? Must be 21+.

538 5th Ave, Gaslamp Quarter

The post 11 Can’t Miss After-Parties During Comic-Con appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Tickets are currently on sale with both GA and VIP options available. Here’s your quick guide to San Diego Bayfest 2024:

When and where is San Diego Bayfest 2024?

San Diego Bayfest takes place on Saturday July 20, 2024 at the Waterfront Park.

Are there still tickets available?

General admission tickets are still available online for $85, VIP tickets are $340, and Platinum VIPs can purchase a pass for $3,400.  

What do VIP tickets offer?

There are two levels of VIP tickets on offer. VIP passes include extra seating, quick festival entry, and discounted tacos, among several other perks. Platinum VIP tickets are topped off with premier viewing locations, behind-the-scenes access, and exclusive dining and drinking experiences.

How can I get to San Diego Bayfest?

Waterfront Park is located at 1600 Pacific Hwy which is accessible via, car, trolley or bus. Public parking is available along Pacific Highway, though it is limited. Ride share or public transportation is suggested, with both the Blue Line and 8 bus routes servicing stops near the park. 

Is there food at San Diego Bayfest?

Food and drinks from local vendors will be available inside the festival for purchase. Because of the sale of craft beers and cocktails at this event, San Diego Bayfest will be a 21+ event. No outside food or beverages are allowed.

Who’s playing?

Sublime featuring Jakob Nowell will headline the fest. Atmosphere, Goldfinger, Barrington Levy, Makua Rothman, and Kyle Smith round-out the lineup.

San Diego Bayfest Tips and Tricks

Stay Updated

San Diego Bayfest will be posting their set times, as well as other upcoming information, on their social media pages. Give them a follow for more news on Instagram, Facebook, and X at @bayfestsd.

Explore the Grounds

Waterfront Park is a space large enough to house plenty of sick local vendors for food and drinks, so take the time to see what’s popping at each booth. Utilize that space between sets to grab some grub and merch.

Stay Off the Road

With a less-than-savory combo of large crowds and complicated parking situations, getting to San Diego Bayfest by car is probably not your best choice. Consider public transportation for ease of travel and avoidance of the inevitable mood killing traffic. Factor in time for parking and/or walking from the trolley to the event.

Get Comfy

Festivals last a while, so get ready to be on your feet and outside for most of the day. Show up in something comfortable and don’t forget sunscreen!

The post Guide to San Diego Bayfest 2024 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Barra Oliba will, or so says Ernesto Casillas. He, along with his business partner Eduardo Bustamante (Crudo Cevicheria & Oyster Bar), says their contemporary Spanish bistro, which will open at 1980 Kettner Blvd. this August, will be one of the first, if not the first, seed oil-free restaurants in San Diego.

Common seed oils, like sunflower oil, canola oil, and corn oil, have higher smoke points than other oils, like olive oil, and are generally cheaper. But Casilla believes seed oils contribute to inflammation and other issues. (While seed oils contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, institutions like the Cleveland Clinic say problems associated with them are often more likely from the ultra-processed foods.) Instead, Barra Oliba will use different olive oils from around Spain, which Casillas says is more delicious and better for consumers.

“We basically want people to feel good during their visit but also after,” he says, noting that for some, dining out can lead to inflammation and heartburn afterwards. He hopes to prevent or minimize these effects for those that struggle with gut issues.

Casillas adds that not only did he see a need for heart-healthy restaurant options in town, but he also saw a lack of Spanish cuisine. “There are good restaurants, but they’re almost all Italian restaurants, or American, Mexican, or Japanese,” he explains. “Spanish food is very interesting and well-regarded around the world.” The space will feel like an authentic European restaurant, with 30 seats inside and 30 outside and a raw bar, focusing on Spanish and French wines and beer “served in the traditional cañita format—half size pint,” says Casillas.

He adds that Barra Oliba’s menu will center on different types of Spanish rice dishes—not just paella, although they’ll certainly have that, too. He promises that the rotating selections will range from pulpo a fiera (a traditional Galician dish made with octopus) to tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelets) and much more. “There’s a lot of good things coming.” Casillas says they plan to be open seven days a week from around 3 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., but this may change based on demand. 

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Feeding San Diego Partners With Amazon For Hunger Relief

Over 350,000 people experience food security across the county, and Feeding San Diego estimates 100,000 of them are children. The local nonprofit has worked to end hunger since 2007 but is getting a big boost from the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon. Amazon has been collecting food and funding donations, and on Tuesday, July 2, it will present a check to Feeding San Diego that will help provide 50,000 meals to San Diegans experiencing food insecurity. Every $1 donated to Feeding San Diego provides two meals, so if you’re interested in donating or finding out more, visit feedingsandiego.org. 

Beth’s Bites

• San Diego’s first alcohol-free bar just got a permanent home! After hosting tons of pop-ups all over the county to build a buzz-free buzz, Good News will open in Hillcrest by the end of the year. 
• Speaking of permanent homes, lauded bakery Izola just soft opened their new cathedral of bread in East Village at 1429 Island Avenue. It’s been quite a journey for the team, and they’re taking it slow. Current hours are Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if their fundraising efforts are any indication, big things are on the horizon. 
• It’s expansion season in San Diego, and restaurants are all in. Best Pizza and Brew is coming to Clairemont, The Taco Stand is headed to Oceanside, and Shawarma Guys is heading to Mira Mesa… so many delicious destinations on the horizon. 

The post New Spanish Bistro Barra Oliba Coming To Little Italy  appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

That’s what makes Lala’s setup so strange or appealing or both. You hear the buzz about this pretty new thing and set out to find it. You pass the al fresco dining Guernica that is Piazza della Famiglia. Pass the stately brass-and-walnut, building-as-Ayn Rand-book cover, Born and Raised. You nearly get pulled into the influencer-swan dining orgy of Barbusa. And then you run smack-dab into the rarest of ugly-beautiful gems, a parking lot on India Street that somehow hasn’t yet been turned into a negroni farm.

You nearly stop, feeling catfished by your GPS. But in the way-back of this lot, you spot a woman standing in the dark portal of a tiny structure. She is wearing business-martini attire, holding a clipboard. There is a velvet rope. This is Lala, which appears to be a speakeasy for ACE Parking.

First, the power of the clipboard must be acknowledged, a small but essential detail. No matter how ornate or neon-bedazzled, a hostess stand doesn’t convey the gatekeeper lure of a good old-fashioned clippy. The clipboard suggests the night’s list of invited people has been made, the list is small enough to fit on a single sheet, and this woman controls it and the fate of all who approach.

As she takes your name and scans for its presence, you will feel that same nervous pre-shame from your days of trying to get into the nightclub of the moment, where a serious person in a fitted suit performed once-overs of every person in line, making snap judgments of your social merit and value to humanity. You wonder if your jeans are casting the right cachet to make it into the club, or if you should have pleathered.

Plus, that velvet rope. At 5pm when we arrive, it seems a tad ridiculous, a cheeky throwback to the highly selective era of “bespoke” debauch. But then you consider Lala was built as an ornate spillover space for the always-bustling Barbusa (both are from the next-gen of San Diego’s first family of Italian, the Busalacchis). And you get a peek inside Lala, and realize this place is an architectural hiccup, barely enough space to park a couple Rivians. So there will be a line at Lala, and the Busalacchis are not the kind of people to deprive their line-people that Mann’s-Chinese-Theater magic of a velvet rope.

The Busalacchis brought unselfconscious and unrepentant sexy back to Little Italy. Their social media is a sultry parade of pasta, Aperol, and pheromones. Their clientele is not short on eyelashes or watches. Everything they do is glammed and sensualized. And though my heart is made of black t-shirts, Chuck Taylors, and wardrobe apathy… though I usually eye a dolled-up social scene as espresso-martini cosplay that lacks the casualness of a life lived in the real… I admit to being seduced by it.

Because after the last few years I’m running overstock on verité, and craving escapes that Apple or Meta have no say in. Also because in chronically casual San Diego, where our fashion shrugs can vacuum the flirtatiousness from any space, a roomful of urban pageantry feels like a true night out.

To create the cozy magic of Lala, the outside world has been smartly shut out (it is, after all, a parking lot). It is secrets-dark. A small lounge to the left is adorned with plant life and wicker chairs. On the right, an ornate bar with stool and bench seating below a curved wall-to-ceiling situation. The drinks are all libido- and scandal-named (Stiletto, Mistress, Sidepiece, Forbidden Fruit, etc.). There is marble and tassels and more velvet and Venetian plaster and Renaissance nudes.

On one wall, an art installation of stilettos, all of which seem to have lost their counterparts. They’ve replaced the standard kitchen-door window with stained glass, so God is here somewhere. In the restroom, there are various countryside oil paintings that folk music–loving parents from the 1970s adored; except, look closer, and you’ll see the sign for iconic San Diego strip club Les Girls near a bucolic barn. In another, a peaceful snowy river is populated by a bikini model in a party innertube.

Lala’s food was designed to be Italian snacks-plus. A spicy Caesar salad with Calabrian chiles plays to San Diego’s desire for capsaicin on everything, and it’s good. Instead of a seafood tower, they have an antipasto tower with prosciutto, salamini, mortadella, cheeses, marinated artichokes, olives, eggplant Parmigiano. A high-rise of gourmet Italian deli snacks.

Their bacon-and-date skewers are something straight out of the 1980s playbook, the leg warmers of appetizers. But they’re almost impossible to dislike in a gorgonzola sauce whose funk keeps the dates’ sweetness from over-acting. The best bite we have are the chargrilled oysters—butter, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, pecorino, and Sriracha caviar.

Start every night here with the oat milk espresso martini, which has become the official hydration of the Busalacchi world (so popular they launched their own bottled version of it, called Busa). The bar is the major focus at Lala. A heavy but not overwhelming array of amaros add bitter charms to drinks, rather than being the entire idea. The delicious Sidepiece has no Italian at all (reposado tequila, lime, grapefruit, ginger root, mint).

They also barrel-age a couple of cocktails: a house-made negroni tweaked with peach bitters, and an Italian old fashioned that swaps the traditional bourbon for red wine from the mother country (Montepulciano). The drinks shine, but it’s the food here that puts that velvet rope to work.

The “loaded” potato gnocchi is a swooner. Chef Nino Zizzo (also a Busalacchi) could make killer fresh pasta while operating a motor vehicle or binge-watching Montalbano, and gnocchi is always a good test. Should always be like potato clouds, not potato density, and his are puffy white cumulus. It’s a riff on the baked potato, and his cream sauce shames traditional sour cream into hiding.

However, if you’re gonna call it “loaded” (a fun idea), I want to see a very American amount of surplus. A rock quarry of crispy-tender pancetta, a lawn-clippings pile of chives, cheddar cheese just wildly loitering on the plate. And ours is mostly just the cream sauce. Tastes just about perfect, misses the creative brief.

We try the cioppino, and it’s a bit of a miss, the broth so deeply stewed that it overwhelms the dainty charms of the seafood. So, sure, Lala joins the long line of us failing to swish every shot we take. But they make up for it with enough hits, a killer bar, and a parking lot speakeasy that, in the loud-voices party that is Little Italy, chose to be the one who just did something quietly interesting off in the corner until we all couldn’t help but gather ’round.

The Perfect Order from Lala

Chargrilled Oysters | Loaded Gnocchi | Espresso Martini

The post Review: Lala in Little Italy appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

“We opened up Barbusa almost seven years ago,” says PJ Buslacchi, a managing partner of the Busalacchi restaurant empire which includes Barbusa, Nonna, and Zucchero, will soon welcome Lala to the family. “We realized that its kitchen couldn’t handle another 60 seats, and that’s what we needed [to keep up with demand]. So, Lala was born.”

Lala used to be a pet supply and grooming shop, now a 1,000-square-foot restaurant and cocktail bar designed by Taylor Shaffer, formerly a principal partner at Open Gym, which also designed the forthcoming Wildflour Delicatessen and White Rice.

Busalacchi explains that though it was born from its predecessor, Barbusa, Lala’s focus will be much different. “Barbusa is a more Sicilian-focused restaurant, so when we were thinking of what this could be, we wanted to make sure it was a concept we knew. We don’t want to do anything that we don’t know well.”

Culinarily, focus will be on Italian-style cocktails (think amari and other aperitivi) and small, shareable, almost home-cooked style plates, like a hunk of baked ziti and other pastas. There are bigger plates, too, like a steak that’s sliced in the kitchen.

Design-wise, it’s “vibey, sexy, and intimate.” There’s a brand-new kitchen and a covered patio. Custom light fixtures accent gold-leaf painted Venetian-style plaster; “lots of marble,” Busalacchi says; floor lamps on the patio; hardwood floors; walnut paneling; leather and velvet-everything; sepia, coral, sage, and olive tones throughout; and modern re-interpretations of Renaissance-era art by painter William Etty. Like hanging in your rich friend’s living room.

The cocktail list is of special note. Created by barkeep Antonio Gonzales, who comes to Lala from behind the stick at Barbusa, it’s intended to show San Diegans the versatility and range of Italian spirits in an approachable way.

“Since we’re such a small place, I had to make sure that instead of just having every amari that I love to drink back there to sip on, that I included some of my favorites and also ones that were easily introduced to customers that may not know what they prefer when it comes to sweet versus bitter effects,” Gonzales says.

So, instead of just having a straight amaro section, he says that he created a cocktail list with various amari in them to give their bitterness more complexity. For example, he’s got a drink with bourbon, passionfruit, and Amaro Montenegro, the latter of which has a drying effect and also notes of cucumber, mint, and fennel that balance the sweetness of the former two.

Also of note is its barrel-aged program. Unlike others that are more bourbon-based, Gonzales’ is solera-style, which means he sourced used sherry barrels from Spain. A variety of drinks have already been aged for a year in this style.

All-in-all, it’s intended to be a casual, good time, but with style. “Someone said Lala’s maximalist, and, yeah, sure…” Busalacchi said before trailing off. “But, really, it’s just elegant and cohesive. You’re not going to feel overstimulated. It’s more intimate and homey.” Sounds like just the place to sit back, relax, and dig into a chunk of carbs while clinking glasses.

Lala will open its doors to the public on Monday, February 5, 2024.

The post Exclusive First Look: Lala by Busalacchi Restaurant Group appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

“The floor looks like pavement,” says my daughter. She’s nine, and she’s right. I had to explain to her that here, at this nice restaurant, we are eating in a parking space. Asphalt is the new dining-room floor.

It takes her a minute. She’s disoriented. Aren’t we all.

I didn’t eat at restaurants for four months after the pandemic started. I saw the pain of our restaurant people. I wanted to help, but I was scared. I wanted to support, but I didn’t want to be a reason this spread, a reason someone died. So I stayed home until the science coalesced, until I saw my personal green light to sit on a patio or a parking lot and pay a local chef and tip a local server. To scope out the seating area and mask habits, and make sure my daughter and wife have that famous six feet.

We all have to make our own decisions, read the tea leaves of the daily news. What’s safe, what’s not, what’s responsible, what’s reckless, what’s totally asinine and morally bankrupt. We draw the line, then adjust the line back and forth with each new study and stat. And as I sit here looking at my daughter, I feel safe.

A server at Bencotto prepares gnocchi in a Parmesan wheel.

James Tran

It helps that I spoke with Dr. David Smith, chief of infectious diseases at UCSD School of Medicine. “I think dining outdoors is relatively safe. The biggest issue is who you bring to dinner with you,” he said. “People think, ‘Oh, they’re my friend, they don’t have the infection.’ That’s how bubbles become porous. When it comes to public health, I follow the guidelines. If officials say it’s okay to do something, then I think it’s okay.”

As I write this, outdoor dining is allowed. It’s okay. So I spent three days dining out.

Little Italy is the beating heart of San Diego’s food scene, and the pandemic has given it a murmur. This was ground zero for The Drastic Improvement. High-minded restaurants—Craft & Commerce and Prepkitchen first, then Juniper & Ivy and Herb & Wood later—gutted old warehouses and created food playlands, joining the timeless chorus of longstanding Italian bistros. That alchemy of old blood and new blood created a whole new scene. A heritage zone became a pan-cultural destination. Rent tripled, as did the good times. It’s a place to get octopus and negronis and art and design, a place to selfie and influence.

For me, the experience came down to a bottle of wine. I’m not sure how I saved it. Guess my body momentarily rediscovered fine motor skills, which have grown numb and clumsy from all the doomscrolling. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It was sliding, picking up speed, making its move for the edge of the table, where it would have taken a swan dive three feet to the asphalt below, shattering and splattering 750 milliliters of very enjoyable cabernet sauvignon onto Date Street. But somehow, I snatched it.

The bottle was sliding because the excellent Italian restaurant Bencotto—like all San Diego restaurants—had been required to move their entire operation into the streets. And the street in front of Bencotto is slanted. It isn’t steep, not alpine by any means. But it slopes just enough that the nine-year-old sitting across from me is at a slightly higher elevation, appearing older and more able to impose her will on my life. Slanted enough that wine bottles occasionally make a run for it.

Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, which has been in Little Italy for 70 years, also adapted its dining service.

James Tran

Many restaurants here in Little Italy are getting a crash course in asphalt hospitality. On June 13, the neighborhood closed its major pedestrian streets to car traffic every Friday and Saturday, granting restaurants more room to reinvent themselves outdoors and creating more space for physical distancing and droplet avoidance. Restaurants turned themselves inside out, building both makeshift and sophisticated alfresco replicas. This experience spread to other parts of the city in August, as officials eased restrictions on “parklets,” allowing businesses to turn parking spaces into dining spaces. Mayor Todd Gloria was one of the early proponents. During his campaign, he told me, “Every time we have reclaimed space from parking and given it back to people it’s been a home run.”

I’m sure Bencotto’s owners don’t resent their incline. They must be glad they’re in popular Little Italy and have enough asphalt to put chairs and tables on, with a few temporary plant-wall partitions for charm. Many restaurant owners across the county aren’t lucky enough to have this kind of outdoor space to expand into. I’m sure Bencotto is grateful their parklet allows them to sell enough Barolo and cacio e pepe to pay enough of the rent, the gas, the electric, and a triage crew of employees until some vaccine or god brings a little mercy and we bid the coronavirus a middle finger. Grateful that in spite of what’s happened to the American restaurant industry during the pandemic, chef Fabrizio Cavallini is still back there layering his lasagna bolognese, which he and his staff have made from scratch every day in this location for 11 years.

As for what happened to the American restaurant industry—Statista created a graph that tracked the year-to-year daily change in “seated restaurant diners.” On February 29, 2020, the industry was seeing a 3 percent increase in customers over 2019. Optimism abounded. From that day on, the graph looks like a capital L. It goes straight south until it flatlines at the bottom. From March 21 through April 30, the restaurant industry was down 100 percent. The graph yo-yos through the fall, depending on how rosy or dark a picture news outlets were painting at the time. But on the very best day for American restaurants since the pandemic started—October 5—they still had 14.9 percent fewer diners than last year. As of press time in early December, the numbers have sunk again to 50 percent of normal business. According to Restaurant Business Magazine, in those darkest days around April, 5.9 million employees lost their jobs. Three decades of growth lost in six weeks. Every industry has suffered. But Google “industries most heavily affected by COVID,” and restaurants will be on every one of those lists.

Apologies for the momentary doomwriting. Point is, given all the perspective we should have by now—most crucially, about the lives lost—who gives a hint of a damn if that wine bottle had exploded? We’d just chalk it up as another punctuation mark in the grotesque run-on sentence that is 2020.

A seafood platter from Ironside’s raw ba

James Tran

But that in and of itself is a point. The barrage of terrible news makes it more difficult for the food-and-drink people—not just owners, but dishwashers, bussers, cooks, bartenders, food truck drivers, farmers, cleaners, brewers, everyone—to find or even ask for a sympathetic ear. Human sympathy is not a bottomless reservoir.

That wine also represents the small guilts of dining out during a pandemic. Guilt that I’m able to afford a restaurant meal, let alone a bottle of decent cabernet, when I know that in May the National Restaurant Association estimated that two-thirds of the country’s restaurant workers had lost their jobs. On the positive side, the bottle is a tangible expression of why I’m here: to support the people and industry I love. And the strongest way to increase the profits of a restaurant, aside from Venmo-ing them extra money, is to order drinks, which provide their biggest profit margin per item by far. The bottle represents the potential dangers of dining out while the virus is still at large and vaccines still just a promise, since we know that a couple glasses mean relaxed inhibitions. And with relaxed inhibitions come improper mask etiquette and loud talking and high fives and—god forbid—hugs or singing.

After spending three days here watching what it’s like for restaurants, I’ve decided: That sliding bottle is everything. It is just another small consequence of trying to be a responsible part of society while also trying to keep your business alive and your people employed. In the past, a broken bottle of wine was just an expected cost of doing business. Now, it’s more straw for the camel’s back. When I look around at Little Italy, every business seems a stalk away.

And so in the parking lot at Filippi’s Pizza Grotto—one of the oldest restaurants in San Diego, where an Italian family sold enough pizza and pasta to ensure a generation or two a decent life—I ate enough pizza and pasta to ensure a few more. A hostess with a firmly attached mask pointed an infrared thermometer at us before granting us a seat. Once cleared, we dined in the night air that smelled of stewed tomatoes and hand sanitizer. We saw the brown spots on the underside of the tent shades—a lesson learned about socially distancing heat lamps from flammable material. Their tables are more spread out than most restaurants I see (possibly because they’ve been here forever and control one of the only big parking lots in Little Italy). Still, I silently judge a table of eight for irresponsibly gathering, and am shamed when one stands to make a toast “to Dad.”

A masked server greets guests at Ironside.

James Tran

At Ironside Fish & Oyster Bar, where the daily bread is biblically good and chef Jason McLeod has earned a reputation for leading the sustainable seafood movement, keeping distance is honestly not as easy. Their sidewalk and parklet are smaller. I stare at the tables and use the mental measuring tape we’ve all developed—always looking for six feet.

We all dine out for different reasons. But since last spring, for me, it’s been a way to role-play normalcy. To listen to the music of forks on plates, of people conversing—not on Zoom, but in a shared physical space. I’ve realized I miss the sounds of restaurants the most. That joyful chaos. The remarkable thing about hospitality people is their ability to normalize the craziness. They make a little theater of it, and an elegance. Even their masks—designer and branded—look aspirational.

As we leave, I watch a vendor pull a wagon full of single roses in cellophane down the middle of India Street. He sanitizes them and sells them. A small band busks in the gutter for passersby. One of them plays a tuba, and I can’t help but envision a mist of corona coming out of his brass funnel. But I look at the small crowd—all spaced apart, wearing masks, being socially responsible—and I see them smile and groove for a brief moment before we all scatter back to our safe spaces. That smile and groove is why we leave the house at all.

The post Dining Out During a Pandemic appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

I’m a night person. My wife and I are musicians, which often means being out well past midnight and crushing a plate of carne asada fries at 2 a.m. We go out to see shows, get drinks with friends, have dinner dates. We leave the house after the sun’s gone down and is no longer a threat to our pale, photophobic skin.

There is, however, something that makes the idea of waking up earlier a little more appealing: breakfast. When Leslie Knope asked, “Why would anyone eat anything besides breakfast food?” on Parks & Recreation, I felt that.

So we decided to make a date of it. We made an early Monday morning visit to Morning Glory in Little Italy, before the brunch, tourist, and yoga crowd shows up. And anyone who’s paid a visit to the vibrantly decorated Consortium Holdings property knows it fills up fast. Dropping by at 8 a.m., on a Monday no less, means not having to wait in line. My wife opted for the cinnamon waffle French toast and what might be the most decadent mocha I’ve ever tasted. I chose the chorizo and eggs, which was more like a rich breakfast stew—complete with toast to sop up the gooey remnants. We shared the deep-fried scalloped potatoes, whose crispy, creamy texture lived up to how good that sounds.

As much as we enjoyed the meal, something about making the morning feel special instead of routine improved my mood and made the day go by that much faster. Even just having something fun to look forward to made it easier to get out of bed and get ready to face the week. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t anticipate ever fully embracing the morning, and come Saturday I’ll be hibernating until at least 9 a.m. But the lure of something warm and delicious, smothered in syrup and powdered sugar and served with a large pot of coffee, might just be enough to make me a part-time convert.

Breaking Bed: A Musician Wakes Up Early for Breakfast

Morning Glory | Photo: Zack Benson

The post Breaking Bed: A Musician Wakes Up Early for Breakfast appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

In the kitchen is exec chef TJ, who spent time in Japan during his 21 years cooking. Designed to be a “social dining experience,” which is the de facto restaurant model these days, the collection of small-plates is impressive. There are 30 small plates (that’s a ton) on the opening menu, including yuzu salad, jidori chicken karaage (fried chicken) with togarashi (spicy chili) aioli, pork belly kakuni (braised meat), spicy salmon battera (Osaka style sashimi), elk sashini, surf and turf pate (ankimo and foie gras), wagyu rolls, spicy tuna baguette, and abalone bata yaki (butter sauce).

They’ll also be doing sushi, sashimi, and nigiri, plus craft cocktails like the “Japananah” (sansho spice-infused gin, violets, clove, Caribbean spice, citrus, coconut, banana, and cardamom) and “Japanese to English” (a Japanese Manhattan with sesame-infused Iwai Japanese whiskey, amaro, and Italian Torino). Craft beers , wine , and sake are also part of the menu.

It’s a beautiful space. Opens this weekend. Please enjoy a first look at Cloak & Petal in the gallery below.

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

First Look: Cloak & Petal

The post First Look: Cloak & Petal appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

And now San Diego has its second. The first was Pier South Resort in Imperial Beach, a Silver Leed-certified beachfront ditty with gaping-maw views of the Pacific. The new arrival is the just-opened, 19-story Hotel Republic.

Located at 421 W. B Street, many locals will remember the space as former home to W Hotel, whose shuttering was big news in a bad economy at the time.

Republic gets three dining spins, designed by San Diego’s Bluemotif Architecture (Cowboy Star, Kettner Exchange) and L.A.’s Forchielli Glynn (who’s designed a bunch of Le Meridiens and Four Seasons), going for a beach house-meets-yacht club vibe—with wicker, wood, comfy granddad-den leather, pastel resort-style lounge-chair cushions, Cape Cod royal-blue textiles, and some funky chandeliers that look part tumbleweed, part art project, and part giant sea anemone fossil.

To consult on the restaurants (the Autograph series is known for tapping local food talent), Marriott partnered with San Diego’s Patio Group (The Patio, Saska’s Steakhouse, Fireside, etc.) and executive chef Amol Thanky (who worked his way up as a line cook at Restaurant Gary Danko, then a sous at San Francisco: The St. Regis, before running things at Patio Group).

The first concept is the al fresco third-floor Topside Terrace Kitchen & Bar, doing weekend brunch, happy hour, and small bites, with fire pits and post-yoga brunch burbling. Second is Trade, a 57-seat restaurant and cocktail bar off the main lobby. And third is The Patio Marketplace—a quick-service, gourmet bodega of sorts with healthier dining options to go, plus a major coffee program (serving The Patio’s brand, Swell), fresh-pressed juices, local kombucha, plus craft beers and wines.

Hotel Republic is open now. Below, gander upon the design and envision yourself, yoga pants or no.

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

First Look: Hotel Republic

Justin McChesney-Wachs

The post First Look: Hotel Republic 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

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