Our Happy Half Hour guest today is the local chapter CEO of probably one of the most beloved and recognizable charities in the world: The Make-A-Wish Foundation, San Diego chapter. We invited Suzanne Husby, who garnered her title in 2021, to talk all things Make-a-Wish at Matsu in Oceanside. Husby has been with the foundation for 17 years, moving up the ranks from intern to wish coordinator, a few more big titles, and finally ending up as chapter CEO most recently. Her specialty was overseeing wish-granting operations, volunteer management, and medical outreach, and she was key in granting a w ..read more

“Close my eyes, she's somehow closer now / Softly smile, I know she must be kind / When I look in her eyes / She goes with me to a blossom world” The lyrics to the iconic Beach Boys song “Good Vibrations,” penned in part by Mike Love, are likely about a woman from long ago. But they could just as easily be about the flavors and sensations from his brand new rum, Club Kokomo Spirits. We had Love in-house along with his children who work for the spirits company to chat all things San Diego, award-winning rum, and good vibes on this week’s Happy Half Hour. Also joining us was Geoff Longenecker of ..read more

Everyone’s favorite Mission Hills karaoke joint, the Lamplighter, has brought its talents down the hill to the Gaslamp—and so has this podcast. The team, led by fourth-generation bar owner Frankie Sciuto, launched the Gaslamplighter, a new upscale cocktail and karaoke bar, in January. Sciuto joins us on the Happy Half Hour podcast today as we check out the bar’s digs. Sciuto hopes the Gaslamplighter will become the go-to spot for San Diego’s nightlife scene, like its successful sister hangs, The Lamplighter and Side Bar. (In other words, it's not just a joint for tourists.) “It’s an honor to f ..read more

If you received this month’s San Diego Magazine, you already know about Warung RieRie. Happy Half Hour host and food critic Troy Johnson dubbed it “the star of the city's thrilling backyard restaurant scene.” Wait. There’s a thrilling backyard restaurant scene in San Diego? Indeed, there is, and the individual restaurants are formally dubbed MEHKOs—Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations. We had Chef Rie Sims and her right hand—husband, sous chef, host, and marketing manager Dave Sims—in to talk about their Sumatran hut that they transported via Bali to their Serra Mesa backyard. In that hut i ..read more

Stop us if you’ve heard the Happy Half Hour cast claim a particular food item was the “best in San Diego” before (to be fair, San Diego Magazine devotes an entire issue to the topic). If we assign superlatives, we tend to stand behind them, so buckle up for the following: We’ve found the best falafel in San Diego. Hands down, bar none, et cetera. Falafel Heights takes up a small storefront on 30th, near Lincoln, in North Park. This block, formerly decrepit due to many closures (Toronado, Streetcar Merchants, and others), is about to veritably pop off. Falafel Heights opened last fall, high-end ..read more

I think it’s fair to claim that this week’s Happy Half Hour guest is the most special visitor we’ve ever had on the podcast (which is saying something): Jason Mraz, the two-time Grammy Award–winning singer and songwriter who has gone platinum and multi-platinum in more than 20 countries. His tune “I'm Yours” also surpassed one billion streams on Spotify and was the most-streamed song by a solo artist in the naughts. His eighth album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, dropped last June. In other words, he’s kind of a big deal. Mraz lives in North County’s greater Fallbrook area, where h ..read more

“It’s not just a spirits company, but a way of life.” That’s what Fierce & Kind’s owners and founders, Cyndi Smith and Basem Harb, say when talking about the ethos behind their company. In addition to peddling high-quality vodka and bourbon, Fierce & Kind donates a whopping 25 percent of net profits to charity. To learn more, we asked them to come on Happy Half Hour. Smith and Harb, former tech entrepreneurs, stopped by the SDM office one Friday with bottles in tow. Fierce & Kind’s American bourbon is aged two years and five months, clocks in at 86 proof, and drinks almost like a S ..read more

In case you haven’t noticed, we just debuted our first-ever issue dedicated to all things South Bay. On February 25, we are also holding our first Taste of South Bay food and drink extravaganza at Novo Brazil Brewing in Imperial Beach. In conjunction with that, we’re also asking various South Bay food folks to come on to the HHH podcast to talk about all things south of the border…of the city of San Diego, that is. This week, we asked to chat with Jose Barajas, a television chef and the owner of Mmm…Cakes, a Golden Girls-themed bakery and coffee spot on Chula Vista’s Third Avenue, near F Stree ..read more

Avid HHH listeners will remember a few episodes back, when we announced that Ramen World, celebrity chef Lauren Lawless’ first restaurant, would open somewhere in San Diego. That opening is imminent, and so we decided to have the cooking show star and Pacific Beach native in to tell us what’s up. Ramen World’s opening is notable for a few reasons, but mostly that it’s the country’s first serve-your-own ramen joint. The model is otherwise popular in Japan and Korea, Lawless told us during the episode. This San Diego location will be the planned chain’s first location, and then she hopes to expa ..read more

Our HHH guest this week, the legendary Trey Foshee of George’s at the Cove, has been in San Diego’s restaurants for a long time. Actually, scratch that. He’s been in one kitchen during the entire 27 years he’s lived, cooked, and managed here, and that’s in La Jolla at George’s (and its related establishments). In an age where people hop around faster than you can post about a new job on Instagram, there’s something to be said for digging in your heels and perfecting your craft, and, in turn, turning out a generation of decorated chefs whose careers started in your kitchen. That’s exactly what ..read more