Pete Cich wants you to know his new restaurant, Austin Nola. It’s named for chef Quinnton Austin from New Orleans, not the former Padres catcher. “My nine-year-old son was like, ‘Hey Dad, that’s the catcher who used to be on the Padres,’ and I was like ‘Oh no.’ I didn’t even realize it,” he laughed. “I wanted to just really make it about chef Q and a chef-driven location with his culinary background. Austin is his last name, and he’s from New Orleans… I guess we’ll just roll with it.” Cich owns Grind & Prosper Hospitality, and is behind concepts like Louisiana Purchase, Miss B’s Coconut Cl ..read more

Chef Ambrely Ouimette believes San Diego cuisine is poised to get bigger—bigger than we’ve ever been. “San Diego is on the cusp of being a culinary adventure,” she says. “I see so many cool people doing so many interesting and unique things… It’s an exciting time.”  She’s ready to help push it forward. Ouimette has worked in San Diego before, including Ironside Fish & Oyster in Little Italy, Saiko Sushi in Coronado, and Cannonball in Mission Beach. She’s a classically trained chef who’s honed her sushi skills for nearly 20 years, working behind the sushi bar at Matsuhisa Denver (yes ..read more

On an overcast and unseasonably chilly Sunday afternoon, a group of people gather for the most ancient tradition—supper. Nearby, young goats gallop like babes. A German shepherd keeps on the dirt road that winds through the farm, a necessary scar in the perfectly imperfect land that’s home to Stehly Farms.  We’ve been called here by two forces—famed Baja chef Drew Deckman and his team, who are offering a glimpse of food they’ll be serving at his first San Diego restaurant, 31ThirtyOne; and Dana Cowin, the former longtime editor in chief of Food + Wine magazine and creator of a new sustain ..read more

Joon Lee and Cris Liang run ahead of their time. When they opened Common Theory Public House in 2014, gastropubs weren’t huge yet and even seemed slightly out of place in the Convoy District. When they launched Realm of the 52 Remedies in 2018, speakeasies hadn’t yet hit their saturation point (and the ones that had leaned toward a bootlegging pastiche, in contrast to Realm’s futuristic theme). Lee and Liang opened Common Theory in the Mix at Millenia development in Otay Ranch earlier this year, and that complex isn’t even finished being built yet.  But Lee says that, in business, he look ..read more

Evidence of ancient drinking vessels has been found dating back millennia, long before the dawn of recorded human history. But we’ve come a long way from clay jugs and Viking mead horns. Today, drinkware is an industry in itself, with iconic silhouettes affiliated with specific beverages easily identified by even the staunchest teetotalers. Martini glasses, frosted mugs, delicate coupes—each one has a story and place in today’s drinks culture. Some are utilitarian, others unabashedly kooky. Here are 12 of the most iconic. Coupe Is it really shaped like a boob? Marie Antoinette experts say no ..read more

San Diego’s got more than its fair share of chic bathrooms, so we grabbed a few pals and wandered through the city’s hottest stalls (and one nostalgia-inducing dive bar john). After all, the party only sucks if the bathroom’s quiet. The main event may be sullied by long drink lines, boring DJs, couples that really need to get a room. The only escape that doesn’t involve calling an Uber? The true epicenter of gossip and booze-induced bonding: the restroom. Almost anywhere after happy hour, the lavatory is the place to be—the setting for the best compliment you’ve ever gotten, a land where the q ..read more

“We’ve got the best burger in America. That’s why we’re called America’s burger,” says Nick Rose, founder and CEO of Juicy Burgers. That’s quite a claim, but Rose says all it takes is one bite to become a believer. Getting a taste is about to get easier. Two new Juicy Burgers locations are scheduled to open this summer in Hillcrest and the College Area. Rose launched Juicy Burgers in Santee in 1978, eventually expanding to 28 locations nationwide. But when the pandemic hit, “we lost them during Covid,” he explains, saying they had to close every location nationwide. But they were never really ..read more

Nobody knows the booze scene like the bartenders who are in the trenches, mixing and pouring and chopping it up with their regulars night after night. These sophists of spirits can tell you the secrets of life—or at least where to go for an absolutely life-affirming drink. So we decided to play a game of boozy bartender telephone, asking these experts to tip their hats toward their favorite cocktails around town. Photo Credit: Lucianna McIntosh Smoke and Mirrors at Mister A’s Mateo Hoke’s Pick We begin with the Smoke and Mirrors at Mister A’s. “[We balance] mezcal and rye whiskey … with vermou ..read more

The Del Mar Wine + Food Festival is back. Following the success of last year’s inaugural event—8,000 attendance, 100 of San Diego’s top chefs and restaurants, over 200 wineries and drink-makers, Food Network chefs, Alex Morgan, Drew Brees, Rob Machado, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, etc.—the second annual event returns to Surf Sports Park (formerly Del Mar Polo Fields).  This year brings more chefs from TV places—including Michael Voltaggio, Rocco DiSpirito, Maneet Chauhan, Aarti Sequeira, and Tiffani Faison—plus cast members from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  The festival’s c ..read more

If you were to ask me, a married person, where to take a first date, the Crack Shack would be at the top of my list. Don’t waste your time pretending to take dainty sips of a photo-worthy cocktail and adorable little nibbles of shareable plates. I want to see how fast you take down a Double Clucker with fries and hold the napkins for the end. (This is what 13 years of marriage does to you.) Come late summer, aspiring romantics with gluttony on the mind can get their fix at the Crack Shack’s fifth location coming to Mission Boulevard, the former home of Ramiro’s Mexican Food and Surfside Sushi ..read more