Happy Half Hour - Episode 5 - July 27, 2016

Vintage arcade games in La Mesa, Chipotle’s new fast food venture, and MasterChef winner Claudia Sandoval drops by

Happy Half Hour - Episode 6 - August 3, 2016

A raw-focused menu in Carmel Valley, urban chicken coops, and insight from a local farmer

Happy Half Hour - Episode 7 - August 9, 2016

A beer-themed hotel, new burgers in North Park, and Carnitas’ Snack Shack chef-owner Hanis Cavin stops by

San Diego Happy Half Hour - Episode 8 - August 17, 0216

Shark Tank vegan cinnamon rolls, everything you need to know about good coffee, and the virtues of warm beer

San Diego Happy Half Hour - Episode 9- August 24, 2016

The gateway drink to sour beers, a beloved Mexican eatery opens a new location, fried chicken-scented sunscreen, and more

San Diego Happy Half Hour -  Episode 10 - September 1, 2016

A major restaurant opens in Carlsbad, Domino’s delivers pizzas by drone, and a designer stops by with behind-the-scenes scoop on San Diego’s top eateries

Episode 11 - Happy Half Hour - September 7, 2016

Mastiff Sausage Company opens in North Park, a happy hour taco cart in UTC, the secret diet of food critics, and Azúcar's chef-owner stops by

Episode 12 - Happy Half Hour - September 14, 2016

A former Charger opens a cafe, why bison is in vogue, and a certified cheese specialist talks fromage

San Diego Happy Half Hour - Episode 13 - September 21, 2016

Today’s episode starts with news about one of the city’s buzziest restaurant openings: Fort Oak. Troy had the First Look and tells us about its seafood-centric menu, the high design, and how a parking garage caused major problems.

Elsewhere in Hot Plates, we discuss Sister Ray’s, a new chili dog and burger concept from the teams behind The Balboa Bar & Grill and Luigi’s Pizzeria; an Italian concept moving into Bankers Hill this May with Michelin-star resumes; and a New York Times piece on the omakase-only Kearny Mesa restaurant Hidden Fish.

Today’s guest is Moe Girton, a pioneer of Hillcrest’s restaurant scene and a partner at Mo’s Universe, which includes Gossip Grill, Urban’s Mo’s, Hillcrest Brewing Company, and Baja Betty’s. She talks about starting her career as a “door girl” at The Flame, moving up from bartender to management, opening Gossip Grill 10 years ago, and her new venture at InsideOut. We’re talking about how gay rights negatively impacted Hillcrest’s LGBTQ scene, why she calls Gossip Grill a “women’s bar” rather than a “lesbian bar,” and more.

Our hot topic is about just how vegan San Diego really is according to a recent survey. And in Two People/$50, we’re recommending Muzita, Facing East (and Troy’s quest for the best xiao long bao in San Diego), Pomegranate, and El Carrito.

Fort Oak opens and Moe Girton from Gossip Grill and Baja Betty’s drops in

Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! In the guest seat this week is Jason O’Bryan, bar manager at The Lion’s Share. Jason also recently joined Service Animals, a new beverage consulting company and developed the drink menu for The Florence in Poway. Jason talked about how The Lion’s Share has remained successful despite its hard-to-find location and upcoming changes on the menu, as well as what it was like opening a bar in suburbia. He also talked about Tortoise, an underground fine-dining pop-up restaurant he founded with his wife (who was a sommelier at Addison) that has only 16 seats available for its monthly event. Jason’s pick for Two People, $50 was Cantina Mayahuel, while the staff’s picks this week were The Taco Stand, Wayfarer Bread and The Smoking Goat.

This week in Hot Plates, we talked about the impending closure of Paesano in North Park—an Italian restaurant that’s been in the neighborhood for 50 years—and what’s going in its place. Kensington is getting a new South American restaurant, Pachamama, which promises to have a menu that’s 100 percent organic. Consortium Holdings is working on opening another restaurant downtown while it renovates Neighborhood, J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse. Cucina Urbana has a new executive chef, Tim Kolanko, who was the founding chef at A.R. Valentien at The Lodge at Torrey Pines.

The Hot Topic again is restaurant surcharges, which were recently back in the news: Paradise Point Resort in Mission Bay agreed to pay almost $35,000 to the City of San Diego in fines over its surcharges to customers. 

We have a phone number for this podcast now! We're going to end each podcast with a question for our listeners, and you can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave us a message. You can also email us at HappyHalfHour@sdmag.com. You can give us your recommendations for Two People, $50.
It’s your last chance to join us at the Best of North County party, happening this Sunday! You don’t want to miss this party at the Park Hyatt Aviara where you get unlimited bites and sips from all the new and noteworthy spots in North County.

Inside The Lion’s Share and a fine-dining pop-up, and a restaurant is fined for surcharges

The weekly guide to San Diego's food + drink scene, hosted by award-winning food writer and Food Network host Troy Johnson and San Diego Magazine's culture brain, Jackie Bryant. Field notes and perspectives on restaurants, bars, and chefs—including dishes and drinks you gotta try, restaurant openings and closings, events worth your time, and laugh-cry interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, farmers, brewers, and makers who make San Diego's food + drink scene hum.

Inside The Lion’s Share and a fine-dining pop-up, and a restaurant is fined for surcharges

San Diego Magazine

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