Steak 48, a luxury steak and seafood concept from the founders of the Mastro’s Steakhouse chain, will open Oct. 13 in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center at 12925 El Camino Real in San Diego.
The restaurant will specialize in Midwestern corn-fed beef and premium Wagyu and A5 steaks. Specialties of the house will include Maine lobster escargot, Wagyu tartare with deviled egg mousse, double-baked truffle potatoes, Alaskan king crab, rock shrimp mac ‘n’ cheese and house-made desserts.
One of the many private dining rooms inside Steak 48 in Del Mar Heights.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The local restaurant is the fourth location of Steak 48 opened by company co-founders Jeffrey Mastro, Michael Mastro, their father Dennis Mastro and business partner Scott Troilo. The name was inspired by the home base for their restaurant company, Arizona, which was the 48th state to join the Union. The quartet also own three other steak and seafood concepts in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area. The partners sold their Mastro’s brand in 2007.
They chose the Del Mar Highlands area for their latest Steak 48 location because the Mastro brothers love the area. Jeffrey has a home in Coronado and Michael has a home in Capistrano Beach.
Steak 48 was built on the bones of the long-shuttered Burlap restaurant at the corner of El Camino Real and Del Mar Heights Road. The 12,500-square-foot restaurant has multiple dining areas, eight private dining suites, a 3,000-bottle wine vault, a glass-walled open kitchen, raw seafood bar, a butcher shop, a pastry kitchen and a central bar.
Because of the multi-room design of the building, Steak 48 was built to host special events of all sizes, with digital video walls and sound equipment. In an outreach to the community, the Del Mar Heights location is hosting several charity dinners this week for local nonprofits, including San Diego Opera, Las Patronas, Voices for Children and the Rancho Santa Fe Women’s Fund. For details, visit steak48.com.
A scoop of Sweet Cream Caramel Brownie at McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream, which opened this week in Carlsbad.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
McConnell’s scoop shop opens in Carlsbad
McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams has opened its first San Diego County location in Carlsbad.
Founded by the McConnell family in Santa Barbara in 1949, McConnell’s now has eight Southern California scoop shops, plus wide distribution at regional supermarkets. The local scoop shop, which opened Wednesday, occupies a space next door to Gepetto’s toy store in The Forum Carlsbad at 1923 Calle Barcelona.
McConnell’s ice creams are made with fresh milk and cream from a dairy on the Central Coast of California and Guittard chocolate. All mix-ins (cookies, toffee, caramel and brownies) as well as waffle cones are made from scratch in-house. The chain offers metal tasting spoons and wood ice cream spoons to reduce the use of single-use plastics. McConnell’s top-selling flavors include Sweet Cream Caramel Brownie, Sea Salt Cream & Cookies, Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate, Eureka Lemon & Marionberry and Mango Sorbet. Visit mcconnells.com.
Craft House gastropub at Sky Deck at the Del Mar Highlands Town Center.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Craft House expands to Fashion Valley
Craft House, the locally owned American gastropub with locations in North Park and at the Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands, will expand to a third location on Oct. 14 at Fashion Valley mall.
The Craft House menu, conceived by chef and co-owner Caesar Huerta, features American fare with a Mexican touch. Specialties include the half-pound Monster Burgers, achiote chipotle or Calabrian chili buffalo wings, blackened salmon BLT and lobster roll sandwiches, local catch ceviche and steaks. Specialty cocktails include Chocolate Bliss Martini, Tamarind Painkiller and Coco Loco Margarita.
The new location, open for lunch and dinner daily, will replicate the rustic jungle-themed aesthetic of other locations. It has an 800-square-foot patio and will offer live music on the weekends. The address is 7007 Friars Road, Suite 347, San Diego. Visit crafthouseskydeck.com.
The wine shop at Old Town Urban Market is now under the ownership of Cucina Migrante.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Cucina Migrante takes over wine shop
Cucina Migrante, the pop-up San Diego dinner and cooking class event business co-founded by Francesco Bonsinetto and Adisa Ziric, has taken over the 2-year-old wine shop at the Old Town Urban Market in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Besides selling a wide selection of small-production and sustainable international, natural and Mexican wines, Ziric and Bonsinetto are hosting weekly events including live music, painting classes and daily happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. There are also pop-up cooking classes featuring dishes from Cucina Migrante’s “Happiness is a Red Tomato” cookbook. Wine club memberships are available. The Wine Shop by Cucina Migrante is at Old Town Urban Market, 2548 Congress St., San Diego. Visit thewineshopsd.com.
Chef-founder Roberto Alcocert at his Michelin-starred Valle estaurant in Oceanside.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Valle two-year anniversary dinner
Michelin-starred chef Roberto Alcocer celebrates the second anniversary of his Valle restaurant in Oceanside with a collaboration dinner on Oct. 20 featuring two fellow Michelin-starred chefs who, like Alcocer, hail from Mexico — Rogelio Garcia of Auro in Calistoga and Osiel Gastelum of Maude in Beverly Hills. They will prepare a six-course tasting menu with dishes that will include a white truffle taco, Japanese madai crudo, dry aged duck and more. Cost is $250, or $400 with optional beverage pairings. Reservations available from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 20. 222 N. Pacific St., Oceanside. https://tinyurl.com/3fyr4ndh
Wednesday seafood hot pot dinners at Animae restaurant in San Diego.
(Courtesy of James Tran)
Animae hosting Wednesday hot pots
Animae Restaurant has launched a new Wednesday night seafood hot pot special. Designed to feed four to six people, the Korean-inspired communal meal features lobster, dungeness crab, clams, shrimp and calamari with mushrooms, udon, tofu, squash and rice cakes in a spicy broth, with rice, seafood salad and yuzu sorbet. 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, through Nov. 15. 969 Pacific Highway, San Diego. Meal is $80 per person but reservations must be made 24 hours in advance. https://tinyurl.com/4hhenjtx
Upcoming food and drink events
La Valencia hosts Pink Tea series: In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, La Valencia Hotel presents its third annual Pink Tea service this month, with seatings from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Fridays, Oct. 6 through Oct. 27. The service, which includes at 1 p.m. each Friday, includes Dammann Frères tea, tea sandwiches, pink sweets and scones and glass of sparkling wine for ages 21 and over. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Susan G. Komen San Diego. 1132 Prospect St., La Jolla. $85. lavalencia.com/events.
Taste of North Park: North Park Main Street presents the 12th annual self-guided tasting tour with more than 40 restaurants, breweries, cafes and retail shops offering tastings. Participants include Mabel’s Gone Fishing, Original 40, Bivouac Ciderworks, Encontro, Gelati & Peccati, Louisiana Purchase, the Smoking Goat and more. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. $45 for food only, $30 for beverages only, or $65 for both. northparkmainstreet.com
San Diego Spirits Festival: The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego hosts this two-day cocktail event that will feature cocktails and tastings of winners from its international spirits competition, including unlimited sips of more than 65 tequilas, mezcals, whiskeys, bourbons, vodkas, gins, rums, liqueurs and more. 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. 700 Prospect Drive, La Jolla. $90-$100. sandiegospiritsfestival.com
A Taste of Coronado: Coronado Junior Women’s Club hosts its 13th annual self-guided tasting event with tastings and drinks at 30 of the community’s restaurants, bars and hotels, as well as live music and shopping booths. Participants will include The Henry, Little Frenchie, Parfait Paris, Serea, The Islander and more. 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 11. $55. atasteofcoronado.com
Ambrogio15 Truffle Dinner: In honor of Italy’s Alba truffle season, Ambrogio15 restaurant in Pacific Beach will host a four-course black truffle dinner for $99 (or $198 with optional Piedmont red wine pairings). Meal service begins at 4 p.m. Oct. 24. Dines who arrive in Halloween costumes are eligible for a prize drawing for a chef’s table experience valued at $800). 926 Turquoise St., San Diego. ambrogio15.com
White Rice Morena hosts Kamayan dinner: In honor of Filipino-American History Month in October, chef Phillip Esteban and his nonprofit creative collective Open Gym will host a traditional Filipino Kamayan feast served on banana leaves eaten without utensils. 5 p.m. Oct. 29. White Rice Morena, 5299 Linda Vista Road, Suite B, San Diego. $60. Reserve at wordsmithbookstore.myshopify.com/products/kamayan-001.
San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival: Recently rated the No. 1 wine festival in the U.S. by USA Today’s 10Best Guide, this 19-year-old fall event series returns downtown. More than 60 sommeliers, brewers, mixologists and food artisans will be featured at a series of events that draw 11,000 ticket-buyers each year. Nov. 8-12. sandiegowineclassic.com