Later this month, Clique Hospitality will open the first of two food and drink establishments at the Torrey Pines Breakthrough, a hilltop 10-acre life sciences campus now under way west of Interstate 5 and south of Highway 56 in the Del Mar Heights area. They will be open on weekdays only.
The Kitchen at Torrey View will open in late February and The Clubhouse will open in early March. Both restaurants will feature modern menus created by chef Ryan Bullock.
The Kitchen, open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, will serve a health-conscious menu of bowls, salads, handhelds and sandwiches, with a make-your-own bowl or wrap bar, all featuring organic ingredients. Some of the menu items are a curry chicken bowl with quinoa and roasted root vegetables, and a cashew pesto chicken and grains bowl, each priced in the $16-$17 range. Gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options will be offered. The Kitchen can accommodate up to 200 indoors and on the patio. Visit torreyviewkitchen.com for opening details.
The Clubhouse, open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, will offer all-day dining with breakfast, lunch, happy hour and early dinner service. The menu, described as progressive Southern California cuisine, will feature items like crispy cauliflower shawarma; mini lobster rolls; a “think tank bowl” made with red potato hash, egg whites, roasted mushrooms and wilted spinach; and a brownie sundae. The beverage menu will include fresh-squeezed juices, smoothies, cocktails and an eclectic wine menu. The clubhouse includes a dining room, lounge and bar, as well as meeting spaces, with total seating for 236. Visit torreyviewclubhouse.com for opening details.
A spritz cocktail and suppli appetizer at Roman Wolves restaurant-bar in Little Italy.
(Courtesy photo)
Roman Wolves opens next week
Roman Wolves, a bar and restaurant inspired by the cocktails and cuisine of Rome, will open Monday in Little Italy.
The 4,000-square-foot Roman Wolves, in the Broadstone building at Fir and Kettner streets, is the creation of Sicily native Nino Cusimano, who co-owns the Sicilian-inspired restaurant Rusticucina in Hillcrest.
The menu, overseen by chef Enrico de Santis, will feature classic Roman dishes, including pasta carbonara, amatriciana and cacio e pepe, as well as pollo saltimbocca and pinsa alla mortazza (Roman-style folded pizza). The cocktail bar will feature a lineup of spritz drinks made with Italian aperitivi and spirits, as well as cocktails, wines and craft beer.
The restaurant at 1980 Kettner Blvd. will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 4 to midnight Fridays; 3 p.m. to midnight Saturdays; and 3 to 10 pm. Sundays. Happy hour will be offered from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and 3 to 6 p.m. weekends. Visit romanwolves.com.
Lavo to close March 28
The one-pound Wagyu meatball with marinara and whipped ricotta is one of the dishes at LAVO San Diego Italian restaurant that can now be ordered for takeout or delivery.
(Courtesy of James Tran)
Lavo Italian Restaurant, which opened in April 2022 in the Gaslamp Quarter, will close at the end of March.
Tao Hospitality Group, which operates Lavo in the former Searsucker space at 611 Fifth Ave., San Diego, filed a state WARN notice (worker adjustment and retraining notification) on Jan. 25 announcing the permanent elimination of 83 jobs effective March 28. Tao also closed its 13-year-old New York City Lavo location on Jan. 23.
Feeding San Diego dinner sold out
Callie restaurant in East Village will serve a special Valentine’s family-style meal Feb. 12 through 14 only.
(Lucianna McIntosh )
Just days after opening sales for a Pairings with a Purpose dinner at chef Travis Swikard’s Callie restaurant in East Village, Feeding San Diego has announced the event is sold out.
Early last year, the hunger charity relaunched this dinner series with a catered dinner at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. Swikard, who will shut down his restaurant for the dinner on Feb. 29, has been a regular donor to Feeding San Diego since opening the restaurant in June 2021. Swikard is a San Diego native whose goal is to reinvest in the community by working with local fishermen, farmers and artisan foodmakers, training staff and supporting local charities.
Feeding San Diego officials say future Pairings with a Purpose dinners are being planned with chefs at their own restaurants for 2024. Proceeds benefit the charity’s hunger relief programs. For information on upcoming Pairings with a Purpose dinners, visit feedingsandiego.org/upcoming-events.
Owners Tommy and Daneyel Walker, working behind the counter at The Mental Bar in Encanto, San Diego.
(Courtesy of Eli Hameline)
Daygo Eatz to debut Feb. 18
In celebration of Black History Month, the San Diego Black Arts & Culture District in Encanto will host its inaugural Daygo Eatz event on Feb. 18.
Organized by The Mental Bar, Black San Diego and Pillars of the Community, the free event will include a street fair with food booths, an art walk, spoken word performances, health and wellness discussions and more. Hours are noon to 4:45 p.m. Feb. 18 on an eight-block stretch of Imperial Avenue from 61st to 69th streets. For details, visit the Events page at thementalbar.com.
Books & Records adds brunch service
Common Stock Hospitality has introduced weekend brunch service at its 5-month-old globally influenced restaurant/bar Books & Records in Bankers Hill. Brunch will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and will feature New Orleans-style live jazz music. Highlights of chef Sam Deckman’s brunch menu are breakfast gnocchi (pictured) with maitake mushrooms, peas and poached egg; duck chilaquiles with corn tostadas and egg; scallop po’ boy minis with diver scallop and aioli; Turkish eggs with house labneh, za’atar, sumac and poached eggs; and banana bread pudding bites. Breakfast cocktails include Sunday Morning, with rye whiskey, scotch and maple syrup; and Coffee + TV, with vodka, coffee and orange liqueurs, smoked vanilla syrup and espresso. 2202 Fourth Ave., San Diego. booksandrecordsbar.com
Civico 1845 and Godfather restaurants honored
Civico 1845 restaurant in Little Italy and the Godfather restaurant in Kearny Mesa are among just nine Italian restaurants and chefs in the United States chosen as official ambassador of Italian cuisine by the Italian Trade Agency. The other U.S. honorees are Gucci Osteria and Il Pastaio, both in Beverly Hills; Plado Tasting Bar and Stellina, both in New York City; Stratta Kitchen in Scottsdale, Arizona; and private chefs Luigi Fineo and Barbara Pollastrini. Brothers Dario and Pietro Gallo, who hail from Cosenza, Italy, opened Civico 1845 in 2015. The Godfather restaurant was opened in 1974 by chef Isodoro Balistreri, but is now under new ownership. The honors were bestowed late last month during the 48th Winter Fancy Food show in Las Vegas.
Temaki introduces weekday omakase special
Clique Hospitality’s Temaki Bar: Handroll, Sushi, Sake has introduced a weeknight prix-fixe menu. From 5 to 8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, diners can order a multicourse omakase menu for $85. The chef’s choice will change nightly based on what’s fresh, but will likely include a few of the restaurant’s signature dishes of yellowfin tataki, chūtoro, kampachi, Hokkaido scallops, snapper, salmon, o-toro or bluefin. Also during the month of February, some a la carte specials will include spicy edamame for $7; the wonderwall hand roll with bay scallops, crispy onions and truffle oil for $11; and the HBK cut roll with yellowtail, imitation crabmeat and eel sauce for $22. 575 S. Coast Highway 101, Encinitas. temakibarsushi.com
Devilicious, Mad Madeline’s win Temecula burger battle
Last month I was invited to help judge Temecula Valley’s Battle of the Burgers, which drew more than a dozen restaurants and 400 ticket-buyers. There were categories for best burger and a new category of “loaded” fries, which were co-created by the restaurant chefs and Temecula high school students in culinary art classes. Judge’s Choice for the top three burgers were the Wawahi Burger at Devilicious Eatery in first place, followed by Mad Madeline’s Grill’s Redneck Burger and 8 Bit Brewing’s Super Smash Burger. The People’s Choice top winner was Mad Madeline’s Redneck Burger, followed by Baily’s Old Town’s Classic Burger and 8 Bit Brewing’s smash burger. Kelsey’s restaurant’s Cowboy Fries won first place with both the judges and ticket-holders in the loaded fries contest. Other fry honorees were potato dishes co-created by chefs at Pechanga Resort Casino and local students.