Sign up for our eNewsletterBy Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review A new Thai restaurant fills a niche in north La Mesa A customer waiting for his to-go order in the foyer of Signature Thai Cuisine declared excitedly to an employee: “I can’t get enough of this food!” His words echoed straight into the dining room and into the ears of […]
Barbecue joints like The Pioneer have been sprouting up throughout San Diego County like bougainvillea. Once far and few between, they’re now everywhere.
Years before the 2010 release of his first cookbook, “From Terra’s Table,” which focuses on the agricultural bounties of Southern California, local chef-restaurateur Jeff Rossman was already fortifying his menu with staples from those supply lines. That was back in the late ’90s, when he opened Terra in the Hillcrest area of San Diego.
The first visit I made to City Tacos was several years ago at the original San Diego location in North Park.
At first glance, the menu at Sunshine Pancake House doesn’t seem out of the ordinary.
He kept locals waiting with bated breath before they could finally indulge in Scottish pub fare, some of which couldn’t be found anywhere in San Diego County.
It has become La Mesa’s go-to restaurant for wood-fired pizzas, rustic pasta dishes and slow-cooked meats.
I craved the Szechuan spiciness of kung pao chicken and the fruitiness of Mandarin-style glaze cloaking shrimp or scallops — but with the option of sizzling beef or chop suey in case of a sudden change of mind.
The last time I ate at The Trails Eatery was in 2011, when owner Stacey Poon-Kinney was riding a high wave of publicity from the Food Network show, “Restaurant Impossible.” The San Carlos eatery had been selected for a $10,000 makeover, which meant the show’s domineering host, Robert Irvine, would rescue the business from despair — his way.
By FrankSabatini Jr. As the Sunday dinner hour hit, streams of customers began arriving to Lemon Grove’s new Giardino Neighborhood Cucina to experience Italian cuisine crafted by a young, ambitious chef whose mother taught him to cook at age 13 in his native Sicily. In little time the place was full.