#388 On this episode of Happy Half Hour , Troy Johnson sits down with Ron and Isabel Oliver, the duo behind Somos Maíz. Isabel grew up in Michoacán learning how to make masa the traditional way. Ron spent 20 years as chef de cuisine at the Marine Room. Now they’re sourcing heirloom corn from farmers in Mexico and turning it into fresh masa that’s showing up on plates at Valle, Tohono, and beyond. They chat about how most tortilla makers get it wrong, why blue corn usually isn’t blue corn, and wh...
Jun 26, 2025•51 min•Ep. 388
#387 Happy Half Hour goes full fried as Troy and Jackie broadcast from the San Diego County Fair, tasting their way through 18 brain-and-taste bud-bending entries in the 2025 Fairtastic Food Competition. Spam wonton tacos. Cajun honey dogs. Furikake fries with runny eggs and edible flowers. But one stood above them all: a tres leches cinnamon roll from Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls, dreamed up by a third-generation baker, Willie Mattis whose family nailed the recipe in one take. The frosting didn’...
Jun 19, 2025•37 min•Ep. 387
#386 This week’s Happy Half Hour comes to you straight from the bar at Fort Oak, where we posted up with Jess Stewart, Trust Restaurant Group’s beverage director and the mind behind some of San Diego’s most quietly brilliant cocktails. She breaks down her kitchen-driven approach to drink-making (yes, there’s salt in that watermelon margarita), why bartenders hate mojitos, and how she turned “Oyster Mondays with Friends” into a must-hit Mission Hills hang. Joining us are Preston Caffrey and Patri...
Jun 12, 2025•47 min•Ep. 386
#385 This week on Happy Half Hour , hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant welcome Mike and Jenny Eastwood of Smallgoods American Cheeses & Provisions—a La Jolla gem born out of NYC’s Murray’s Cheese and years in San Diego’s farmers market trenches. The couple shares how a career in commercial production, a cheese cave internship, and a well-timed move from Byron Bay to San Diego turned into a sandwich-slinging, American cheese–championing neighborhood mainstay that happens to be in the same b...
Jun 05, 2025•58 min•Ep. 385
#384 This week’s Happy Half Hour is equal parts hot sauce origin story and full-blown love fest for San Diego’s indie food scene. Troy Johnson confesses he’s a BBQ purist—until one burger from Rosemary’s shatters his sauce snobbery with a tangy, tamarind-laced revelation. Enter Larz Watts, the founder of Oak Steak BBQ, who built his now-beloved sauce business during the pandemic with nothing but backyard smokers, a Co-Packer crash course, and a spider his son named “Oak Steak.” From humble PB ro...
May 29, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 384
#383 In this week’s episode of Happy Half Hour , Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant raise a glass to Carlsbad’s buzziest new opening: Little Victory Wine Bar. Co-owners Jeremy Simpson, a natty wine obsessive with a pedigree from LA’s Bestia, and Elliott Townsend, a hyper-local chef known for the pop-up Long Story Short, join the show to talk fermentation, formation, and forging a dream. The duo—half of a husband-and-wife Voltron of culinary minds—built a spot where natural wine and soulful, seasonal...
May 22, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 383
#382 Troy and Jackie dig into the story behind Little Fox Cups and Cones, the Oceanside shop that’s putting an inventive spin on ice cream. Owner Megan Koll started as a bartender at CH Projects, then honed her craft at Juju Lee before turning her obsession with flavor and local sourcing into a cult-favorite ice cream shop. With flavors like toasted cornmeal, brioche-swirl avocado from Jason Mraz’s farm, and spicy carrot hazelnut brittle made from local produce, Little Fox is serving up more tha...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 382
#381 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant meet up with Preston Caffrey, founder of the brand-new Bebemos Tequila, to launch their “Joven Golden Hour” tour—a series of pairings between local restaurants and Caffrey’s clean, additive-free tequila made in partnership with small-batch agave growers in Mexico. Recorded at Ranch 45 with chef DuVal Warner, the group dives into Brandt Beef bone marrow luges, beef tallow–washed cocktails, and one of the best pastrami sandwic...
May 08, 2025•44 min•Ep. 381
#380 This week, we head from a La Jolla strip mall to the glitter of LA’s reality TV scene before landing in the heart of Old Town. Pietro Busalacchi—bartender, hustler, and heir to one of San Diego’s most iconic restaurant families—joins us to talk about growing up in Little Italy, working at Lisa Vanderpump’s TomTom, and how he brought that chaos and charm back home to launch Trattoria Don Pietro, El Sueño, and TAKO, his bold Mexican-style sushi bar. We talk stories, like a tree catching fire ...
May 01, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 380
#379 In this episode of Happy Half Hour , Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Janet Flores Pavlovich, the force behind Coyotas, a local brand making cassava flour tortillas with just four ingredients and a lot of soul. Janet tells the story of growing up in Sonora, Mexico, where tortillas were handmade daily and tied to memory, ritual, and identity. After culinary school in San Diego and a stint behind the scenes at the Food Network, she realized the tortillas on grocery store shelves d...
Apr 24, 2025•49 min•Ep. 379
#378 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, hosts Jackie Bryant and Troy Johnson crack open the origin story of Juneshine with co-founder Forrest Dein, tracing its unlikely path from a backyard kombucha experiment to a nationwide phenomenon. Dein recounts Juneshine’s early days brewing in a cobwebbed garage, its cult-favorite Blood Orange Mint flavor, and the brand’s meteoric ascent—including opening the country’s first hard kombucha bar, landing a Super Bowl ad, and expanding into new horizons wit...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 378
#377 This week on Happy Half Hour, two of San Diego’s sharpest hospitality minds—Christian Siglin of Happy Medium and Eric Johnson of Lou’s Deli—join Troy and Jackie to talk about the strange, scrappy, and often hilarious life behind the bar. They get into it: they unpack their careers spent working at the city's most iconic bars and restaurants; the three paths a bartender’s life can take, whether Gen Z is really skipping booze for less hedonistic pleasures, how traveling together (NOMA, Oaxaca...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 377
#376 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy gives us an inside take on what to order at Leu Leu, the new spot from celebrity chef Claudette Zepeda. And the dish you gotta try in central city is the house-cured, house-smoked, hand-cut pastrami from last year's SDM winner for Best Barbecue in San Diego—Grand Ole BBQ y Asado in North Park. In honor of this new pastrami destination (quality pastrami is a top-five destination determinant), we revisit our interview with owner Andy Harris—who went fr...
Apr 03, 2025•43 min•Ep. 376
#375 Nick Balsamo of Rosemarie’s joins Troy and Jackie to talk about how a food truck full of killer sliders turned into one of San Diego’s best new brick-and-mortars. The crew gets into Nick’s rise from catering gigs and farmers markets to opening his own family-friendly gastropub, his Arizona street food hustle, and what it’s like feeding crowds that range from dive bar regulars to wedding guests. Also: Starlite’s long-awaited comeback, Puesto’s new chef flex, San Diego’s first women’s sports ...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 375
#374 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Cameron Ingle, executive chef of Marisi in La Jolla, to talk about his fine-dining approach to Italian food, from handmade pasta to sourcing top-tier ingredients. Ingle, who cut his teeth at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, shares what it’s like running a serious food spot in a neighborhood better known steakhouses. They also cover restaurant news, including China Max’s return, the opening of fine dining Lilo from the...
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 374
#373 On this week’s Happy Half Hour, journalist Claire Trageser joins hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant to talk about her latest piece: Is Ozempic Killing Restaurants? With more diners eating less and skipping drinks, could the blockbuster weight-loss drug be reshaping the industry? Claire breaks down what she found—spoiler alert: it’s complicated—while Troy and Jackie dig into shifting food culture, the backlash against semaglutides, and what it all means for restaurants trying to survive in...
Mar 13, 2025•55 min•Ep. 373
#372 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Charles Kaufman, the legendary mind behind Bread & Cie—San Diego’s iconic artisan bakery. Before he was crafting perfect baguettes, Kaufman was shocking audiences with cult horror films, including Mother’s Day, a slasher classic. From writing jokes for Bob Hope to sneaking out of Cannes Film Festival screenings to study French breadmaking, Kaufman shares his wild ride from Hollywood to Hillcrest, the ...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 372
#370 If you think debating sports gets heated, try pitting two seasoned food writers against each other in a fantasy taco draft. In this episode of Happy Half Hour, San Diego Magazine’s Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant take their taco opinions to battle, drafting their top picks from San Diego’s legendary mom-and-pop taco shops. From the OG Roberto’s to the smoky magic of Ed Fernandez Birrieria, they break down what makes each spot worthy of the list—and why some controversial omissions (looking a...
Feb 27, 2025•33 min•Ep. 370
#370 This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant get deep-fried in nostalgia with Ryan Ostrom, CMO of Jack in the Box, the fast-food giant that made San Diego its home. They talk about Jack’s weird, wonderful marketing legacy (yes, they did blow up their own mascot), the late-night taco cult, and why the brand has no business making a burger this good. Ostrom dishes on his move from GNC to Jack, why the company refuses to take itself too seriously, and how their ads still push t...
Feb 20, 2025•56 min•Ep. 370
#369 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie pull up a chair with Jacquee Renna Downing, the industry veteran behind the just-opened Communion, a rooftop oasis in Mission Hills, and its charming downstairs café, Paradis. Downing’s got serious culinary cred—from running the legendary Pacifica Del Mar to making bold moves in the desert restaurant scene before bringing her vision back to San Diego. She spills on building a powerhouse kitchen crew, infusing the menu with global flavors, ...
Feb 13, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 369
#368 OB People’s Food Co-Op has been San Diego’s go-to for organic, vegetarian, and locally sourced groceries for over 50 years, and in this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie sit down with General Manager Sarela Bonilla and Marketing Director Nina Gordon to talk about why this neighborhood institution still matters. From its humble beginnings in a garage to becoming a cornerstone of Ocean Beach, People’s is more than just a grocery store—it’s a community hub, a sustainability champion,...
Feb 06, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 368
#367 Oceanside, you greedy, lucky bastards. As if you needed another game-changer, here comes 24 Suns, a boundary-pushing Chinese restaurant from two former Addison chefs, Nic Webber and Jacob Jordan. These guys have the kind of résumés that make food nerds weak in the knees (Benu, Frasca, Michelin stars, etc.), and they’re bringing that precision and obsession to Chinese cuisine—think regionally focused, hyper-seasonal, storytelling-on-a-plate food. They’ve been quietly running the place since ...
Jan 30, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 367
#366 San Diego’s seafood revolution didn’t happen overnight, and it sure as hell didn’t happen without Peter Halmay. The 83-year-old uni diver and OG of sustainable fishing joins Happy Half Hour to talk about the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, the bureaucratic battle that made it happen, and why buying seafood straight off the boat is the best way to eat. Every Saturday morning, local fishermen unload fresh catch—no middlemen, no mystery fish, just spot prawns, sea urchin, rockfish, and more, all ...
Jan 23, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 366
#365 Not everything can be “tapas.” Maybe we should stop using review sites as rage therapy. Jackie’s a little overstimulated by experience restaurants. In this episode of Happy Half Hour, hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant air their pet peeves, small and large and farcical. There’s some real info here (the cost of eggs is insane), they suggest a policy for “no interruption dining,” and Troy lays out the plans for his ultimate kid-friendly restaurants, which involves stadium seating at abandon...
Jan 16, 2025•40 min•Ep. 365
#364 This week, Troy and Jackie talk to the crew behind the groundbreaking Sessions by the Bay, California’s first legal Amsterdam-style cannabis café opening in February in National City. Owners Alex Ayon, Pearl Ayon have created a 5,000-square-foot lounge featuring lush Moroccan-inspired interiors, immersive art installations, and indulgent food from chef Jorge Bendesky’s nearby Kimball Coastal Eatery. With dishes like brisket-blend burgers, house-made rice waffles topped with ahi tuna, and mi...
Jan 09, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 364
#363 To kick off 2025, Troy and Jackie sit down with Aaron and Lauren Crossland—Oceanside local and food anthropologist duo behind north county’s newest arrival, Merenda Wine Bar & Retail Shop. Lauren talks about what she’s learned getting her phD in studying the cultural pathways of food, and Aaron gives his take on how O’Side has evolved. Designed by Bells & Whistles (Starlite, Jeune et Jolie), their wine shop/restaurant/third space is named after a chapter in the book of famed rogue f...
Jan 02, 2025•56 min•Ep. 363
#362 To round out the final HHH of the year, Troy and Jackie sit down with SDM’s award-winning food-news writer, Beth Demmon, to wrap up the year's biggest moments in San Diego's restaurant, food, and drink culture. They give praise to their favorite dishes and most notable openings, while talking through some challenges for San Diego’s culinary scene—from star Mexican chef Drew Deckman’s arrival in North Park to Middle Eastern food getting a wild, elaborate home at Leila, and the revival of foo...
Dec 26, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 362
#361 This week on Happy Half Hour, we’re diving fork-first into the 87-year legacy of San Diego’s beloved Chicken Pie Shop. Owners Bob and Lisa Townsend join us to dish on how they’ve kept the comfort food institution alive—whole chickens and turkeys, scratch-made everything, and fried chicken so good it took six months to perfect. They share tales of Pi Day chaos during COVID, balancing tradition with modern tweaks, and their recent move to acquire San Diego Brewing Company. Plus, we talk local...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 361
This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie sit down with Shane Hardin, the third-generation co-owner of Hodad’s, Ocean Beach’s iconic, nationally famous burger spot. From the early days when his grandparents ran a small beachside stand to national fame on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Hodad’s has been a constant in San Diego’s food scene for over 55 years. Shane reflects on his family’s legacy, his beloved father’s larger-than-life personality, and the challenges of inheriting a beloved insti...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 360
This week’s Happy Half Hour is a tale of food, community, and grit. Drew Vick, co-owner of Monarch Del Mar , takes us through his incredible journey of opening one of North County’s most transformative restaurants in the middle of the pandemic—complete with personal tragedy, a 75-year-old arm-wrestling for a half-million-dollar investment, and bringing a once-doomed Del Mar rooftop to life. We also cover Canelo Alvarez’s U.S. taco debut with El Pastor Del Rica in Chula Vista, the triumphant reop...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 359
