Welcome back! This week we chat with Tara Monsod, who recently took over as executive chef at Animae, the high-design Asian fusion restaurant owned by Brian Malarkey and Chris Puffer. Tara has also worked at Herringbone, Burlap, and at the acclaimed Mozza Pizzeria, and this is her first executive chef position. She recently changed Animae’s menu, and several of the new dishes reflect her Filipino American heritage and the flavors she grew up eating. David and I checked out the new menu (and didn...
Jul 08, 2021•36 min
David, Marie and Troy are still at our sponsor, Home Brew Mart. Rumor has it David brought a cot and this is where he lives now. Understandable. The Linda Vista store is where the city’s first bootstrap scientists got all the ingredients, materials, recipes, rumors, and know-how to start the craft beer revolution in San Diego. It’s also home to Ballast Point—makers of one Sculpin IPA, one of the most famous craft beers in existence—who’s celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Colby Chandler...
Jul 01, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! We’re recording in person at Home Brew Mart by Ballast Point in Linda Vista, our sponsor for this week’s episode. Ballast Point is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and Home Brew Mart is where the company began. We’re with Colby Chandler, Ballast Point’s former vice president and speciality brewer. He’s the creator of the award-winning Sculpin IPA and the company’s second-longest-serving employee! This week’s special guest is Will Dryden, manager of...
Jun 24, 2021•49 min
Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! This week’s special guest is Barry Robbins, founder of Milton’s Delicatessen Restaurant in Del Mar. The New York–style deli is famous for its Reuben, matzo ball soup, homemade desserts, and breads; and it’s celebrating its 27th anniversary this year. You’ve most likely seen Milton’s multigrain bread and line of crackers in retailers like Costco: This national brand of baked goods was also launched by the deli. The company has a storied history, and we enjoyed...
Jun 17, 2021•47 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week we have two special guests, Jamie and Marie Brawn, owners of Homestead Solana Beach. The business—which served locally-sourced gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan food—was inspired by the duo’s own home cooking for their sons who both have food allergies. But like many, the pandemic forced them to switch gears; and the idea was born to turn Homestead from an eatery to a neighborhood market. Jamie and Marie were running both their catering company and Hom...
Jun 10, 2021•55 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week's special guest is Beth Demmon, a freelance writer and journalist who specializes in craft beer. Beth started writing about craft beer in 2015 and has been an advocate for diversity in the industry: She founded the Diverse Beer Writers Initiative and is a member of the North American Guild of Beer Writers. Recently, she published an article on Vine Pair about allegations of rampant sexism and harassment that have been occuring in the beer industry, and ...
Jun 03, 2021•49 min
This week’s special guest is Dannika Underhill, a bartender at Kindred in South Park. Dannika has been in the restaurant industry for over 15 years. She's a graduate of Seattle Culinary Academy, and she's worked in both the front and back of house, behind the bar, and as a restaurant operations manager. Two weeks ago, we had Dario Gallo, owner of Civico 1845, on the show, and he talked about how tipping should be done away with entirely in the restaurant industry; now Dannika is here to give us ...
May 27, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week's special guest is Gustavo Tonella of Doggos Gus in Imperial Beach. Gustavo started his catering company in 2010, serving up Sonoran-style bacon-wrapped hot dogs in brioche buns. Then in 2019, he opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant right across from the IB pier, and introduced micheladas and White Claws topped with chamoy to his menu. Gustavo grew up eating street hot dogs in Mexicali, where they’re wrapped in bacon and topped with chipotle, vegetables...
May 19, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! Today’s special guest is Dario Gallo, owner of Civico 1845 in Little Italy and Civico by the Park in Bankers Hill. Dario was born and raised in Cosenza, Italy, and after graduating with an economics and business administration degree, he moved to the US with his brother, Pietro. They opened their first restaurant, Civico 1845, in 2015, and in 2020 they opened Civico by the Park. The restaurants specialize in Calabrian dishes, pinsa Romana (ancient Roman-style piz...
May 13, 2021•1 hr
Today we have a very special guest, chef Eric Greenspan. Eric has over 20 years of experience in the culinary world, having worked with chefs such as Alain Ducasse and Rocco DiSpirito, and apprenticing at the three-Michelin-star El Bulli in Spain. He was executive chef at several successful restaurants in LA, including Patina, The Foundry, and Maré, and is a noted cookbook author and regular judge on Guy’s Grocery Games. Eric is on the show today to talk about ghost kitchens and virtual kitchens...
May 06, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! Today’s special guest is Sabrina Medora, food writer and founder of Un-Plated, a national multimedia platform that celebrates the little-known stories and unsung heroes of the restaurant industry. Her work has appeared in Wine Enthusiast,The Kitchn, and Food & Wine, andshe has produced events with the James Beard Foundation. Sabrina was born in Canada, has lived in Mumbai, Singapore, and New Jersey, and recently moved to San Diego from Washington, DC. She’s t...
Apr 29, 2021•59 min
Today’s special guest is chef Travis Swikard, whom we last had on the show in March 2020. Travis is a San Diego native who spent ten years working with acclaimed French chef Daniel Boulud in New York City, and moved back to San Diego to open Callie, his first solo restaurant. The pandemic delayed his original plan to open Callie last summer. We checked in with Travis to see how the long-awaited restaurant is coming along, and there’s great news: They’re planning a June 4 opening date, and are ta...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! We have a special treat for our listeners this week: Joining us on the show is Wil Myers! The San Diego Padres are the most exciting team to watch in Major League Baseball right now, and they just made history last week with their first no-hitter. Wil has been a familiar face in the Petco Park outfield since he joined the team in 2013. On April 10, 2017, he hit for the cycle against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field—it was only the second cycle in Padres histor...
Apr 15, 2021•38 min
Today’s special guest is Keith Rolle, founder and winemaker of Gianni Buonomo Vintners in Ocean Beach. A little over a week ago, Gianni Buonomo won several awards at the 2021 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Keith moved to OB in 1997 and was running another business before switching gears at age 47. He went back to school to study viticulture and enology, starting his journey into the world of winemaking and grape growing. Winning these awards in San Francisco is no small feat: It’s the...
Apr 08, 2021•50 min
Today’s special guest is Kaci Goff, chef and owner of contemporary Malaysian pop-up restaurant Wolf and Woman. While serving Malaysian Tamil cuisine like penang laksa noodles and garam masala lamb shank, Kaci is also planning on launching a commissary kitchen in Vista at the end of April. This weekend, she’s selling dessert boxes that can be preordered, and on April 21, Wolf and Woman is hosting a dinner with Hidden Craft that will benefit the San Diego Rescue Mission. Kaci started her career in...
Apr 01, 2021•43 min
This week’s special guest is Emily Green, owner of Sisters Pizza in Hillcrest. Since 2019, Sisters Pizza has been serving up New York– and New Jersey–style pizza whole and by the slice, along with other Italian dishes from family recipes. Emily opened the business in loving memory of her older sister, Kate, and she regularly gives back to the community by raising money for a different charity every month. Emily grew up in New Jersey and loves East Coast pizza, and she says that when she moved to...
Mar 25, 2021•42 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week’s special guest is Megan Stone, media coordinator at Societe Brewing Company in Clairemont, who was recently named the first-ever Woman of the Year by the Craft Beer Marketing Awards. Megan, whose pronouns are both she/her and they/them, is a member of the San Diego Brewers Guild Inclusion Committee and social media influencer with over 34,000 followers who seeks to promote diversity, equality, and inclusion within the craft beer industry. Megan discove...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This episode was sponsored by Ballast Point, and two special guests from the brewing company joined us this week: Aaron Justus, director of R&D and specialty brewing, and Jeff Lozano, specialty brewer and manager. This year, the company is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a pioneer in the craft beer industry, and Aaron and Jeff debuted and tasted Ballast Point’s two newest beers, Wee Gus and Big Gus. Aaron was a meteorologist for 13 years before he ended u...
Mar 11, 2021•59 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week’s special guest is Avonte Hartsfield, owner of Rollin’ Roots food truck in Kearny Mesa. Rollin’ Roots has been serving comfort foods, like loaded fries and sandwiches with deep-fried “shrimp” and Buffalo “chicken” that are entirely vegan, since it opened last fall. Avonte is passionate about breaking the stigma that vegan food has to be expensive, and he started a pay-what-you-can option at the food truck and provides meals for those in need. Avonte has...
Mar 04, 2021•44 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week, Tommy “The Fishmonger” Gomes, a local expert on all things seafood and spokesperson for San Diego's fishing industry, made his third appearance on the podcast. Since his last visit, Tommy’s become the star of his own national TV show, The Fishmonger, an eight-episode docuseries premiering March 1 at 4 p.m. on the Outdoor Channel. Tommy is from a Portuguese fishing family that has been in San Diego for generations—they settled in Point Loma in the 1890s...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 8 min
This week we chatted with chef Richard Blais, whom you may recognize as both a contestant and a judge on Top Chef, and as a judge on Guy’s Grocery Games and MasterChef. Richard came by to talk about his newest restaurant, Ember & Rye, a steak house opening soon at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad. Richard got his start working at The French Laundry, Chez Panisse, and El Bulli, then opened several of his own restaurants in Atlanta. After moving to San Diego, he opened Juniper and Ivy ...
Feb 18, 2021•58 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! In celebration of the lunar new year on February 12 and the Year of the Ox, we chatted with Tony Guan, executive chef at Fortunate Son, the newest restaurant from CH Projects in Normal Heights. Fortunate Son replaced Soda & Swine last fall, and serves Tony’s spin on classic American Chinese dishes like General’s Tso’s chicken and sweet and sour pork. Tony was born and raised in Chula Vista and went to culinary school here. He worked the line at the Dana Hotel...
Feb 11, 2021•31 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week we chat with Ernie Becerra, founder of San Diego Taco Company and ¡Salud! Tacos in Barrio Logan. Ernie is a fifth-generation San Diegan, and he worked as a banker before pursuing his passion and eventually opening a restaurant. ¡Salud! is one of 13 essential taco shops listed in this month’s cover story in San Diego Magazine, called “A Love Letter to Tacos!” Ernie’s family is deeply rooted in San Diego. He says they are “old-school Chicano,” having firs...
Feb 04, 2021•43 min
Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! This week, we chat with Starr Edwards, founder of Bitchin’ Sauce, a popular almond dip that is vegan-friendly. You may have it seen at local farmers’ markets (and mistaken it for hummus) or at the grocery store. The company started in Carlsbad and is still headquartered there, but has increased distribution to nearly 7,000 stores nationwide, including Costco, Target, and Whole Foods. In episode 210, William Bradley, executive chef at Michelin-starred restaura...
Jan 28, 2021•53 min
We’re excited to have Maya Madsen, the founder of Maya's Cookies, on the show this week. Maya’s Cookies is a line of soft-baked cookies that are completely vegan but also popular with non-vegans. Maya founded the company in 2015 when she couldn't find any vegan cookies that she liked, so she started baking her own. Today, her company is the No. 1 Black-owned gourmet vegan cookie company in the country. The cookies are available online and ship nationally, and she opened her first retail store lo...
Jan 21, 2021•54 min
Happy New Year! We took a break from taping during the holidays, and now we’re back and looking forward to 2021. We kicked off our first episode of the year with chef William Bradley of Addison, San Diego’s first restaurant to receive a Michelin star, which it was awarded in 2019. William is a San Diego native, and he's been leading the kitchen at Addison since 2006. He’s been nominated four times for a James Beard Award, won Robb Report’s Culinary Masters, and has served on the council for Bocu...
Jan 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Happy Holidays to all our listeners, and welcome to the last episode of 2020! We are wrapping up this unprecedented year with our most memorable guests, our favorite foods, and some predictions and hopes for the new year. Note: This was recorded on December 12.08.20. Troy, Marie, and David all reminisce about the first podcast we recorded after the pandemic and how it felt to be back on the air after three months. They looked back at some of their favorite episodes: Marie enjoyed our first ever ...
Dec 17, 2020•52 min
Our special guest this week is Arturo Kassel, CEO of Whisknladle Hospitality, which brought us restaurants like Prep Kitchen, Catania, and Whisknladle in La Jolla. He also owns Gravity Heights Brewery, which opened last summer in Sorrento Valley, and the Park Commons food hall. Arturo and his business partner, chef Ryan Johnston, opened Whisknladle in La Jolla in 2008. After 12 years in the neighborhood, they had to close the restaurant this spring because of the pandemic. We featured Whisknladl...
Dec 10, 2020•55 min
Welcome back to another Happy Half Hour episode! Today's special guest is Accursio Lota, chef and owner of Cori Pastificio in North Park. Before opening Cori Pastificio, he was the head chef at Liberty Station’s Solare Ristorante for seven years. During his time there, he was presented with the prestigious Tre Gamberi by Gambero Rosso, an Italian award similar to the Michelin star system. Just one year prior, he won the Barilla World Pasta Championships. He’s originally from Menfi, Sicily, and n...
Dec 03, 2020•45 min
Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! Today’s special guest is Steven Torres, founder and CEO of Pop Pie Co. and Stella Jean’s ice cream. Steven and his husband, Gan Suebsarakham, own the two shops in University Heights, which feature modern takes on American dessert staples: pie and ice cream. Leaning on his background in business and accounting, Steven handles the day-to-day operations and oversees all Pop Pie Co. and Stella Jean’s locations, including expansion, menu development, and management. S...
Nov 19, 2020•52 min
