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The Dish: Verbena Kitchen, Everytable and GelatoLove debut in San Diego

Verbena Kitchen restaurant opened July 14 in North Park.
(Verbena Kitchen)

This week’s San Diego dining report includes news from: Raising Cane’s, Wine Spectator, the Encinitas Vegan pop-up market, Shake Shack, Breeze Cafe, Rubio’s, Daphne’s and much more

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Veteran event planner Jillian Ziska has teamed up with San Diego chef Ronnie Schwandt to launch a new hospitality company that debuted July 14 with their flagship project, Verbena Kitchen in North Park.

The venue is now serving a dinner menu from 2 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, as well as Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The company will also offer catering services at the Verbena location, 3043 University Ave.

Ziska, the owner of Verbena Kitchen, is the founder of To Be Designed, which offers bespoke event planning with custom furniture, decor and venues. Schwandt formerly worked for Blue Bridge Hospitality and the Trust Restaurant Group. The team also includes general manager Dallas Juanes, who is overseeing the wine and cocktail program.

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Schwandt’s kitchen program includes house-made mustards, pickling and fermentation. Dishes include Wagyu beef tartare with cured egg yolk, deviled eggs and Peruvian shrimp ceviche. The brunch menu includes “not avocado toast,” a stuffed avocado served with pickled onions, poached eggs and cauliflower tabouli, and beet poached salmon salad with local peaches and corn. Juanes’ cocktails include TeaTime, made with Earl Grey tea-soaked gin, Cherry Blossom with cherry-soaked unfiltered sake and the Wonky Donkey with lemongrass-soaked Korean soju.

For details, visit verbenakitchensd.com.

Bowled meals from Everytable meal subscription service, now available in San Diego.
(Everytable)

Everytable launches delivery service in San Diego

Everytable, a Los Angeles-based mission-drive food company that sells its home-delivered meals on a sliding scale, is now delivering in San Diego County.

Everytable launched in L.A. in 2016 as a grab-and-go restaurant offering scratch-made affordably priced meals. Last fall, the company raised $16 million to expand its outreach through subscription meal delivery, with the goal of providing low-priced meals in Southern California’s “food desert” communities. In June, the company expanded its subscription service to San Diego County, with delivery to 82 local ZIP codes. Pricing is based on the median household income for each neighborhood. For example, a meal that costs $6 in Otay Mesa would cost $9 in Del Mar.

“We believe that access to fresh, nutritious food is a human right,” said Sam Polk, Everytable CEO, in a statement. “While there is an abundance of grocery stores and amazing restaurants throughout San Diego, we recognize that good food is still unaffordable for many. Few cities rival the San Diego food scene, and we’re excited to partner with local farmers, chefs and food justice activists to make good food accessible to all.”

For subscription information, visit everytable.com.

GelatoLove expands to San Diego

GelatoLove, the gelato company founded in Carlsbad in 2015 by Italian ex-pat Paola Richard, has expanded to a new location opening Saturday, July 30, in East Village.

GelatoLove has taken over a booth in the Rovino The Foodery food hall at 969 Market St. in downtown San Diego. The shop is serving 18 house-made GelatoLove flavors, gelato cakes and deserts plus a full Italian coffee bar serving Barini coffees for the first time in the U.S. GelatoLove’s products are made with allulose, a low-calorie all-natural sugar found in fruits like kiwi and figs. The company’s gelatos have 80 percent less sguar than regular ice cream.

Rovino The Foodery is a 2-year-old Italian market crated by the founders of the 5-year-old RoVino Italian restaurant in Little Italy. The East Village market sells ready-made Italian meals and grociers, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, salads and now gelato, coffee and desserts. A full liquor department is planned.

As part of GelatoLove’s grand opening on Saturday, free samples will be given out from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day. For details visit rovinothefoodery.com.

Raising Cane’s opens in San Marcos

Raising Cane’s, the popular Louisiana-born chicken fingers fast-food chain with 560 restaurants worldwide, opened its latest area location on Tuesday at 105 Las Posas Ave. in San Marcos. The new outlet is the fourth in San Diego County and 43rd in California.

The new location offers in-house as well as pickup service with two drive-through lanes. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays-Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. Visit raisingcanes.com.

Vegan pop-up market returns

After taking the pandemic off, the Encinitas Vegan Food Pop-up market has returned, with service from noon to 4 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month at the Encinitas e101 Marketplace lot at 459 S. Coast Highway in downtown Encinitas. Vendors in July included Nomad Eats, Yummy Cupcakes, Seva Foods, Sabor Piri, Tracy’s Real Foods and Rafkiz Foodz. Before the pandemic, the food fair would draw up to 1,000 people monthly. Visit veganfoodpopup.com.

Shake Shack headed to Beacon

The Beacon, a newly revamped retail center at the southeast corner of El Camino Real and La Costa Avenue in Carlsbad, has announces that a Shake Shack restaurant will soon occupy space in the center. It joins Lofty Coffee Co., La Costa Wine Company, as well as soon-to-open Jeni’s Spendid Ice Cream and the Wise Ox Butcher and Eatery. Visit instagram.com/beaconlacosta.

Cocktails and "walking tacos" at Pacifica Breeze Cafe in Del Mar.
(Pacific Breeze Cafe)

Breeze Café adds walk-up taco bar

Del Mar’s Pacifica Breeze Café has opened a late afternoon pop-up bar serving cocktails, wine, beer and “walking tacos” from 4 p.m. nightly. Created by chef Chris Idso, walking tacos are bags of tortilla chips topped with choice of toppings that include marinated seafood, achiote pulled pork and more. Pacifica Breeze is at 1555 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar Plaza. Visit pacificadelmar.com/breeze-cafe.

Daphne's restaurants are serving two new summer salads through Oct. 4.
(Daphne’s)

New fast food options

Two California quick-service restaurant chains introduced new menu items at all locations statewide this month.

  • San Diego’s Rubio’s Coastal Grill is now offering cauliflower rice as a rice substitute. Rubio’s cauli rice is made with rice-cut cauliflower cooked with cilantro, lime juice, lemongrass and salt. Visit rubios.com.
  • Meanwhile, Northern California-based Daphne’s is serving two new summer salads through Oct. 4. The strawberry salad includes grilled chicken, candied walnuts, feta cheese and vinaigrette dressing. The salmon kale-quinoa salad includes lemon tahini dressing, tomato, cucumber and red cabbage. Both are served with warm pita and tzatziki sauce. Visit daphnes.biz.

Food events coming up:

San Diego Soul Food Festival: Soul food from across the African diaspora, including food from many San Diego Black-owned restaurants, will be featured at this food festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 7 in City Heights. Events include food vendors, entertainment, a local chef panel and more. Tastings tickets are $5 for general admission and $15 for a tasting ticket at select booths. 4000 University Ave., San Diego. instagram.com/sandiegosoulfoodfest/.

Champagne bubbly brunch at Sky Deck: Understory Bar and Le Parfait Paris at the newly opened Sky Deck food destination in Carmel Valley will co-present “Un Été to Remember: Moet Champagne et Petit Fours” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 8. Price varies depending on type of Champagne, but starts at $225 for one bottle of Moet Brut and a sweet and savory tower of French brunch pastries (for four people). Ages 21 and up only. Tickets.

Gelson’s online Italian cooking class: Gelson’s markets will host its first-ever cooking class featuring chef Gino Angelini and his wife, Elizabeth Angelini of Angelini restaurants in Los Angeles at 6 p.m. Aug. 19. Attendees can pick up a cooking ingredient kit in advance at Gelson’s markets in Pacific Beach, Del Mar or Carlsbad and cook along with the couple, making angel hair al limone and Gino’s meatballs in marinara Sauce. Cost is $49.99. Pre-register at gelsons.com/angelini.

Local restaurant recognized by Wine Spectator

After taking 2020 off due to the pandemic, Wine Spectator announced the winners of its 2021 awards for restaurants with exceptional wine programs.

Just one local restaurant, the Michelin-starred Addison in Carmel Valley, received the most coveted Grand Award, which it has held continuously since 2009.

The Best of Award of Excellence went to eight San Diego restaurants: Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in San Diego; Island Prime in San Diego; Mister A’s in San Diego; Nine-Ten in La Jolla; Paon Restaurant & Bar in Carlsbad; Stake Chophouse in Coronado; the WineSellar & Brasserie in San Diego; and The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar in San Diego.

And the Award of Excellent was given to 17 restaurants in San Diego and Southwest Riverside counties: A.R. Valentien in La Jolla; Avant in Rancho Bernardo; Barona Oaks Steakhouse at Barona Casino; Bob’s Steak & Chop House in Carlsbad; Coasterra in San Diego; Cork Fire Kitchen at the Pechanga Resort’s Temecula Creek Inn; Eddie V’s Prime Seafood in both downtown San Diego and La Jolla; Firenze Trattoria in Encinitas; Fogo de Chao in San Diego; Great Oak Steakhouse at Pechanga; Il Fornaio Cucina Italiana in Coronado and Del Mar; Juniper and Ivy in San Diego; Morton’s Steakhouse in San Diego; Prime Cut at Jamul Casino; and STK San Diego in San Diego.

Kragen writes about restaurants for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Email her at pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com.

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