San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour

San Diego Magazine
  • 4.8 (167)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The weekly guide to San Diego's food + drink scene, hosted by award-winning food writer and Food Network host Troy Johnson and San Diego Magazine's culture brain, Jackie Bryant. Field notes and perspectives on restaurants, bars, and chefs—including dishes and drinks you gotta try, restaurant openings and closings, events worth your time, and laugh-cry interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, farmers, brewers, and makers who make San Diego's food + drink scene hum.

  1. 6D AGO

    How Craft Beer BuHow Craft Beer Built San Diego's Food Scene and What's Brewing Nextilt San Diego's Food Scene and What's Brewing Next

    #406 On this week's Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson traces how our beer nerds turned San Diego into a food town—from Karl Strauss in '89 to the Brewers Guild in '97, the 2018 peak of 150+ breweries, and today's saner "new normal." Guests Estela Davila (Guild president), Kevin Hellman (Capital of Craft co-founder), and Brandon Kroegel (Coronado Brewing) preview San Diego Beer Week and its kickoff party, Capital of Craft. The event takes place Saturday, Nov. 8 at San Diego Harley-Davidson with more than 40 breweries participating and special collab pours. We discuss West Coast IPA's DNA, hop tech (cryo, terpenes), the rise of NA brews, and why this scene still runs on collaboration—plus quick bites on new bakery openings, anniversaries, and what to hit all week long. To follow Capital of Craft click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    1h 6m

  2. OCT 30

    Lana Puts a Fresh Spin on Coastal Dining in San Diego

    #405 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-host Troy Johnson heads north to Solana Beach, where LANA has transformed the old California Pizza Kitchen space into a relaxed, wood-fired restaurant with real neighborhood soul. Co-owners Travis LeGrand and Mark Wheadon have built something rare for the coast: a spot that's stylish but still feels local, where dishes like gold-spotted Baja sea bass with agua chile and a half-roasted Jidori chicken that's fast becoming a San Diego classic.    At the bar, beverage director Brandon Curry keeps things bright and balanced with creative cocktails built around Bebemos Tequila, the local brand founded by Preston Caffrey that's showing up everywhere great drinks are poured. Between sips, the crew talks about Solana Beach's evolving food scene and the art of keeping things simple behind the bar. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow LANA click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    58 min

  3. OCT 23

    San Diego Restaurant News, Chefsgiving & Claudette Zepeda Makes Moves

    #404 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant go solo for a special Halloween episode. They talk restaurant news like Chefsgiving at Provisional Kitchen on November 13 benefiting the San Diego Food Bank; Valle's four-year anniversary dinner; and celebrity chef Claudette Zepeda's departure from Leu Leu to focus on filming projects, Chispa Hospitality, and her upcoming book. They also preview Orexi, a new Mediterranean-California spot opening in Little Italy, and Puesto's move to become the first Mexican restaurant group in the US to go completely seed-oil free. Other topics include Juniper & Ivy's Cayuse Vineyards dinner, the Ukrainian-owned Need to Eat Café in Poway, and Cambodian-Filipino pop-up Ming Oun's Kitchen.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    37 min

  4. OCT 16

    Crashing The Marine Room's High Tide Dinners

    #403 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant head to the Marine Room, La Jolla's oceanfront dining landmark waves slam against windows and the food matches the drama. Chef Derek Dupree introduces new fall dishes, including roasted king trumpet mushrooms with garlic miso emulsion, butternut squash with goat cheese espuma and toasted hazelnuts, and blackened swordfish with crawfish and forbidden rice. We also sip Bebemos Tequila with founder Preston Caffrey, who joins us to talk about what makes the spirit work across savory courses. GM and wine director Nicholas George explains how the Marine Room's legendary High Tide Dinners are timed with summer king tides and why the restaurant's global wine program mirrors its coastal setting. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow The Marine Room click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    1h 9m

  5. OCT 9

    Longtime restaurateur Sami Ladeki Shares His Unlikely Career Path to Food

    #402 Happy Half Hour co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Sami Ladeki, one of the most influential figures in San Diego dining to trace his long and unlikely career. He shares stories of leaving Lebanon in his twenties, washing dishes in Germany, running food and beverage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and eventually landing in San Diego to open Sammy's Woodfired Pizza in 1989.  Ladeki reflects on the rise of California-style pizza, the lessons of building a restaurant empire, and why he's bringing back Roppongi, the La Jolla restaurant that once defined Pacific Rim cuisine in the city. Executive corporate chef Alfie Szeprethy joins him to share stories from the 1990s Roppongi kitchen and what it's been like to help reopen the place that shaped his career, as well as what guests can expect in the new iteration. To follow Sammy's click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    1h 29m

  6. OCT 2

    How to Earn a Michelin Star in Only Six Weeks

    #401 After the economic sucker-punch of Covid robbed chef Eric Bost of his LA restaurant Auburn, he entered into a values-first partnership with restaurateur John Resnick. Despite months of permitting and supply snags and personal and operational hits, the two succeeded at last in turning an old Carlsbad boogie-board factory into all-day bakery and cafe Wildland and the smaller, tasting-menu-only Lilo, which nabbed a Michelin star just six weeks after opening.  On this week's episode of Happy Half Hour, the duo joins hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant to break down Lilo's vibe-forward approach (vinyl, reel-to-reel, open kitchen), the caviar-and-almond-ice-cream course that anchors the menu, and why hundreds of small service cues liberate staff to actually connect with guests.  In food news, we discuss Encinitas' Necessity Coffee new location, the $25.5M waterfront plan from the Fish Market group, Communion's mai tai world title, the closing of Woodstock's in PB, Mothership's October takeover, and Fink's Wine Spectator nod. Listen to the full episode now. To follow Lilo click HERE. To follow Wildland click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    1h 22m

  7. SEP 25

    Inside City Farmers Nursery's 52-Year Legacy in City Heights

    #400 On this week's Happy Half Hour with hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant, we're joined by siblings Sam Tall and Rebecca Tall-Brown, the second-generation owners of City Farmers Nursery in City Heights. They talk about their family's 52-year journey turning discarded plants and reclaimed materials into a thriving nursery, the importance of biodiversity and community support, and how Nate's Garden Grill—operated on site by a family friend and lessee—has grown into one of the city's most beloved live-music-and-food hangouts. In "Get Some," we shout out local favorites including Sang Dao for Laotian papaya salad and tom kha soup, Pho Hoa for classic beef pho and plum soda, The Daily Grind for family-friendly breakfasts in Rolando, and The Flying Pig in Oceanside for modern bistro cooking with Southern details. To follow City Farmers Nursery click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    54 min

  8. SEP 11

    Chef Carl Schroeder's Exit Interview

    #399 This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie sit with one of San Diego's most influential chefs, Carl Schroeder, who rarely interviews. After years at the helm of Market Restaurant + Bar, Schroeder has sold his shares and is stepping back. We talk about the glory days of Market, the early 2000s when "farm to table" actually meant something, his start in storied San Francisco kitchens, and why he's finally ready to trade the pressure of a fine-dining kitchen for time with family (and maybe a pool float). To follow Market click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

    1h 35m
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4.8
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167 Ratings

About

The weekly guide to San Diego's food + drink scene, hosted by award-winning food writer and Food Network host Troy Johnson and San Diego Magazine's culture brain, Jackie Bryant. Field notes and perspectives on restaurants, bars, and chefs—including dishes and drinks you gotta try, restaurant openings and closings, events worth your time, and laugh-cry interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, farmers, brewers, and makers who make San Diego's food + drink scene hum.

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