Por Frank Sabatini Jr.

As a teaser to the $80 million renovation planned at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center in Mission Valley next year, Chef Paul McCabe has returned to San Diego from Arizona to oversee the property’s culinary program. Prior to taking a gig at Royal Palms in Phoenix, he worked at Delicias, Kitchen 1540 y Top of the Cove. Joining him in the effort is acclaimed Pastry Chef Jack Fisher, formerly with jsix y Cocina Urbana.

The duo completely revised the menus at the resort’s two existing restaurants: Charlie’s Sports Bar y Terrace Café. Both are open to the public and have received interior makeovers, although the property’s fine-dining restaurant, Trellises Garden Grill, is now closed permanently.

At Charlie’s, smoked meats, gourmet burgers and scratch-made sauces have entered into the equation. Breads, buns and pastries are also house-made, some of which supply the all-day menu at Terrace Café.

The restaurants, however, will be demolished when work begins on the 32-acre property in the fall of 2016.

“Every building except for the towers and convention center will be bulldozed,” says McCabe, adding that “three or four” new restaurants will emerge once the resort is rebuilt. He and Fisher will oversee their concepts.

“We’re making these upgrades now to give our customers some really great food in the interim,” he says.

The flora and gazebo-filled resort, which was built as a motor lodge in 1953 by Mission Valley developer Charles H. Brown, is managed by Destination Hotels & Resorts. McCabe says the sweeping redo will “honor the history of the property, but with a more updated feel.” 500 Hotel Circle North, 619-291-7131.

Not to be confused with the Broken Yolk Café in Mission Valley, a chain of greater magnitude known as Another Broken Egg Café will roll into San Diego County with 12 locations over the next five years. The first outlet is due to appear “sometime in 2016,” said a rep from the Florida-based company, adding that Downtown is one of the prime areas being scouted.

With only one California location in Burbank, the multi-store expansion is being spearheaded by David Lee, a U.S. Army veteran and past franchisee of multiple Subterraneo sandwich shops throughout the country. He’s also considering locations in Mission Valley, Pacific Beach and La Jolla.

Founded in 1996, the chain is known for its upscale, Southern fare and currently has 50 locations in several states. anotherbrokenegg.com.

Whiskey master Ed Adams will present some of the latest and greatest whiskey releases from around the globe during a special four-course meal created by Chef Fabrice Hardel of The Westgate Hotel. The event takes place Sept. 18 in the hotel’s elegant Le Fontainebleau Room, starting with a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m.

Adams is a graduate of the Malt Advocate Course from the Royal Lochnagar Distillery in Scotland, and he also studied the craft in Ireland, Canada and the U.S. Included in his lineup is a rare single-barrel bottling of Crown Royal.

The cost of the dinner with pairings is $99, plus tax and gratuity. 1055 Second Ave., 619-238-1818.

The Patio Restaurant Group, which owns The Patio on Goldfinch y The Front Porch, both in Mission Hills, as well as The Patio on Lamont Street in Pacific Beach and the upcoming Fireside by the Patio in Liberty Station, has acquired the iconic Saska’s Steak & Seafood in Mission Beach. The family-owned restaurant opened in 1960 after operating for 10 years as a dive bar named High Tide. With its original leather booths and cedar paneling still intact, a minor facelift is planned. The acquisition also included the adjoining Saska’s Sushi Bar and rooftop SkyBar, which were added to the operation in the late ’90s. 3768 Mission Blvd., 858-488-7311.

—Frank Sabatini Jr se puede alcanzar en [email protected].