Por Frank Sabatini Jr.

Practically every kitchen in the neighborhood is taking park in the inaugural Taste of South Park, which will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 19, along the corridors of 30th and Fern streets.

Participants include Barra de chocolate y bistró Eclipse; buona forchetta; South Park Abbey; Café Madeleine; Mazara Trattoria; Fire Horse, and several others that locals residing outside the area may have not yet discovered. Tickets, which include samples from each restaurant, are $30 in advance at southparkscene.com/events, or $35 at the information booth on the day of the event (Grape and Fern streets).

Chef Fred Piehl of La cabra humeante, and his wife, Tammy, will open One Door North in the adjoining 5,000-square-foot warehouse held previously by Mosaic Wine Bar. Their newest venture, scheduled to launch by November, will offer casual farm-fresh fare and a community bar that opens to the outdoors. The eatery will be open for lunch and dinner daily, and also operate for weekend brunch. 3422 30th St.

Coming to the ground floor of the new Mr. Robinson loft building at the corner of Park Boulevard and Robinson Street in Hillcrest is TRUST Restaurant, where seasonal shareable plates, artisan wines, craft beer and crafty cocktails will rule the day. The 2,600-square-foot space, which extends to a spacious patio, is due to open in late fall as the building nears completion. Executive Chef Brad Wise, who worked at JRDN, Sequía, y Cannonball, will helm the kitchen. 3752 Park Blvd.

There are numerous Uptown kitchens taking part in the 11th annual Semana del restaurante de San Diego, to be held Sept. 20-27. Meal options feature two-course lunches priced at $10, $15 or $20, and three-course dinners ranging from $20 to $50. Among those taking part are Barrio Star y Parque de Croce Oeste in Bankers Hill; Bleu Boheme in Kensington; Brooklyn Girl Eatery in Mission Hills; 100 Wines in Hillcrest; y Hacia in University Heights. Countywide, nearly 180 establishments are participating.

No passes are tickets are required, although organizers encourage diners to make advanced reservations at the restaurants they choose to visit. For more information, visit sandiegorestaurantweek.com.

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.

Double honors were given to el burro ciego of the East Village at the second annual Ceviche Showdown, held Aug. 23, at 57 grados in Middletown. The contest involved nine other competing restaurants such as puesto, Sirena Gourmet Latin Seafood Restaurant y Old Town Mexican Café, each showcasing a recipe that ranged from traditional to contemporary.

The Burro’s fruity-minty-spicy ceviche constructed with mixed seafood garnered both the People’s Choice Award and the Judges’ Award. Executive Chef Todd Nash said the victories may likely prompt him to add the ceviche onto his menu, which already features a classic Baja version with white shrimp and bay scallops. 639 J St., 619-795-7880.

Look for “triple threat” pork sandwiches, carnitas tacos and super-stacked BLTs served in front of the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal as Carnitas Snack Shack rolls in its new food truck from 10 a.m. to sunset, Wednesdays through Sundays. The North Park-based eatery will operate the mobile offshoot until moving into an additional “shack” early next year at nearby North Embarcadero, a waterfront improvement project still under construction. 1050 N. Harbor Drive, carnitassnackshack.com.

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.

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