{"id":232787,"date":"2015-02-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-13T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/dining-out-in-san-diego-february-13-2015\/"},"modified":"2015-02-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T08:00:00","slug":"dining-out-in-san-diego-february-13-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/dining-out-in-san-diego-february-13-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Dining Out in San Diego \u2013 February 13, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Little Italy\u2019s culinary explosion continues with the recent opening of Pan Bon<\/strong><\/a> (\u201cgood bread\u201d) by sibling bakers Luciano and Giancarlo Anselmi. The brothers also own a bread shop in Verona, Italy, although their U.S. venture on the ground floor of Ariel Suites is a massive 10,000-square-foot emporium of gorgeous confections, deli specialties and prepared foods reminiscent of the displays you\u2019d find at indoor markets throughout Europe.<\/p>\n

\"Pan<\/a>
The new Pan Bon on Kettner Boulevard
(By Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The space doubles as a stylish restaurant, with ample seating to enjoy salads, pizzas, sandwiches, artisan cheeses and charcuterie. Pastries and breads are made daily, with the latter using wild yeast imported from Italy. There\u2019s also lasagna and other pasta classics created onsite. 1450 Kettner Blvd., 619-373-5780.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

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The long-vacated Palm<\/strong> restaurant at Sixth and J streets Downtown will spring back to life with the March 16 opening of Water Grill San Diego<\/strong><\/a>, a 300-seat seafood restaurant from King\u2019s Seafood Company<\/strong>, which also operates Lou & Mickey\u2019s<\/strong> in the Gaslamp District. Like its flagship \u201cgrill\u201d in Los Angeles, the menu will spotlight Pacific and Atlantic catches such as Santa Barbara prawns, wild Eastern scallops and an extensive selection of fresh oysters and fish. Leather booths and nautical d\u00e9cor will fill in the two-level space. 615 J St., watergrill.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/a>
Aaron and Marci Flores of The Cheese Store (By Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another newcomer in Little Italy is The Cheese Store<\/strong><\/a>, a bistro launched by farmers-market vendors Aaron Flores and his wife Marci. In addition to carrying more than 65 different artisan curds from California and Europe, the couple sells a variety of small-batch pantry goods produced by local vendors such as jams, honey and condiments. They also carry high-end charcuterie, including chili-fennel sausage crafted by Verduras tiernas<\/strong> Chef Pete Balistreri. 1980 Kettner Blvd., 619-544-0500<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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A taste of The Emerald Isle arrives to Hillcrest via Oscar Wilde\u2019s Irish Pub<\/strong><\/a>, which had its soft opening in January and plans a grand opening celebration soon. The establishment moves into the space of the original Parrilla de chismes<\/strong> and features traditional pub d\u00e9cor, a full bar and a menu of \u201call the good stuff,\u201d according to co-owner and Irish native Kevin Gallagher.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the food comes with a little bit of twist,\u201d he adds, referring to items like Shepherd\u2019s pie, fish \u2018n chips and bread-and-butter pudding. Irish breakfasts, imported beer and house-made Guinness ice cream also fill the menu. This is Gallagher\u2019s second San Diego venture since opening El arpa<\/strong> in Ocean Beach nearly a decade ago. 1440 University Ave., 619-567-8249.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Hamburguesa loca<\/strong> in Old Town has closed. Coming into its place is El Charko<\/strong><\/a>, a family-owned restaurant specializing in Mexico City-style tacos. Born from a catering company, the menu will feature such fillings as traditional Campechano steak, chorizo and pastor. Hearty soups, grilled hot peppers and pecan pudding are also in the offing. 2415 San Diego Ave., 619-795-0908<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\"Artisan<\/a>
Customized bento boxes are the focus at Artisan Bento (Courtesy Shihomi Borillo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Create your own bento box at Artisan Bento<\/strong><\/a> in Bankers Hill, which held its grand opening in January. Customers get to pair multi-grain rice and miso soup to a choice of ginger pork, chicken, salmon or sashimi. A variety of create-your-own bowls are also available. The restaurant was launched by Shihomi Borillo, who also owns Azuki Sushi<\/strong>, and the chefs use \u201chumanely raised livestock\u201d and produce from local farmers. 2505 Fifth Ave., 619-231-0700.<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Chinese \u201cYear of the Sheep\u201d will be celebrated with flair during a free public event at 6 p.m., Feb. 20, at Parque Norte de Wang<\/strong><\/a>. Guests will walk a red carpet into the restaurant to partake in sake samples and good-luck hors d\u2019oeuvres such as fish, noodles and dumplings. At 9 p.m., traditional lion dancers will perform to drums and cymbals to further ring in the new year. 3029 University Ave., 619-291-7500. <\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"Circa<\/a>
Monday meatballs at Circa Restaurant (Photo by Mike Almos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chef-owner Mike Almos of Circa Restaurant<\/strong><\/a> in University Heights recently introduced \u201cmeatball Mondays\u201d from 5 p.m. to closing every week. He created the deal \u201cto make something warm and comforting for industry folk on Monday nights\u201d while also opening it to the public. For $15, you get three hearty meatballs made with Duroc pork and King Ranch beef, a dish of pasta with marinara and warm focaccia bread, all made in-house. 2121 Adams Ave., 619-269-9152.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Tickets are reportedly selling fast for the upcoming San Diego Winter Brew Fest<\/strong><\/a>, scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m., Feb. 20 and 21, at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park. The event features more than 40 craft brewers from throughout California and beyond as well as food and live music. Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. 2131 Pan American Plaza, sandiegobrewfest.com.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Little Italy\u2019s culinary explosion continues with the recent opening of Pan Bon (\u201cgood bread\u201d) by sibling bakers Luciano and Giancarlo Anselmi. The brothers also own a bread shop in Verona, Italy, although their U.S. venture on the ground floor of Ariel Suites is a massive 10,000-square-foot emporium of gorgeous confections, deli specialties and prepared foods […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":232788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11557","_seopress_titles_title":"Dining Out in San Diego \u2013 February 13, 2015","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11557,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-mission-valley-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}