{"id":247268,"date":"2014-05-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-09T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/uptown-food-briefs-may-9\/"},"modified":"2014-05-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-09T07:00:00","slug":"uptown-food-briefs-may-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/uptown-food-briefs-may-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Uptown Food Briefs \u2013 May 9"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Frank Sabatini Jr. |\u00a0Uptown News<\/p>\n<p>San Diego chef Mike Alamos is up and running with his first-time restaurant venture,<b> Hacia<\/b>, in the space formerly occupied by <b>Farm House Caf\u00e9<\/b>. Fresh paint, new upholstery and a \u201cwhole tree\u201d used as the bar top now define the space. <!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17061\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17061\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Circa-Adams-Avenue-Skillet-from-Circa.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-17061 lazyload\" alt=\"The \u201cAdams Avenue skillet\u201d at Circa in University Heights (Courtesy of Circa Restaurant)\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Circa-Adams-Avenue-Skillet-from-Circa-300x168.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/168;\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17061\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The \u201cAdams Avenue skillet\u201d at Circa in University Heights<br \/>(Courtesy of Circa Restaurant)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The menu, which Alamos describes as \u201clocal, rustic, comfort fare,\u201d features several dishes incorporating craft beers, such as bratwurst braised in pale ale, meatloaf draped in red ale gravy and an apple-caramel dessert spiked with smoked porter. A variety of small plates are also available as well as savory skillet dishes served during Sunday brunch (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.). Alamos has upped the cool factor by also bringing in a \u201cnew vintage\u201d sound system for playing vinyl records. <i>2121 Adams Ave., 619-269-9152.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17063\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17063\" style=\"width: 224px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Ironside-seafood-tower-from-H2-Public-Relations.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-17063 lazyload\" alt=\"A tower of shellfish at the new Ironside Fish &amp; Oyster (Courtesy of H2 Public Relations)\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Ironside-seafood-tower-from-H2-Public-Relations-224x300.jpg\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 224px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 224\/300;\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17063\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A tower of shellfish at the new Ironside Fish &amp; Oyster (Courtesy of H2 Public Relations)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>El tan esperado\u00a0<strong>Pescado y ostras Ironside<\/strong>\u00a0opened recently in Little Italy by<b>\u00a0<b>CH<\/b>Projects<\/b>, which is behind several San Diego hotspots such as <b>Noble Experiment<\/b>,<b> Craft &amp; Commerce<\/b> y <b>El Dorado Cocktail Lounge<\/b>. In this latest venture, Chef Jason McLeod brings a seafood-rich menu to the table that includes daily offerings of oyster flights and various shellfish platters. In addition, \u201ccocktails in the half shell\u201d are available, which pair a single raw oyster to a libation. Situated in a circa-1920 warehouse, the 4,500-square-foot space also includes a bakery, a European-style open kitchen and a lobster tank. <i>1654 India St., 619-269-3033.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>I recently received a few inquiries regarding the shuttered <b>Mandarin House<\/b> in Bankers Hill, as to whether it has reopened since closing in November. The answer is no. One reader in particular was confused by a Yelp review dated Feb. 7, 2014 touting the Mongolian beef. The post was apparently meant for the restaurant\u2019s La Jolla location (6765 La Jolla Blvd.), which remains in business and features the same menu as the former Fifth Avenue kitchen. When speaking to a manager in La Jolla, he cited high rent as the reason for last year\u2019s closure, adding that there are \u201cno plans at this time\u201d to open a replacement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>Restaurateur John Ealy says that there wasn\u2019t an empty table in the house on his first Friday night in business at <b>Harley Gray Kitchen &amp; Bar<\/b> in Mission Hills, which opened April 22 in place of <b>The Gathering<\/b>. His menu comprises several \u201chomeruns\u201d from other restaurants he owns, such as <b>The Boathouse<\/b> on Harbor Island and kitchens in Maui and Santa Cruz. Those dishes include pan-fried salmon and blackened rib eye, along with new offerings like bone-in pork chops and short ribs. The restaurant was given an interior facelift and maintains its central, full bar. Harley Gray is open for lunch, happy hour and dinner. <i>902 W. Washington St., 619-955-8451.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>The Cadillac of all food events to benefit <b>Mama\u2019s Kitchen<\/b> takes place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., May 9 at the <b>Hyatt Regency La Jolla<\/b>. Now in its 23rd year, \u201cMama\u2019s Day\u201d will feature more than 55 local restaurants and caterers putting their best foot forward with an array of gourmet food samples. Participating businesses include <b>Barra D<\/b>, <b>Great Maple<\/b>, <b>Uptown Tavern<\/b>, <b>R Gang Eatery<\/b>, <b>Parrilla de chismes<\/b>, <b>Parque Norte de Wang<\/b>, <b>Compa\u00f1\u00eda cervecera Hillcrest<\/b> and more. The event will be emceed by Sam \u201cThe Cooking Guy\u201d Zien and feature a silent auction. General admission is $125; VIP tickets are $250, which include early admission at 5:30 p.m. and access to The Cabana Lounge inside the venue. Tickets can be purchased at mamaskitchen.org or by calling 619-233-6262. <i>3777 La Jolla Village Drive.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>Wholesome breakfast and lunch fare can be found at the newly opened location of <b>Swami\u2019s Caf\u00e9<\/b>, which moved into the modern-industrial digs that previously housed <b>Casa de Luz<\/b> in North Park. The menu is similar to the Swami\u2019s in Encinitas and Carlsbad, which includes everything from acai bowls and egg dishes to sandwiches and burritos. The kitchen is open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The owners are considering installing a full bar on the second floor, although for now, alcohol isn\u2019t served. <i>2920 University Ave., 619-269-3797.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Frank Sabatini Jr. |\u00a0Uptown News San Diego chef Mike Alamos is up and running with his first-time restaurant venture, Circa, in the space formerly occupied by Farm House Caf\u00e9. Fresh paint, new upholstery and a \u201cwhole tree\u201d used as the bar top now define the space.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":247269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Uptown Food Briefs \u2013 May 9","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247268","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=247268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}