{"id":247907,"date":"2014-10-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/uptown-food-briefs-october-24\/"},"modified":"2014-10-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-10-24T07:00:00","slug":"uptown-food-briefs-october-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/uptown-food-briefs-october-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Uptown Food Briefs \u2013 October 24"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>\n

Hillcrest has seen a mini wave of kitchens go dark in the past few weeks, which included the sudden but supposedly temporary closure of Harvey Milk\u2019s American Diner<\/strong><\/a> at 535 University Ave.<\/p>\n

According to managing partner Frank Lechner, the restaurant\u2019s shareholders are currently deciding whether to re-launch under the same name or a different one.<\/p>\n

\"Harvey<\/a>\u201cWe will re-open and we\u2019ll continue to support our community like we have in the past,\u201d assured Lechner while dispelling rumors of Phil\u2019s BBQ taking over the space. \u201cThat is absolutely not true,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

For contractual reasons, Lechner was unable to elaborate as to why Harvey\u2019s shut down; although a posting on the restaurant\u2019s Facebook page dated Oct. 10 maintains that the team is \u201creorganizing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

After a long, successful run at 1417 University Ave., Cesar Gonzales of Mama Testa<\/strong> is moving his colorful taqueria into a bigger space at 9225 Mira Mesa Blvd., which will open in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Hillcrest, but the rents are getting so high,\u201d he said, adding that his new digs will be close to a few breweries and that he will be expanding both his menu and salsa bar.<\/p>\n

\n

Amici\u2019s East Coast Pizza<\/strong> at 3958 Fifth Ave., has also left the neighborhood due mainly to sluggish sales, according to a former employee. A sign posted on the doors of the double-storefront restaurant in early October simply states: \u201cVisit us at our La Jolla location.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Uptown<\/a>
A public market is coming to Liberty Station. (Rendering by Fitch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was originally designated for a project called The Shops in the 22,000-square-foot wing of Liberty Station\u2019s Building 1 will instead become the site of Mercado p\u00fablico de la libertad<\/strong>, a culinary co-op due to open in early summer. Headed by restaurateur and Coronado resident David Spatafore of Hospitalidad del puente azul<\/strong>, and in partnership with Corky McMillin Companies, the goal is to open with 34 vendors of local origins.<\/p>\n

Spatafore is aiming to include in the vendor lineup a butcher, baker, fish monger, cheese specialist, juicer, tortilla maker and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe list of potential vendors is huge. I want an eclectic collection that will drive that sensory overload of a public market,\u201d he said, referring to open markets he\u2019s visited in his travels such as Redding Terminal Market in Philadelphia and Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver, Canada.<\/p>\n

The vacant 22,000-square-foot space, which was built in 1921 as the Naval Training Center\u2019s commissary, will undergo infrastructure renovations totaling $3 million, although Spatafore is avoiding modern design elements.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what we\u2019re trying to make is already there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has all the bones for a cool market.\u201d 2816 Historic Decatur Rd<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n

A full schedule of food, wine and beer activities are on the calendar for the expanded fourth annual Baja California Culinary<\/a> Fest<\/strong>, to be held Oct. 29 through Nov. 2 at various restaurants and venues in Tijuana, Ensenada and Valle de Guadalupe. Events include everything from chef dinners and culinary competitions to wine tours and demo classes, all highlighting the bounties of the region that have helped put Baja gastronomy on the map. For detailed information, visit bcculinaryfest.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Counterpointweb\"<\/a>
Counterpoint to have a week of festivities. (Photo by Sara Norris)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The folks at Counterpoint<\/strong><\/a> in Golden Hill are gearing up for their five-year anniversary with a weeklong series of events featuring a Southern-style low country boil starting at 2 p.m., Oct. 26. The cost is $18 and includes house-made andouille sausage, shrimp, corn, potatoes and bread. Other festivities include a tap changeover on Oct. 28 to introduce \u201cbeers we\u2019ve been saving all year,\u201d plus dry-hopped barrel-aged gin cocktails presented in collaboration with Modern Times Brewery<\/strong>. 830 25th St., Suite 100. 619-564-6722<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Cucina<\/a>
Pizza will be featured at \u201cBrunch for a Cure.\u201d (Courtesy H2 Public Relations)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year\u2019s San Diego Race for the Cure<\/strong>, a 5K walk\/run that begins in Balboa Park to raise money in the fight against breast cancer, will be immediately followed by a special \u201cBrunch for the Cure<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d starting at 9 a.m., Nov. 2, at Cocina Urbana<\/strong> in Bankers Hill. The post-event event is being supported by Green Flash Brewing Company<\/strong>, which will be on hand pairing their suds with Cucina\u2019s buffet of California-inspired Italian fare. The brunch runs until 1 p.m. and costs $40, which includes two beer pours. A portion of the proceeds will go to Susan G. Komen San Diego. 505 Laurel St. 619-239-2222<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2014Frank Sabatini Jr<\/em> se puede alcanzar en <\/em>fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Frank Sabatini Jr. Hillcrest has seen a mini wave of kitchens go dark in the past few weeks, which included the sudden but supposedly temporary closure of Harvey Milk\u2019s American Diner at 535 University Ave. According to managing partner Frank Lechner, the restaurant\u2019s shareholders are currently deciding whether to re-launch under the same name […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":816,"featured_media":247908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Uptown Food Briefs \u2013 October 24","_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-247907","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\/247907","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\/816"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}