Gold Finch is a deli with a difference in La Jolla.
A modern delicatessen rooted in Jewish immigrant culture, Gold Finch opened recently for breakfast and lunch, alongside an afternoon nosh menu, on weekdays at 3040 Science Park Road.
“It is our modern take on the Jewish delicatessen located in the heart of a region where world-class academic institutions and life science firms have clustered and space is hard to come by,” said entrepreneur Tracy Borkum of her latest business venture. “It is a major opportunity for our Urban Kitchen Group to continue the momentum we’ve created as a hospitality group.”
The new quick-service delicatessen and full-service restaurant honors Borkum’s Jewish heritage by recontextualizing staples of Ashkenazi and Sephardic-style cooking. Her deli menu includes family recipes passed down from her mother, aunt, and grandmother.
Employing the same degree of rigor and slow food ethos associated with other UKG brands, Gold Finch’s culinary team is led by chef partner Tim Kolanko and chefs Jeff Armstrong, Frankie Becerra, and Adrian Mendoza.
Gold Finch is the hospitality anchor of Muse at Torrey Pines, a LEED and WELL certified Class A, 186,000-square-foot life science campus, which was recently redeveloped by The RMR Group. The eatery’s 1,400 square-foot interior and exterior space was designed by restaurateur-designer Borkum.
A deeply personal endeavor for Borkum, Gold Finch draws on her childhood memories of growing up in London’s Jewish epicenters, Golders Green and Finchley neighborhoods, for which the restaurant was named.
Gold Finch’s deli counter sells an assortment of cured meats, smoked fish, house-made pastries, sides, and more. Diners may look forward to the rollout of a leisurely weekend brunch later this year, as well as specialty offerings during holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, and Passover.
In addition to a selection of wine and beer, the beverage program will spotlight partners including Dark Horse coffee and Paru tea, while offering classic house-made favorites such as chocolate phosphate and egg creams.
Of Gold Finch’s menu, Kolanko noted: “We have a lot of the staples – corned beef and pastrami. Alongside those, we have knishes and latkes. We do that in an interesting, non-traditional way, offering giant latkes the size of a plate, on which we arrange roasted, sauteed vegetables. It’s a modern interpretation of deli food.”
“It is quite an extensive menu,” concurred Borkum. “It is a combination of Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and other European-Jewish styles. We have some vegan dishes as well as a lot of gluten-free food for the very dietary-focused. We will do catering for family-size events once our new restaurant is up and running. And we will include special catering for Jewish holidays.”
The birth of the Jewish deli in America occurred in the late 1800s in New York City after waves of German immigrants settled predominantly on the Lower East Side. Many delis were opened by the second generation of immigrant families, while the first generation opened up more traditional delicacy shops or took to other industries to make a living.
The deli possibly began as an offshoot of Jewish-German gourmet food stores, which were sometimes called Delikatessens. The first delis that were reminiscent of what we know today drew from the culinary traditions of non-Jewish Germans, who were already serving items like cold cuts, sausages, pickled herring, and dill pickles. Yiddish-speaking Eastern European immigrants pulled from some of these dishes while adding some of their own, including pastrami, a dish native to Romania.
Gold Finch is currently open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., for all-day breakfast and lunch.
GOLD FINCH DELI
Where: 3040 Science Park Road
Contact: goldfinchdeli.com, 858-866-9965, Instagram @Gold.Finch.Deli.
Gold Finch offers full-service catering and delivery
The Principals:
Tracy Borkum: is widely considered one of Southern California’s most respected restaurateurs. Having founded Urban Kitchen Group in 1995, her collective has helped blaze a trail for the emerging hospitality progression in San Diego and Orange counties with concepts including CUCINA urbana in San Diego, cucina SORELLA in Kensington, CUCINA enoteca in Del Mar, and full-service industry leader, Urban Kitchen Catering.
UKG’s collective has doubled in size the past year with major projects in San Diego including Urban Kitchen food pavilion and marketplace at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, ARTIFACT and CRAFT Café inside Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park, a recently acquired catering facility and café, and a forthcoming restaurant to be located at The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
Chef-Partner Tim Kolanko is a force in San Diego’s slow-food movement. He boasts more than 30 years of experience working alongside industry innovators including legendary James Beard Award recipient Stuart Brioza and James Beard nominee Charles Dale. He has made a name for himself in San Diego at notable concepts including A.R. Valentien at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, Coronado’s Stake Chophouse + Bar, and San Diego’s premier Liberty Public Market. Alongside his partnership at Gold Finch, Kolanko is the executive chef of Urban Kitchen Group.
