so what’s happenin’, mama? (3 mar)

thursday, march 3

6pm-11pm.  Celebrate Women’s History Month with Dia de las Mujers art show at The Front, Casa Familiar’s San Ysidro gallery.  Tonight’s exhibition includes musical guests, women in business and the arts, food and drink, and craft fair.

friday, march 4

1pm-5pm.  Rigpa San Diego Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center hosts open house and Losar (Tibetan New Year) celebration welcoming the Year of the Iron Rabbit.  Event celebrates food, music and community, including potluck with Tibetan dumplings and milk tea, “to celebrate the day with authentic flavor.”

saturday, march 5

3pm –5pm.  Laud local Good Food Award Winners with food sampling at Ish favorite Tender Greens.   Several San Diego food crafters, including Tender Greens, The Linkery, and Chuao Chocolatier, were recognized in the inaugural year of the Good Food Awards for their contribution to the sustainably-produced artisan food scene, with top prizes going to Tender Greens and Chuao.  Local participants and Slow Food Urban San Diego will be on hand with samples to discuss their offerings.  $30, tickets limited.

sunday, march 6

4pm –7pm.  Okay, I almost didn’t tell you about this Irish Whiskey and Beer Tasting at California Center for the Arts Escondido, but there’s really only so much whiskey one gal can drink.  Or so they tell me.  Enjoy Irish beer and whiskey sponsored by the Holiday Wine Cellar, Bushmills, and O’Hara’s,  three Irish (inspired) bands, and art featuring life in Ireland.  $15/person; $25/couple, proceeds benefiting art education. 

monday, march 7  

5pm –7pm.   Happy hour at Whiskenladle.  Enjoy tapas like Patatas Bravas or Soft Polenta with Braised Chicken & Slow Egg for $3 each with a bottle of wine (25% off) or a pitcher of sangria ($20).  Repeat.     

tuesday, march 8

Looka, my friends.  Tuesday is Mardi Gras.  There are many things to love about San Diego, but our Big Easy offerings in general and Mardi Gras celebrations in particular are not among them.   If you must venture out, perhaps go early for Proper Gastropub’s specialty cocktails and King Cake contest starting at 5pm, then catch the 7:30 showing of Dr. Strangelove at the Pacific Cinema downtown.   Should you get too close to the official Gaslamp event, just be sure to watch your footing while you sidestep puking co-eds and douche-bros wearing Mardi Gras beads (courtesy of Party City) piled carefully around popped collars.  Oh, but you might get a chance to scope out The Crystal Method on the main event stage, which would be great if your Mardi Gras plans also included travelling back in time to 1997 when they were cool.  Also ’cause, you know, nothing says “Mardi Gras” like “The Crystal Method.”  Or instead, why not settle in at home with friends and make yourself up a big batch of Crab Mornay or try your hand at Chicken Rochambeau?   You could enjoy a sazerac or two while you watch Nick Cage in Port of Call as he (and his hair) chew up all the scenery that survived Katrina.

wednesday, march 9

5pm-9pm.  Every Tuesday and Wednesday, the Farm House Cafe offers their entire wine list at half off.  This month, they’re also celebrating their 3 year anniversary by offering a 3 course menu, including a Trio of Duck starter, Spring Lamb entrée, and White Chocolate Mousse dessert  every day for $33, which sounds like just the ticket for spreading your Fat Tuesday celebrating out an additional day while observing some Lenten fiscal restraint.

Oh, and if you’re still feeling a bit rough from the previous evening’s celebrations, perhaps start your Wednesday out with some cajun hair of the dog?  A Ramos Gin Fizz is, after all, a breakfast drink.

 

so what’s happenin’, mama? (17 feb)

thursday, february 17

9pm-12am.   Mad Men Thursdays at The Pearl.   Throw on your best vintage 60’s party gear and head to The Pearl for their weekly Mad Men party.  Mad Men on the big screen over the pool, 60’s jams, and specialty “Mad Men” cocktail menu.  Email carcher@thepearlsd.com for the chance to win a $100 Mad Men party food and beverage credit.

friday, february 18

5pm – 8pm.  Fifty Seven Degrees Wine Bar is hosting San Diego’s largest (and, uh, first?) mobile food gathering ever.   Our friends over at San Diego Food Trucks speculate that Friday’s event will see feature debut of two new delicious, delicious trucks! 

saturday, february 19

5:30pm – 9:30pm.  The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum’s 15th Annual Banquet celebrates Yuan Xiao Jie (Lantern Festival) at Pearl Restaurant.  Musical performances, silent auction, and a ten-course Chinese feast.  Tickets start at $60 to celebrate fifteen years of preserving Chinese culture and history in San Diego. 

sunday, february 20

10am.  San Diego Mycological Society celebrates all things mushroom at  their annual Fungus Fair at Casa del Prado in Balboa Park.  Event includes mushroom cultivation and cooking demos.

1pm – 2:30pm.  Curds and Wine hosts free hands-on winemaking event at their Clairemont Mesa location.  Class goes through all of the basic steps of making wine from kits, from start to bottle.  RSVP at the link.

monday, february 21

4pm – 12am. Classic Cocktail Party at URBN to celebrate the release of their Classic Cocktail menu.  Check out URBN’s Facebook page for the details and a list of classic cocktails that will be $6 all night.   If you were looking for a place to wear your suspenders, bowler hat, and handle-bar moustache while eating coal-fired pizza and drinking a Sazerac, this is your night!  Extra points if you arrive on an old time-y bike.

6pm.  With more than 75 combined years in the meat business, Stan Glenn (master meatcutter and supervisor of meat operations at Iowa Meat Farm and Siesel’s Old-Fashioned Meats) and Chris Brill (Chef Instructor at San Diego Culinary Institute and Chef at Siesel’s and Iowa Meats) present meat information and tasting at Great News cooking school.  $59.

wednesday, february 23

3pm – 7pm.  Adams Avenue Certified Farmers’ Market.   Fruits, vegetables, eggs, fresh baked bread and pastries, fish, meat, cheese, flowers, spices, olives and sauces, local artists and craftspeople, live music.  Check out the San Diego Farm Bureau for a complete daily listing of farmer’s markets around town.

thursday, february 24

7pm.  Dinner with 6 Strangers.   Fifth in the series, this three-course, family-style meal at Alchemy offers paired dinner and drinks and conversation with 5 people you’ve never met, with the goal of  uncovering “a well of conviviality, with deep pots of food and laughter.”  Reservations at the link – this event is limited to 3 tables of 6, so sells out early.  $48.

 

so what’s happenin’, mama? (10 feb)

thursday, february 10

6pm – 10pm.  Valentines gift bazaar at El Take It Easy.  Free tosti locos and all night happy hour – eat and drink while supporting local businesses by buying crafty gifts for your sweetie!

friday, february 11

10am – 1pm.  Alchemy of the Hearth presents “Start a Food-Based Business.”  $65. 

saturday, february 12

11am – 4pm.  Six contestants compete in a live cooking challenge for a spot as an instructor at Great News! Cooking School.  $10.

12pm-5pm.  Pizza Port Carlsbad Brewbies Festival!  20 local handcrafted beers plus a special edition Pizza Port pink beer. 100% of the proceeds go directly to Keep a Breast to support their efforts to increase breast cancer awareness among young people.

1pm-5pm.  For the Love of Chocolate.  Downtown Escondido festival will include vendors, chocolate pairings by local breweries and wineries, champagne garden with live music, and beer & wine bar.  Tasting tickets are $20 for 10 tastes.

sunday, february 13

10am – 5pm.  Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with San Diego Chinese Historical Society & Museum in downtown San Diego’s Asian Pacific Historic District.   Why not make a day of it and also hit up the Third Ave Certified Farmers’ Market and Asian Bazaar between Island Avenue and J Street from 9am to 1pm?   Check out the San Diego Farm Bureau for a complete daily listing of farmers’ markets around town.

monday, february 14

Well, it’s Valentines’ Day.  Seriously, this is a made up holiday and all the restaurants will be slammed, which means your food will cost more, take longer, and not be as good as it usually is.  This is not romantic.  Do yourself and your sweetie a favor and make a romantic dinner at home tonight.  Not sure what to make?  All thumbs and no knife skills?  Check out tomorrow’s post for a no-fail, super easy, romantic dinner roadmap!

No sweetie?  No problem!  Make a beeline for Proper Gastropub’s “Anti-Valentine’s Day” Party starting at 4pm and enjoy their specially priced “Kiss-Off!” cocktail list.  Dress in black or bring a pic of your former flame and get a Screw U Driver off the special cocktail menu for just $1 (and isn’t that cheaper than therapy?). 

tuesday, february 15

730pm – 8pm.  Stop by O’Brien’s Pub and catch Three Sheets with Zane Lamprey, a half hour tv show featuring drinks and drinking customs around the world.  If you’re lucky, they’ll have some Dogfish Head left over from this week’s Dogfish Head night!

 wednesday, february 16

7pm – 11pm.  It’s DRINKABOUT time!  Hop on the free bus and do a loop of some of the best craft beer bars in San Diego (or beyond!) with stops at the Blind Lady Ale House, Small Bar, Live Wire, Toronado, Hamilton’s and more.  Complete schedule and map here.

some late-night ish

As discussed in the Tajima post, after midnight can be a ghost town when it comes to trying to find a place to eat in San Diego that doesn’t end in –berto’s  or –in-the-box.  Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of interesting spots around town with kitchens open past midnight.  

food until 1am

Alchemy, South Park.  1am.  Great food and drink menu emphasizing local/seasonal fare.  Late night happy hour nightly 10pm-close.

3^rd Corner, Ocean Beach, Encinitas.  1am, tues-sun.   Owned by Ed Moore, the original owner of the (much missed) Thee Bungalow Restaurant, this is a wine shop that also happens to have bistro food.

The Tractor Room, Hillcrest. 1am fri-sat, 12am sun.  Lots of game meat and “creative” cocktails, as well as the (self-proclaimed) largest bourbon, rye, scotch, and whiskey selection in town.

food until 2am

West Coast Tavern, North Park.  2am.  Set in a historic building (built in 1929) and attached to the lovely recently restored Birch North Park Theater.  Great daily deals, including happy hours, Wednesday bourbon night, and drinks & a movie in the Birch theater.

Red Fox Room, North Park.  2am.   Maybe not the best steaks in the world, but you must go here at least once for a late night steak dinner with garlic toast and fried shrimp – This place is small, red, dark; full of aging North Park octogenarians and young(ish) whippersnappers, with a tiny bar and an equally tiny piano lounge.  Truly, it’s a unique and relatively little-known piece of Old Hollywood in San Diego that can’t be duplicated once its doors finally close for good.

food until 3am

Tajima Japanese Noodle House, Convoy. 3am thurs-sat.  Cheap, hot, fast and open until 3 am.   What else is there to say?  (plenty, apparently).

food 24 hours (you animal!) 

Brian’s American Eatery, Hillcrest. Open 24 hours fri/sat.  Diner food that’s not that cheap and not always even that good, but hey, it’s 24 hours and the people-watching can’t be beat.

Studio Diner, Kearny Mesa.   24/7.  Traditional diner sitting on the lot of a working movie and TV studio in Kearny Mesa  (What?  Yep, there is a studio lot smack in the middle of Kearny Mesa.  Who knew?).

It’s a Taco Shop – Point Loma.  24/7.   Yes, there are a million 24/7 taco joints in San Diego.  Yes, this is a building that looks like a giant yellow and red cheese wheel.  And yes, not everything here is stellar.  But please do yourself a favor and order the carnitas tacos some late night – hot, greasy delicious mounds of pork, a bit of pico and a bit of guac, and lots of hot sauce.  Thank you, sir, may I have another?

Feel free to add your favorite after-hours place in the comments.