On this episode of Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Niccolò Angius, the Italian-born chef-owner behind Cesarina and Elvira, to explore why pasta holds such an enduring grip on our hearts, memories, and nervous systems. Raised in his parents' Roman trattoria in Trastevere, Angius traces his journey from Rome to San Diego, where he and his wife Cesarina Mezzoni launched a farmers' market pop-up in 2015 focused on handmade vegan pastas and all-natural sauces. That project evolved into Cesarina in 2019—now a perennial San Diego Mag Best Pasta winner and Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient—followed by Elvira, their Roman-focused restaurant in Ocean Beach. Angius also discusses their next chapter: Corallino, opening on Shelter Island this spring. Follow Elvira here.

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#413 On Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson talks with chef Elijah Arizmendi about leaving home at 15, training in Vegas and New York, and opening Lucien — an ingredient-obsessed, 30-seat destination built around San Diego produce, house ferments, and meticulous coursing.

On this week's Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson sits down with chef Elijah Arizmendi, the 30-year-old behind Lucien, La Jolla's new 12- to 13-course tasting-menu destination that's already getting "best in the city, maybe the country" texts from chefs like Travis Swikard (Callie, Fleurette). Arizmendi traces his no-shortcuts path: leaving home at 15, early kitchen reps in D.C. and Sacramento, then Vegas (Spago), Robuchon, and a New York run that included opening The Bay in Tribeca… before choosing San Diego for what he calls the ultimate advantage of produce and microclimates. The conversation gets deep into Lucien's obsessive pantry-building: a house-fermented calamansi kosho (with habanero), a red curry squash "miso" inoculated with koji, a lineup of finishing salts, and multiple shoyus, including a koji shoyu he'll drip onto everything from raw fish to a polarizing uni ice cream. Tune in for more details about San Diego's latest culinary force.

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#412 This week, Happy Half Hour host Troy Johnson talks with Food Network megastar Guy Fieri about how a one-off Flavortown joke grew into a national food brand, from pop-up kitchens to a fast-growing sauce line and a major new partnership rolling its offerings into 6,500 Circle K stores.

The two also revisit Fieri's early Food Network days, the demo tape that launched his career and the evolution of shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy's Grocery Games, where Johnson frequently appears as a judge. Fieri also reflects on the work of the Guy Fieri Foundation, which now mobilizes volunteers and chefs to produce thousands of meals for families and first responders. Follow Guy here.

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