#404 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant go solo for a special Halloween episode. They talk restaurant news like Chefsgiving at Provisional Kitchen on November 13 benefiting the San Diego Food Bank; Valle’s four-year anniversary dinner; and celebrity chef Claudette Zepeda’s departure from Leu Leu to focus on filming projects, Chispa Hospitality, and her upcoming book. They also preview Orexi, a new Mediterranean-California spot opening in Little Italy, and Puesto’s move to become the first Mexican restaurant group in the US to go completely seed-oil free. Other topics include Juniper & Ivy’s Cayuse Vineyards dinner, the Ukrainian-owned Need to Eat Café in Poway, and Cambodian-Filipino pop-up Ming Oun’s Kitchen.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#403 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant head to the Marine Room, La Jolla’s oceanfront dining landmark waves slam against windows and the food matches the drama. Chef Derek Dupree introduces new fall dishes, including roasted king trumpet mushrooms with garlic miso emulsion, butternut squash with goat cheese espuma and toasted hazelnuts, and blackened swordfish with crawfish and forbidden rice.

We also sip Bebemos Tequila with founder Preston Caffrey, who joins us to talk about what makes the spirit work across savory courses. GM and wine director Nicholas George explains how the Marine Room’s legendary High Tide Dinners are timed with summer king tides and why the restaurant’s global wine program mirrors its coastal setting. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow The Marine Room click HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#402 Happy Half Hour co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Sami Ladeki, one of the most influential figures in San Diego dining to trace his long and unlikely career. He shares stories of leaving Lebanon in his twenties, washing dishes in Germany, running food and beverage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and eventually landing in San Diego to open Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza in 1989.

Ladeki reflects on the rise of California-style pizza, the lessons of building a restaurant empire, and why he’s bringing back Roppongi, the La Jolla restaurant that once defined Pacific Rim cuisine in the city. Executive corporate chef Alfie Szeprethy joins him to share stories from the 1990s Roppongi kitchen and what it’s been like to help reopen the place that shaped his career, as well as what guests can expect in the new iteration. To follow Sammy's click HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#401 After the economic sucker-punch of Covid robbed chef Eric Bost of his LA restaurant Auburn, he entered into a values-first partnership with restaurateur John Resnick. Despite months of permitting and supply snags and personal and operational hits, the two succeeded at last in turning an old Carlsbad boogie-board factory into all-day bakery and cafe Wildland and the smaller, tasting-menu-only Lilo, which nabbed a Michelin star just six weeks after opening.

On this week’s episode of Happy Half Hour, the duo joins hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant to break down Lilo’s vibe-forward approach (vinyl, reel-to-reel, open kitchen), the caviar-and-almond-ice-cream course that anchors the menu, and why hundreds of small service cues liberate staff to actually connect with guests.

In food news, we discuss Encinitas’ Necessity Coffee new location, the $25.5M waterfront plan from the Fish Market group, Communion’s mai tai world title, the closing of Woodstock’s in PB, Mothership’s October takeover, and Fink’s Wine Spectator nod. Listen to the full episode now. To follow Lilo click HERE. To follow Wildland click HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#400 On this week’s Happy Half Hour with hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant, we’re joined by siblings Sam Tall and Rebecca Tall-Brown, the second-generation owners of City Farmers Nursery in City Heights. They talk about their family’s 52-year journey turning discarded plants and reclaimed materials into a thriving nursery, the importance of biodiversity and community support, and how Nate’s Garden Grill—operated on site by a family friend and lessee—has grown into one of the city’s most beloved live-music-and-food hangouts. In “Get Some,” we shout out local favorites including Sang Dao for Laotian papaya salad and tom kha soup, Pho Hoa for classic beef pho and plum soda, The Daily Grind for family-friendly breakfasts in Rolando, and The Flying Pig in Oceanside for modern bistro cooking with Southern details. To follow City Farmers Nursery click HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#399 This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie sit with one of San Diego’s most influential chefs, Carl Schroeder, who rarely interviews. After years at the helm of Market Restaurant + Bar, Schroeder has sold his shares and is stepping back. We talk about the glory days of Market, the early 2000s when “farm to table” actually meant something, his start in storied San Francisco kitchens, and why he’s finally ready to trade the pressure of a fine-dining kitchen for time with family (and maybe a pool float). To follow Market click HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#398 On this week’s Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie camp out on Monarch Ocean Pub’s waterfront deck in Del Mar Plaza where owner-operator Drew Vick runs plates of halibut ceviche, pepperoni-and-broccolini flatbread, and that five-day–brined short-rib pastrami while Bebemos Tequila cofounder Preston Caffrey pours crisp paper planes and talks zero-additive agave and San Diego roots. We hit festival season high notes like, cough cough, Del Mar Wine & Food kickking off here next week, and then slide into a lively burger draft that swings from Drugstore Burger at The Lodge to Rocky’s, Majorette, Beef ’n Bun, Wise Ox, and a sleeper Wagyu at Gaslamplighter. To follow Monarch click HERE. To follow Bebemos click HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#397 This week on Happy Half Hour we sit down with Kory Stetina, whose first restaurant Kindred shifted San Diego’s idea of plant-based dining. He’s since teamed with CH Projects on Mothership, and now opened Dreamboat and Vulture in University Heights. Dreamboat is a compact, all-day diner; Vulture is the moody dining room behind it, serving martinis fussed over for a year, lion’s mane “Steak Diane,” mushroom pâté with sourdough, and a baked Alaska set aflame at the table. We talk about how punk and skate culture shaped his path, and why he wants these new spaces to feel indulgent and welcoming without the baggage of old vegan stereotypes. To follow Kindred click HERE. To follow Dreamboat click HERE. To follow Vulture click HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine