Edible San Diego Feasts from the East Issue 56

San Diego

Perched on the Pacific Rim

Surrounded by the Rim of Fire, a ring of colliding tectonic plates, the world’s largest ocean connects San Diego County to people and nature in ways that make our region unique in the world.

Welcome to this special edition (second this year after our May issue celebrating Cali-Baja cuisine), which delves into our culinary neighborhood through the lens and taste buds of our multifaceted East Asian-American community. Edible San Diego ’s mission goes beyond exploring Asian food. We invited Nino Camilo, creator of the famed OnoYum Poke Festival, to guest-edit this issue in an effort to go deep. How we define ourselves as Americans is a big topic today, and in San Diego County, 17% of the population claims Asian descent.

In this issue, our main feature highlights first- and second-generation Americans, including local chefs and restaurateurs, in an engaging roundtable conversation about the influence of East Asian cuisine in the region. We were captivated by one idea that emerged: a desire to preserve authenticity and tradition. We also present three familystyle Thai noodle recipes, a feature on Chino Family Farm, and a violist from the San Diego Symphony pairing musical experiences with the culinary arts.

This November and December, Edible San Dieg o invites you into a conversation about living local that sets aside the usual flurry of holiday messages. This year we have continued to refine our editorial coverage to look more squarely at our food system, the very diverse people and the geography of this place, the many facets of health, and the interconnectedness of the natural systems we are part of. Next year you can expect a new focus on seasonality, with four thematic issues of the magazine and related events. What will remain constant is the brisk pace of original, quality stories online, our enticing social media platforms, recipe videos, and my Living Local podcast on the Specialty Produce Network, all of which are designed to enrich this discussion.

During the hectic holiday season and every day throughout the year, Edible San Diego is here to be your go-to guide for living local. It is our business as a media and events company to bring people together through locally produced food.

Together we can celebrate our progress and recommit to the good work that remains.

Katie Stokes Publisher, Edible San Diego

ADVERTISING

Left: The lumpia at Tita’s Kitchenette is as addictive as it is crispy. Above: A satisfying matcha green Thai tea at VaniTea Café.

Hot Dish Homestyle Filipino Essentials

BY ANNIKA CONSTANTINO

The Filipino food scene in San Diego is arguably the best in Southern California, so head to National City to find these classic dishes.

Lumpia

A favorite from Tita’s Kitchenette is their lumpia: deep-fried spring rolls filled with mixed vegetables and minced meat. Enjoy them as a snack to share with friends or simply pair with white rice for a meal. Either way, hot and crunchy lumpia is best when dipped in its accompanying signature condiment—a sweet-and-sour red sauce that balances the lumpia’s savory filling.

» facebook.com/pages/TitasKitchenette/118178764860248

Pancit Malabon

One of the best sellers at Manila Sunset is their pancit Malabon, a stir-fried, yellow-orange rice noodle dish topped with shrimp, vegetables, chicharron, and slices of boiled eggs.

Everything is coated in patis (fish sauce), and a generous squeeze of lemon over the top goes a long way. It’s quite difficult to find pancit Malabon—especially one that’s just as good as Manila Sunset’s—at other restaurants in San Diego.

» manilasunset.com

Chicken Adobo

Chicken adobo is a popular dish inside and outside of the Filipino community, and one of the restaurants that does this dish justice is Villa Manila. The chicken is moist and tender, and the adobo sauce is packed with flavor from vinegar, soy, garlic, black pepper, and bay leaves. Its tangy and slightly sour taste pairs well with white rice—or kick it up a notch and order it with garlic rice.

» villamanila.com

Liquid Assets The Best Teas

BY BROOK LARIOS

The fun is in the sipping of these local Taiwanese teas.

CHAKAA

Don’t just say cheese, drink it at CHAKAA. Each cup of tea is hand-brewed in what founder and CEO Marvin C. Wang calls a “teaspresso,” an appliance akin to an espresso machine for tea. For the cheese tea newbie, try the white peach or cold-brewed jasmine tea with cheezo, a luscious and creamy cheese foam topping.

» instagram.com/chakaausa

VaniTea Café

When it comes to wild drinks, guests flock to one of VaniTea Café’s three locations for an expansive menu of drinkable concoctions. But what really attracts the masses is the one-of-a-kind matcha green Thai tea, which doses devotees—many of them students from UCSD— with enough legal stimulant to get through the next three years of finals.

» vaniteacafe.com

Tea Station

Those seeking the tried-and-true opt for a simple boba beverage from Tea Station. Team members boil fresh boba daily, adding in honey to prevent the beads from sticking together. Where many of the newer shops carry popping boba, Tea Station specializes in the basics: regular and mini boba in only the chewy variety. The customer favorite is the boba mint tea.

» teastationusa.com

Bookshelf

BY MARIA HESSE

Rancho Bernardo native Nicole Ponseca and chef Miguel Trinidad are largely credited with elevating Filipino cuisine in the New York dining scene through their concepts Maharlika and Jeepney. Their award-winning cookbook, I Am a Filipino: And This Is How We Cook (Artisan, 2018), showcases Kamayan cuisine and traditional dishes. Ponseca says we should make sure to try the arroz caldo, kare kare, classic adobo, and pansit pusit

BHADRI KUBENDRAN

Market Finds Gift-Giving is Easier in Kearny Mesa

BY FELICIA CAMPBELL

Kearny Mesa has become my go-to destination for gift shopping. Daiso on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard is a great place to find whimsical stocking stuffers and affordable gift wrap, and I’ve made some pretty epic Korean barbeque-themed gift baskets using finds like bulgogi marinade, hot chile paste, and dukbokki-flavored potato chips from the newly opened H Mart on Balboa Avenue.

When it comes to holiday gift-giving, Mitsuwa Marketplace is a step ahead of the rest. Gift sets crowd the endcaps during the holiday season, festively displaying the likes of sake gift sets, Pocky gift sets featuring every flavor under

the sun, and soba noodle gift sets. Basically, if they sell it, it’s likely to be bundled in an enticing gift set.

While these are all amazing options, the most lifechanging offerings can be found in the front of the store, where you’ll be greeted by rows of prewrapped bundles to satisfy all your gift-giving needs. Yes, you read that right—the gifts are already perfectly wrapped.

On top of each neat stack, an open box lets you peek at the delights tucked inside the ready-to-give package, from nori rice crackers to mochi, sesame-studded cookies to moon cakes. Whether sweet or savory or a combination of both, each set provides a bite-sized culinary adventure.

This is a gift that always fits, is always surprising, and, did I mention, requires no wrapping. You’d be just as thrilled to receive one as you’d be to give one.

» mitsuwa.com/sd

Delight your friends and family with perfectly wrapped treats like a box full of Japanese mochi.

Let’s Grow Garlic

BY MARIA HESSE

The highly nutritious garlic plant has very few calories and countless proven health benefits—but even better, every part of the plant is edible and it’s incredibly easy to grow. Cathryn Henning, manager at Wild Willow Farm, indicates that late fall is the perfect time to plant it.

“There are two types of garlic available: softneck and hardneck,” Henning explains. “Hardneck varieties form a garlic scape towards the end of maturity, which are delicious chopped up in a stir-fry. However, most hardneck varieties do best in cold climates.”

Start by selecting a garlic variety suitable for our mild winters, like the Donostia Red grown at Wild Willow. Spicy and delicious, this hardneck Creole variety is from the Basque region of Spain, which has a microclimate similar to ours. This variety yields a vibrant fuchsia color at the base of the stalk and bigger cloves thanks to our warm winters. Henning suggests planting mid-tolate autumn: “Garlic is considered a holiday plant. Plant on Halloween to harvest on the 4th of July. This doesn’t always work out with

our mild winters, and we typically harvest mature heads as early as May. It’s best to plant garlic in October, although in San Diego, folks have success planting as late as the end of November.”

Garlic for growing can sell out fast and should only be “purchased directly from a seed company or from a local nursery,” adds Henning. “Our favorite online company is Adaptive Seeds and our favorite local nursery is City Farmers. Purchase garlic in whole heads and separate into individual cloves just before planting. Keep the paper intact to protect the clove from rotting in the ground. Garlic will sprout shortly thereafter.”

Henning advises keeping garlic beds well weeded. “It hates competition,” she says. “We like to mulch our garlic with alfalfa to not only keep the weeds down and moisture in, but to also provide an additional source of nitrogen. Garlic is considered a heavy feeder, so make sure it has plenty of nitrogen bioavailable when you plant.”

One thing in particular to love about garlic is that it can be harvested in various phases. The green garlic adorning San Diego farmers’ market booths in early spring is the young

shoots of the plant that can be eaten before the bulb begins to form; they’re similar to scallions in appearance but carry the rich flavor of garlic. To harvest green garlic, opt to either collect the green shoots by trimming off what you need so that the plant can continue to mature, or harvest the whole plant and enjoy in place of garlic cloves in any recipe.

Once you’ve harvested all the green garlic you want, let the plants continue to grow. Garlic scapes will appear and be ready to harvest on hardneck varieties just before the plant fully matures. Try these in my personal favorite, maneuljong-muchim, a spicy Korean garlic scape salad made with gochujang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame seeds.

“Once the outer three or four leaves die off, turn off the water and pull away the mulch, allowing the plants to put their energy into bulbing up and away from leaf production. Be patient and make sure those leaves have fully died back before harvesting and curing,” Henning says. Leave harvested bulbs unwashed with stalks and roots intact, and cure in the shade for three to four weeks. Properly cured garlic typically lasts six to eight months, keeping you well stocked for the year.

leading catering, events, and wedding specialists

WATCH CHEF TRAN MAKE PAD KEE MAO, TOM YUM NAM KHON, AND PAD THAI ON EDIBLE SAN DIEGO TV AT EDIBLESANDIEGO.COM.

Skip the Takeout

BY FELICIA CAMPBELL

RECIPES AND STYLING

BY FERN TRAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY OLIVIA HAYO ILLUSTRATIONS BY JAMIE RUNNELLS

Southeast Asian cooking can be intimidating, but chef Fern Tran shares her favorite recipes for three classic rice noodle dishes that can be made in minutes and are perfect for sharing with family and friends.

“I haven’t made Thai food in a long time,” says Fern Tran as she fries eggs and cubes of seasoned chicken breast in an oil-slicked wok.

Tran moved to the States in 1995 from Isan in northern Thailand, and she spends most of her time making elevated versions of pan-Asian classics in the kitchen at The Florence, where she is a chef and partner. She adds a few tongfuls of rubbery rice noodles. “Always the same—oil, egg, protein, noodle. See how they don’t stick?”

Rice noodles were introduced to Thailand by Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants, and they are now essential ingredients in many classic Thai dishes, like Pad Thai, Tom Yum soup (which can also be served over rice or on its own), and Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles), the very dish she was in the process of making.

“Drunken noodles got their name after a long night of drinking, because you are hungry, and either you or the street food vendors can take whatever is on hand and throw it together for a quick, hearty meal. But it has to be spicy,” Tran winks, adding a ladle of dark liquid.

“The combination of soy and dark soy is like a Thai mother sauce,” she says. “The dark soy is thick, salty, and a little sweet. It adds great umami, but you can’t use much of it because it is so rich. You have to cut it with regular soy. This is the basic sauce for Pad Kee Mao. Add some palm sugar and tamarind paste and you have the basic sauce for Pad Thai. There is no substitute for dark soy.”

She tosses in a few broccoli florets, slivers of carrot, and chopped cabbage. “You can use any kind of vegetable or protein, there is no rule.” She deftly plates the steaming noodles, topping them with a few sprigs of Thai basil, fried garlic, and some hot chiles. “That’s it. Done.”

The entire wok-frying process takes less than 10 minutes.

“I have to admit, when I crave Thai, I usually go to my friend’s restaurant Sabai Sabai in Oceanside. So when I started thinking about sharing classic rice noodle recipes, I called her for help,” she laughs. “It was good. It reminded me how easy our food is to make. Anyone can do it, and it doesn’t take a lot of time, but you do need to have the right ingredients.”

San Diego County is spoiled with Asian grocery stores, where it is easy to stock up on pantry staples like oyster sauce, nam prik pao (Thai roasted chile paste), palm sugar, and rice noodles. We even have locally grown galangal available at the Chino Family Farm Vegetable Shop and ethically sourced proteins from the likes of Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, Catalina Offshore Products, Da Le Ranch, and Three Sons Farm. And any of the dishes can be made vegetarian by swapping in more veggies or tofu and using mushroom-based fish and oyster sauces.

With a few Thai pantry staples on hand, and a little time spent chopping, homestyle Thai noodle dishes take less time to make than ordering takeout.

12 Thai Pantry Staples

Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce

Chef Tran says there is no substitute for thick, slightly sweet, super-rich dark soy sauce. Typically it’s too strong to be used on its own, so you’ll want to have some regular soy sauce on hand to cut it with.

Oyster Sauce

Yes, it actually is made from oyster juice, along with some sugar, salt, and soy sauce. It has a caramelized flavor that is a bit sweet and salty, and it adds depth, but not fishiness, to dishes.

Fish Sauce

Fish sauce is made by salting and fermenting fish, which leads to an umamirich, salty, earthy, slightly funky taste that is an essential flavor note in Southeast Asian cooking. Don’t skip it and don’t sniff it. Trust us.

Nam Prik Pao

This roasted chile paste is made by dry roasting chiles and garlic and simmering them with shrimp paste, tamarind, fish sauce, and a little palm sugar. The fiery blend can be used as a condiment or added by the spoonful to Thai dishes as they cook.

Galangal

Nope, it isn’t just a different name for ginger, though the roots are related. Compared to ginger, galangal has a slightly spicier bite and is less sweet when cooked. You can store fresh galangal in the freezer in an airtight bag for up to two months.

Tamarind Paste

Tran explains that in Thai cooking, tamarind paste is preferred over vinegar and citrus as the main source of sour flavor because it is more subtle. You can find tamarind pods in many Asian grocers, as well as blocks of the paste with the seeds still intact, but to make the watery puree needed for Thai cooking, the seeds need to be removed and the flesh soaked in hot water and pushed through a sieve. Alternatively, you can simply buy a jar of Thai-style tamarind paste, which is ready to go.

Palm Sugar

Do not use regular white sugar in Thai cooking. Just don’t do it. Palm sugar is made from the sap of the coconut palm tree and is minimally processed for a flavor that is less sweet and more complex. In a pinch, the closest substitute is light brown sugar.

Tom Yum Soup Base

Chef Tran sees this convenience product as worth its weight in gold. Packed with galangal, lemongrass, palm sugar, chiles, tamarind, and other Thai seasonings, the cost of the inputs is much higher than the cost per bottle. Plus it makes cooking Tom Yum soup an easy weeknight undertaking.

Lemongrass

This ingredient adds a beautiful citrus scent and subtle flavor to dishes. To release the most flavor, be sure to bruise or slightly

crush the stalk before cooking. You’ll want firm stalks with fat, rounded bottoms, and be aware that you will only be using the white (bottom) portion of the stalk for cooking. You can freeze sliced lemongrass, or the whole stalk, just be sure to trim off the root ends and leaves first.

Kaffir Lime Leaves

The essential oils in kaffir lime leaves add a pungent, citrus aroma to soups and curries. The thick leaves hold up when simmered whole and are typically removed before serving, though you can shred them into small strips and eat them.They freeze well in an airtight bag.

Thai Coconut Milk

Thai coconut milk is basically the equivalent of canned coconut cream. It has a much thicker texture and richer flavor than the watery coconut milks often found in the grocery store. Look for a Thai brand and opt for carton rather than can when available.

Rice Noodles

Traditionally, thin rice noodles are used for Pad Thai and added to Tom Yum soup, while wide rice noodles are used for Pad Kee Mao. These naturally gluten-free noodles cook very fast and need only be softened before adding to your wok or pot where they will finish cooking. Chef Tran warns that most people use too many noodles when making Thai dishes, so it’s better to use about a quarter of what you think you’ll need.

SERVES 6–8

SAUCE

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

½ tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon chile oil or crushed dried chile (optional)

NOODLES

2 pounds wide rice noodles

2 eggs

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into thin strips

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 jalapeño, seeded and cut into very thin strips (optional)

1 bunch scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces (keep the white/light green and dark green parts separate)

½ cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots (optional)

1 cup Thai basil leaves (or substitute regular basil)

Make the sauce: Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Warm the noodles: If you’re using fresh noodles, place them in a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with a slightly damp paper towel, and microwave for 2 minutes. They should feel very flexible once you pull them out. Separate the noodles into a bowl and set aside.

Recipe continues on page 14

Noodles)

READY TO SERVE

Garnish Thai dishes with extra dried chiles, slices of galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and stalks of lemongrass. They help infuse deeper levels of flavor and boost visual appearance but should not be eaten.

Pad Thai SERVES 4

continued...

Whisk together eggs and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the chicken with cornstarch until all the pieces are coated. Set aside.

Heat a large wok or skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add the oil and garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds until the garlic is barely golden brown. Don’t walk away because garlic burns quickly! Once the garlic is just turning golden brown, add chicken and use a wooden spoon to distribute chicken in an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Lower the heat slightly and move the chicken and garlic to one side of the pan. On the exposed side, pour in the egg and soy sauce mixture. Allow the eggs to cook for 2 to 3 minutes until set, then break up the eggs into pieces with a spoon, and stir everything back together. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño (if using), and the white and light green parts of the scallions. Cook until the veggies start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add noodles to the pan with the sauce, Thai basil, dark green parts of the scallions, and bamboo shoots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles have absorbed all the sauce, about 2 more minutes. Serve immediately.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup vegetable oil, divided

1 pound thin rice noodles

½ cup tamarind purée

½ cup palm sugar

4 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

4 eggs

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups bean sprouts

1 cup sliced scallions

½ pound fried tofu, cut into 2-inch pieces

GARNISH

4 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts

4 lime wedges

4 tablespoons crushed dried chile

In a large bowl, mix chicken, cornstarch, baking powder, and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; marinate for 10 minutes.

Place noodles in a large bowl and pour over plenty of hot water to cover. Soak for 15 minutes, then quickly rinse in cold water.

Prepare the sauce by mixing tamarind purée, palm sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce in a saucepan over medium heat and boil until it thickens, about 2 minutes.

Heat 5 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick pan over high heat. Add egg and scramble for 1 minute. Add chicken and cook about 2 minutes, or until chicken and egg is about 80% cooked. Add noodles and scramble until soft.

Add sauce, vinegar, and chicken stock and mix together well. Add bean sprouts, scallions, and tofu, stirring occassionally for 2 more minutes until everything is incorporated.

Garnish with crushed peanuts and serve immediately with lime wedges on the side, along with crushed dried chile if you like it spicy.

Tom Yum Nam Khon

SERVES 4

1 pound thin rice noodles

2 ½ cups chicken stock

3 tablespoons tom yum paste

2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, pounded and bruised

6 kaffir lime leaves, bruised

5 thin slices fresh galangal

6 ounces medium-sized shrimp, shelled and deveined

Pad Kee Mao

4 white mushrooms, quartered 3 tablespoons nam prik pao (Thai roasted chile paste)

1 tablespoon fish sauce, or to taste ¼ cup canned coconut milk 3 tablespoons lime juice Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Place noodles in a large bowl and pour over plenty of hot water to cover. Soak for 15 minutes, then quickly rinse in cold water.

While noodles are soaking, bring chicken stock to a boil in a large pot. Add tom yum paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal and boil for 1 minute. Add shrimp, mushrooms, and nam prik pao. Continue boiling until the shrimp are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in fish sauce and coconut milk. Turn off the heat and add noodles and lime juice. Stir to combine well. Garnish with cilantro, ladle broth over top, and enjoy.

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

We publish new seasonal recipes every week. Get inspired at ediblesandiego.com.

ASIAN INSPIRED

Brown Rice Congee

By Fernanda Larson

Whole Fried Local Sculpin with Snap Pea Salad and Tamarind Chili Sauce

By Paul Arias

Spicy Citrus-Glazed Yellowtail Collars

By Nick Brune

FAMILY GATHERINGS

Baharat-Spiced Da-Le Ranch Heritage Turkey

By Olivia Hayo and Haley Weisberger

Gluten-Free Vegan Oat & Coconut Cookies

By Sylvie Colange

Classic Pumpkin Pie

By Tina Luu

Tom Yum Nam Khon is a popular version of Tom Yum soup with the addition of shrimp and coconut milk.

TRUE HEIRLOOMS

In the moments between the ebb and flow of the market, Makoto Chino asks if anyone has a recipe to recommend. He’s planning an elaborate dinner party for nine. “What are you making?”

I ask before he rapidly fires back with a list of complex dishes that I can’t conceive of making on a weeknight. Given the collection of signatures from the notable chefs that have gathered on the farm’s kitchen wall, it’s not a surprise that his culinary interests are advanced beyond my limited practice of using olive oil, acid, salt, and pepper on everything.

are rife with alluring hues and herbaceous aromas. “The only thing that we have here that we don’t grow ourselves are the oranges,” explains Makoto. “They’re from an old family friend that used to have a citrus farm who now has 10 trees for us, and they only grow for us. He leaves [the oranges] on the tree for a year so they get super sweet.”

BY MARIA HESSE PHOTOGRAPHS BY OLIVIA HAYO

The Vegetable Shop at Chino Family Farm doesn’t open until 10am, but crowds begin to swell much earlier. The cash-only farm stand has plenty to choose from, and the dizzying number of varieties exhibit what’s truly in season in San Diego.

Still, of all the renowned chefs that visit the farm, Makoto says, “It’s just as exciting to have someone come and recognize things like hoja santa or winged beans that they haven’t seen since they left their hometown in Thailand.”

For the 29-year-old, food defines family. “Food for me has such an emotional impact,” Makoto says. “It reminds me of home and family. When people see these things, it reminds them of home.” So much so that his parents had to ship vegetables to him when he went to college at Washington University in St. Louis, followed by law school at UCLA. “There are people who say it’s not summertime unless they have Chino Farm corn. They come from Arizona and Texas to San Diego in the summer, and it’s not their summertime until they get our corn.”

The Vegetable Shop is the farm’s retail point of operation, and it’s a sensory experience with homespun charm where tables, boxes, and shelves

The 45-acre working farm, which lies within eyesight of the farm stand, is intensely rustic, with hoop houses, overgrown row crops, berry bushes, and small groves of fig and apple trees. When Chino Family Farm was started by Makoto’s grandparents Junzo and Hatsuyo over 70 years ago, there was no such thing as organic certified farming practices, only doing what was right for the quality that they wished to produce. This practice is what has been handed down to four of their nine children: Makoto’s father Tom manages the farm with his brothers Fred and Frank and sister Kazumi.

Makoto, whose name means “truthfulness” in Japanese, grew up on the farm. His earliest memory is of his mom yelling at him and one of the farm’s loyal Jack Russell terriers biting her in his defense when he was three or four. He started working there when he was eight, and aside from two younger cousins that work at the farm during the summer, he’s the only member of the third generation working at the farm full-time for the foreseeable future.

With Makoto’s unofficial role being house council and assistant manager, growing practices

are admittedly not his field of expertise. Still, after working primarily in the field for more than half his life, and the past few years in the Vegetable Shop, Makoto understands the challenges that lie ahead and the value of the farm’s prestige.

As is the case with many farms in the region, water is an increasing hardship. They grow, in part, with well water but pay residential water rates on supplemental sources. For this, there is no agricultural subsidy and the cost of water means they “just get destroyed,” Makoto says. “And it’s getting worse and worse because there’s salt intrusion from the ocean. Water prices are huge, and our water is sometimes four times more expensive than in other places.”

Additional concerns come with managing new state labor regulations. “Farm workers used to be overtime exempt in California, and that’s about to end. So they’ll get paid time and a half for overtime,” says Makoto. “A big farm can switch farm workers between farms to work around this, but something small like this, where everyone requires specialized knowledge and it’s a yearround operation, it’s really going to hurt small farms.”

Makoto refers to the farm’s employees with respect, noting that many of the seasonal migrant farmers from Oaxaca have worked the farm for 30 years, and some of their fathers were even there before them. The specialized knowledge doesn’t end in the field, however: Some of the familiar faces at the farm stand have been answering question and sharing recommendations on how to eat the unique heirlooms and varietals for decades.

Preserving this level of expertise is fundamental to the farm’s success as the number of fruits and vegetables cultivated every year is staggering. “I think we grow maybe 60 types of fruits and vegetables. That being said, of the types of vegetables, this year we have 150 varieties of tomatoes, five different varieties of strawberries, 30 varieties of squash, and 25 micro[green] varieties,” says Makoto.

Additionally, the farm keeps on top of culinary

trends with newly developed crops. “Every year, there’s at least three new things. This year, the hot thing is hot peppers that have been bred so they have no heat. You get all the flavor of them but they are really good for aguachiles or if you are trying to control the spiciness of your salsa. They’re cool. There’s the Habanada, it’s like the habanero without the heat, and the Trinidad Perfume that’s like the Trinidad Scorpion. We also have the peach-colored raspberries that are new this year, and we brought back the Alpine berries that we haven’t had in like 15 years,” explains Makoto. The proficiency from the devoted staff is not only key to cultivation, but also in informing consumers— from acclaimed restaurants to the curious passerby.

They’re introducing beehives to the fields, and will continue offering special events at the Vegetable Shop (in the past they’ve had cookbook signings with notable chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi, Jacques Pépin, and Sean Brock). They also sell curated specialty items, baked goods from Wayfarer Bread in Bird Rock, and the newer offering of Cafe Nōjō cold brewed or hot coffee brewed with exclusive beans from Manzanita Coffee Roasters. It’s all enough to keep people lined up six days a week. “We have loyal customers, and they want us to exist,” Makoto says.

Tom, who says he’s done enough media this year and doesn’t believe in advertising, websites, or social media, graces the Vegetable Shop in our presence long enough to confirm that we have sweet potatoes, pumpkins and hard squashes, lettuces, greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and cucumbers to look forward to this season.

I ask Makoto what he wants people to know about the farm. “It’s a philosophy that I’ve learned from my parents: If you’re doing something to get rich, you’re doing something for the wrong reason. If your primary incentive is to make money, you’re going to cut corners,” he shares.

Such ideology is an example of the quiet and humble passion that keeps the Chino Family Farm thriving. It’s a difference that “hopefully you can taste,” Makoto says. s

» chinofamilyfarm.com

Tasting Notes

BY PAUL HORMICK

PHOTOGRAPHS BY HARRISON LINSEY AND REBECCA MATAYOSHI

In the shade of a magnolia tree, just as the first course is served—a peach and brie vol-au-vent—the enchanting strains of a quartet makes its way to the tables and diners. The mid-20th-century bassoon piece is lively and fun, and the same can be said of the pastry: A finger food that is savory and tart at the same time. This is Dually Noted, synergizing music and dining into a new experience.

Rebecca Matayoshi established Dually Noted three years ago as a way to create a dining experience in which all the courses are prepared to perfectly complement the music of the evening. “I like food, and I love music,” she says. “This was a way that I could engage my passions.”

To create a Dually Noted event, Matayoshi, a violist with the Hawaii Symphony and an acting section violist with the San Diego Symphony, works with a classical musician who chooses a musical program. The music is then presented to a chef, who creates a meal to reflect the feeling and mood of the pieces chosen for the evening.

This evening, during the main course, the music is for bassoon and prerecorded tape, a piece quite modern and worthy of serious listening. The music zigs and zags, and so does the food. The chef, Yara Lamers, says, “Tonight’s theme is American Summer, so I chose something very American: chicken and gravy. But there were twists and turns with the music, so I threw in some twists and turns with the food. I thought, ‘How can I make you feel a surprise with the food?’ I wanted a familiar American feel, but a new America as well.”

Matayoshi emphasizes the creativity of each Dually Noted event. “A chef may train for years, going to culinary school, working as a sous chef, and wind up working in a restaurant where the menu is already set. Musicians train for years, go to conservatory, and as symphony players don’t choose what they play. This is a chance for musicians to choose the music that they play. And it’s similar for the chefs that we work with.”

Dually Noted occurs on a Monday every other month in an intimate house concert setting. Tickets are also available for those who want to listen to the music without having dinner. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable: Tonight there are plenty of cargo pants and Hawaiian shirts, and no high heels.

Matayoshi takes all of the photos used on the website for Dually Noted, as photography is another one of her passions. The Chicago native knew that she wanted to become a musician when she performed a concerto with her youth orchestra and realized the power that music has to move people. “After the performance, some people told me that they cried,” she says. She landed her first job with an orchestra performing in Osaka, Japan. “The experience helped to show me who I was,” she says. “Here, I’m seen as Asian. There, I was seen as an American.”

Matayoshi says that folks can expect more than great food and music if they attend a Dually Noted event: “They will be immersed in a unique social and sensory experience, meeting people they may have never crossed paths with and absorbing music and food at the highest level. Whether they are familiar with the music and food is less relevant, it’s the manner of presentation that makes it special and memorable.” s

» duallynoted.org

ASIAN-ISH

Bowls of rice porridge spark animated discussion about the comforting versions that span East Asian cultures. It’s called congee in China, dakjuk in Korea, and on this particular morning, chef-partner Prissana ‘Fern’ Tran presents a version that’s made its way to the menu at The Florence in Sabre Springs. Filled with chicken broth, ginger, a sous vide egg, chicken meatball, scallions, spicy chile oil, and cilantro, it’s an elevated version of what Tran grew up eating from street vendors in Thailand. The porridge transports everyone around the table back to early food memories. A diverse group of San Diego’s chefs and food influencers including Hawaiian Fresh Seafood ambassador Nino Camilo, Kazuhiro Funato and Takeru Furuya from UMI Restaurant, Tony Nguyen of Supernatural Sandwiches, and Tran have gathered to discuss Asian cuisine and culture in San Diego.

Orange chicken and California rolls are easily recognized as “Asian cuisine,” but they offer little resemblance to traditional fare. It’s easy to disregard such hybridized dishes, and these examples show the impacts Asian cuisine has had in shaping the new American palate. Without the spices, ideas, and techniques that immigrated to the United States with previous generations, dishes and flavors that we’ve come to crave would be far less accessible, interesting, and diverse.

Asians came to San Diego for different reasons, some families fleeing war and poverty

across the world’s largest ocean. According to Elsa Sevilla at the San Diego History Center, Asian immigration in San Diego started in the 1880s. Immigrants brought very little or nothing at all and faced many hardships. “They became accomplished in San Diego’s fishing, farming, and other industries with the economic boom of the 1880s. Local businesses and housing markets were rapidly growing, and the transcontinental railroad in National City needed workers to lay thousands of miles of track,” Sevilla explains.

Filipino students came to San Diego State University under an education program in the early 1900s. Some stayed and took jobs on local farms or worked in downtown restaurants as busboys and cooks, but they were restricted to live and work in specific areas on Market Street and in southeastern San Diego. Japan’s Meiji Restoration during the 1850s forced thousands to first migrate to Hawaii to work on pineapple plantations, followed by a migration to California after Hawaii became part of the US in 1898. In 1905, nearly 1,000 Koreans left their country for Mexico under a four-year program to work on haciendas. Some of their descendants made their way to Tijuana and San Diego, creating a distinctly Mexican-KoreanAmerican culture.

For second-generation Asian Americans, the dishes and comfort foods of childhood are often different than those of their parents who grew up in another country. Nguyen was born and raised in San Diego to parents who immigrated

BY MICHELLE STANSBURY PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES TRAN

to the US from Vietnam in the first wave of refugees after the war. His parents met stateside while staying in a temporary refugee settlement at Camp Pendleton, and were proud to raise Nguyen on American food. “My parents tried to give me the American experience by making me home-cooked meals like meatloaf, lasagna, and other American fare. They also took me to a lot of American restaurants and fast food joints. The food I cook and eat reflects both identities in some ways, but for the most part my cooking is based on my experiences trying other cuisines like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, and Thai. This is reflected through the ingredients on my menu and creations,” Nguyen says.

Nguyen has gained success by introducing Asian flavors to American staples at Supernatural Sandwiches. Take, for example, the Kaiju sandwich, which turns the American lobster roll on its head by stuffing it with Cantonese-style lobster and serving it with togarashi shrimp chips. Nguyen shares how he gets his ideas: “I like going to all the Asian markets. I like walking down all the aisles and looking at every single ingredient. It gets my creative juices flowing. It all inspires me. Asian food is about depth of flavor—a little bit of acid, sweet, sour, and bitterness. So many complexities open your palate. There are so many levels of flavor.”

Tran shares platters of chicken wings smothered in a zesty sauce infused with a combination of Korean- and Thai-inspired

TOP TO BOTTOM: PRISSANA “FERN” TRAN; NINO CAMILO; KAZUHIRO FUNATO AND TAKERU FURUYA; TONY NGUYEN

flavors, alongside bowls of kimchi fried rice. “I don’t believe Asian food in America needs to be restricted to being specialized. It’s a free country, do what inspires you,” she explains with a smile.

Camilo casts the concept of fusion in a new light, saying that authenticity is about understanding the history of a cuisine and learning about its evolution. Modern interpretations of traditional dishes can be incredible, but creativity comes from understanding their provenance. Camilo provides an example: “Within Filipino cuisine, the history of the culture and the influences in the Philippines [comes from] Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, and Muslim [cultures]. For standout dishes that come from actual restaurants, try the pig ear sisig from chef DJ Tangalin at Gaya Gaya. SNOICE also does a great job of serving halo-halo, a traditional dessert served in a shop with modern-style branding.”

Reflecting back on how much Asian cuisine has changed since he was a child, Camilo describes Convoy Street as trendy. "Growing up, we would go take grandma shopping, and it was always on Convoy or at Vien Dong. Now, everyone thinks those places are cool! And I don’t have to be ashamed to put kimchi on the table anymore, everyone wants kimchi now. Even my gas station in Cardiff carries Kikkoman soy sauce.”

Camilo shares that since Filipino food hasn’t reached a cult following in San Diego (yet), he sees the evolution most clearly represented in the poke bowl trend he’s helped to promote. “I feel that for some poke shop owners, their first experience of a poke bowl was not in Hawaii, it was in California—or maybe elsewhere. So now they are thinking that is poke.” The problem is not adapting poke to San Diego produce or tastes, it’s when a cultural food trend accelerates so quickly that purveyors who lack ties to the cuisine appropriate a dish without understanding the historical identity of the flavors, the components, and the cultural experience of consuming the dish.

For Funato, preserving and presenting authenticity renews focus. At UMI, the physical mastery of techniques is just as important as the mental understanding of a cuisine. In Japan, routine kitchen tasks like making rice or

cutting fish are elevated to an art form. Chefs often spend years mastering the craft of these essential components of Japanese cuisine before beginning to innovate.

Although San Diego has an incredible selection of local fresh fish, Funato only serves fish that is prepared ikejime. He has not been able to find fish processed at a quality to his liking locally, so Funato imports the fish from Japan, where ikejime is executed with such attention to detail as to not allow heat from hands to warm the fish. The live fish is placed on a sponge mat to keep the fish calm, pH levels are kept balanced, and, most notably, a steel spike is quickly and humanely inserted into the brain and spinal cord, producing improved fillets with longer shelf life and a brilliant umami flavor that sets it apart.

While some Japanese restaurants serve miso soup without much attention, UMI prepares it with great care. Funato shares, “When we make miso soup, first we make dashi soup to make umami and then put miso after. This is the traditional way to make miso soup. There is so much time spent on each menu item. For example, we have a menu item called sliced pork fillet that takes us almost 30 hours to make. This item looks simple, but there is so much time we put into it, and love too.”

In order to keep tradition alive at UMI, Funato brought in head chef Furuya, also from Tokyo, to lead an all-Japanese kitchen staff. Furuya’s family, still in Japan, manufacturers the ramen noodles that they use at UMI. “All of us in the kitchen grew up with Japanese food and culture, which is hard to learn. We want to keep real authentic Japanese foods alive in North County and hopefully educate about what real authentic Japanese foods are.”

Authenticity, then, isn’t so much about traditional interpretations of dishes, but more so about maintaining a respect for the cuisine that transcends trends. Chefs get inspiration from their families, upbringing, and memories of childhood dishes, and make them a part of the San Diego foodscape. Each dish shares the story of who they are, influences the regional culinary journey, inspires us to learn about tradition, seek out richer flavors, and enrich our culture. s

An Officer and a Director

BY BETH DEMMON PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES TRAN

According to Vince Hall, CEO of Feeding San Diego, our city doesn’t have a food shortage problem. That’s because 40% of the food in the county gets thrown away every day, which is “more than enough to solve the problem of hunger,” says Hall. Instead, “We have a food distribution problem,” Hall says.

Feeding San Diego is the county’s leading hunger relief agency that works to alleviate food insecurity in the region by rescuing food from over 500 locations. They then redistribute it—up to 85% of which is fresh, healthy produce—to key places where food insecurity is most prominent.

Over 400,000 people in San Diego County alone are classified as “food insecure,” which is defined as having a lack of available financial resources for food on a regular or sporadic basis. But there’s a difference between a feeling of hunger and the long-term implications of food insecurity, a point that Hall is quick to identify.

“No one is just hungry,” says Hall. “Hunger is always accompanied by other economic challenges.”

When the deadly Hepatitis A outbreak that claimed 20 lives in San Diego spread through San Diego’s homeless population in 2017, thousands of people already struggling with lack of housing, healthcare, and other social services found themselves in an especially vulnerable situation. That’s when Feeding San Diego teamed up with Lucky Duck Foundation to provide easier access to resources.

“It is a privilege to work with an organization that prides itself on maximizing resources, teamwork, and helping those in need,” says Drew Moser, executive director at Lucky Duck Foundation. Moser immediately saw the benefit of joining forces with a logistics operation that harbored a similar capacity for empathy. By leveraging Feeding San Diego’s already-established distribution network, Lucky Duck is now better able to give support to those

most affected by economic challenges.

Both Moser and Hall lament that the conversations around San Diego’s homeless population (which Hall calls a “humanitarian crisis”) tend to get caught up in the debate about affordable housing. Moser hopes that by partnering with more rescue programs like Feeding San Diego, they’ll be able to demonstrate moral and financial value to policymakers when it comes to addressing homelessness.

“There is a critical need for affordable housing and temporary shelter beds in our region. By increasing strategic partnerships through some of the rescue programs that Feeding San Diego offers, significant savings have been realized. Yet, we believe there is still much room to grow and savings to be realized, which is something we focus on daily,” says Moser.

Like Moser, Hall is glad to have found a like-minded group to help tackle

the most immediate needs San Diegans without housing face every day.

“What I admire about Dan [Shea, on the board of directors of Lucky Duck Foundation] and the rest of the crew at Lucky Duck is the ability to not see it as a choice between building housing and providing shelter, but as a moral imperative that we do both,” says Hall.

By joining up with Feeding San Diego, Moser says that they’ve been able to distribute over 1,500 community care kits so far, which are backpacks filled with “items such as hygiene kits, sweatshirts, sweatpants, socks, stocking caps,

LOCAL FISH FROM LOCAL FISHERMEN

Fresh Local Seafood on the docks in Point Loma

1403 Scott Street, San Diego 619-222-8787 www.mitchsseafood.com

shower shoes, water and snacks, and other necessities.”

Despite the progress they’ve made together, Hall admits it can seem like they are up against overwhelming odds. With the help of Lucky Duck Foundation, he hopes to remove some of the stigma behind these issues.

“The reality is that these people can be helped,” says Hall. “What I love about organizations like Lucky Duck Foundation is that there’s an underlying respect for the inherent humanity of every human being, and that everybody is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.” s

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

DONATE MONEY DONATE TIME DONATE FOOD AND CLOTHING ATTEND FUNDRAISING EVENTS WRITE TO POLITICAL LEADERS

BECOME ADVOCATES IN YOUR COMMUNITY FOLLOW LUCKY DUCK FOUNDATION AND FEEDING SAN DIEGO ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SIGN UP FOR THEIR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

Island Escape

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS

BY OLIVIA HAYO

The bridge connecting San Diego to Coronado is only two miles long, but once you’re on the pristine island it feels like you’ve traveled much further. Travel a few miles down Orange Avenue to find the historic Hotel Del Coronado. The 131-year-old icon that began as a modern marvel of its time now lives on as a reminder of the past, but that’s not to say it isn’t thinking about the future. With enticing amenities, thoughtful dining additions, and property expansions in the works, there will always be a reason to return to The Del when you want to get away.

Make a Stay of It

The bright sun, sand, and exterior of the hotel are starkly contrasted inside by the dimly lit chandelier and dark wood paneling of the lobby. Victorian details, like the gold-caged elevator, are irresistible, and it isn’t hard to imagine why royalty, celebrities, and locals alike have aspired to stay at the property for more than a century. While the rooms are updated, they still embrace the hotel’s original character— and with more than 700 rooms on the property, each one has its own unique charm.

Chill Out

If you’re looking to be pampered, head to the Spa and Salon at The Del. Its infinity pool peering into the Pacific may be reason enough to book an appointment, but there’s still more inside if you need convincing. Separate lounges for men and women each offer a hot tub, steamroom, showers, and lockers, making it the perfect home base for the day. Treat yourself to a nourishing wildflower facial with organic botanicals, like the deeply aromatic Blueberry Detox Stimulation Masque. Looking for something even more chill? Try a CBD-infused massage, pedicure, or facial to take the edge off. Once you’re truly relaxed, hang by the pool or wander to the beach.

Find Beachside Bliss

The Del’s beachside options make it an obvious choice for visitors and locals year-round. Lounge in style on a shaded daybed or rent sand chairs and umbrellas to spend your beach day closer to the shoreline. You’ll find the Beach Shack a few steps away serving cocktails, beer, wine, and freshly made tacos. Why not embrace the island life and order a Double Sesh, a sweet-and-sour cocktail blended with ice and served in a fresh pineapple—perfect for two. Stroll a few steps more and you’ll find On the Rocks, The Del’s recently opened food truck and beverage trailer on the boardwalk. Choose walk-up or sit-down service and settle into a game of giant Jenga with a gourmet beach salad and side of Moroccan loaded fries.

And Dinner with a View

Serẽa is the property’s newest dining destination. Its white walls are softened with peach and blue accents that flow from the indoor dining room to the patio. Soft booths, a fireplace, and muted lighting invite you to stay a while. Executive chef Jojo Ruiz, a 2019 James Beard Foundation Smart Catch Leader, created Serẽa's Mediterraneaninspired menu to highlight local ingredients. Sustainable seafood sourcing is a priority at Serẽa, with fresh catch from Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, Catalina Offshore Products, and Baja California’s Pacifico Aquaculture appearing on the menu. Plus, the restaurant recently earned its Surfrider Ocean Friendly Restaurant certification. Select a few starters to share like the refreshing local halibut ceviche with coconut, lime, and chile, and beef carpaccio with manchego cheese, watercress pesto, and 20year aged balsamic. Then step inside to choose a fish from the open seafood display before it’s wood-grilled and filleted tableside.

This staycation is so dreamy, you'll be in danger of forgetting that San Diego is across the bay.

LACE UP YOUR SKATES

Head to The Del’s beachfront when it’s transformed into an ice skating rink benefiting Make-A-Wish San Diego from November 22, 2019 through January 5, 2020.

MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO

The Del is in the midst of a property-wide revitalization known as The Master Plan that will enhance and preserve its existing features while expanding its offerings. Look for 150 additional rooms, underground parking, a refreshed landscaped entry, and a state-of-theart conference room to be completed late 2021.

NEIGHBORHOOD DINING GUIDE

Oceana Coastal Kitchen features chef-driven California cuisine and a modern, ocean-inspired design. Oceana offers bay-front dining at an iconic Pacific Beach hideaway. Executive chef Steven Riemer’s playful interpretations of classic dishes highlight the purity and flavors of California local produce and a commitment to sustainable ingredients. A cold bar with sushi options, small bites, and main dishes includes the freshest seafood available from the coast of Baja and the Pacific.

SOULSHINE VEGAN CAFE

3864 Mission Blvd. San Diego • 858-886-7252 soulshinemb.com

The Neighborhood Dining Guide celebrates locally owned restaurants passionate about local sourcing and the Ocean Friendly Restaurant (OFR) program created by Surfrider Foundation San Diego County, which incentivizes and recognizes eateries across the country that uphold specific environmentally friendly practices. Enjoy a delicious meal and make sure to tell them that Edible San Diego sent you!

NORTH COUNTY

A.R. VALENTIEN

11480 North Torrey Pines Rd. La Jolla • 858-453-4420 lodgetorreypines.com/ar-valentien

The Torrey Pines Lodge’s signature restaurant, A.R. Valentien, highlights regional San Diego cuisine served in an elegant, timbered indoor-outdoor dining room overlooking the 18th hole of Torrey Pines Golf Course. Executive chef Jeff Jackson sources only the best local provisions, and the menu changes frequently based on seasonal fare available. The restaurant takes its name from a talented early20th-century California artist whose works are exhibited throughout the restaurant.

ESCOGELATO

122 South Kalmia St. Escondido • 760-745-6500 escogelato.com

Located in the heart of Escondido, EscoGelato is made fresh daily using the highest quality ingredients and fresh fruit sourced from local farmers. The result is a luscious, super-creamy gelato that’s full of flavor. You will taste the difference. In addition to the main event, enjoy a nice selection of paninis, soups, salads, coffee, and tea.

MISSION BEACH

OCEANA COASTAL

KITCHEN

3999 Mission Blvd. San Diego • 858-539-8635 catamaranresort.com/dining-enter tainment/oceana-san-diego-restaurant

NORTH PARK / KENSINGTON

TIGER!TIGER! TAVERN 3025 El Cajon Blvd. San Diego • 619-487-0401 tigertigertavern.blogspot.com

The atmosphere at Tiger!Tiger! is casual and cool with an urban vibe. From its signature wood-fired oven in the dining room comes roasted oysters and well-made sandwiches. The seating is communal and the beer list is lengthy. A chalkboard features the wide variety of brews, complete with craft descriptions and alcohol content. The 60-ounce pitcher for $16 is a major deal. OFR

At Soulshine Vegan Cafè, we value the innate connection between our community and our earth. By choosing a plant based and organic menu, we support the regeneration of marine life and restoration of our ecosystem. Stop by our location in the heart of Mission Beach and enjoy menu options highlighting locally sourced ingredients and healthy, feel-good fare. OFR

POINT LOMA SOLARE

2820 Roosevelt Rd. San Diego • 619-270-9670 solarelounge.com

Solare is an authentic Italian restaurant with a special focus on southern Italy and Sicily featuring a menu made with fresh ingredients selected daily. Blending modern and traditional tastes, the results are light and healthy dishes brimming with natural flavors. Complement your meal with one of 2,000 bottles of wine from the cellar or 30 wines by the glass. Solare is commit ted to serving the cuisine of today, created with all the love and attention to detail from generations past.

MITCH’S SEAFOOD

1403 Scott St. San Diego • 619-222-8787 mitchsseafood.com

Established in 2008 by three families with a long history of fishing in the Point Loma area of San Diego, Mitch’s Seafood specializes in fresh seafood from the waters off San Diego. Located on San Diego’s working waterfront with a view of the fishing fleet, the restaurant focuses on simply prepared, California-style seafood and offers a selection of craft beer and wine sourced from local San Diego and California purveyors.

CENTRAL

WILD THYME CATERING

7163 Construction Ct. Suite B San Diego • 858-527-0226 thewildthymecompany.com

With an innovative and fresh ap proach to catering, The Wild Thyme Company raises the bar for off-premise catering in San Diego. They have an extensive and diverse epicurean background within their culinary management team and appreciate any op portunity to research and prepare various types of cuisine across the board. The Wild Thyme Company was founded on Mediterranean and Coastal California fare, giving their menus a fresh, farm-to-table feel.

BLIND LADY ALE HOUSE

3416 Adams Ave. San Diego • 619-255-2491 blindlady.blogspot.com Nothing goes together better than a pint and a slice. Blind Lady excels at both. The pizza offerings range from the classic margherita to creative options like the house chorizo with poblano chiles, fontina, epazote, and cotija. While the pizza is the headliner, expect a variety of brewpub snacks like Belgian frites and spicy beer nuts. OFR

POINTS EAST

GARDEN KITCHEN 4204 Rolando Blvd. San Diego • 619-431-5755 gardenkitchensd.com

Located in the San Diego neighborhood of Rolando, this healthy farm-to-table restaurant satisfies all tastes, from vegan to vegetarian to meat lovers. All meals are served outside on a lovely covered patio with a casual, dog-friendly atmosphere. The menu changes regularly because each day it’s crafted from scratch using local, farm-fresh ingredients. Their cooking style reflects a love of all flavors, colors, cuisines, and cultures.

TECATE, MEXICO

LA COCINA QUE CANTA

Cooking School at Rancho La Puerta rancholapuerta.com/the-ranch/la-cocina-que-canta Set in the heart of Rancho La Puerta’s six-acre farm, La Cocina Que Canta (The Kitchen That Sings) celebrates the magical results of cooking with just-picked organic ingredients. The colors, aromas, and tastes that emanate from La Cocina are nothing short of amazing. Ranch guests can join three cooking classes a week hosted by internationally renowned guest chefs and cookbook authors. Check Rancho La Puerta’s events calendar for details.

PHOTO COURTESY SOULSHINE VEGAN CAFE

MADE IN SAN DIEGO

This guide features diverse San Diego County companies that produce or sell specialty foods, wellness products, and lifestyle services with artisanal quality, integrity, creativity, and innovation. Look for discount codes offered exclusively for Edible San Diego readers and support these passionate local business owners and makers.

BOOTSTRAP KOMBUCHA

4085 Pacific Hwy. #105B San Diego • 858-683-3490 bootstrapkombucha.com

Bootstrap Kombucha was founded in the Point Loma area in 2015 to provide the city of San Diego with an authentic craft kom bucha brewed using traditional methods. No syrups, no artificial flavors, no added sugars, no shortcuts….Bootstrap Kombucha uses only high quality real organic ingredients to craft a truly superior product that is perfectly balanced, crisp, clean, and refreshing.

CHARLIE AND ECHO

8680 Miralani Dr. #113 San Diego • 877-592-9095 charlieandecho.com

We’re an urban winery in San Diego producing creative, craft wine –mostly sparkling—from local vineyards. We use natural fermentation and minimal intervention. We’re small, independent, innovative, and care about everything we make.

CHEF JENN COOKS jenn@chefjenncooks.com 858-212-9054 chefjenncooks.com

Chef Jenn, owner and executive chef of Chef Jenn Cooks is an engaging speaker and a talented personal chef. She crafts dinner parties, retreats and cooking classes using ingredients from local farms and businesses. Chef Jenn specializes in small- and medium-sized parties, creating delicious menus for any dietary needs.

CLAY AND CRAFT

810 N. Coast Hwy. 101 Encinitas clayandcraft.com

CLAY + CRAFT is on a mission to celebrate the handmade, encourage creativity, and champion modern artisan culture. Visit the part studio / part store to shop the collection of modern ceramics, handcrafted by owner Nicole Novena. Or, enjoy a dose of creative self care. Take a turn at the wheel and play with clay.

COCONUT CULTURE getcoconutculture.com

Coconut Culture yogurt is a plant-based yogurt that is good for your gut and good for your soul. That’s because we use no dairy, no gums, no added sugars, no preservatives, nothing artificial! Instead you’ll get tummy-friendly probiotics, healthy fats from coconuts, and pure creamy deliciousness.

CORDIAL ORGANICS

hello@cordialorganics.com cordialorganics.com

We are a San Diego company that makes small-batch, handcrafted beauty and wellness products infused with the power of CBD. Edible readers will especially enjoy our awardwinning bitters. Receive 15% off with the coupon code EDIBLE15 at checkout and feel the difference CBD can make in your life.

DEXTER’S DELI

2508 El Camino Real #B-2 Carlsbad • 760-720-7507 dextersdeli.com

Neighborhood Natural pet store. Helping pet parents think outside the bag with the best in local, natural, high-quality foods, treats, toys and supplements for both dogs + cats. For more than 20 years, we have helped make little miracles happen by helping pets thrive.

DRIANA FOODS

drianafoods.com

Inspired by the flavors of Spain, Driana Foods created a cooking paste called Mojos, or “sofrito,” that can be used to add depth and flavor to your cooking. It's vegan, gluten-free, and handcrafted with vegetables from local farmers. Use in soups and stews, or toss on roasted veggies, pastas, and more. Let our cooking pastes be your paintbrushes to create your own unique dishes and ease your daily cooking. To learn more and get delicious recipes, visit our website and follow us on Instagram @ drianafoods and on Facebook @drianafoods.

GYPSY CRUMBS

951-970-0448 gypsycrumbs.com @gypsycrumbs

A handcrafted line of raw, plant-based vegan desserts that are free of gluten, dairy, soy, and refined sugars. We’re committed to using ingredients that are organic, nutrient dense, and locally sourced that nourish and fuel our bodies. Focusing on delicious and wholesome goodness, we’re on a mission to change the way people think about (and crave) healthy desserts.

KASSI GRUNDER JEWELRY kassigrunder.com

High vibration jewelry to align you with your highest purpose. Handmade with intention for courageous seekers, visionaries, and bringers of light. What’s to love: There’s something for every jewelry lover, ranging from minimalist and super dainty to bold and dramatic. Free domestic shipping with code EDIBLE.

KEYS CREEK LAVENDER FARM

kclfarm.com

Keys Creek Lavender Farm is San Diego's only USDA certified organic lavender farm. Nestled in the foothills of a beautiful serene valley, we are 40 minutes from downtown San Diego. Enjoy a countryside getaway in our Airbnb or host your next event here. Our lavender products are handcrafted with organic essential oil and made here at the farm.

LĒNUS HANDCRAFTED 619-200-4266 shoplenus.com

LĒNUS Handcrafted is a local skincare company where original formulas are blended by hand in fresh batches. It was established in 2014 in San Diego, by a former model, designer, and mom with a lifelong passion for natural living. This exclusive botanical skincare is available online directly from the maker.

NORTH COUNTY OLIVE OILS

155 Quail Gardens Dr. Encinitas • 760-518-5161 northcountyoliveoil.com

Offering 100% California-grown extra-virgin olive oils, fresh balsamic vinegar, and local artisan goods. Visit the storefront for a complimentary tasting, create a holiday gift set, or an olive oil class inside Sunshine Gardens, Encinitas. Find us at the Leucadia and Rancho Santa Fe farmers' markets.

THE POPULIST 760-707-7580

The Populist handcrafts delicious vegan popsicles from the best organic produce in San Diego. Grab one at the Leucadia farmers' market or call us to order for your next event! Follow us on Instagram @populistpops.

THE PRIMITIVE WAFFLE 760-587-7967 theprimitivewaffle.com

The Primitive Waffle, Inc. specializes in grain-free and vegan wholefood waffles that are so versatile, you can eat them at every meal. You will enjoy our amazingly delicious waffles as if you have made them right in your own home. Our waffles are YOUR waffles. Enjoy!

QUANTUM MICROGREENS

farmer@quantummicrogreens.com 619-488-2167 quantummicrogreens.com

We grow our Microgreens outside with help from the San Diego sun, in a soil mix…naturally. The soil mix is coconut coir with seaweed extract and perlite or vermiculite. We specialize in living trays, this way you have a supreme product with ideal nutrition, optimum flavor, and longer lasting freshness.

SANA’S KITCHEN 619-880-7262 • sanaskitchen.com

At Sana’s Kitchen our primary goal is to have 100% plant-based, organic, kosher, nutritious products with minimal or no processing, no preservatives, chemicals, or additives of any kind. Additionally, in our fast-paced society we need foods that quickly and simply provide the nutrients we deserve.

SUGA Suga.yoga

Encinitas company Suga makes the world’s first recycled yoga mat. But get this—it’s made entirely out of recycled wetsuits. Suga reengineered the yoga mat to grip better and perform better, while solving a pressing environmental problem—how to recycle non-biodegradable neoprene surfing wetsuits.

THE LOOSE LEAF looseleafblends.com @TheLooseLeafTea

Herbal Blends | Community Driven ~ Always using the finest organic, fair-trade certified ingredients, we know exactly what goes into our blends—and you know exactly what goes into your body. Sourcing the best ingredients, empowering our customer through knowledge, and cultivating a community is the blend that makes us The Loose Leaf.

TREEHOUSE KITCHEN treehousekitchen.com

Come enjoy the Treehouse Kitchen Creative Cooking experience! Join us in our unique and awe-inspiring modernindustrial kitchen and workspace for everything from World Cuisine Cooking Workshops to life-balancing yoga classes. Check out our schedule on our website and sign up for a class today. Use promo code ESD for 20% off!

LOCAL MARKETS

Monday

Escondido—Welk Resort √† 8860 Lawrence Welk Dr. 3–7pm, year-round 760-651-3630

Tuesday

Coronado √ 1st St. & B Ave., Ferry Landing 2:30–6pm 760-741-3763

Escondido √* 262 East Grand Ave. 2:30–7pm (2:30–6pm Oct to May) 760-480-4101

Mira Mesa √* 10510 Reagan Rd. 2:30–7pm (3–6pm fall-winter) 858-272-7054

Otay Ranch—Chula Vista √ 2015 Birch Rd. and Eastlake Blvd. 4–8pm 619-279-0032

Pacific Beach Tuesday √† Bayard & Garnet 2–7pm 619-233-3901

People’s Produce Night Market √ 5010 Market St. 5–8pm 619-813-9148

San Marcos NEW! √ 1035 La Bonita Dr. 3–7pm 858-272-7054

UCSD Town Square √ UCSD Campus, Town Square 10am–2pm, Sept to June 858-534-4248

Vail Headquarters √* 32115 Temecula Pkwy. 9am–1pm 760-728-7343

Wednesday

Little Italy Wednesday √*† 501 W. Date St. 9am–1pm 619-233-3901

Ocean Beach √ 4900 block of Newport Ave. 4–8pm 619-279-0032

Santee *†

Carlton Hills Blvd. & Mast Blvd. 3–7pm (2:30–6:30pm winter) 619-449-8427

State Street in Carlsbad Village √ State St. & Carlsbad Village Dr. 3–7pm (3–6pm fall-winter) 858-272-7054

Temecula—Promenade √* 40820 Winchester Rd. by Macy’s 9am–1pm 760-728-7343

Thursday

Lemon Grove √* 2885 Lemon Grove Ave. 3–7pm 619-813-9148

Linda Vista √*† 6939 Linda Vista Rd. 3–7pm (2–6pm winter) 760-504-4363

Bernardo Winery √ 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte 9am–1pm 760-500-1709

Saturday

City Heights √*†! Wightman St. btwn Fairmount & 43rd St. 9am–1pm 760-504-4363

Del Mar √ 1050 Camino Del Mar 1–4pm 858-465-0013

Little Italy Mercato √† 600 W. Date St. 8am–2pm 619-233-3901

Pacific Beach √ 4150 Mission Blvd. 8am–noon 760-741-3763

Leucadia √* 185 Union St. & Vulcan St. 10am–2pm 858-272-7054

Murrieta √* Village Walk Plaza I-15, exit west on Calif. Oaks & Kalmia 9am–1pm 760-728-7343

North San Diego / Sikes Adobe à

12655 Sunset Dr., Escondido 10:30am–3:30pm 858-735-5311

Rancho Santa Fe Del Rayo Village √ 16077 San Dieguito Rd. 9:30am–2pm 619-743-4263

Santa Ysabel √ 21887 Washington St. Noon–4pm 760-782-9202

Solana Beach √ 410 South Cedros Ave. Noon–4pm 858-755-0444

North Park Thursday √*† 2900 North Park Way 3–7:30pm 619-550-7180

Oceanside Morning √* Pier View Way & Coast Hwy. 101 9am–1pm 760-791-3241

Rancho Bernardo 16535 Via Esprillo 11am–1:30pm 619-279-0032

Friday

Borrego Springs √ 700 Palm Canyon Dr. 7am–noon, Oct to Apr 760-767-5555

Horton Plaza Lunch Market 225 Broadway Circle 11am–2pm 619-795-3363

Imperial Beach √*† 10 Evergreen Ave. 2–7pm (2–6pm winter) info@imperialbeachfarmersmarket. org

La Mesa Village √*

La Mesa Blvd. btwn Palm & 4th St. 3–7pm, year-round 619-795-3363

Poway √* 14134 Midland Rd. 8am–1pm 619-249-9395

Rancho Penasquitos 9400 Fairgrove Ln. 9am–1pm 858-484-8788

Temecula—Old Town √* Sixth & Front St. Old Town 8am–12:30pm 760-728-7343

Tuna Harbor Dockside Market 879 West Harbor Dr. Port of San Diego 8am–1:00pm

Vista √*† 325 Melrose Dr. 8am–12pm 760-945-7425

Sunday

Hillcrest √* 3960 Normal & Lincoln Sts. 9am–2pm 619-237-1632

La Jolla Open Aire √ Girard Ave. & Genter 9am–1:00pm 858-454-1699

* Market vendors accept WIC (Women, Infants, Children) Farmers’ Market checks.

† Market vendors accept EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer).

! Market vendors accept WIC Fruit and Vegetable checks.

√ Indicates markets certified by the San Diego County Agriculture Commissioner, ensuring that the produce is grown by the seller or another certified farmer in California, and meets all state quality standards. Temecula markets and the Murrieta market are certified by the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner.

Visit ediblesandiego.com and click on “Resources” for more complete information and links to market websites.

Check This Out

BY NOREEN KOMPANIK

EXPLORING SAN DIEGO’S CHINESE HISTORICAL MUSEUM

From railroad building and gold mining to dominating the laundry industry, the Chinese community played a tremendous role in San Diego’s storied past.

The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, located in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, captures the essence of San Diego’s fascinating Chinese history. Its mission to collect, preserve, and display documents, artifacts, and photographs relevant to the Chinese and Chinese-American experience is well represented by its impressive exhibits. Displays include historical letters and photographs, archeological treasures of Old Chinatown, and scale models depicting the area’s heyday. Traditional Chinese carts and magnificent furnishings complement the cultural content.

Relax in an impressive outdoor garden with waterfalls, and a meandering koi pond pays homage to the serenity and harmony of the Chinese garden.

The colorful “DRAGON”exhibition currently on display until the Chinese New Year explores the symbolism behind the Chinese dragon. A myriad of historical artifacts celebrate the nobility, power, strength, and protection of this revered mythical creature.

In Season

BY CHRISTINE DIONESE

Originally hailing from Asia, Fuyu persimmons are in season and ripen in San Diego from September to December. Sink your teeth into the sunburst-colored skin to reach a complex flavor reminiscent of pear, stone fruit, cinnamon, and toasted coconut sugar. You’ll find fans of the fruit savoring Fuyus straight out of hand; unlike other persimmon varieties, this non-astringent fruit is best to enjoy when it’s still firm. Get creative by slicing it into a mixed green salad with goat cheese and pine nuts or sear it on the grill before dicing into a festive salsa. If you’re so inclined, Fuyus mix up well in cocktails and mocktails too. Have a vegan in your life who loves sweets? The overripe Fuyu’s gelatinous center is perfect blended with chia seeds for a vegan pudding.

Plus, the Fuyu is as healthy as it is tasty: Plant phenols, flavonoids, antioxidants, and a significant fiber content make the persimmon wonderful heart-healthy and cancer-preventive food therapy.

Events

NOVEMBER

San Diego Beer Week returns November 1–10 with hundreds of happenings honoring San Diego craft beer. Highlights include the Guild Fest on November 2 and the Beer Garden at The Lodge at Torrey Pines on November 10.

» sdbw.sdbeer.com

Enjoy traditional, gourmet, and vegetarian tamales at the Escondido Tamale Festival on November 2 in Grape Day Park.

» escondidotamalefestival.org

The 20th annual San Diego Asian Film Festival takes place November 7-16. Enjoy 170 films from 29 countries in 40 languages across the county.

» sdaff.org/2019

The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival returns November 10–17 with dozens

of exciting events, including a culinary expedition to Baja hosted by chef Javier Plascencia on November 13 and the Grand Tasting on the Embarcadero on November 16.

» sandiegowineclassic.com Slurp steaming bowls of ramen to your heart’s content at the San Diego Ramen Festival on November 14 at the Port Pavilion on the Broadway Pier.

» sdramenfest.com

Celebrate cycling and craft beer with a 15- or 30-mile bike ride complete with refreshments at Bikes and Beers on November 16.

» sdbikecoalition.org

Local craft distilleries will pour samples and shake up cocktails at the happening Distillers Guild Fest, November 16 at Liberty

Station. The artisanal tasting event also features appetizers from San Diego restaurants and a live jazz ensemble.

» sddistillersguildfest.org

DECEMBER

December Nights at Balboa Park brings festive holiday cheer, with music and dance performances, international eats, and free admission to select museums on December 6 and 7.

» sandiego.gov/decembernights

Get into the holiday spirit with cocktail samples and bites from 20 restaurants at Toast of the Gaslamp on December 14.

» toastofgaslamp.com

Find more events online at ediblesandiego.com/event-list.

NOREEN KOMPANIK, CODY SMALL

Bibingka Ube

BY NINO CAMILO

The union of sweet rice and coconut milk in almost any form is my favorite. This Filipino dessert is one my family always makes for garage parties and holidays. My mom, known by everyone as Aunty Gles, is the best home chef I know, and this is her version with a hint of ube (purple sweet potato) added for color and flavor.

Bibingka Ube SERVES 8–10

ube halaya (ube jam—can be found at Filipino markets such as Seafood City) 3

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and line with banana leaf. Trim the edges of the leaf so that it hangs over the pan by only an inch or 2, then coat the leaf with more spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the rice flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat together the coconut milk, whole milk, butter, and eggs until well combined.

Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, making sure they are well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Drop ube halaya by the teaspoonful onto the batter and then swirl with a butter knife, being careful not to rip the leaf on the bottom.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let rest for about 5 minutes before brushing the top with condensed milk.

Cut into slices and serve warm or at room temperature.

Visit 2020 Micro Roaster of the Year, Mostra Coffee, in Carmel Mountain and try the bibingka crème brûlée latte made with coconutinfused milk and a torched coconutsugar topping.

JAMES TRAN