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By Frank Sabatini Jr.

The scent of suntan lotions wafted through the air under a midmorning sun as lean-bodied twenty-somethings lazed on chaise lounges scattered around the pool deck. Some of the patrons sipped on boozy coffee drinks and micheladas. Others noshed on eggs and guacamole after playing a few quiet rounds of cornhole in an area flaunting canvas cabanas.

“This isn’t your typical brunch setting,” I explained to my aunt, who was visiting from Buffalo, New York, as we settled into sturdy wicker stools at a high-top table.

By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review From the almond gazpacho to a triple-layer carrot cake encrusted by pecan brittle — and every course in between — nothing we ate at Prepkitchen Little Italy descended into mediocrity. Or even close.

By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review We expected a gimmicky themed establishment replete with images of hirsute men and silver daggers when entering Werewolf. But we were greeted instead just outside the entrance with an enlarged, vintage photograph of writer Hunter S. Thompson, of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” fame. Inside, the aesthetics turned […]

By Frank Sabatini Jr. Curadero, the newest ground-level restaurant at Kimpton Hotel Palomar, is named informally after Latin medicine men and women (curanderos) who over the centuries used herbs, tobacco and hallucinogens to treat a range of physical and mental illnesses. While the playful theme may be lost on some, the menu should strike familiarity […]

By Frank Sabatini Jr. Imagine if San Diego and New York traded culinary places. Manhattanites could grab a killer carnitas burrito while sauntering through Times Square while we stuff our faces at any Downtown street corner with pizzas using soft water in the dough — the debated element that distinguishes East Coast pizza from all […]

By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review The baseball season has arrived and Social Tap brings you as close to the bustle of Petco Park as you can possibly get without holding a ticket into the stadium. On game days, you can see the big center screen hovering over the playing field from Social Tap’s back […]

By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review The menu choices are staggering. So are the meal portions. But if you are vegan, a vegetarian or gluten-intolerant, Brian’s 24 isn’t the easiest place to eat. Since the recent closure of Du-Par’s Restaurant & Bakery (see this month’s Food and Drink Blotter), the family-owned diner reigns as the […]

By Frank Sabatini Jr. From the chef-restaurateur hailed by multinational media for his ingenious interpretations of Baja-Mediterranean cuisine comes a new weekend brunch, which debuted last month at Bracero Cocina de Raiz.