San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour

#394 This week, Happy Half Hour details Del Mar’s legendary past with longtime restaurateurs John and Sara Wingate of En Fuego Cantina & Grill. Co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant retrace the beach town’s transformation from Victorian bathhouses and racehorse legends to its current food scene, anchored by icons like En Fuego, which is now celebrating 30 years in business. The Wingates reveal how the once-humble house-turned-restaurant became a locals’ clubhouse and a celebrity magnet. They also introduce La Tienda, their intimate new cocktail bar tucked upstairs, featuring 200+ tequilas and mezcal barrels they personally selected in Mexico. To follow En Fuego click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#393 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy and Jackie sit down with Emily Brubaker, executive chef of Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, to talk about her recent win on the premiere season of Yes, Chef!, a national cooking competition judged by Martha Stewart and Spanish-American chef and restaurateur José Andrés.  Brubaker shares what it was like to step away from her kitchen and her family for six weeks to compete, and how she approached the challenge of cooking food that’s technically sharp but still grounded. In this episode, she discusses the moment Martha remembered her from a past Chopped season, working alongside her husband in the finale, and how she’s bringing pieces of the show’s mentorship and menu ideas into her work at the resort. To follow Chef Emily Brubaker click HERE. To follow Omni La Costa click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#392 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant take the show to Waverly in Cardiff for a tequila-soaked taste test with San Diego-based brand Bebemos. The mission continues to find the ultimate dish to pair with their joven-style tequila. Along the way, they’re joined by Camino Riviera and Waverly bar manager Stephen O’Halloran and SDCM executive chef Brian Redzikowski to explore the nuances of agave, mezcal, and the power of local sourcing. Tune in to find the surprising not-super-summery dish that won this round of the pairing tour. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow Waverly click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#391 This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Jason Mraz and Vallie Gilley to talk about the new life of Jitters Coffee Pub, the first coffee shop to open in Oceanside back in the ’90s. After 24 years, Vallie and her husband were ready to let it go until Mraz, a longtime regular, stepped in as a partner. What followed is a full-circle revamp complete with vegan comfort food from chef Felix Alcaide, a tiny new stage for original music, and a gold-plated bathroom. Yes, that's right. Tune in to hear all the gilded details. To follow Jitters Coffee Pub click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#390 This week's HHH is posted at Veranda, the breezy new restaurant inside the freshly renovated $550 million Hotel Del Coronado, and features a feast of scallop risotto, charred artichokes, and massive secret-menu tomahawks. Executive Chef Brian Archibald joined Troy and Jackie to talk about rebirthing one of America’s most iconic resorts (and why he left Florida for San Diego). Also at the table is Michael Feuerstein of Nature’s Produce, whose family has sourced local fruits and vegetables for generations. We also chat the news: Barrio Logan's new Café Madeline, Wildwood Flour’s East County comeback, and a food-nerd deep dive into the San Diego Zoo’s fine dining scene. To follow Veranda at the Hotel Del click here.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine  

#389 Happy Half Hour heads to the oceanfront deck at Nobu Del Coronado, one of the newest openings as part of the Hotel Del’s recently completed $550 million renovation. Chefs CJ and Victor walk us through dishes like yellowtail crudo with jalapeño, crispy rice with spicy tuna, three-day miso cod, and real wasabi grated on sharkskin, as well as the philosophical underpinnings that make Nobu, well, Nobu. To follow Nobu at the Hotel Del click here.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#388 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson sits down with Ron and Isabel Oliver, the duo behind Somos Maíz. Isabel grew up in Michoacán learning how to make masa the traditional way. Ron spent 20 years as chef de cuisine at the Marine Room. Now they’re sourcing heirloom corn from farmers in Mexico and turning it into fresh masa that’s showing up on plates at Valle, Tohono, and beyond. They chat about how most tortilla makers get it wrong, why blue corn usually isn’t blue corn, and what makes real masa so hard to get right. To follow Somos Maiz click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#387 Happy Half Hour goes full fried as Troy and Jackie broadcast from the San Diego County Fair, tasting their way through 18 brain-and-taste bud-bending entries in the 2025 Fairtastic Food Competition. Spam wonton tacos. Cajun honey dogs. Furikake fries with runny eggs and edible flowers. But one stood above them all: a tres leches cinnamon roll from Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls, dreamed up by a third-generation baker, Willie Mattis whose family nailed the recipe in one take. The frosting didn’t just sit on top—it soaked through the roll, prompting creation of a new verb: sauceting. Troy and Jackie sit down with the fair's marketing director, Jennifer Hellman, to chat about her 25 years at the helm, and Mattis to talk tie-dye, road dogs, and how a $1 family recipe became the fair’s reigning icon. To follow the San Diego County Fair click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#386 This week’s Happy Half Hour comes to you straight from the bar at Fort Oak, where we posted up with Jess Stewart, Trust Restaurant Group’s beverage director and the mind behind some of San Diego’s most quietly brilliant cocktails. She breaks down her kitchen-driven approach to drink-making (yes, there’s salt in that watermelon margarita), why bartenders hate mojitos, and how she turned “Oyster Mondays with Friends” into a must-hit Mission Hills hang. Joining us are Preston Caffrey and Patrick Tracy of Bebemos Tequila, the new San Diego-based brand bringing a dreamy, vintage California aesthetic to modern sipping. Together, they show how good design, local collaboration, and a damn fine bottle can elevate the way we drink. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow Fort Oak click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#385 This week on Happy Half Hour, hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant welcome Mike and Jenny Eastwood of Smallgoods American Cheeses & Provisions—a La Jolla gem born out of NYC’s Murray’s Cheese and years in San Diego’s farmers market trenches. The couple shares how a career in commercial production, a cheese cave internship, and a well-timed move from Byron Bay to San Diego turned into a sandwich-slinging, American cheese–championing neighborhood mainstay that happens to be in the same building where Mike worked 30 years ago at Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation. They talk COVID pivots, the cult of their curated cheese case, and why they believe the future of food lies in supporting small domestic producers. To follow Smallgoods click HERE.

#384 This week’s Happy Half Hour is equal parts hot sauce origin story and full-blown love fest for San Diego’s indie food scene. Troy Johnson confesses he’s a BBQ purist—until one burger from Rosemary’s shatters his sauce snobbery with a tangy, tamarind-laced revelation. Enter Larz Watts, the founder of Oak Steak BBQ, who built his now-beloved sauce business during the pandemic with nothing but backyard smokers, a Co-Packer crash course, and a spider his son named “Oak Steak.” From humble PB roots (yes, Lars once lived on a boat) to hot chicken collabs at Shore Club, mustard deals at Smallgoods, and a mic-drop spicy version that won first place at the International Flavor Awards, this episode is a spicy, heartfelt romp through flavor, family, and full-circle San Diego hustle. To follow Oak Steak BBQ click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#383 In this week’s episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant raise a glass to Carlsbad’s buzziest new opening: Little Victory Wine Bar. Co-owners Jeremy Simpson, a natty wine obsessive with a pedigree from LA’s Bestia, and Elliott Townsend, a hyper-local chef known for the pop-up Long Story Short, join the show to talk fermentation, formation, and forging a dream. The duo—half of a husband-and-wife Voltron of culinary minds—built a spot where natural wine and soulful, seasonal cooking meet with zero pretension. Natural wine gets demystified, tinned fish gets love, and the team shares what it really takes to build a restaurant rooted in connection. To follow Little Victory Wine Bar click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#382 Troy and Jackie dig into the story behind Little Fox Cups and Cones, the Oceanside shop that’s putting an inventive spin on ice cream. Owner Megan Koll started as a bartender at CH Projects, then honed her craft at Juju Lee before turning her obsession with flavor and local sourcing into a cult-favorite ice cream shop. With flavors like toasted cornmeal, brioche-swirl avocado from Jason Mraz’s farm, and spicy carrot hazelnut brittle made from local produce, Little Fox is serving up more than just scoops. It’s storytelling in a cone. To follow Little Fox click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#381 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant meet up with Preston Caffrey, founder of the brand-new Bebemos Tequila, to launch their “Joven Golden Hour” tour—a series of pairings between local restaurants and Caffrey’s clean, additive-free tequila made in partnership with small-batch agave growers in Mexico. Recorded at Ranch 45 with chef DuVal Warner, the group dives into Brandt Beef bone marrow luges, beef tallow–washed cocktails, and one of the best pastrami sandwiches in the city, while unpacking what makes Bebemos different and why Caffrey insists on starting small right here in San Diego. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow Ranch 45 click HERE.

#380 This week, we head from a La Jolla strip mall to the glitter of LA’s reality TV scene before landing in the heart of Old Town. Pietro Busalacchi—bartender, hustler, and heir to one of San Diego’s most iconic restaurant families—joins us to talk about growing up in Little Italy, working at Lisa Vanderpump’s TomTom, and how he brought that chaos and charm back home to launch Trattoria Don Pietro, El Sueño, and TAKO, his bold Mexican-style sushi bar. We talk stories, like a tree catching fire on set, surprise tequila nights with Nickelback, and why escargot and Dover sole at Bistro du Marché still make Troy emotional. Plus: Bianchi opens at the Bahia, PopUp Bagels lands in San Diego, and College Area scores a maximalist burger joint. To follow El Sueño click HERE. To follow Trattoria Don Pietro click HERE. To follow TAKO click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#379 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Janet Flores Pavlovich, the force behind Coyotas, a local brand making cassava flour tortillas with just four ingredients and a lot of soul. Janet tells the story of growing up in Sonora, Mexico, where tortillas were handmade daily and tied to memory, ritual, and identity. After culinary school in San Diego and a stint behind the scenes at the Food Network, she realized the tortillas on grocery store shelves didn’t reflect what she knew. So she went back—literally—to the desert heat of Hermosillo to relearn the craft from master tortilleras. The result: a San Diego–based company now stocked across Whole Foods and indie markets, built on tradition, simplicity, and stubborn devotion to doing things the right way. To follow Coyotas click HERE.   Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#378 In this episode of Happy Half Hour, hosts Jackie Bryant and Troy Johnson crack open the origin story of Juneshine with co-founder Forrest Dein, tracing its unlikely path from a backyard kombucha experiment to a nationwide phenomenon. Dein recounts Juneshine’s early days brewing in a cobwebbed garage, its cult-favorite Blood Orange Mint flavor, and the brand’s meteoric ascent—including opening the country’s first hard kombucha bar, landing a Super Bowl ad, and expanding into new horizons with Easy Rider lager and Willie’s Remedy, a THC-infused social tonic launched with country legend Willie Nelson. To follow JuneShine click HERE. To follow Easy Rider click HERE. And to follow Willie's Remedy click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#377 This week on Happy Half Hour, two of San Diego’s sharpest hospitality minds—Christian Siglin of Happy Medium and Eric Johnson of Lou’s Deli—join Troy and Jackie to talk about the strange, scrappy, and often hilarious life behind the bar. They get into it: they unpack their careers spent working at the city's most iconic bars and restaurants; the three paths a bartender’s life can take, whether Gen Z is really skipping booze for less hedonistic pleasures, how traveling together (NOMA, Oaxaca, and one wild Mexican hotel party) reshaped their worldview, and yes, the story of the infamous butter handshake. We also chat neighborhood energy, the disappearance of old-school hospitality, and how to survive the job long enough to still be standing—sober or otherwise. Also in the mix: new eats at Petco Park, big shifts in East Village pizza, and why the USA should be screaming louder about Tara Monsod and her 2025 James Beard nom. To follow Happy Medium click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#376 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy gives us an inside take on what to order at Leu Leu, the new spot from celebrity chef Claudette Zepeda. And the dish you gotta try in central city is the house-cured, house-smoked, hand-cut pastrami from last year's SDM winner for Best Barbecue in San Diego—Grand Ole BBQ y Asado in North Park. In honor of this new pastrami destination (quality pastrami is a top-five destination determinant), we revisit our interview with owner Andy Harris—who went from managing all the popular pop-punk bands from the 90s (he still manages some) to the brisket champ of San Diego. To follow Grand Ole BBQ y Asado click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#375 Nick Balsamo of Rosemarie’s joins Troy and Jackie to talk about how a food truck full of killer sliders turned into one of San Diego’s best new brick-and-mortars. The crew gets into Nick’s rise from catering gigs and farmers markets to opening his own family-friendly gastropub, his Arizona street food hustle, and what it’s like feeding crowds that range from dive bar regulars to wedding guests. Also: Starlite’s long-awaited comeback, Puesto’s new chef flex, San Diego’s first women’s sports bar pop-up, and the return of the Spring Art & Wine Walk in Carlsbad. Plus, one of us may have pooped our pants at the movies. You’ll have to listen to find out who. To follow Rosemarie's click HERE. Discover more at San Diego Magazine