San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour

In case you haven’t noticed, we just debuted our first-ever issue dedicated to all things South Bay. On February 25, we are also holding our first Taste of South Bay food and drink extravaganza at Novo Brazil Brewing in Imperial Beach. In conjunction with that, we’re also asking various South Bay food folks to come on to the HHH podcast to talk about all things south of the border…of the city of San Diego, that is. This week, we asked to chat with Jose Barajas, a television chef and the owner of Mmm…Cakes, a Golden Girls-themed bakery and coffee spot on Chula Vista’s Third Avenue, near F Street. It opened in 2021 after a huge Covid derailment, a familiar tale—it was originally supposed to open in March or April 2020. And all of that after 15 years of baking in his home studio, as well as other area hotels and bakeries, culinary production teams, and on camera on several Food Network and TLC shows, like The Next Great Baker and Gingerbread Showdown. Mmm…Cakes’ decor is over-the-top, as one would expect from a