San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! We’re back after a short Labor Day break, and we’re with Justin Gaspar, the head baker at Hommage Bakehouse in Pacific Beach. Hommage, which launched last fall, is based inside La Clochette du Coin, a French bakery and café. Justin, who is from the Bay Area and worked at the acclaimed Manresa Bread (that's the bakery that spun off from Manresa restaurant, which has three Michelin stars), says the pastries he bakes at Hommage honor both his Filipino heritage as well as his classic French training. Justin walks us through the menu, from the croissants to the kouign-amanns and breads, and gives us a preview of soon-to-debut pastries like an ube custard bun. You have to try the kouign-amann with blueberry compote! Justin also shares with us the big news that he will be competing on Baker's Dozen, a new Hulu show that streams on October 7. In Hot Plates, Cocina de Barrio, a Oaxacan restaurant in Hillcrest that made our Best Restaurants list for Best Birria, is opening a second