Shows / San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The weekly guide to San Diego's food + drink scene, hosted by award-winning food writer and Food Network host Troy Johnson and San Diego Magazine's culture brain, Jackie Bryant. Field notes and perspectives on restaurants, bars, and chefs—including dishes and drinks you gotta try, restaurant openings and closings, events worth your time, and laugh-cry interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, farmers, brewers, and makers who make San Diego's food + drink scene hum.
Episodes
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The $1.39 Fish Taco That Feeds North County
In a world where breathing costs $25.99 a month on an auto-pay plan, El Pueblo is still selling a fish taco for $1.39. Not a sad, shrunken, "what did you…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Stone Brewing's Original Vision Gets a Second Life
Stone Brewing helped change the way San Diego drinks beer. Now, two decades after opening its sprawling Escondido brewery and restaurant, cofounder Greg Koch…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Pizza Port Story Starts With a Hole-in-the-Wall and a U-Haul
San Diego's craft beer scene didn't happen overnight, but it did start with a handful of people willing to experiment. In 1987, siblings Gina and Vince…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
A World-Class Pastry Chef Finds His Place in San Marcos
Christophe Rull walked away from a six-figure pastry chef job to spend two years training for one of the biggest chocolate competitions in the world. The…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Before Oceanside's Food Boom, There Was the Flying Pig
Fifteen years ago, Oceanside's food scene looked pretty different. Then Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen opened in a not-exactly-prime location in South Oceanside and…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
San Diego's Artists Need More Than Applause
San Diego has beaches, sunshine, biotech, and enough stucco to wallpaper a small country. But what actually gives a city its personality? The artists…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
SDFC Is Building More Than a Soccer Club
What does a soccer team have to do with San Diego's arts scene? Quite a lot, as it turns out. When San Diego FC launched, the club could have spent its…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Golden Door Has Been Making Wellness Food Taste Good Since '58
The wellness world has gotten a lot more complicated since the Golden Door opened its doors in 1958. Today there are powders, potions, trackers, supplements…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Cookbook They Wish They'd Had
If you think a cookbook about pregnancy sounds like a collection of sad smoothies and recipes involving seven different kinds of seeds, Eric Wolfinger and…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Brunch, Benedicts, and a Little Tequila
Brunch is a meal that exists because we decided breakfast needed a later start time and a liquor license. This week on Happy Half Hour, hosts Troy Johnson and…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Family Behind Some of San Diego's Best Sushi
If you've been to a big San Diego food event and there's a whole tuna getting broken down in front of a crowd, there's a good chance Jeff Roberto is somewhere…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Inside Glass Box's Award-Winning Omakase
Glass Box isn't your typical sushi restaurant. Tucked inside the Sky Deck in Del Mar, chef and owner Ethan Yang serves omakase from inside a literal glass…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
A Steakhouse Worth the Mission Valley Detour
The Remy occupies a building that's been serving San Diegan's steaks for more than 50 years. Longtime locals remember it as Hungry Hunter. Today, it's been…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
MADE: The Story of 4-Skin
There's a new very serious skincare brand for men coming out of San Diego called... 4-Skin? Host Troy Johnson interviews founder Arturo Kassel—one of the…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
How One San Diego Bartender Became One of America's Best
Behind every great cocktail is at least one terrible idea. Sometimes it's a French onion soup martini. Sometimes it's setting a drink on fire inside the…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
How Ciccia Osteria Became a Barrio Logan Staple
Sometimes the best restaurant is the one everyone tells you not to open. This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with chef Mario…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
From Michelin Kitchens to San Diego's Best Mochi
Fresh fruit, pillowy mochi, and a philosophy rooted in slowing down. This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Gemma Matsuyama…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
North County Finally Has Its Hidden Cocktail Den — and We're Not Supposed to Tell You About It
Encinitas just got its first-ever speakeasy — or rather, its first hidden cocktail den — and the Happy Half Hour crew couldn't even find the front door. In…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
All the Winners of the San Diego County Fair-tastic Food Competition
We tried 18 dishes across savory and sweet categories, these are our favorite dishes Every year, the San Diego County Fair becomes the city's biggest pop-up…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Switchfoot Takes Us to Their Poke Spot
It's Switchfoot Bro-Am week. The epic, annual, San Diego-est thing—one of the best free beach parties in the country that does good for kids who need a…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
How Luigi Agostini Built One of San Diego's Favorite Pizza Shops
The chef and owner of Luigi's shares his journey from opening a small bar above Lake Como to lines forming around the block in Golden Hill for his pies. At 23…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
From Tia's Pozole to Top Chef—Claudette Zepeda Books It
The border is a huge part of why San Diego's food culture took off. The kitchen exchange of chefs and ideas and burning wood and seafood acid parties across…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Why Valentina Is the Most Leucadia Restaurant in Leucadia
Leucadia's charm is in no small part because someone planted eucalyptus trees for railroad ties, but that wood turned out to be useless. So they just let those…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Wild Tale Behind Relic Bakery's Origin Story
On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Relic Bakery owners Samantha Bird and Derek Hadden pulled up with a selection of their best fare including Crunchwrap…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Pro Surfer Benji Weatherley Credits Cooking With Saving Him
The Blink-182 muse who grew up feeding Kelly Slater and Rob Machado at his mom's North Shore Hawaii house debuts Breakers Cafe, Bar & Grill Benji Weatherley…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Steakhouse That Replaced Saska's Is Worth the Hunt for Parking
Happy Half Hour co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant pull up to Moe's by the Beach for a live episode with two guests who, between them, have thrown some of…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
10,000 Pounds of Crawfish & One Big Accordion-Fueled Fever Dream
Some festivals happen because a city needs them. Others because one guy walked into a bar in Louisiana, saw someone playing accordion with their whole body…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
French Food Isn't Just Butter and Cool-Sounding Words
"I've wanted to be a chef since I was 4 years old. I'm a humble dude with a skateboard in the back of my truck. I'll stand behind the ingredients and let them…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
San Diego Mag's Chef of the Year (2024) Looks Back at 10 Years
Brad Wise of Trust, Fort Oak, and Rare Society talks restaurant wins and terrors and names the best sandwiches in San Diego. "We were scraping by, praying that…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
San Diego's Accursio Lota Has Won Italy's Highest Chef Award
A few years back, Accursio Lota—2017 World Pasta Champion and chef-owner of Cori Pastificio and the new Dora Ristorante which was named for his nonna—told us…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Best Hot Dogs in San Diego
It is now time, when hot dogs become communion wafers once again. The weather is Joe Musgrove's elbow. The Fernando Tatis baseball dance-swagger reenters. He…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Best Sardines in San Diego
All due respect to their highly sustainable role in the ecosystem and feeding the world, but sardines served as a dish on their own can be a significant…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
The Short List for SDM's Best Restaurants
As the food writer for SDM since 2011, Troy has been compiling the "Best Restaurants" list in San Diego Magazine for the past 15 years. All year long, he eats…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Your Favorite Bartender Eats Here
The industry built this one. Had it been half-ass, it never would've worked. Lion's Share opened up 14 years ago, a sliver of a dark den of a craft cocktail…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
James Beard Nominee Tara Monsod on the Rise of Filipino Food
San Diego's next-gen Filipino American chefs are bringing their adobo roots to the top kitchens Multiple-time James Beard nominee Tara Monsod comes in to talk…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Where to Get a $12 Ribeye in San Diego
Terra chef Jeff Rossman spills secrets of the catering world and we name our favorite farm-to-table restaurants One of the absolute best deals in San Diego…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Naming the Best Soups in San Diego at Coco Maya
At Coco Maya, try chef Phil Humphrey's skirt steak with chimichurri, his big-knuckle lobster tacos, and a damn phenomenal coconut shrimp (the '80s classic will…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
A Per Se Alum Opens a Bodega and Ozempic is Bumming Out Restaurant Culture
#419 You've barely touched your fries. Why do you look hungry and not hungry at the same time? The big discussion on this week's episode: Ozempic is the…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Why San Diego's Neighborhood Bars Still Matter
Broadcasting from The Shanty in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Happy Half Hour looks at the week's biggest restaurant news, including the upcoming closures of Dreamboat…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
One of Little Italy's Top Chefs Returns
One of Little Italy's top chefs is back. Hard to overestimate how much Ironside Fish & Oyster changed the game when it opened in Little Italy in 2014. It was…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
San Diego's First Women's Sports Bar Lands in North Park
Patricia Sebold, Kalani Millsaps, and Kerry Pierce join Happy Half Hour to discuss their new concept: a women's-focused sports bar opening in North Park. We…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
San Diego's Roast Beef Awakening
#415 On the latest Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson traces a proper Sunday roast into its evolution as a distinctly American handheld obsession. Following…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Cesarina & Elvira's Niccolò Angius on Pasta's Staying Power
On this episode of Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Niccolò Angius, the Italian-born chef-owner behind Cesarina and…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Lucien Lands in La Jolla With a 13-Course, Big League Tasting Menu
#413 On Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson talks with chef Elijah Arizmendi about leaving home at 15, training in Vegas and New York, and opening Lucien — an…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Megastar Guy Fieri on Building an Empire & What's Next
#412 This week, Happy Half Hour host Troy Johnson talks with Food Network megastar Guy Fieri about how a one-off Flavortown joke grew into a national food…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Checking in With San Diego's Oldest Bar, Where Tequila Is Cheaper Than Therapy
#411 Bebemos cofounder Preston Caffrey and Waterfront Bar & Grill's Dennis Glover talk cocktails, what makes a good regular's bar, and running a local legacy…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Inside Le Coq's Revival with Brian Malarkey and Chris Puffer
#410 We sit down with San Diego's longtime restaurant power duo to unpack their two-decade partnership and their latest La Jolla project. On this episode of…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Andrew Zimmern Wants Us to Rethink the Way We Eat Fish
#409 Andrew Zimmern, a four-time James Beard Award–winning TV host best known for Bizarre Foods and for using food as a lens into culture joins Happy Half Hour…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Spinning Spanish Wine Into Magic With Juniper & Ivy Alums
#408 On this week's Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Joe Bower and Dan Valerino, the duo behind Finca, one of North…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Viral TikTok Star Katie Brooks on Hand-Making Gnocchi on a Plane
#407 You've probably seen the video: A woman casually hand-rolling gnocchi on a cross-country flight, dusting flour across her tray table like it's just…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
How Craft Beer Built San Diego's Food Scene and What's Brewing Next
#406 On this week's Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson traces how our beer nerds turned San Diego into a food town—from Karl Strauss in '89 to the Brewers Guild in…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Lana Puts a Fresh Spin on Coastal Dining in San Diego
#405 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-host Troy Johnson heads north to Solana Beach, where LANA has transformed the old California Pizza Kitchen space into a…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
San Diego Restaurant News, Chefsgiving & Claudette Zepeda Makes Moves
#404 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant go solo for a special Halloween episode. They talk restaurant news like Chefsgiving…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Crashing The Marine Room's High Tide Dinners
#403 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant head to the Marine Room, La Jolla's oceanfront dining landmark waves slam against…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Longtime restaurateur Sami Ladeki Shares His Unlikely Career Path to Food
#402 Happy Half Hour co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Sami Ladeki, one of the most influential figures in San Diego dining to trace his…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
How to Earn a Michelin Star in Only Six Weeks
#401 After the economic sucker-punch of Covid robbed chef Eric Bost of his LA restaurant Auburn, he entered into a values-first partnership with restaurateur…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Inside City Farmers Nursery's 52-Year Legacy in City Heights
#400 On this week's Happy Half Hour with hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant, we're joined by siblings Sam Tall and Rebecca Tall-Brown, the second-generation…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Chef Carl Schroeder's Exit Interview
#399 This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie sit with one of San Diego's most influential chefs, Carl Schroeder, who rarely interviews. After years at…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Happy Half Hour Hits Monarch with Bebemos Tequila and a San Diego Burger Draft
#398 On this week's Happy Half Hour, Troy and Jackie camp out on Monarch Ocean Pub's waterfront deck in Del Mar Plaza where owner-operator Drew Vick runs…
- San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour
Kindred at 10 & Kory Stetina's Next Chapter with Dreamboat and Vulture
#397 This week on Happy Half Hour we sit down with Kory Stetina, whose first restaurant Kindred shifted San Diego's idea of plant-based dining. He's since…