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 HourJavier Plascencia Talks Michelin Stars and the Caesar Salad's 100th Anniversary
We've got a Happy Half Hour double-header today: chef Michael Vaughn, who is coming up on his first year at the helm of La Jolla's iconic Marine Room, and also…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourDeep-Fried Delights at the San Diego County Fair
For podcasts like Happy Half Hour, events like the fair are basically our Christmas. Yeah, we love the rides, the activations, the camaraderie, the merriment…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourSan Diego Mag's Chef of the Year + His Truffle Hunter
Truffles are food gold, one of the world's most famous ingredients. Musky, lovely, funky, delicious, expensive, and fickle as hell. Why do some of them taste…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourSan Diego's King of Produce
He got fired. He sold fruit out of a postal truck. He slept near the citrus. Then he and his family became the backbone of the restaurant culture in San Diego…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourInside an Icon: Top of the Market
This week's Happy Half Hour takes place from one of the best perches in all of San Diego: Top of the Market. It's a fully windowed and partially outdoor…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourTrying The Best Food at Petco Park with Don & Mud
This week we got out-broadcasted on Happy Half Hour, and we couldn't be more honored to pass the torch, to, as Troy dubbed it, "the best monosyllabic baseball…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourMichelin's Sommelier of the Year is Serving Wine at a Bistro in North Park
Did you know one of the country's most celebrated sommeliers lives and works in San Diego? It's true! This week, we welcomed Coco Randolph of Black Radish and…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourSan Diego Broadcast Legend Chris Cantore and Sushi Icon Tyler Mars Launch Omakase-and-Vinyl Pop-Up
Sometimes, it's the most fun to chop it up with friends. And when your friends include legendary sushi chefs and top DJs, all the better. This week we brought…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourJordan Howlett: 40 Million Followers, a Collab with Kevin Hart—All from His Kitchen in Oceanside
Jordan Howlett just needs a minute. Give him that, and he's liable to have you hooked. Thanks to his highly recognizable, signature mirror-selfie videos…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourFeeding San Diego Rescues 1.2 Million Pounds of Food a Month
This week's Happy Half Hour extra special guest is a longtime friend of San Diego Magazine, Feeding San Diego. If you tune into our channels, this fantastic…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourMaking Wishes Come True With Chef William Eick
Our Happy Half Hour guest today is the local chapter CEO of probably one of the most beloved and recognizable charities in the world: The Make-A-Wish…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Beach Boys' Mike Love Puts Us in a Kokomo State of Mind
"Close my eyes, she's somehow closer now / Softly smile, I know she must be kind / When I look in her eyes / She goes with me to a blossom world" The lyrics to…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourSan Diego's First Family of Karaoke Opens Grand New Thing (With a Heck of a Burger)
Everyone's favorite Mission Hills karaoke joint, the Lamplighter, has brought its talents down the hill to the Gaslamp—and so has this podcast. The team, led…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Story Behind the City's Backyard Restaurant With a Year-Long Waitlist
If you received this month's San Diego Magazine, you already know about Warung RieRie. Happy Half Hour host and food critic Troy Johnson dubbed it "the star of…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourIs This the Best Falafel in San Diego?
Stop us if you've heard the Happy Half Hour cast claim a particular food item was the "best in San Diego" before (to be fair, San Diego Magazine devotes an…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourSan Diego's Legendary Tony Tee Drops By
To know the illustrious Tony Tee, real name Antonio Ley, is to love him. The Chula Vista-born-and-bred, man-about-town has appeared in popular shows, like…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourFeeling Lucky with Jason Mraz
I think it's fair to claim that this week's Happy Half Hour guest is the most special visitor we've ever had on the podcast (which is saying something): Jason…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThat's the Spirit
"It's not just a spirits company, but a way of life." That's what Fierce & Kind's owners and founders, Cyndi Smith and Basem Harb, say when talking about the…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourLet Us Eat Cake
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…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourGetting Real With Celebrity Chef Lauren Lawless
Avid HHH listeners will remember a few episodes back, when we announced that Ramen World, celebrity chef Lauren Lawless' first restaurant, would open somewhere…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour40 Years of La Jolla's George's at the Cove
Our HHH guest this week, the legendary Trey Foshee of George's at the Cove, has been in San Diego's restaurants for a long time. Actually, scratch that. He's…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Fishmonger Tommy Gomes Returns With Dry-Aged Fish
When your boss tells you to do something, you do it. When your boss is Troy Johnson, food critic and Chief Content Officer of San Diego Magazine, texting you…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourParadise, Or Something Like It
According to some of San Diego's finest food minds (umm, us), one of the hottest restaurants of 2023 is easily Bird Rock's Paradisaea. The Michelin Guide…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Big South Bay Brewery That Could
"I said to myself, this was the biggest failure of my whole life," recalls Tiago Carneiro, founder and owner of Nova Kombucha and Novo Brazil Brewing. In this…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourTop Chef Thanksgiving Day Tips: Lessons From Brad Wise
"People are always like, 'You're a chef I'm sure you're smoking your turkey,'" says Brad Wise, head chef and owner of Trust Restaurant Group. "But I've tried…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourHOT TICKET: Susan Finegar & Liz Lachman
Susan Feniger and Liz Lachman pop. I first encountered their mutual hurricane of wit at the Del Mar Wine + Food Festival. They were setting up their table to…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Best First Date Bar in San Diego?
They got weird with it, and it worked. Understory is a concept bar in the middle of a Noah's Ark-looking food hall called Sky Deck in Del Mar, where it is…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourVegan Doom Metal Pizza
Ain't easy being a vegan. Harder being a vegan in the Midwest in the '90s. Your eating options were the steamed broccoli at the steakhouse (hold the butter)…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourHell of a Pedigree for a Little Fish Shop
On this week's Happy Half Hour podcast… Pablo Becker named his new restaurant Fish Guts. That's the kind of humor and gall you need to make it in life. It's…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThree-Star Michelin Chef Opens Burger Joint in San Diego
A three-star Michelin chef has opened a burger joint in San Diego. It's called Tanner's Prime Burgers. Exclamation point. Another one. Some hyperactive emoji…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourTHE NEXT BIG THING: New School American Cheese
Eric Greenspan didn't do what he did—go through the years of training at the world's best restaurants, slog and hustle and cut a metric **** ton of onions and…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Hit of Coronado
Ice cream shops don't usually spawn modest empires—but this one did. Born and raised in Coronado, David Spatafore opened a little scoop place, MooTime…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Life of Failed Umpire Drew Deckman
His kitchen is under or near a tree. Lots of them. He's got goggles on because of the smoke. The first time you see Drew Deckman weidling his giant tongs over…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourNapatini Takes Off in Carlsbad
Lynn and Gary McLean both spent years in the military. A very serious, at times tense path. Based for most of their lives in the Bay Area, they'd spend their…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Roberto Alcocer Formula That Led Valle to a Michelin Star
If there's a formula for snagging a Michelin star, chef Roberto Alcocer doesn't know what it is. And yet his Oceanside restaurant, Valle (2023 critic's choice…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourOpenings, Closings, Bib Gourmands & Machaca
You know that giant bin at Best Buy that carries all those DVDs? Think of this latest episode of the Happy Half Hour podcast like that bin. There's a little…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Meals to Eat in San Diego Before You Die
Is it dark in here? Maybe a little. This week on Happy Half Hour, David and I invent the ways we'd like to undo this mortal coil (our deathways include…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourRaising the Bar on Stadium Food in San Diego
Petco Park is known for having some of the best food in baseball. They were even one of the first stadiums in the nation to bring in iconic and emerging local…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Food People of the San Diego County Fair
Fair food is legendary—the logical extreme of American cuisine. The food court is Pinocchio's island for people whose favorite invention is a deep fryer. We…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourCoffee in Offices with Guitarists
This week on Happy Half Hour, our food and drink podcast that won a national award and we'll never shut up about that fact… I try somewhat awkwardly to…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourIt Will Rain On Your New Outdoor Restaurant
Long before "pivot" became a silver-lining buzzword, Tracy Borkum made a career out of it. For instance, the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla recently…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourIncoming: Izola Bakery Builds a Bread City of Glass in City Heights
During the first terrifying shutdowns of the pandemic, Pulitzer-nominated photographer Jeffrey Brown and his partner started lowering bread out the window of…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Salt-of-the-Earth Star Power of Catherine McCord
I may not still be on TV if it weren't for Catherine McCord. Nowadays, she's one of the foremost cookbook authors in the US, with recipe bibles issued under…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourCreating Consortium Holdings: The Story Behind Its Success
Look, there are enough excellent brunch restaurants in San Diego that waiting hours for a seat at Morning Glory—Little Italy's rose-hued bastion of breakfast…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourSmall-Batch Aquavit Is Here (and it's gooooood)
During the pandemic, actor Matthew Arkin got a call from his dad, Alan Arkin. "My dad says, 'Hey, you know you can make aquavit at home?'" Matthew explains…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourJC Select Wines Shows us How to Indulge in a Different Kind of Wellness
Jennifer Carruthers is one hell of a sharp brain on wine. Not surprising. She had a successful career as an engineer before deciding she was far more…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourCo-owner of IZO, Gaston Martinez, shares how his mezcal helped their agave spirits stand out
In the spirit of spirit month, we're starting out with a well-deserved bang. Let's talk about the liquor that comes in hot, and leaves us even hotter –…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe World's Happiest Rice Starts in National City
Most of you know Troy as our fearless leader and a frequent flier—or as the guy you wish you could text for recommendations on where to take your finicky…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Farm Adopted by San Diego's First 3-Star Michelin Restaurant
Over the last few decades we've really started to ask questions about what we're eating. Does the green label really mean organic—or was it grown on an organic…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourCold Beer and Pink Boots with Small-Batch Brewer Laura Ulrich
Listen, I know it can seem like some of us at San Diego Magazine basically eat tacos and taste beer for a living. But it's in pursuit of the story. Whatever it…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourCarol Roizen built a healthy cafe in San Diego for their daughter, and it turned into a huge success
This cafe is one of the better places in San Diego to eat clean, sure. It's also parents' love for their daughter. This damn good salad—loaded with all kinds…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourYear in Review, we talk through the best things we ate, the biggest news, and trends
Oh man. Dear god. Thanks, you all. This year, you downloaded episodes of our podcast 276,977 times. As a San Diego media company just trying to create things…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe San Diego Company Growing the Future of Global Seafood in a Beer Chamber
The future of seafood might be in San Diego. Not in Point Loma or Oceanside, but in a bioengineering facility in Sorrento Valley. From a single cell, BlueNalu…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThis Restaurant Only Has One Teeny Tiny Trash Can
They don't have a trash can in their kitchen. A fully operational, busy restaurant kitchen without a trash can. OK, that's hyperbole. They do have a small one…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThree Thanksgiving Cooking Tips from Top Chef Josh Mouzakes of Arlo
Mashed potatoes are the bedrock of Thanksgiving. If you do not have a creamy pile of spuds, you are exhibiting a flagrant disregard for the rules of the feast…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Next Generation Has Reinvented San Diego Classic, The Fishery (and it's fantastic)
As a kid growing up in La Jolla, Annemarie Brown-Lorenz had swordfish bills sticking up out of the ground in her backyard. Her dad was a fifth generation local…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourThe Woman Behind La Jolla's Secret House of Food
There is a house in La Jolla that is almost entirely food. It overlooks Black's Beach. It is a very, very nice house. Walk its grounds, and you come across…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourA Local Cook Was Gifted a Restaurant - This is Her Story
Mariana Cardenas went home that day, gathered her five kids, told them the news. Then she called all the government assistance programs and informed them the…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourSD's First NFT Bar, We take Botanica owner Amar Harrag out for food and drinks to Cutwater Spirits
About a week ago, I sat down for splashes of mezcal with Amar Harrag, who's now successfully launched a few different drinks-and-dinner concepts on both sides…
San Diego Magazine's Happy Half HourTalking lo-fi wines with the co-founder of Rose Wine Co and the newly opened Mabel's Gone Fishing
On this new podcast, we get a lesson on natural wines from Chelsea Coleman—co-founder of the Rose Wine Bar in South Park who just opened Mabel's Gone Fishing…