Moniker General cafe coming to downtown’s West apartment tower (Rendering by Moniker Design Studio)
Comings and Goings on the Culinary Front
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
Rarely a month passes without a handful of new restaurants springing onto the San Diego food scene. Sadly, we also learn of others taking their final bows without much notice.
Starting with upcoming arrivals, Cloak & Petal in Little Italy is making way for an August opening of Black Mizu Cafe, a 1,000-square-foot space that will reside inside the popular Asian-inspired restaurant. The cafe will feature signature drinks such as cherry-blossom matcha, honey-yuzu matcha, and crafty coffee drinks that include white miso caramel latte. Some of the coffee beans will be sourced from Torque Coffee in North Park. From the food menu, look for breakfast bao buns with a choice of meats, morning egg rolls, and edamame hummus toast—not to mention toothsome baked goods from downtown’s ASA Bakery & Cafe.
Expanding from its North Park and Liberty Station locations, Moniker General plans to open a third cafe and cocktail bar later this year on the ground floor of the new 37-story mixed-use West apartment tower in downtown’s Columbia District. The brand, which oversees both its hospitality and design concepts, will occupy nearly 1,830 square feet of retail space inside West. It will accommodate room for public work meetings and social gatherings while offering a menu of cafe fare, craft cocktails, beer and wine.
The beachy vibes and well-endowed sandwiches from Board & Brew have come to downtown’s Marina District, inside the landmark RaDD Building. The outpost joins the company’s 30-plus locations in Southern Cal since its founding in Del Mar in 1979. Popular sandwiches include the “turkado,” which features turkey breast, avocado, jack cheese and veggies on sourdough; the “tub-o-tuna” on wheat; the “Left Coast pastrami” with melted Swiss and banana peppers; and many more. Most of the sandwiches include a proprietary house-made secret sauce.
San Diegans have bid farewell to the iconic Hob Nob Hill, which operated in Bankers Hill under a few different owners since 1944. The restaurant was taken over about a year ago by real estate investor Douglas Hamm of Creative House. Since then, many of the restaurant’s famous dishes, such as Reuben sandwiches, Waldorf salads and classic coffee cake were either altered or eliminated completely. Hamm will reportedly keep the structure closed for a year while deciding on whether to reopen it for a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant.
Over in North Park, the two-level Deckman’s North at 3131 closed its doors in late June after operating with sporadic success over the past two years. Its owner, the Michelin-star chef Drew Deckman, said he made the decision “after much reflection” while focusing instead on the gratitude he feels toward his staff and customers. Deckman will continue operating his acclaimed restaurants in Mexico’s Guadalupe Valley, which are Deckman’s en el Mogor; Conchas de Piedra; and Enso Omakase.
After sipping and swirling wines from around the world since 2009 at Vin de Syrah in the Gaslamp Quarter, we were sad to see the subterranean wine bar recently shutter without explanation. Owned by San Diego Concept Management, the only statement the company issued about the closing read in part that “we’d love to see you one more time,” referring to its final night of service on June 27.
