Shorebird Restaurant is up and running. (Courtesy photo)
News You Can Eat
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
The decades-old pier at Seaport Village is flaunting a $4 million renovation with the inclusion of Shorebird Restaurant, downtown’s newest “over-water” dining venue that serves brunch, dinner and libations seven days a week.
A modern, coastal design sets the stage for some wow-factor dishes such as overstuffed deviled eggs (seeing is believing); lemon-ricotta souffle hot cakes; “knife and fork” burritos; wood-fired steaks; line-caught seafood, and more.
Formerly the Pier Cafe, the remodeled space is the brainchild of Austrian-born restaurateur Heinrich Stasiuk, who owns 27 restaurants across five states under the Wild Thyme Restaurant Group. His collection of Shorebird restaurants extends to only three other locations: Newport Beach, Palm Desert and Sedona.
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A quintet of prominent, local chefs have each authored a dish for the 10-year anniversary menu at Civico 1845 in Little Italy. The sibling owners, Pietro and Dario Gallo, asked the chefs to apply their signature styles of cooking to the collaboration project, but while giving their masterpieces Calabrian twists. The brothers are originally from Southern Italy’s Calabria region and use many ingredients imported from their homeland on the regular menu.
The group of chefs include Food Network personality and MasterChef winner Claudia Sandoval, who brings a trio of pork belly tacos to the special menu. The roasted meat is complemented with adobo spices, pineapple, lemon zest, and Calabrian red chili peppers. They’re fantastic – a marriage of two different cultures that our tongues won’t soon forget.
Chef Brad Wise of Fort Oak and Cardellino in Mission Hills and Trust Restaurant in Hillcrest, shows off his talents with ravioli stuffed generously with shredded short rib. For the sauce he incorporates a veal-sausage paste called nduja, which adds richness and a rusty-red color. Other guest chefs on the anniversary menu are Travis Swikard from Callie, Accursio Lota from Cori Pastificio Trattoria, and Enea Sintoni from Ambrogio15. The anniversary menu is available until Oct. 1.
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Unleash your gluttony during the 22nd annual San Diego Restaurant Week (SDRW) on Sept. 14–21 as more than 130 restaurants countywide put forth their signature dishes through prix-fixe lunches and/or dinners. The biannual event spans across 30 neighborhoods—many within our metro areas—while offering value-driven meals by restaurants seeking to attract new customers and welcoming back established ones.
Consumers can take advantage of either two-course lunches starting at $20, or three-course dinners starting at $30. A complete list of participating restaurants can be found here, along with their dining options and prices. In about half of the listings, their specific menus are revealed. Think spiny lobster at Ortega’s in Hillcrest; mushroom risotto and pretty views at The Prado in Balboa Park; Persian-style chicken and lamb at Bandar in the Gaslamp Quarter; and more.
SDRW’s website also provides filters to search for restaurants by name, neighborhood, type of cuisine, and whether they accommodate dietary restrictions.
