A newcomer to 30th Street (By Frank Sabatini Jr.)
Restaurants, Bars, North Park
North Park’s Latest Eating and Drinking Spots
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
The influx of new businesses to North Park continues with the arrivals of two bars and a tapas restaurant.
San Diego’s esteemed bartenders, Christian Siglin and Eric Johnson, have opened Happy Medium in the 30th Street address that last housed the fried-chicken eatery, Streetcar Merchants.
Siglin is a partner at Fernside in South Park, and Johnson is beverage director at Kettner Exchange and The Whaling Bar. They became chums more than a decade ago while working at downtown’s famed Noble Experiment.
At Happy Medium they show off their savvy mixology skills while keeping the vibe in check as a somewhat stylized dive bar that slings both down-to-earth and creative concoctions. In the rear of the property they’re about to open Lou’s Deli, for when the hankering for a hearty sandwich strikes.
A stone’s throw away we discover Bivouac Ciderworks’ Adventurelodge. The newly opened project adjoins Bivouac’s established cider tasting room and restaurant. The Adventurelodge is distinguished by a circular skylight hovering over a 5,700-square-foot space. It lends to a general store concept with a lounge area where customers can sip coffee, munch on pastries and imbibe on Bivouac’s growing inventory of ciders from an impressive tap system.
Finally, over on North Park Way is the new Finca Tapas & Bottle Shop. Not since the closing of Tapas Picasso in Hillcrest some years ago have we gotten this excited about a similar Spanish-style concept to hit our local food scene.
The 90-seat establishment is the brainchild of Juniper & Ivy alums Dan Valerino and Joe Bower, who along with restaurateur Ricardo Dondisch, present a tapas-centric menu sprinkled with modern California twists. Spanish and California wines set the stage for such tapas as smoked trout with egg and bacon; roasted cauliflower with miso cream; bone marrow on sourdough with red pepper jelly; and patatas bravas with jalapeno crema and roasted garlic.
