NICK’S DEL MAR TO OPEN AT ONE PASEO
Mr. Moto Pizza, Spiro’s expanding; Friendly Feast hosts charity bake sale
News from San Diego’s restaurant industry
Nick’s Del Mar, a new branch of Orange County-based Nick’s restaurant chain, will open its first San Diego County location this fall at the One Paseo shopping center in Del Mar Heights.
The Del Mar location will have an extensive patio for serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Nick’s is known for its buttermilk fried chicken, housemade veggie burger and bacon deviled eggs.
The date for the opening of Nick’s at 3377 Del Mar Heights Road in San Diego has not been announced. Visit onepaseo.com/dining/nicks.
Mr. Moto adds Encinitas location
Mr. Moto Pizza House, the locally born New York-style pizzeria chain, will open its sixth San Diego County location in early October at 615 S. Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. It will replace the 3-year-old Napizza Roman-style slice shop that closed when the pandemic struck and never reopened.
Selling slices and whole pies for takeout and delivery, Mr. Moto has other locations in Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, North Park, Point Loma and La Jolla. Visit mrmotopizza.com.
Coronado’s Spiro’s expanding to La Jolla
After 25 years operating as Spiro’s Greek Cafe at Coronado Ferry Landing, owners Spiro and Nancy Chaconas have rebranded their restaurant company and will open a second location in the next week or two at 909 Prospect St. in La Jolla.
Newly renamed Spiro’s Mediterranean Cuisine, the restaurants will serve an expanded menu of healthy, traditional Greek and Mediterranean dishes, including Greek mezes (appetizers), gyros, souvlaki, kabob plates, salads, Greek wines and takeout market items. Visit spirosgreekcafe.com.
Annual charity bake sale returns Sunday
Friendly Feast will host its annual charity bake sale from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday at Born & Raised at 1909 India St. in Little Italy. Proceeds will benefit the Monarch School for homeless youth.
Six local pastry chefs will collaborate on filling $35 bakery boxes with scones, empanadas, brownies, kouignamann and more. This year’s participating chefs are Brenda Gonzalez of Born and Raised; Vivian Hernandezjackson of Azucar, Faye Rodriguez of Faye’s Desserts; Rachel King of Kaneh Co.; Rocio Siso-gurriaran, formerly of Nine-ten; and Adrian Mendoza, formerly of Herb & Wood. To pre-order a box, visit friendlyfeast.org/2020-bakesale/.
Edible San Diego launches virtual classes
Edible San Diego Magazine has launched a series of Ediblesd@home interactive virtual cooking classes led by local chefs.
The first class at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 will feature Barleymash chef Kevin Templeton making two autumn-inspired plant-based dishes. The second, at 6 p.m. Oct. 6, will feature Brad Wise of Trust Restaurant Group. The third, at 6 p.m. Nov. 17, will feature Davin Waite of All Things Waite restaurant group in Oceanside.
Students who purchase a Zoom link for the classes will be sent a shopping list five days beforehand so they can cook along with the chefs using their tablet, laptop or TV. Classes start at $35. To register, search Ediblesd@home on Eventbrite.com.
Epicurean San Diego switches to artisan boxes
When the pandemic dried up Epicurean San Diego’s corporate events, pop-up dinners and culinary tours, founders Stephanie and Dan Parker came up with a way to carry on their work and support local artisans.
In October, they’ll launch the Sunshine Box program, featuring a box of eight locally made items shipped to customers’ doorsteps for $99 plus tax. Items featured in the first collection are fresh-roasted coffee beans from Cafe Virtuoso; Wellness Tonique tea from Smij Spicery, Drinking shrub (a nonalcoholic syrup) from Cool Hands Co., salt from Salt Farm, a vegan chocolate bar from Nibble Chocolate, honey from Mikolich Honey, sriracha from Baby Clydesdale and EPIC food pun greeting cards. For information, visit epicureansandiego.com.
Pam Kragen writes about restaurants and dining for The San Diego Union-tribune. Email her at pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com.