Today on
These Days
, we did
an interview with Troy Johnson
from
Riviera
magazine on some of the new restaurants opening in San Diego. The new spot I'm most excited about is the
Blind Lady Ale House
opening January 30th on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. It's going to be a gourmet pizza spot and microbrewery. They won't be brewing on opening day because they are waiting for the license, but eventually they'll be brewing onsite. Troy says it will be very affordable and the food should be quality as it's the former chef from Region (closed now, but was in Hillcrest) One thing's for sure, Blind Ale has a nifty new logo (
right
), which isn't surprising since one of the owners is a prominent graphic designer who's designed for Jack Johnson, G. Love and Steve Poltz. Oh, and they're
blogging
as they get the restaurant ready.
We also talked about the Crescent Heights Kitchen and Lounge, which Troy called "the hottest table in town." Executive Chef David McIntyre worked with Wolfgang Puck and is apparently a rising star. From the menu, Troy recommends the scallop ceviche. On the radio, he compared it to silk lingere in the mouth. Not sure what kind of research went into this analogy but we're going to take Troy at his word. Crescent Heights Kitchen and Lounge is located at 655 West Broadway in downtown San Diego. It's spendy, but according to the buzz, very worth it.
We also talked about a new wine bar in North Park called Splash Wine Lounge (3043 University Avenue). Now before you roll your eyes about one wine bar too many in this town, Splash is different. They have an enomatic machine. Troy described it as a wine slurpy machine. You buy a "Splash card" and put, say, $20 on it. Then you can walk around trying different types of wines until your card runs out. Wines are dispensed out of these machines and the diversity of options is part of the appeal. Splash also has food, but food and bottle purchases are not included on your "Splash card."
