Food, Booze & Beds Archive

When my sweetie tries to reach me and I’m not at work and not on my cell, he knows he’ll be able to find me at Bertrand at Mr. A’s. It is not as if Bertrand alone has not coaxed me in for his fair share of lunch and dinners, but add my all-time favorite chef du jour, Fabrice Poigin, and you can clear out my restaurant speed dial ‘cause baby, I’m a gonner.

No one is happier than I to announce that Poigin is Mr. A’s new executive chef. The opening was created when Todd Davies accepted a job in San Francisco at mc2. It took Bertrand some serious leg work to locate Poigin, who had just returned from France after a long vacation. I reported in August that Poigin had sold his restaurant, Vignola, a month earlier. He was in the throes of putting together a new place of his own in the Del Mar area when he was approached by Bertrand. Poigin, remembered for his years at Sally’s, and maybe even from his days at Bagatelle in La Jolla, didn’t hesitate. Smartly so.

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Susan Stevens is the new g.m. at the U.S. Grant Hotel. She joins the Downtown hotel from the 256-room Hilton Hotel Del Mar, where she also worked as g.m. New, too, at the Grant is Jon Palsson, executive chef. He is overseeing the hotel’s three kitchens, staff and menu development. Sounds like one of those “two-fer” deals that happen so often in the hotel industry: Palsson also previously worked the Hilton Hotel Del Mar.

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The new fellow in the kitchen at Blue Point Coastal Cuisine is Jonathan Hale, a 1991 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who spent the past seven years with the Pacific Café Group in Hawaii. Hale says he is obsessed with seafood and looks forward to adding his flair for Pacific Rim dishes to the menu of the Cohn Group restaurant. He replaces Charles Sanders, the pony-tailed chef who made a name for himself at the now merely-a-memory Harmony on Fifth.

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In other Cohn-camp news, yet another Indigo Grill delay has occurred, with the opening date now slated for mid-November. And on a sad note, after suffering more than a year of what has become known as the “Gaslamp Syndrome,” the Cohn Group has closed the doors for good at Tupelo. “The events of Sept. 11 and the sinking economy we were already experiencing led to the decision,” says Debbie Shumaker, an executive with Cohn Group. They will continue to use the space for private parties until the end of the year, and then do a remodel complete with a new concept. I wonder what David Cohn has up his sleeve this time?

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On a related note, Nathan Slovatizki, formerly executive chef at Tupelo, has joined Big City Chefs, a national personal chef service provider based in San Diego. Slovatizki previously worked with San Francisco celebrity chef Michael Mina at his “chainette” Aqua Restaurant located at the Bellaggio in Las Vegas.

By the way, Mina recently opened another Aqua offspring at the St. Regis Hotel and Spa in Laguna Niguel. The property opened in late August and is kicking the booty of the stately but stodgy Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. I dined at Aqua recently and can report that the food and service was up to comparative snuff with his San Francisco flagship store. I highly recommend the drive to Laguna, if only to sit in the bar for drinks and snack on the most fantastic, decadent, wonderful “truffled popcorn” that is served. It’s a stunningly beautiful room with huge and gorgeous paintings by Wade Hoefer.

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The San Diego Gaslamp Hilton has opened 30 lofts and suites and a retail area called The Enclave. The lofts bring the room total to 282. The Enclave includes the Artesia Spa, the Legacy Gift Gallery and PJ’s Coffee Co. Several specialty suites boast 180-degree views, including a Presidential Suite that is highlighted by an octagon-shaped living room with floor-to-ceiling windows. This extravagance will rent for about $3,800 per night during peak season. Yikes!

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George’s at the Cove’s winter lineup of wine maker dinners will feature Liparita Cellars on Nov. 6, Livingston Moffett Winery on Dec. 11, Chappellet Vineyard on Jan. 15, Truchard Vineyard on Feb. 12, Whitehall Lane Winery on March 12 and Karl Lawrence/Ancien/Destino on April 16. For information, call (858) 454-4244.

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Check out the new happy hour at Top O’ the Cove. Monday through Friday from 5 to 7 p.m., selected champagnes, wines, domestic beers and a list of special martinis will cost just $2 each. Sip on a chocolate martini or cosmopolitan while snacking on the $5 Happy Hour Menu that includes dishes like “Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce” and “Mini Beef Wellington.”

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The Hotel Parisi may not have a restaurant or a swimming pool, but it does nudge the top of the list in special services offered. For example, the hotel has 24-hour holistic health practitioners for those seeking balance in their lives, or if guests just find themselves breaking down at three in the morning. Health and privacy minded guests can take advantage of the in-house clinical psychologist, certified yoga instructor, neuromuscular therapy technician or acupuncturist. Get some room service from Roppongi next door and you’ve got yourself a weekend.

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Congratulations to Bernard Guillas of The Marine Room. He is a new member of the International Restaurant & Hospitality Rating Bureau’s American Chef’s Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place Oct. 23 during a black tie gala at the new Hyatt Lake Las Vegas. Guillas is only the 14th American chef to receive this honor.

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Welcome back, Elario’s! The renowned restaurant and nightclub that occupied the penthouse atop the old SummerHouse Inn is back. The SummerHouse Inn changed ownership in the late ’90s and after a complete remodel the name was changed to Hotel La Jolla and the restaurant and bar was renamed Crescent Shores Grill. After much confusion and many requests, the ownership decided to pay tribute to the much loved and respected venue by changing the name back to Elario’s. The new Elario’s still boasts the same fabulous view of the La Jolla shoreline, fabulous artwork by San Diego artists Manny Farber and Ellen Salk, and the wonderful and creative cuisine of chef Lilianna Navarrete.

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Kipp Downing has named Barbi Hendrick as director of group sales for the Pacifica Group of Restaurants. As national sales manager for the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau since 1995, Hendrick handled San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties.

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Don’t miss the fifth annual Great Chefs of San Diego benefit for The National Kidney Foundation of Southern California on Nov. 18 at the Hilton Torrey Pines. The 2 to 4 p.m. event, hosted by Chef Deborah MacDonald-Schneider, is sure to be an afternoon of culinary delight. Participating chefs include Tom Adkins, Riko Bartolome, Beryl Ann Byrd, Bernard Guillas, Jim Hill, Brian Johnson, Josh McGinnis, Patrick Ponsaty, Michael Stebner, Jeffrey Strauss, Pascal Vignau, Jeff Burt, Kai-Ming Wong, Steve Black, Fabrice Poigin, Jean Michel Diot, Ed Moore, Jeff Thurston, Sean Sullivan, Jeff Jackson, Alex Espiritu, Michelle Coulon and Josh Giunta.

Tickets are $80 per person or $150 per couple. For information, call (619) 521-5878.

Terryl Gavre spends her entire day thinking about what she is going to eat for dinner. She believes the world would be a better place if everyone worked once as a foodserver. She is owner of Café 222, Downtown, and can be reached at food@san.rr.com.