Dishing It Out Archive

San Diego chefs and restaurateurs are polishing their wine glasses, dusting their windowsills and ironing their tablecloths for one of the biggest international food events of the year. For the first time, San Diego is hosting the annual meeting of the International Association of Culinary Professionals April 17 to 22 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina. Celebrity chefs, including Julia Child — BAM!; Jacques Pepin — BAM!; Charlie Trotter — BAM!; and, yes, Emeril Lagasse — double BAM! will be speaking at forums, performing at events, and dining out at private parties around town over the convention week.

The IACP represents all areas of the culinary world. In addition to chefs and restaurant owners, the organization includes caterers, cooking instructors, food writers, stylists and photographers who meet, share ideas and seek inspiration.

It is quite a compliment to be selected as host city for this convention and, until recently, it would have seemed quite unlikely that San Diego would be chosen for its culinary prowess over the many traditional food cities.

Special events, farm tours, classes and demonstrations will run from 8:30 a.m. each day to well past 10 p.m. at various locations throughout San Diego County. Although the events are not open to the public, you won’t miss one minute of the action (at least, not any of the important action). Yours truly will be attending many of the events during the week and reporting back on the KNSD 7/39 Morning News. With a camera strapped to my shoulder, I will be “Desperately Seeking Emeril.”

***

Start shopping for new dresses. The time is approaching for the California Restaurant Association’s night of nights — The Gold Medallion Awards and Banquet. This annual awards dinner, May 8 at the Sheraton Hotel Harbor Island, will be hosted by Jim Laslavic, chief jock at KNSD. It is a night of food, wine and, of course, a bit of lighthearted (yeah, right) competition. A cocktail reception will kick off the evening, followed by a sit-down dinner, auction and awards ceremony. Restaurant owners, chefs and vendors will be honored in 20 categories including chef of the year, purveyor of the year, best new restaurant and best hotel dining. It’s a gala, so plan to get gussied up. Tickets are $95 per person and are available through the restaurant association at (619) 230-0764 or at www.calrest.org.

***

Treat yourself to extraordinary flavors at the just-opened Faz Restaurant and Catering located at 530 Broadway in the 6,000-square-foot lobby of the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. The former San Diego Trust & Savings Bank headquarters has been completely restored to its 1928 grandeur. The lobby restaurant has 32-foot ceilings crisscrossed with a beautiful lattice of beams, and is enclosed by numerous arched and leaded glass windows. In addition to the dining room, which seats more than 200, it offers 4,000 square feet of catering and banquet space. The bank’s vault, lined with the original safe deposit boxes, now serves as an elegant private dining room for 20.

Chef/owner Faz Poursohi, known for his Faz restaurants in San Francisco and the Bay Area, offers classic Mediterranean and Near Eastern cuisine, featuring wood-fired grilled meats, rotisserie foods and smoked items. A large variety of flat breads and pizzas are baked daily in the wood-burning ovens and a special kebab cooker is employed in the preparation of a variety of meat and vegetarian kebabs.

***

Look for a mid-April opening for Momo Sushi and Seafood, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Market Street. This former home of G.I. Joe Army Surplus is being converted into a two-level, 15,000-square-foot restaurant by entrepreneur Frank Baik (who will serve as general manager) and his parents, William and Julie Baik. Momo’s, whose name is derived from a Japanese fairy tale character, Momataro (“peach boy”), will feature sushi and seafood buffets. The Baik family was one of the original investors in the Todai restaurant concept. The design team of Tony and Tiny Koch of Design Perspectives has been retained for the renovation. They are best known for their award-winning work on Moo-Time Creamery in Hillcrest, Top o’ the Cove in La Jolla and Greystone Steakhouse in Downtown.

***

Put on your walking shoes and bring your appetite to the 10th annual Pacific Beach Restaurant Walk from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. May 6. This $15 self-guided walking tour will feature specialty dishes from 15 restaurants with proceeds benefiting the Discover Pacific Beach Business Association. The participating restaurants are: The Atoll, Bangkok Thai, Bogart Yogurt, Good Time Charlie’s, Gringo’s, Hennessey’s Tavern, High Tide Café, Joe’s Crab Shack, Karinya Thai, Moondoggies, PB Bar and Grill, Pizzeria Uno, Pollo and Papas, TD Hays, PB Thai Café, World Famous, Nick’s at the Beach and Tony Roma’s. For information and tickets call (858) 273-3303.

Terryl Gavre 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 (619) 233-4060, Ext. 316, or food@san.rr.com.