Dishing It Out Archive

Raise your forks, ladies and gentlemen. Chuck Samuelson has brought his popular Cuvee restaurant concept to Del Mar. You may remember that late last year Samuelson briefly closed and revamped his Bird Rock Café, then reopened with a bang as Cuvee Wine Country Cuisine.

The concept was so successful he decided to remodel his Torrey Pines Café (Carmel Valley Road) and reopen as Cuvee Wine Country Cuisine Del Mar. The seasonal large and small plate menu changes monthly, mirroring the menu at the Bird Rock location.

Long time Torrey Pines Café followers will be happy to know that many of their favorite items still are on the menu.

Cuvee Wine Country Cuisine Del Mar serves lunch and dinner weekdays as well as dinner Saturday night and a Sunday brunch. Best of all are the great prices on more than 168 bottled wines: cost plus $8. For more information, go to www.cuveerestaurant.com.

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If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to attend one of the chef dinners at the James Beard House in New York, here’s your chance. On Sept. 30 you can attend a preview dinner presented by chef Stephen Window (Roppongi) and master baker Karen Krasne (Extraordinary Desserts). The New York dinner at the James Beard House will be Oct. 23.

Roppongi will be closed for regular service on the September evening, when a five-course dinner will be served exactly as it will be in New York. Cost of the dinner, including wine, is $75 per person plus tax and gratuity. Call (858) 551-5252 for reservations.

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A hearty but brief welcome back to James Boyce, former executive chef at Azzura Point. Boyce will join Chef de Cuisine Ron Tolle to prepare a dinner Aug. 24 to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Loews Resort Coronado.

Boyce is the g.m. and chef de cuisine at Mary Elaine’s, the nationally acclaimed restaurant at The Phoenician luxury resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.

For more information or to make reservations, call (619) 424-4000. Space is limited and reservations are required.

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Those of you who were big fans of Montana’s, don’t fret. It has a new name and new owners, but it’s still the fantastic, flavorful fare of Executive Chef Jeffery Dugger. Dugger and his partners sold their interest in Montana’s, located at 1421 University Ave. in Hillcrest to LLM Management in May. A rather extensive remodel took place and on June 15, Seven was introduced at a splashy opening party.

The menu features smoked and grilled items, as well as the mainline American fare Dugger was famous for at Montana’s with the addition of some worldly Pacific Rim items. You will be tempted by items such as “Smoked Duck Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Cream” and “Black and White Linguini with Grilled Prawns, Leeks, Red Peppers and Garlic Chile Sauce.”

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Fellow foodies, get your reservations for the second in the continuing series of Food & Wine Magazine’s Best Chefs in America Dinners at George’s at the Cove. The Aug. 28 dinner will be a collaborative effort of George’s executive chef, Trey Foshee, and Guillermo Pernot of Pasion! in Philadelphia.

Pernot, a chef in the national spotlight, was featured on the cover of Food & Wine Magazine (along with Foshee) when selected by the magazine as one of America’s Best Chefs in 1998. Pernot’s new cookbook, “Ceviche!” recently was named Best Cookbook Single Subject by the James Beard Foundation. He also was named Chef of the Year by Esquire magazine in 1999. The dinner will feature a five-course tasting menu of Pernot’s award-winning cuisine. The cost is $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Warwick’s will provide a book signing at the event as well. Seating is limited. Call (858) 454-4244 for information and reservations.

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It looks like a mid-August opening for Zip & Zack’s Filling Station and Pickup Joint on Restaurant Row in San Marcos.

This Cohn-Zip Inc. venture, the newly formed company between David Cohn, of the Cohn Restaurant Group, and Steve Zipfel, of Dick’s Last Resort, is running just slightly behind schedule. (As Zip says, “If it weren’t for the bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all!”)

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Check out the newly opened Gaslamp Strip Club, where diners grill their own steaks and even fetch their own wine from the wine cellar. Gaslamp Strip Club took over the former Tupelo space located at 420 Fifth Ave. Lots of big booths, hip light fixtures and fur.

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Pin’s Wa opened last month in Rancho Santa Fe. The Asian seafood restaurant took over the old Giardinos at 6105 Paseo Delicias. Executive Chef Luis Camancho (Roppongi) heads up the kitchen at this new restaurant where the atmosphere is tranquil and the food blissful. Owners David and Sopin (“Pin”) Anichowski bought, turned around and sold the former Roadhouse Grill & Brew Pub in Encinitas, and they also own Compass Creek Brewery in Rancho Cucamonga.

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On Aug. 24, the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel in Mission Valley will continue its summer tradition and present an authentic Hawaiian luau. Every summer since 1984, the hotel has presented a full Hawaiian luau complete with the sounding of a conch shell and traditional Polynesian dancers and fire eaters. The menu includes roast suckling pig, mahi mahi, citrus chicken, salads and of course, tropical drinks with umbrellas. Prices are $59 for adults, $49 for seniors and $29 for children. For reservations call (619) 297-1101.

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 233-4060, Ext. 316, or at food@san.rr.com.