Dishing It Out Archive

Celebrity chefs have signed up to perform for the 21st annual USCD Cancer Research Center gala, “Savoir Flaire — A Night in Provence.” The May 18 benefit will take place at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. The evening will include a cocktail reception with a culinary sampling from some of the nation’s top chefs followed by a formal sit-down dinner prepared by chef Steven Black and staff at the Sheraton.

Participating celebrity chefs include Riko Bartolome, The Grill at Maderas; Traci Des Jardines, Jardinier-San Francisco; Jean-Michel Diot, Tapenade; Trey Foshee, George’s at the Cove; Michelle Gayer, Charlie Trotters-Chicago; Carlton Greenawalt, 150 Grand; Bernard Guillas, The Marine Room; Nancy Oakes, Boulevard-San Francisco; Patrick Pontsaty, El Bizcocho; Kent Rathbun, Abacus-Dallas; Kevin Rathbun, Nava-Atlanta; Michael Stebner, 910; Stephen Window, Roppongi; and Martin Woesle, Mille Fleurs.

Tickets are $300 per person and can be purchased by calling (858) 822-0023.

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Groupies of former 150 Grand chef Riko Bartolome can now dine on his fare at The Grill at Maderas, a new free-standing restaurant in Poway at the Rolling Hills Golf Club at Heritage Estates. Notice I didn’t say “golf and country club.” It’s just a restaurant that happens to be situated on a golf course. It is indeed open to the public, but call for reservations as this little beauty only has 50 seats (although a patio is in the works for summer). When I ask Bartolome what type of cuisine he was servin’ up out there, he says “not your normal country club fare, that’s for sure.” Prepare for some upscale, eclectic Pacific Rim with a splash of French.

Stepping into Bartolome’s former position as “top toque” at 150 Grand is his former sous chef, Carlton Greenawalt.

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In the “Whatever Happened To” category, I received an e-mail from a chef in West Virginia who was trying to locate former Bayou Bar and Grill chef Sean Hartigan. I knew that Hartigan had left the Bayou six years ago and was working recently as executive chef at World Famous. After a few phone calls I learned that Hartigan has, for the time being anyway, traded in his knives for scissors. Hartigan, who was known to sport hairstyles more befitting a 1980s band member than a sauté pan handler, owns and operates the salon Hairspray in Hillcrest. Sean and his wife, Annie, bought the salon a year ago.

Hartigan was replaced at World Famous by his former sous chef, Chris “Shaggy” Bates.

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And what about that Fabio-esque chef of yesteryear, Jeff Burt? Remember him, the quiet, ponytailed guy in white, who worked the exhibition kitchen of Prego for most of the 1990s? He caused me and my then-boyfriend to create a “scene” at the restaurant involving tears, an empty wine glass and many extra napkins because I was smiling at Burt when I should have been smiling at my escort.

With delight, I announce that Burt can be found diligently working in the kitchen of Scalini Restaurant in Del Mar. Burt made the move to Scalini late last year after several years out of town working with the Spectrum Foods Group (Prego, Tutto Mare) and a year of consulting.

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Another long gone but not forgotten favorite, Gunther Emathinger, who, in the late 1980s, was chef and owner of Falco Restaurant — another eatery that opened too early in the Gaslamp Quarter — can be found working as regional chef for Karl Strauss Breweries. Emathinger hires and trains all company chefs and is responsible for all menus.

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Speaking of menus, I just experienced Emathinger’s handiwork at the Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens Restaurant in Sorrento Mesa. We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday brunch last month and it’s a great family value at $18.95 for adults and $8.95 for kids.

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About six years ago, Bill Evans of Evans Hotel Group (Catamaran, Bahia) purchased the aging Lodge at Torrey Pines, an inn perched on the beautiful Torrey Pines Reserve overlooking the Torrey Pines Golf Course and the big blue Pacific Ocean. About a year and a half ago, Evans took a bulldozer to the property and nearly flattened all 75 rooms and the surrounding properties’ buildings.

A team of internationally acclaimed architects and designers have almost completed a $57 million renovation.

The new Lodge at Torrey Pines will be a 175-room, four-star property featuring a ballroom, 3,500 square feet of meeting space, a free-standing restaurant and a 9,500-square-foot state-of-the-art spa. A. R. Valentien, the signature restaurant, is named after the well-known San Diego impressionist renowned for his watercolors of San Diego flora. The restaurant boasts “cuisine à la minute,” meaning market driven, freshly available produce with minimal handling. Jeff Jackson, who most recently was executive chef at Shutters Beach House in Santa Monica, will serve as executive chef. The restaurant will feature what Jackson describes as “truly California cuisine” and will serve only California wines. The room rates are expected to start at $350 per night. A soft opening is scheduled for the end of March, and the lodge will open to the public in early April.

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Next time you’re in La Jolla, drop into the new Ale and Ocean, at 7536 Fay Ave. It took over the old La Jolla Brewing Co. space almost two years ago but got caught up in the red tape of the permit process. The renovation finally was completed and doors opened in early December. The London-ish interiors take advantage of the outrageously high ceilings and take sleek minimalism to its stylish peak. A Formica-paneled wall depicting stones meets maple veneer and a mahogany bar. The owner, a Vancouver-based company, U.R.C., also owns and operates Morrisey, an Irish pub; Iaci, an Italian restaurant; and the very hip (and hot) Ginger Sixty-Two, which recently was rented for a night by Angelina Jolie for a private party.

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.