Dishing It Out Archive

Ch-ch-changes. MIXX in Hillcrest will be closing its doors Oct. 31, so for those of you who want to dine there once more for old times’ sake, get on in there. I’ve heard reservations are a must these days. Chef/owner Deb Helm has decided she needs a change of pace and will now concentrate on her Mission restaurants. She is planning on a January/February’04 opening for the newest, Mission Soma, located a few blocks east of the new ballpark at 13th Avenue and J Street in Downtown. Helm has leased the ground floor of the former Rosario Hall, a space owned by Bob Sinclair, who is renovating the building.

Michael Stebner will take over the MIXX space to open his own restaurant, Region. It will feature Southern California cuisine and be a showcase for handcrafted cheeses, breads and locally grown vegetables. Stebner most recently served as executive chef at 910, the restaurant located in La Jolla’s Grand Colonial Hotel. Region opens Nov. 14.

Jason Knibb will replace Stebner at 910. Knibb joins 910 from Robert Redford’s Sundance Village, where, for the past five years, he has served as executive chef for all of the food and beverage outlets, including The Foundry Grill and the renowned Tree Room restaurant. Knibb, raised in Southern California, has worked under some of the country’s best chefs, including Wolfgang Puck at Eureka (a short-lived brewery restaurant) and Hans Rockenwagner at the Rox in Los Angeles. By the way, he also served as sous chef for Trey Foshee at the Tree Room five years ago before Foshee left to become executive chef at George’s at the Cove.

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Escondido’s 150 Grand Café has opened its new Back Room Lounge. Located in the former Garden Room, the new lounge space will be more casual than the dining room and will feature live music, a late night bar menu, as well as specialty drinks, coffee and desserts.

Another well-known chef is venturing out on his own. Riko Bartolome will open Asia-Vous, featuring French/Asian cuisine, in Escondido early next year. Bartolome, who you may remember from his tenure at 150 Grand Café, did a short stint at Rice (Hotel W) before leaving to work on Asia-Vous.

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Say “cheese.” Join Laurel Restaurant and Bar’s general manager, George Riffle, one Sunday each month for a light-hearted, educational tasting of international cheeses accompanied by complementing wines. The next tasting will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 26, when Riffle will explore the world of Bleu Cheese. Price is $31 per person. For reservations and information, call (619) 239-2222.

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Have you been up to the Waters Café @SDMA yet? Mary Kay Waters of Waters Fine Catering and Waters Fine Foods opened a 200-seat casual service eatery at the Museum of Art in Balboa Park this summer. Guests enjoy the same high quality, handcrafted food prepared by Waters’ chefs, but in a casual atmosphere and at lower prices. Guests place orders at the counter and then runners bring the food out on trays (on real dishes, not paper). Museum goers can feast on gourmet sandwiches like the “Hobbs Ham Sandwich” ($6.50) with Jarlsberg, dijonnaise and Plugra butter on a baguette or “Shredded BBQ Pork” ($6.75) with buttermilk slaw on a baguette or salads like the “Grilled Albacore Salad” ($8), as well as savory pizzas, burgers and desserts.

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Ever wondered why they call them comfort foods? Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that high-fat, high-carbohydrate comfort foods may decrease stress by lessening the production of stress-related hormones unleashed when people are faced with an immediate stress. Researchers also report that prolonged stress can elicit the urge to overdo rich comfort foods. Careful though, your clothes may not be all that comfortable when you see how many inches this novel “stress reduction program” has added to your waist.

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.