Little Victory Wine Bar opens in Carlsbad Village
Jeremy Simpson and Kirsten Potenza, the husband-and-wife team behind Little Victory Wine Market in Encinitas, have expanded their brand with Little Victory Wine Bar, which opened April 9 at the corner of State and Oak streets in Carlsbad Village.
Simpson and Potenza are overseeing the wine and beverage part of their new business and chefs Kelly and Elliott Townsend, of Long Story Short, have created an accompanying, globally influenced menu. Their dishes feature Southern California ingredients prepared in a new Nordic style, reflecting their work in restaurants from Denmark to Italy.
New Victory Wine Bar seats 24-28 indoor guests and 18 on the patio at 505 Oak Ave., Suite B, Carlsbad. Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. Visit littlevictorywine.com.
Culinary Dropout headed to Del Mar Highlands: Culinary Dropout a modern American restaurant chain with 13 locations in the six states from Arizona to Georgia, will open its first California location April 30 in the Del Mar Heights.
To celebrate the opening there will be two opening day events. San Diego skate shop Sector 9 will offer free custom skateboards to the first 50 guests who dine in the restaurant on April 30. After the boards are gone, there will be other Sector 9 giveaways, including Foamie trucker hats. Also, the restaurant will donate 20 percent of its opening-day sales to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Foundation, which s firefighters, lifeguards and paramedics.
Culinary Dropout will offer lunch and dinner service, happy hour and weekend brunch. Signature menu items include soft pretzels and provolone fondue, BBQ pork belly nachos, Korean-style rib eye cap; black truffle mushroom Detroit-style pizza, Mongolian short rib served with a soft egg on a bed of crispy rice, chicken cacio e pepe pasta, crispy chicken katsu sandwich and more.
Created by Arizona-based Fox Restaurant Concepts, Culinary Dropout serves comfort food, cocktails, live music and TV sports. The local restaurant is taking over an 8,000-square-foot space in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center at 12875 El Camino Real, San Diego. Visit culinarydropout.com/locations/culinary-dropout-del-mar-ca/.
Brisa opens in Little Italy: Brisa, a Latin American-Japanese fusion restaurant at 2101 Kettner Blvd. in San Diego’s Little Italy.
Co-owned and managed by Jennifer Reinhart, Brisa’s menu was designed with the help of chef James Montejano. It features a lump crab nopal tostada, tangerine tempura shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops, smoked pork chuleta and a 32-ounce porterhouse steak for two. Brisa also features an oyster bar, a selection of sushi rolls. The bar menu features cocktails and beer.
It’s open from 4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, with with brunch and dinner service Saturdays, and from 9 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Visit brisasd.com.
Caravan heading to East Village: Caravan, a mobile pop-up specializing in small-batch ice cream and pizza, will open a brick-and mortar space on May 3 in East Village. The restaurant’s menu will include gourmet pizzas whole and by the slice, small plates including focaccia, a focaccia sandwich, salad and ice creams by the scoop or print with flavors like horchata, hot honey and mezcal lime sorbet.
Caravan was co-founded nearly nine months ago by chefs Ethan Ritenour and Jarrett Wright with the goal of serving good food and promoting arts, music and fashion. The new location will be inside the Black & Grey Atelier building at 1450 Market Street, A1, downtown. The grand-opening event, from 11 am. to midnight May 3, will feature live music from 2 p.m. to close. For the menu and more details, visit caravanpizza.com.
Craftsman Tavern suddenly closes: In a surprise for North County diners, the Craftsman Tavern in Encinitas is closing its doors today, April 18, after failed negotiations for a lease renewal.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, Dario Novo wrote: “Our sudden closure is due to the fact that negotiations to renew the lease have come to an ime. We hoped our landlord would be flexible and allow more time, however they are insistent that we vacate by May 1st. We love and appreciate all our Craftsman family. Our staff will miss all of you, we’ll be all hands on deck for the next two evenings, so please stop by to say goodbyes to over a decade of being your local neighborhood tavern.”
The restaurant is at 267 N El Camino Real, Encinitas. craftsmantavern.com
Celebrate the Craft returns: The Lodge at Torrey Pines will host Celebrate the Craft, its annual outdoor celebration of Southern California chefs, food artisans, produce, wine and craft beer, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 27.
Among the many high-profile participating local chefs are Roberto Alcocer of Michelin-starred Valle; Drew Deckman, whose Baja California restaurants hold 1 red and 2 green Michelin stars, of 31ThirtyOne restaurant in North Park; Trey Foshee of George’s at the Cove; Jason Knibb of Nine-Ten; Brian Redzikowski of Michelin Bib Gourmand-honored Kettner Exchange; Sydney Imlay of Kingfisher; Tim “TK” Kolanko of Urban Kitchen Group; Jojo Ruiz of Clique Hospitality; Mike Reidy of The Fishery; Travis Swikard of Michelin Bib Gourmand-honored Callie; Kevin Alvarado of Kinme, and many more.
Tickets are $307 to $441, with proceeds benefiting The Ecology Center. Purchase at lodgetorreypines.com/celebrate-the-craft.
James Beard festival coming to RB: The Rancho Bernardo Inn has announced plans to host its first James Beard Award Winners Food & Wine Festival May 2-4. The luxury event will feature award-winning chefs, master sommeliers and mixologists for tastings, immersive dining experiences, as well as optional onsite lodging.
Chefs booked to participate are Bravo “Top Chef” finalist Casey Thompson of Sonoma, Matt Vawder of Breckenridge, Colo., Jimmy Schmidt of Detroit and Alex Seidel of Denver, along with JC Resorts’ Ron Fougeray, wine educator Aaron Driver and Cazadores mixologist Manny Hinojosa. For events and pricing, visit ranchobernardoinn.com/james-beard-winners-weekend.
