Amalfi Llama opens at UTC
Amalfi Llama, a live fire-cooking restaurant that blends Italian and Patagonian cuisine, will open next week at Westfield UTC shopping center in San Diego.
The 152-seat restaurant is the creation of the Eureka! Restaurant Group and Grupo Carolo Hospitality, which debuted their first Amalfi Llama location last winter in Miami. Chefs use fire, smoke, coals and embers to cook meat, seafood, grains and vegetables in dishes such as cedar plank-roasted branzino, Ora King salmon and burrata, lobster arrabbiata spaghetti, baked tagliolini, roasted mushrooms with white truffle oil, tomahawk and Wagyu steaks and more. The restaurant also has a central, 28-seat circular bar and 92-seat patio. Amalfi Llama is at 4575 La Jolla Village Drive. (858) 224-9606, amalfillama.com.
Mess Hall revamp unveiled
Liberty Public Market celebrated its eighth anniversary at Liberty Station last weekend with the unveiling of its newly renovated Mess Hall. The airy dining and drinking hall has nearly doubled its refrigerated shop space, where beers, wines, craft spirits and picnic-ready snacks can be purchased for takeout. The bar area offers 16 bar stools and 30 more seats have been added in the dining areas. The Public Market is at 2820 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego. Visit libertypublicmarketsd.com.
Parakeet Café expands
Parakeet Café, a healthy foods and coffeehouse chain, opened its sixth location on March 6 in the Forum Carlsbad shopping center. Founded in La Jolla in 2017, the café serves vegan and gluten-free menu items and menu specialties include toasts, breakfast and lunch bowls, salads, soups and more. 1935 Calle Barcelona, Carlsbad. parakeetcafe.com
Deckman renames restaurant
Famed Baja chef Drew Deckman’s much-anticipated, two-story North Park restaurant is scheduled to open in May, but since announcing his plans for the venue a few months ago, he has changed the eatery’s name. Formerly billed as Watershed, it will now be named 31THIRTYONE, in a nod to its address at 3131 University Ave., San Diego. Follow its progress at The3131.com.
Cori earns global honor
Four-year-old Cori Trattoria Pastificio restaurant in North Park is one of just 30 Italian restaurants worldwide to earn Gambero Rosso’s three-fork rating for Top Italian Restaurant 2024. The distinction from Gambero Rosso, an Italian food and wine rating group and magazine, recognizes excellence in authenticity, service and wine selection.
Just four other Italian restaurants in the U.S. received the three-forks honor: Ferraro’s in Las Vegas; La Puglia in Los Angeles; Belotti in Oakland; and Acquerello in San Francisco. Since Sicily-raised chef Accursio Lota and his wife, Corrine Goria, opened the restaurant in early 2020, Cori has earned multiple Gambero Rosso honors. Meanwhile, the restaurant at 2977 Upas St. has recently unveiled an interior makeover. Visit coripasta.com.
Seattle bakery plans one-day pop-up in April
Piroshky Piroshky, a 32-year-old European-inspired bakery in Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market, is planning a California pop-up tour next month that will kick off in San Diego. Fans of the iconic bakery can pre-order their choice of menu items online. Then, between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. April 17, they can pick up their pre-paid and pre-frozen items at Ballast Point Brewing, 9045 Carroll Road, San Diego. Orders must be placed by 2 p.m. April 15 at piroshkybakery.com/events/san_diego_04_17_24/.
Ambrogio15 plans Italian wine tasting
Ambrogio15 Del Mar will host a sommelier-guided Rare Grapes of Italy wine-tasting event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 26. For $59, guests will be taste five Italians wines made with rare grapes accompanied by Italian food bites at the SkyDeck restaurant collective, 2841 El Camino Real, San Diego. For reservations, visit ambrogiodelmar.com.
Valle hosts Michelin dinner with Californios chef Val Cantú
Roberto Alcocer, executive chef at Michelin-starred Valle restaurant in Oceanside, will host his second Michelin star-themed dinner on April 10 with Val Cantú, the chef and owner of the Michelin two star restaurant Californios in San Francisco. Just six Mexican restaurants in the United States have earned Michelin stars.
The eight-course tasting menu dinner will celebrate both chefs’ innovative culinary styles and their distince approaches to Mexican cuisine. The dinner takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. April 10 at 222 N. Pacific St., Oceanside. Tickets are $300, with optional wine pairings for an additional $180. Reservations can be made on the website Seven Rooms.
Celebrate the Craft returns April 14
The Lodge at Torrey Pines will host its 21st Celebrate the Craft culinary festival from 11:30 a.m. a.m. to 3 p.m. April 14.
The annual event, held on the back patio overlooking the Torrey Pines golf course and Pacific Ocean, showcases California restaurants, wines, beers, spirits, artisan foods, seafood, farm produce, beef and other animal proteins. A portion of proceeds benefits The Ecology Center, a 28-acre Regenerative Organic Certified Farm.
Tickets are $250, or $350 for a VIP experience with private seating and exclusive wine tastings. The Lodge is at 11480 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. Visit lodgetorreypines.com/celebrate-the-craft.
Salt + Lime launches brunch
Open since August, this patio Mexican restaurant in Del Mar has introduced brunch service from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Dishes include chilaquiles, huevos rancheros divorciados, breakfast burritos, Mexican French toast, cinnamon rolls and more. 1201 Camino Del Mar, Suite 101, Del Mar. saltandlimesd.com
pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
