By Frank Sabatini Jr
New queer-owned coffee shop in Bankers Hill
Married couple Gia Giambalvo and Sarah Girdzius are off to a robust start since recently opening Mnemonic Coffee.
The 550-square-foot coffeehouse is located on the ground floor of 41 West condominium building in Bankers Hill. The shop offers a range of “thoughtfully prepared” dairy-free coffee drinks, as well as non-alcoholic beverages that borrow from the cocktail scene.
“We love the cocktail culture and wanted to learn about drink styles, so we pulled from that by offering ‘zero-proof’ drinks made with coffee, tea or our house-made sodas and syrups,” said Giambalvo, adding that she and Girdzius previously worked for Escondido-based James Coffee.
If you’re hankering for something with a little pucker, for example, the “Pony Boy” enlivens the palate with grapefruit, saffron syrup and Topo Chico mineral water.
There are also seasonal offerings, such as the “Ginger Spice” made with apple cider, ginger syrup, cinnamon and apple foam, as well as the “Mint Condition,” comprising espresso, peppermint syrup and oat milk. The drink is served with an Andes chocolate-mint as a nostalgic sidekick.
Giambalvo pointed out that oat milk is used across the menu in lieu of regular milk.
The menu covers all of the coffee classics too, such as espressos, pour-overs, cortados and cold brews. And tea drinkers are in luck with varieties such as blue jasmine, ruby oolong, white peony, and a couple of ceremonial teas that are steeped multiple times.
So why the name “mnemonic,” which describes a technique or system used to assist memory?
“We chose the name because coffee can be a mnemonic device,” Giambalvo noted. “Coffee is like a metric for time — and memories are formed around sensory things like coffee.”
The couple aimed for a 70s-style motif when designing the shop. They chose bright colors and wood paneling to create a welcoming vibe.
“We wanted a place that feels cozy and lived-in, not sterile,” Giambalvo said, while adding that the shop also carries donuts from Donut Star in Mission Hills.
Mnemonic Coffee is open from 7 am to 2 pm, Tuesday through Friday, and from 8 am to 3 pm, Saturdays and Sundays. 2604 Fifth Ave., mnemonic.coffee.
Paella pleasures
Spain’s favorite party dish just became more accessible at Fisher’s in Little Italy, where paella is served every Saturday and Sunday in disc-shaped ceramic dishes that easily feed three to four people. The paella is also available to-go on weekdays with a 24-hour notice. In either case, the cost is $86.
Served over a bed of Spanish rice, the dish incorporates a number of proteins: two types of fresh shrimp, clams, mussels, mahi mahi, chorizo, chicken, and beef sausage. Fisher’s adds a spin to the recipe with the addition of artichokes, green beans and pimento peppers.
Customers can view the paella in the making – along with other seafood dishes from the regular menu – through large windows that peer into the spacious kitchen.
Fisher’s made its San Diego debut earlier this year. It started out as a four-table seafood restaurant in 1989 just outside of Mexico City and has since expanded to 31 locations in Mexico and Spain. Most of the seafood at each location is sourced from regional waters. 555 W. Beech St., 619-915-4823, fishers-sandiego.com.
Reinvention continues at Hob Nob Hill
Extended weekend hours, plus new kitchen equipment, signage, lighting and menu offerings have descended on San Diego’s historical Hob Nob Hill.
The Bankers Hill restaurant, which is nearly 80 years old, recently announced it will stay open until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays.
“We realized that San Diego doesn’t have many nighttime spots,” said marketing manager Edwin Real. “Someone has to provide that for us otherwise we’re going to have this reputation of being a sleepy town that closes early at night.”
With the extended hours comes a late-night menu that includes steak and eggs, and Cincinnati chili. Real also pointed out a few “secret employee dishes” listed on a flip-card menu found on every table. Those dishes include “Kelsey’s meatloaf” named after a Hob Nob server, plus a fish sandwich with American cheese on brioche that pays homage to the Filet-o-Fish at McDonald’s.
In addition, the full-bar restaurant has created a separate side-door entrance for late-night arrivals, and added gold lighting along the exterior roof line of the building.
“We’re doing some flourish now,” Real said. 2271 First Ave., 619-239-8176, hobnobhill.com.
Bunny Chow hops into North Park
When was the last time you heard someone suggest going out for South African food? Probably never.
Well, now you can take the lead by recommending a splurge at Bunny Chow, which opened a second San Diego location in North Park. (The original kitchen resides at 7128 Miramar Road.)
The restaurant is co-owned by South African natives Andrew Georgitsis and Gary Wolfson. They bring to the table a host of traditional recipes from their homeland, many of which are influenced by settlers from all over the world.
The name dish, bunny chow, for instance, traces back to Indian migrants. Here it consists of a partial loaf of hollowed-out bread filled with a fragrant curry sauce draping your choice of lamb, chicken, seafood or vegetables.
There is also grilled chicken accented with piquant peri peri sauce, a staple in South African cuisine. And if you’ve never tried bobotie, this is a good place to start. The pie-like dish features beef or lamb, plus ginger, garlic, curry powder, raisins, apricots and more. It’s topped with bechamel sauce and comes with salad and a choice of rice.
Bunny Chow’s menu leans heavily toward char-grilled meats and also offers a decent selection of cocktails and mocktails popular throughout different regions of South Africa. 2850 El Cajon Blvd., Suite C, 855-276-2540, bunnychow.co.
Hot and in demand
San Diego restaurants are finding themselves more and more in notable rankings by national media and popular online portals. OpenTable is the latest to show us some love.
Using new metrics and consumer reviews, the site named two restaurants in San Diego County as being in the top 100 within the U.S.
Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad earned a 4.9 rating out of OpenTable’s 5-star system. The charming, intimate restaurant was applauded for “re-imagining French cuisine” in its four-course menu priced at $115 per guest. Popular dishes include veal tartare, duck with preserved plums, and inventive seasonal desserts. 2659 State St., 760-637-5266, jeune-jolie.com.
Ranking the same is Young Blood in the East Village. The cocktail-centric speakeasy by CH Projects is famous for its sexy, hidden atmosphere in which patrons enter through a refrigerator door. It offers a three-course special meal for $67, which was called out by OpenTable as “an experience akin to none.” When we inquired what dishes make up that meal, we were told to just come in and take the gamble as the kitchen decides on a whim. 777 G St., 619-446-0002, consortiumholdings.com.
Let them eat steak
The new Galpao Gaucho that recently opened downtown in The Headquarters at Seaport District offers nearly 20 different proteins, served traditionally by handsome skewer-wielding “gauchos.”
Think top sirloin, bottom sirloin, ribeye, filet mignon, lamb chops, grilled salmon and more, as you settle into the massive space previously occupied by Seasons 52.
A commodious salad bar flaunting more than 40 items, which are included in the all-you-can-eat feast, runs $48 for weekday lunch and $72 for weekends and dinner. This is the chain’s seventh location, and the first for San Diego. The others are located in Northern California, Las Vegas and South Carolina. 789 W. Harbor Drive, 619-373-9969, galpaogaucho.com.
–Frank Sabatini Jr. has been writing about food in San Diego for over 35 years. He launched his own food blog during the pandemic, called, “The Hash Star,” which you can follow at thehashstar.com. He can be reached at frank.sabatini92108@gmail.com.
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