By Frank Sabatini Jr.
Sister’s Pizza to expand in several ways
Sisters Pizza in Hillcrest is rolling into 2024 with new culinary offerings as well as a search for a storytelling drag queen.
The LGBT-friendly pizzeria, owned and operated by Emily Green Lake and her husband Trevor Lake, is a popular destination for back-East-style Italian fare, including pizzas sold whole and by the slice. Starting later this month it will offer uncooked, frozen pizzas that customers can bake at home.
“We’re also working on the logistics to ship our pizzas nationwide,” said Green Lake, noting that the frozen pies will measure 12 inches in diameter and be made available “in all of our signature styles.”
Also in the pipeline is the addition of Philadelphia-style cheese steaks to the menu plus a small retail section inside the eatery that will be devoted to grab-and-go soups, salads, sandwiches.
Prior to COVID-19, the eatery featured a drag storytelling hour every month. Green Lake wants to resume the event and is currently looking within the community for drag-queen prospects. In the meantime, Sisters will again be among the sponsors of the annual Red Dress Party held in October. (Last year it hosted the event’s official “recovery brunch” the day after.) 3603 Fourth Ave., 619-255-4200, sisterspizzasd.com
Attention Pastrami Lovers
Our recent discovery of a pop-up business called The Pastrami Stand plays coincidentally into National Pastrami Day, which is coming up on Jan. 14. But we’re not waiting until then to sink our choppers into the brined, spiced brisket that owner Howard Solomon serves around San Diego County every week.
Solomon launched the business a few months ago after working as a hospitality consultant for the past 16 years. He sources the pastrami from a butcher in Los Angeles whose family has been in the meat business since 1958.
“Our butcher procures the meat, trims it, brines it, and smokes it—and we pick it up,” Solomon noted.
From there, the sliced goodness lands in a variety of sandwiches, such as the well-endowed “No. 18” with mustard on rye — or the “pastrami dip” served on a roll with mustard and pickles, and dipped in au jus.
Hot dogs grace the menu, too. They’re all-beef and sourced from a Chicago vendor. They come in several styles, including one topped with none other than pastrami.
Swiss vibes in Little Italy
If you’ve never experienced raclette before, the Little Italy Mercato (the neighborhood’s farmers market located at 600 W. Date St.) on Saturdays is your ticket to authenticity.
Raclette is a soft semi-stinky cow’s milk cheese that originated along the Swiss-French border more than a century ago. Popular throughout central Europe, wedges of the cheese are commonly skewered on metal devices and heated until they begin to melt, at which point the ooze is draped over cooked potatoes.
Paris-born Robin Miller of Charcuterie and Truffle presents the ritual from 8 am to 2 pm every week at the Mercato. He imports the cheese from Switzerland and scrapes it over potatoes, along with chopped cornichons and a couple thin slices of prosciutto in what he calls “the Swiss bowl.” It sells for $16.
He also offers a signature “French sandwich,” which omits the potatoes in lieu of ciabatta bread. The cost is $15.
Breakfast sandwiches and bowls using raclette were recently added to the menu, and Miller notes that customers buying any item can opt for a squirt of imported truffle sauce for $2 extra.
Miller also pointed out that raclette sold occasionally in American stores “is really bad” – and not the real deal. charcuterieandtruffle.com.
The Lafayette Hotel to unveil more new venues
Just when you thought renovations to the 77-year-old Lafayette Hotel on El Cajon Boulevard hit their peak this summer, along comes a second wave of themed venues scheduled to open inside the 139-room property in the coming months.
Adding to the $31 million redo that was revealed in July will be Lulu’s Jungle Room, a supper-club of sorts that will feature a shell-shaped stage for live jazz performances. The menu has yet to be finalized, but the restaurant will offer a chef’s table and rum-focused drinks. It is slated to open by early February.
Then opening sometime in the middle of this year is Le Horse, which will deliver a finale of upscale European elegance. The restaurant aims to capture a 20th century fine-dining feel, reminiscent of chic hotels pioneered by Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz and acclaimed French chef Auguste Escoffier. Expect starched table linens, roving cocktail carts, and prime rib cut table side.
The arrival of Le Horse will mark the property’s seventh new food-and-drink establishment inside the hotel. 2223 El Cajon Blvd., 619-296-2101, lafayettehotelsd.com.
Dining with Wine Country flair in Hillcrest
The highly anticipated Cellar Hand restaurant is due to open soon in the University Avenue structure that previously housed Oscar Wilde’s Irish Pub.
A complete redo of the interior and exterior has occurred to make way for a wine-centric culinary operation owned by Pali Wine Co., which maintains a winery in the Central Coast. The family-run business also has a wine tasting room at 2130 India St. in Little Italy.
Cellar Hand’s menu will focus on wholesome cuisine that pays tribute to California’s central and northern wine regions. House-baked breads, grilled meats, fresh seafood and seasonal produce are all part of the equation. Pali’s full range of wines will also be available. This is the company’s first full-service restaurant, which is expected to open its doors in the coming month. 1440 University Ave., paliwineco.com.
Mission Valley welcomes Spill the Beans
A third San Diego location of the popular coffee roaster, Spill the Beans Coffee and Bagels, just opened in a newly-built spot adjacent to The Townsend apartment complex in Mission Valley.
The shop offers the same menu as those in the Gaslamp Quarter and Seaport Village, which means the availability of scratch-made bagels with an impressive choice of house-made cream cheeses. Hearty breakfast sandwiches and oatmeal-fruit bowls are also in the offing.
Owned by the San Diego-based Verant Group (Barleymash, The Smoking Gun, and Tavern), the shops are also lauded for their robust drip coffee, Americano and cappuccino concoctions, and nitro cold brews on tap — all which have developed a devoted following by what the company humorously calls “pot heads.”
Spill the Beans opens daily at 6 am and operates until 7 pm Monday through Thursday and until 8 pm Friday through Sunday. 525 Camino de la Reina, spillthebeans.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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