Selling directly to shoppers—and meeting face-to-face with chefs and other buyers—is helping keep San Diego farmers afloat amid economic downturns and historic droughts. When Dave Heafner and Leslie Pesic started their DA-LE Ranch in 2003, they were raising hens, pigs, and rabbits and selling to a few customers by pre-order, delivered once a week to the parking lot of the DMV in Santa Ana, California. Now, they…
The Cafe at Harrah’s Rincon Casino 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way Valley Center, CA 92082 (760) 751-3100 Last week was Spring Break for Jake and T. To “celebrate”, my folks got us a free room at Harrah’s Rincon Casino and we had a staycation. The resort is far enough away to feel like you’re out of town, but still close enough to home. On our first night we decided…
Researchers Raise Concerns About Chemicals in Fast-Food Packaging As if cheeseburgers, fries and microwave popcorn weren’t enough of a dietary worry, now comes word that fast-food packaging is also a cause for concern. In a paper published last week, federal government and university researchers report finding chemicals from a suspect family of compounds in the wrappers and containers of one out of every three sandwiches, burgers, desserts…
Burger Bench is the brainchild of one of my hiking / blogging friends 100peaks and in its first year of being open, it has already carved itself a spot in the downtown Escondido culture. Serving up good burgers and a large menu of San Diego craft beer, it is one of those spots you want to go after a long hike in one of San Diego’s many…
Lines out Grand Avenue, tears on half-eaten cinnamon rolls, Champion’s Family Restaurant wrapped it up Friday, Jan. 29, after 44 years in business, the future be damned. Now, almost a year later, bookending Champion’s run is the new Rosie’s Cafe, which soft-opened with little notice on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 117 Grand Avenue in downtown Escondido. Owned and operated by the youthful Kaitlin Rose, under…
If ALDI is all but unknown west of the Mississippi River, Chicago and Germany, the unique, and much-beloved, high-quality, low-cost supermarket is planting its flag next month at Escondido. An ALDI was springing up at 1330 E. Valley Pkwy. #M, Escondido, CA 92027 with a grand opening open house scheduled for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15. The first North County Aldi opened in May…
It’s almost too easy to go Seinfeld “Soup Nazi” as in no Souplantation for you. Rancho Bernardo-based Garden Fresh, owner-operator of Souplantation, is closing 20 to 30 of its 123 restaurants in 15 states as part of a reorganization caused by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. Rest assured lovers of the all-you-can-eat soup and salad self-serve eatery with outlets at Escondido Promenade along…
Looks like the organic avocado aisle is the place to be these days for consumers and retailers alike. Demand is high and prices rising as a result. California is the nation’s avocado basket growing 90 percent of the nation’s crop. The swath of North County and Southwest Riverside County from Escondido and Vista through Temecula accounts for 40 percent of avocados grown in the U.S….
One lovely and crazy hot Saturday morning, Jake, T and I were up in North County. We don’t really spend a whole heck of a lot of time in the northern parts of San Diego, but here we were. It was still breakfast hours though the time was creeping up and over noon and I figured it was high time to try out this spot…
Fresh & Delicious comes to downtown Fresh & Delicious Coffee-Salad -Juice Bar started with a soft opening, yet made healthy food news at 158 W Grand Ave. by Maple Street Plaza this week. The Escondido husband-and-wife team of Eloy and Blanca Flores spent 18 months lining up the proper permits to bring an eclectically healthy menu of tortas, sandwiches and wraps; blends, smoothies, homemade salads and…