x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour

San Diego Magazine

The weekly guide to San Diego"s food + drink scene, hosted by award-winning food writer and Food Network host Troy Johnson and San Diego Magazine"s culture brain, Jackie Bryant. Field notes and perspectives on restaurants, bars, and chefs—including dishes and drinks you gotta try, restaurant openings and closings, events worth your time, and laugh-cry interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, farmers, brewers, and makers who make San Diego"s food + drink scene hum.

society & culture food

All Episodes

01:04:02

Your Favorite Bartender Eats Here

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/03/05

The industry built this one. Had it been half-ass, it never would've worked. Lion's Share opened up 14 years ago, a sliver of a dark den of a craft cocktail bar and semi-restaurant near Seaport Village. But on the wrong side of the street. Not a destination. Foot traffic, zilch. And yet, the bartenders were some of the best in the city, experimenting with the fringes of what was possible. Back then, craft cocktails were actually a new thing. We were coming hot and heavy off of the

en

01:01:13

James Beard Nominee Tara Monsod on the Rise of...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/02/26

San Diego's next-gen Filipino American chefs are bringing their adobo roots to the top kitchens Multiple-time James Beard nominee Tara Monsod comes in to talk about kitchen life and the rise of Filipino food—the fare she grew up with—in San Diego. She and host Troy Johnson run through their list of the best date spots in the city, including oysters on the only rooftop hideout in North Park (Deckman's North), a tuckaway in Mission Hills that Troy named "Restaurant of the Year" (Wolf in the

en

51:29

Where to Get a $12 Ribeye in San Diego

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/02/19

Terra chef Jeff Rossman spills secrets of the catering world and we name our favorite farm-to-table restaurants One of the absolute best deals in San Diego recently? A $12 ribeye from one of the better chefs in the city. A $10 pasta dish he made for a wedding. Jeff Rossman was one of the first local chefs to cook modern farm to table with his restaurant, Terra. Opened it in 1998 with his dad, who had run a restaurant in Mission Valley called Pam Pam. Last year, he started getting so much catering

en

01:06:37

Naming the Best Soups in San Diego at Coco Maya

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/02/12

At Coco Maya, try chef Phil Humphrey's skirt steak with chimichurri, his big-knuckle lobster tacos, and a damn phenomenal coconut shrimp (the '80s classic will be slandered no more). What's your favorite soup in San Diego? The one that rearranges your DNA into a dumb, smiley emoji? On this episode of Happy Half Hour we do a fantasy soup draft of our 12 favorites in the city—from the corn piñon soup at Wolf in the Woods to the pozole at Super Cocina and pho at Pho Hoa. We set up shop in the Yucatan

en

56:41

A Per Se Alum Opens a Bodega and Ozempic is Bumming...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/02/05

#419 You've barely touched your fries. Why do you look hungry and not hungry at the same time? The big discussion on this week's episode: Ozempic is the wobbly, wet-gremlin Yelp commenter who wants to rain on America's happy restaurant parade. We re-air the interview you probably skipped the first time we had it a year ago because it sounded like tinfoil-hat conspiracy theory stuff. But now, the Ozempic effect is real. Almost every restaurateur who talks to food editor and Happy Half Hour host Troy

en

01:01:49

Why San Diego's Neighborhood Bars Still Matter

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/01/29

Broadcasting from The Shanty in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Happy Half Hour looks at the week's biggest restaurant news, including the upcoming closures of Dreamboat and Vulture and the shuttering of Cucina Enoteca—plus an examination of why unpretentious neighborhood bars continue to anchor San Diego communities. Host Troy Johnson also checks in on what's opening, welcomes back Bebemos tequila founder Preston Caffrey for a Golden Hour conversation about building a drinks brand in a tough market, and wraps

en

55:21

One of Little Italy's Top Chefs Returns

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/01/22

One of Little Italy's top chefs is back. Hard to overestimate how much Ironside Fish & Oyster changed the game when it opened in Little Italy in 2014. It was the dream concept for Jason McLeod, a chef who'd earned two Michelin stars in Chicago (for Ria). Little Italy was the unloading dock of San Diego's legendary fishing fleets, had that rich seafood history but no epic seafood joint. McLeod and CH Projects took over the old Farkas furniture store and turned it into a sort of ghost ship ocean

en

59:45

San Diego's First Women's Sports Bar Lands in North Park

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/01/15

Patricia Sebold, Kalani Millsaps, and Kerry Pierce join Happy Half Hour to discuss their new concept: a women's-focused sports bar opening in North Park. We find out how the project came together and why San Diego is ready for it now. From Title IX to the Wave's record-setting crowds, they talk about the rise of women's sports, the frustration of watching games on phones in bars that won't put them on TVs, and how packed pop-ups proved there was real demand for a permanent space. One of Us is

en

39:39

San Diego's Roast Beef Awakening

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2026/01/08

#415 On the latest Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson traces a proper Sunday roast into its evolution as a distinctly American handheld obsession. Following the breadcrumbs leads straight to Big Jim's Roast Beef in Pacific Beach, which is owned by today's guest, James Jones. He's a North Shore Boston transplant who brought the "super beef" to our fair shores. His version has a griddled onion roll, rare- to mid-rare beef, and the cult-favorite James River barbecue sauce shipped in from back East

en

01:14:50

Cesarina & Elvira's Niccolò Angius on Pasta's Staying...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/12/31

On this episode of Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Niccolò Angius, the Italian-born chef-owner behind Cesarina and Elvira, to explore why pasta holds such an enduring grip on our hearts, memories, and nervous systems. Raised in his parents' Roman trattoria in Trastevere, Angius traces his journey from Rome to San Diego, where he and his wife Cesarina Mezzoni launched a farmers' market pop-up in 2015 focused on handmade vegan pastas and all-natural sauces. That

en

47:06

Lucien Lands in La Jolla With a 13-Course, Big League...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/12/24

#413 On Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson talks with chef Elijah Arizmendi about leaving home at 15, training in Vegas and New York, and opening Lucien — an ingredient-obsessed, 30-seat destination built around San Diego produce, house ferments, and meticulous coursing. On this week's Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson sits down with chef Elijah Arizmendi, the 30-year-old behind Lucien, La Jolla's new 12- to 13-course tasting-menu destination that's already getting "best in the city, maybe the

en

54:25

Megastar Guy Fieri on Building an Empire & What's Next

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/12/18

#412 This week, Happy Half Hour host Troy Johnson talks with Food Network megastar Guy Fieri about how a one-off Flavortown joke grew into a national food brand, from pop-up kitchens to a fast-growing sauce line and a major new partnership rolling its offerings into 6,500 Circle K stores. The two also revisit Fieri's early Food Network days, the demo tape that launched his career and the evolution of shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy's Grocery Games, where Johnson frequently appears as

en

01:14:21

Checking in With San Diego's Oldest Bar, Where...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/12/11

#411 Bebemos cofounder Preston Caffrey and Waterfront Bar & Grill's Dennis Glover talk cocktails, what makes a good regular's bar, and running a local legacy This week on Happy Half Hour, the crew posts up at the iconic Waterfront Bar & Grill, open since 1933 and still run by the same family. Co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant are joined by Bebemos Tequila cofounder Preston Caffrey and Waterfront GM Dennis Glover for a drink-fueled dive into one of San Diego's most beloved institutions. They

en

01:12:01

Inside Le Coq's Revival with Brian Malarkey and Chris...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/12/04

#410 We sit down with San Diego's longtime restaurant power duo to unpack their two-decade partnership and their latest La Jolla project. On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson catches up with chef Brian Malarkey and restaurateur Chris Puffer to explore the story behind their newest venture inside the iconic former Herringbone space, now reborn as Le Coq. The trio rewinds through the early days at Ocean Air, the explosive rise of Seersucker, and the city-shaping impact of Herb & Wood—while

en

01:01:10

Andrew Zimmern Wants Us to Rethink the Way We Eat Fish

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/11/27

#409 Andrew Zimmern, a four-time James Beard Award–winning TV host best known for Bizarre Foods and for using food as a lens into culture joins Happy Half Hour co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant this week. A longtime champion of global food culture, Zimmern shares his new book, The Blue Food Cookbook: Delicious Seafood Recipes for a Sustainable Future and discusses why Americans misunderstand seafood and what San Diego can teach the rest of the country about primarily eating from the water

en

01:19:23

Spinning Spanish Wine Into Magic With Juniper & Ivy...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/11/20

#408 On this week's Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Joe Bower and Dan Valerino, the duo behind Finca, one of North Park's buzziest and newest restaurants. The pair met during their Juniper & Ivy days and reunited to open a spot that blends the warmth of Spanish wine culture with California's seasonal bounty and upscale tapas culture. They dive into vermouth, sherry, and what it means to build a neighborhood restaurant and wine list with soul while reminiscing

en

58:32

Viral TikTok Star Katie Brooks on Hand-Making Gnocchi...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/11/13

#407 You've probably seen the video: A woman casually hand-rolling gnocchi on a cross-country flight, dusting flour across her tray table like it's just another day in the friendly skies. That woman is Katie Brooks, founder of Buona Pasta, and she joins Happy Half Hour co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant on this week's episode to talk about how a mid-air pasta moment went viral—and how it all started long before that flight. From leaving behind a stable corporate job to honoring her parents

en

01:05:36

How Craft Beer Built San Diego's Food Scene and...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/11/06

#406 On this week's Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson traces how our beer nerds turned San Diego into a food town—from Karl Strauss in '89 to the Brewers Guild in '97, the 2018 peak of 150+ breweries, and today's saner "new normal." Guests Estela Davila (Guild president), Kevin Hellman (Capital of Craft co-founder), and Brandon Kroegel (Coronado Brewing) preview San Diego Beer Week and its kickoff party, Capital of Craft. The event takes place Saturday, Nov. 8 at San Diego Harley-Davidson with more than

en

57:44

Lana Puts a Fresh Spin on Coastal Dining in San Diego

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/10/30

#405 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-host Troy Johnson heads north to Solana Beach, where LANA has transformed the old California Pizza Kitchen space into a relaxed, wood-fired restaurant with real neighborhood soul. Co-owners Travis LeGrand and Mark Wheadon have built something rare for the coast: a spot that's stylish but still feels local, where dishes like gold-spotted Baja sea bass with agua chile and a half-roasted Jidori chicken that's fast becoming a San Diego classic. At the bar,

en

37:25

San Diego Restaurant News, Chefsgiving & Claudette...

San Diego Magazine"s Happy Half Hour ·

2025/10/23

#404 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant go solo for a special Halloween episode. They talk restaurant news like Chefsgiving at Provisional Kitchen on November 13 benefiting the San Diego Food Bank; Valle’s four-year anniversary dinner; and celebrity chef Claudette Zepeda’s departure from Leu Leu to focus on filming projects, Chispa Hospitality, and her upcoming book. They also preview Orexi, a new Mediterranean-California spot opening in Little Italy, and Puesto’s

en

423 results

Similar Podcasts

Voices of Life

APG Mannheim

Promo Estereo Podcast

Promo Estereo

Talking Timelines Podcast

Talkingtimelines

גיקונומי

ראם שרמן ודורון ניר

Drømmefanger

Drømmefanger