#391 This week on Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Jason Mraz and Vallie Gilley to talk about the new life of Jitters Coffee Pub, the first coffee shop to open in Oceanside back in the ’90s. After 24 years, Vallie and her husband were ready to let it go until Mraz, a longtime regular, stepped in as a partner. What followed is a full-circle revamp complete with vegan comfort food from chef Felix Alcaide, a tiny new stage for original music, and a gold-plated bathroom. Yes, that's right. Tune in to hear all the gilded details. To follow Jitters Coffee Pub click HERE.

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#390 This week's HHH is posted at Veranda, the breezy new restaurant inside the freshly renovated $550 million Hotel Del Coronado, and features a feast of scallop risotto, charred artichokes, and massive secret-menu tomahawks. Executive Chef Brian Archibald joined Troy and Jackie to talk about rebirthing one of America’s most iconic resorts (and why he left Florida for San Diego). Also at the table is Michael Feuerstein of Nature’s Produce, whose family has sourced local fruits and vegetables for generations. We also chat the news: Barrio Logan's new Café Madeline, Wildwood Flour’s East County comeback, and a food-nerd deep dive into the San Diego Zoo’s fine dining scene. To follow Veranda at the Hotel Del click here.

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#389 Happy Half Hour heads to the oceanfront deck at Nobu Del Coronado, one of the newest openings as part of the Hotel Del’s recently completed $550 million renovation. Chefs CJ and Victor walk us through dishes like yellowtail crudo with jalapeño, crispy rice with spicy tuna, three-day miso cod, and real wasabi grated on sharkskin, as well as the philosophical underpinnings that make Nobu, well, Nobu. To follow Nobu at the Hotel Del click here.

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#388 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson sits down with Ron and Isabel Oliver, the duo behind Somos Maíz. Isabel grew up in Michoacán learning how to make masa the traditional way. Ron spent 20 years as chef de cuisine at the Marine Room. Now they’re sourcing heirloom corn from farmers in Mexico and turning it into fresh masa that’s showing up on plates at Valle, Tohono, and beyond. They chat about how most tortilla makers get it wrong, why blue corn usually isn’t blue corn, and what makes real masa so hard to get right. To follow Somos Maiz click HERE.

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#387 Happy Half Hour goes full fried as Troy and Jackie broadcast from the San Diego County Fair, tasting their way through 18 brain-and-taste bud-bending entries in the 2025 Fairtastic Food Competition. Spam wonton tacos. Cajun honey dogs. Furikake fries with runny eggs and edible flowers. But one stood above them all: a tres leches cinnamon roll from Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls, dreamed up by a third-generation baker, Willie Mattis whose family nailed the recipe in one take. The frosting didn’t just sit on top—it soaked through the roll, prompting creation of a new verb: sauceting. Troy and Jackie sit down with the fair's marketing director, Jennifer Hellman, to chat about her 25 years at the helm, and Mattis to talk tie-dye, road dogs, and how a $1 family recipe became the fair’s reigning icon. To follow the San Diego County Fair click HERE.

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#386 This week’s Happy Half Hour comes to you straight from the bar at Fort Oak, where we posted up with Jess Stewart, Trust Restaurant Group’s beverage director and the mind behind some of San Diego’s most quietly brilliant cocktails. She breaks down her kitchen-driven approach to drink-making (yes, there’s salt in that watermelon margarita), why bartenders hate mojitos, and how she turned “Oyster Mondays with Friends” into a must-hit Mission Hills hang. Joining us are Preston Caffrey and Patrick Tracy of Bebemos Tequila, the new San Diego-based brand bringing a dreamy, vintage California aesthetic to modern sipping. Together, they show how good design, local collaboration, and a damn fine bottle can elevate the way we drink. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow Fort Oak click HERE.

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#385 This week on Happy Half Hour, hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant welcome Mike and Jenny Eastwood of Smallgoods American Cheeses & Provisions—a La Jolla gem born out of NYC’s Murray’s Cheese and years in San Diego’s farmers market trenches. The couple shares how a career in commercial production, a cheese cave internship, and a well-timed move from Byron Bay to San Diego turned into a sandwich-slinging, American cheese–championing neighborhood mainstay that happens to be in the same building where Mike worked 30 years ago at Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation. They talk COVID pivots, the cult of their curated cheese case, and why they believe the future of food lies in supporting small domestic producers. To follow Smallgoods click HERE. 

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#384 This week’s Happy Half Hour is equal parts hot sauce origin story and full-blown love fest for San Diego’s indie food scene. Troy Johnson confesses he’s a BBQ purist—until one burger from Rosemary’s shatters his sauce snobbery with a tangy, tamarind-laced revelation. Enter Larz Watts, the founder of Oak Steak BBQ, who built his now-beloved sauce business during the pandemic with nothing but backyard smokers, a Co-Packer crash course, and a spider his son named “Oak Steak.” From humble PB roots (yes, Lars once lived on a boat) to hot chicken collabs at Shore Club, mustard deals at Smallgoods, and a mic-drop spicy version that won first place at the International Flavor Awards, this episode is a spicy, heartfelt romp through flavor, family, and full-circle San Diego hustle. To follow Oak Steak BBQ click HERE.

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#383 In this week’s episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant raise a glass to Carlsbad’s buzziest new opening: Little Victory Wine Bar. Co-owners Jeremy Simpson, a natty wine obsessive with a pedigree from LA’s Bestia, and Elliott Townsend, a hyper-local chef known for the pop-up Long Story Short, join the show to talk fermentation, formation, and forging a dream. The duo—half of a husband-and-wife Voltron of culinary minds—built a spot where natural wine and soulful, seasonal cooking meet with zero pretension. Natural wine gets demystified, tinned fish gets love, and the team shares what it really takes to build a restaurant rooted in connection. To follow Little Victory Wine Bar click HERE.

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#382 Troy and Jackie dig into the story behind Little Fox Cups and Cones, the Oceanside shop that’s putting an inventive spin on ice cream. Owner Megan Koll started as a bartender at CH Projects, then honed her craft at Juju Lee before turning her obsession with flavor and local sourcing into a cult-favorite ice cream shop. With flavors like toasted cornmeal, brioche-swirl avocado from Jason Mraz’s farm, and spicy carrot hazelnut brittle made from local produce, Little Fox is serving up more than just scoops. It’s storytelling in a cone. To follow Little Fox click HERE.

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