#394 This week, Happy Half Hour details Del Mar’s legendary past with longtime restaurateurs John and Sara Wingate of En Fuego Cantina & Grill. Co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant retrace the beach town’s transformation from Victorian bathhouses and racehorse legends to its current food scene, anchored by icons like En Fuego, which is now celebrating 30 years in business.

The Wingates reveal how the once-humble house-turned-restaurant became a locals’ clubhouse and a celebrity magnet. They also introduce La Tienda, their intimate new cocktail bar tucked upstairs, featuring 200+ tequilas and mezcal barrels they personally selected in Mexico. To follow En Fuego click HERE.

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#393 This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy and Jackie sit down with Emily Brubaker, executive chef of Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, to talk about her recent win on the premiere season of Yes, Chef!, a national cooking competition judged by Martha Stewart and Spanish-American chef and restaurateur José Andrés. 

Brubaker shares what it was like to step away from her kitchen and her family for six weeks to compete, and how she approached the challenge of cooking food that’s technically sharp but still grounded. In this episode, she discusses the moment Martha remembered her from a past Chopped season, working alongside her husband in the finale, and how she’s bringing pieces of the show’s mentorship and menu ideas into her work at the resort. To follow Chef Emily Brubaker click HERE. To follow Omni La Costa click HERE.

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#392 On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant take the show to Waverly in Cardiff for a tequila-soaked taste test with San Diego-based brand Bebemos. The mission continues to find the ultimate dish to pair with their joven-style tequila. Along the way, they’re joined by Camino Riviera and Waverly bar manager Stephen O’Halloran and SDCM executive chef Brian Redzikowski to explore the nuances of agave, mezcal, and the power of local sourcing. Tune in to find the surprising not-super-summery dish that won this round of the pairing tour. To follow Bebemos click HERE. To follow Waverly click HERE.

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#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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