Hacienda Cazadores, a Northern Mexican-style restaurant, opens Thursday in the downtown La Mesa space formerly occupied by Por Favor, which closed in June after 50 years in business. (The family that sold the Por Favor restaurant space in La Mesa is still operating its El Cajon sister restaurant at 148 E. Main St.)
The new restaurant Hacienda Cazadores specializes in Sinaloan cuisine and offers a broad menu of grilled meats and steaks, fresh seafood, housemade tortillas and a tequila and mezcal program.
Its beef program includes 28-day aged USDA Prime beef hand-cut in house. Specialties will include a 20-ounce bone-in ribe eye, 10-ounce Australian Wagyu and 33-ounce tomahawk rib eye. There will also be a hamburger made with 100 percent ground Angus beef and an Argentine-style parrillada plate with grilled beef and skirt steak, chorizo sausage and chicken.
Hacienda Cazadores — its name translates from Spanish as “hunters house” — is at 148 E. Main St. Visit haciendacazadores.com.
Wine Girl heads to the Gaslamp: Wine Girl, a wine bar chain with locations in Napa Valley and Scottsdale, Arizona, will open its third location early next month in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
“San Diego is such a vibrant city, and we can’t wait to welcome guests to sip, savor, and celebrate with us,” says Trevor Johnston, co-owner of Wine Girl, in a statement.
The 4,200-square-foot venue at 460 Fifth Ave. will feature rotating wines on tap, wines by the bottle, craft beer, spritzes and food options. Wine Girl locations feature pastel pink accents and instagram-worthy photo spots. Although designed with women customers in mind, the wine bar is designed for everyone. A soft opening is planned in early October, but the grand opening will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 25. For updates, visit winegirl.com or instagram.com/winegirlsd.
Top chef trio to cook for Beard Foundation: Three of San Diego’s most-acclaimed chefs will share the kitchen next month for a James Beard Foundation dinner in New York City. Robert Alcocer, founder and executive chef of Michelin-starred Valle restaurant in Oceanside, will head up the team for the Collab Dinner: A Taste of SoCal Cuisine on Oct. 8.
Joining Alcocer will be Eric Bost, executive chef for the Michelin-starred restaurants Lilo and Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad, and two-time James Beard Award Best Chef finalist Tara Monsod, the executive chef for Animae in downtown San Diego and Le Coq in La Jolla. The dinner at New York’s Pier 57 will raise money for Beard Foundation programs.
Omni hosts Tiki Social pop-up: The Omni San Diego at the Ballpark hotel in downtown San Diego is hosting a tropically-themed seasonal pop-up at its rooftop Tortuga Pool and Terrace. Tiki culture and cocktail historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry worked with Omni to create Tiki Social. Besides islands-themed décor, the pop-up feature cocktails served in festive mugs like Coconutty Islander, Totem’s Kiss and zero-proof options Designated Diver and Dry Tai. There’s also a menu of shareable small plates and entrees starting at $13, including coconut shrimp, Korean short ribs, vegetarian spring rolls, mango coconut layered shortbread and a pupu platter featuring seven items from the menu. Tortuga is open to the public from noon to 9 p.m. daily at 675 L St., downtown. omnihotels.com/hotels/san-diego
New deli at Iowa Meat Farms: As part of a storewide renovation, Iowa Meat Farms in San Diego’s Grantville neighborhood has opened a deli to match the longstanding deli at its sister market, Siesel’s Meats, in Bay Park. Iowa Meat Farms now serves made-to-order sandwiches, house soups and other comfort foods. Some of the new deli sandwich offerings are the Cuban, reuben, spicy torpedo (with mortadella, cotto salame, capocollo ham and pepperjack cheese) and the Club House (turkey, baked ham and bacon). Two scratch-made soups will be offered daily. Options include chicken noodle, broccoli cheese, tomato basil, and clam chowder. The Cohn family, who own San Diego’s Cohn Restaurant Group, opened Iowa Meat Farms in 1982. 6041 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego. bestmeatssandiego.com