Balboa Park Beat

Cinco de Mayo gets saucy in Balboa Park, literally.

 

Looking for something a little saucy this Cinco de Mayo? Head to Balboa Park for an authentic Mexican cooking class focused on sauces and salsas!

Chef Josh Alkire (courtesy photo at left) teaches a south-of-the-boarder class at the Balboa Food & Wine School (above The Prado restaurant) full of chilies, cumin and cilantro for this Cinco De Mayo in San Diego! Don your sombrero and shake your maracas for: Red, green, white and mole sauces; Red and green hot sauce; two chunky salsas; Fresh chips; Homemade re-fried beans; Chicken rolled tacos.

Everyone in the class will be served house margaritas on the rocks while cooking alongside Chef Alkire. There is a limit 2 per person, and they are included in price of class! $65 per person.

Balboa Park's The Prado Gets Noticed by SF Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle's food writer denotes The Prado as a "culinary surprise" in a recent article on the food scene in San Diego. Great photo of the gorgeous interior, and a quote from Lesley Cohn at the end:

"... A row of warships lies anchored in indigo waters to my right, the San Diego skyline sparkles in the sun to my left, and straight ahead, a dolphin leaps out of the water at the command of Navy SEALs. It's an impressive panorama, but I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes off my plate..."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/30/CM3F1CRRRN.DTL#ixzz0mcrO1Kka

Wine Tasting Event: How Climate Change Impacts California's Wine Industry

As if we needed another excuse to drink wine after work, the RH Fleet has now found a way to integrate the good grape juice with scientific lectures. Yes, science and wine working together for the greater good in Balboa Park. Gotta love it!

As part of its Climate Conversations event and lecture series, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is hosting an informational wine tasting in Balboa Park next Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Experts will be on hand (details on the speakers below) for a panel discussion on California's changing climate and how the local wine industry is responding. There will be plenty of wine on hand, too, and attendees are encouraged to taste, sip and ask questions throughout the event.

Panelists include Kimberly Nicholas Cahill, Ph.D. University of California, Davis in the Department of Viticulture and Enology; Alexander “Sasha” Gershunov, Ph.D. of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Climate Research Division; and John Alonge, Owner of the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center and author of “The Wine Heretic.” 

The program is a part of an Association of Science and Technology Center’s project Communicating Climate Change (C3). The C3 project fosters innovative partnerships between research centers, the media, and science centers, while showcasing the science centers’ central role in educating the general public about global climate change. The Fleet is one of 12 science centers across the country partnering with scientific research sites to develop local indicators of climate change.

Event Details:
Tuesday, April 13
5:30 – 7:30 p.m
Cost is $27.00 per person and pre-registration is required 
Call (619) 238-1233 x806 or register online

  *This event is for those 21 years of age and older

Park2Park: New Uptown Shuttle Service in San Diego Passes by Balboa Park

There was genuine glee and excitement in our office when we heard about the new Park 2 Park shuttle servicing the uptown neighborhoods of South Park, North Park, University Heights and Normal Heights. Basically, all of the neighborhood surrounding the Northern, Eastern and Southern regions of Balboa Park. I'll be going on a preview tour of the shuttle route next week (watch for an updated post on March 3), and I'm thinking this is going to make post-work Happy Hours a whole lot easier ... cheers to that!

Featured Event: Taste of San Diego Microbrews at San Diego History Center

The San Diego History Center (formerly the San Diego Historical Society) is hosting a beer-tasting event this weekend, Saturday Feb 20th, featuring several of the region's award-winning microbrews. Stop by to learn about the history of microbrewing in San Diego and why the city is now considered the Best Beer City in America (at least by Men's Journal). Sponsors of the event include Karl Strauss, Ballast Point, Airdale Brewing, La Jolla Brewhouse, Stone Brewing Co. and more.

There is a VIP reception starting at 6pm Saturday, and then the main event starts at 7pm in the San Diego Historical Society's building in balboa Park. You must be 21+ to attend.

Tickets are $35 (purchase here) and proceeds benefit the San Diego History Center.

San Diego Restaurant Week and Balboa Park

In one of our more delicious story ideas so far, we've been exploring which restaurants within and nearby Balboa Park are participating in San Diego Restaurant Week.  Here are a few of our favorites:

• The Prado -- It's the park's signature eatery, and the patio setting is among the best outdoor dining envrionments in the city. The food? Well, their Restaurant Week menu is lookin' quite simply mouth-watering with options like the signature black bean soup with toasted cumin crema (perfect for this rainy week!), seared Kobe beef carpaccio and a steamed blackberry cake for dessert. Just be sure to get a reservation in advance. (Sign up for the Cohn Restaurant group's e-cuisine newsletter here to get info on all the specials and discounts at The Prado)
• Cucina Urbana, just a block outside the park on the corner of Fifth Ave and Laurel St., is offering a $30 Restaurant Week menu full of their homemade Italian pastas and pizzas--a perfect stop before or after seeing The Old Globe's Tony Award-winning Duncan Sheik musical Whisper House.
• Taking the kids to the San Diego Zoo's Koalapalooza? Take advantage of the $20 Restuarant Week menu at Pizza Fusion in Hillcrest afterward. I can't get enough of their Farmer's Market Pizza with organic crust and lots of fresh local veggies on top -- and the $20 includes your choice of dessert like homemade chocolate chip cookies (they're huge!) or gooey fudge brownies. Totally kid-friendly restaurant, too.
• For a date night option on Thursday 1/21, try the $30 Restaurant Week menu at Terra in Hillcrest with yummies like coconut-crusted crab cakes and lobster mac n' cheese (the restaurant is tucked away in the Trader Joe's shopping center in Hillcrest). Then head over to Balboa Park to join The Gallery (SDMA's new group for adventures in art and culture, i.e. the younger, hip art crowd) for the Behind Closed Doors: The Making of an Exhibition event. You'll get the chance to see how SDMA curators put together an exhibition, from selecting the artworks to painting the walls.

New Sports Bar Coming to Hall of Champions

Hall of Champions confirmed it will soon house a new sports bar on the first floor. Event Beverage Solutions (EBS) has taken over the former Time Out Cafe space, and is now open to the public as Home Plate Bar & Grill. By March, EBS hopes to have the space built out with new furnishings, a new wooden bar and a new grill for the updated bar menu of burgers, wings, paninis and more. One of the EBS managers says there are plans to install new wood floors, local beer taps, new couch seating and more flat screen monitors.

EBS should do well in the space, considering the company has managed concessions and venue catering in the past for clients like the San Diego Air & Space Museum, Museum of Man, USS Midway, NTC Promenade and events like Red Bull Air Races.