The Dish: 4 new restaurant openings and one ‘most exciting restaurant’ to watch

Fleurette, Callie chef Travis Swikard’s second restaurant coming soon to the UTC area of San Diego, was named last week to The Robb Report’s list of “The 13 Most Exciting Restaurant Openings in America This Fall.”

Swikard has yet to announce an opening date for Fleurette, but it’s slated to open before the end of this year. Swikard is opening the Côte d’Azur-inspired restaurant with partner David Cohn of the Cohn Restaurant Group. The 120-seat restaurant will be in a new building in a business park owned by Ernest Rady’s American Assets Trust, off La Jolla Village Drive.

In its selection of Fleurette, Robb Report wrote: “Chef Travis Swikard is a native San Diegan, and he’s deeply enthusiastic about the food grown and raised in his own backyard. After showing off how he can wield bold flavors at his debut spot, Callie, the chef is popping into the La Jolla neighborhood for his next venture, Fleurette. The new 120-seat restaurant places a spotlight on the French Italian Riviera and its cuisine — all while using those ingredients found a littler closer to Swikard’s home.”

Robb Report’s list also included soon-to-open restaurants in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., and Dallas.

Madi opens in Pacific Beach

Madi, the Normal Heights-born breakfast/brunch concept from the Madison on Park team, expanded to a second location on Oct. 1 in Pacific Beach. The restaurant offers classic breakfast and lunch dishes as well as house-brand Heartwork coffee and cocktail options. Among the specialties are Mediterranean breakfast plate with poached eggs, hummus and grilled pita and the G.O.A.T. breakfast sandwich with Swiss and goat cheeses and apricot habañero jam. There’a also sandwiches, salads, pancakes, Greek fries and poke bowl. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays-Sundays at 910 Grand Ave., Suite 115, San Diego. brunchlikemadi.com

Tacos el Franc opens in the Gaslamp

After opening its first U.S. location in National City last May, Tijuana’s Michelin-recommended taquiera chain opened its second U.S. location Tuesday in the Gaslamp Quarter. The business was started by Don Javier Valadez in 1974 as a street cart, before he opened his restaurant in 1996. It’s famous for its adobada and carne asada tacos. The U.S. restaurants are owned by Roberto Kelly and Salvador Lombroso, who have plans to open several more U.S. locations. 528 Fifth Ave., downtown. tacoselfrancusa.com

Shorelight opens on Harbor Island

Shorelight, a new all-day waterfront restaurant on San Diego Bay, has opened at the Sheraton San Diego Resort on Harbor Island. The indoor-outdoor restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Specialties include breakfast omelettes, lunchtime salads and thin-crust pizzas and dinner entrées including spicy tuna crudo bruschetta and short rib ragu, as well as house tiramisu and cannoli desserts. 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego. 619-291-2900, sheratonsandiegohotel

Nick the Greek opens in Mira Mesa

San Jose’s 11-year-old Nick the Greek restaurant chain has opened its second San Diego County location in Mira Mesa. It joins a restaurant in East Village. The quick-service restaurants specialize in Greek/Mediterranean dishes including gyros, souvlaki, bowls, salads, soups, desserts and more. 6765 Mira Mesa Blvd., San Diego. nickthegreek.com

O’wineside Mexican wine festival

Valle, Oceanside’s Michelin-starred modern Mexican restaurant, will host its second annual celebration of Mexican wines and Baja California’s culinary spirit later this month. More than 27 wineries from Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe will pour tastings of more than 65 different wines, and Valle executive chef Roberto Alcocer will prepare accompanying gourmet bites. 1:30 to 4 p.m. Oct. 21. Valle, Mission Pacific Resort, 201 N. Myers St., Oceanside. $103 and up. exploretock.com/valleoceanside/event/564972/owineside-baja-wine-festival

Plot restaurant launches tasting menu

The Plot, a 5-year-old vegan, zero-waste restaurant in South Oceanside, has introduced a five-course tasting menu option. Inspired by chef Davin Waite’s passion for Japanese cooking, the menu will feaure Japanese-style plant-based dishes like scallop sashimi with butternut squash salsa, chili crisp blistered beans and roasted eggplant katsu curry. The $55 tasting menu is offered from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. 1733 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. theplotrestaurant.com

Diner en Blanc returns

Diner en Blanc, the elegant picnic-style outdoor dinner held annually in 120 cities worldwide, will return to San Diego on Dec. 2. The secret venue, lighting and ambience are supplied by host Triple Pocket Events, but diners, attired entirely in white, must supply their own picnic meal, white tables, chairs, cloths, dishware, cutlery and French wine and champagne. For details, visit sandiego.dinerenblanc.com/city.

Kingfisher to host dinner with Saigon Social chef

Kingfisher Cocktail Bar and Eatery, the modern Vietnamese restaurant in Golden Hill, will host a five-course Mid-Autumn Festival dinner on Tuesday feauring dishes prepared by James Beard Award semifinalist Helen Nguyen of New York City’s Saigon Social and optional wine pairings from Lost Ranch Winery in Temecula. Cost is $150, plus $35 for pairings. 2469 Broadway, San Diego. Check for reservation times available at https://www.exploretock.com/kingfishersd. 

Battle of the Burgers in Temecula

Visit Temecula Valley hosts its annual Battle of the Burgers next week at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula. Area chefs will compete for the title of best burger, and area high school students will partner with the chefs to compete for the best “loaded fries.” The public gets to participate, a well, by sampling all of the burgers and fries and casting their own vote. Noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 18. Grand Ballroom, Pechanga Resort Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula. $43, adults; $32.50 for ages 6 to 18 if purchased online. Limited $50 tickets available at the door. visittemeculavalley.com/battle-of-the-burgers

Breakfast concept headed to San Diego

Another Broken Egg, a Florida-based Southern-style breakfast, brunch and lunch chain with more than 100 locations nationwide, will arrive in San Diego next year. Franchisees Zeeshan Naqvi and Mahrouz Syed plan to open two San Diego locations, though the locations and dates are yet to be determined. As of now there is only one other California location in Burbank. anotherbrokenegg.com