One of Little Italy's top chefs is back.

Hard to overestimate how much Ironside Fish & Oyster changed the game when it opened in Little Italy in 2014. It was the dream concept for Jason McLeod, a chef who'd earned two Michelin stars in Chicago (for Ria). Little Italy was the unloading dock of San Diego's legendary fishing fleets, had that rich seafood history but no epic seafood joint. McLeod and CH Projects took over the old Farkas furniture store and turned it into a sort of ghost ship ocean liner (the suitcases along the wall are an ode to those roots) and oyster bar.

The lobster roll was the headlining dish that floored a city. But the real story was the relationships that McLeod formed with local fishermen who were pulling their boats into the nearby Tuna Harbor. There was no back door to Ironside, so the fishermen would lug their catch through the main dining room.

Fast forward… McLeod split with CH Projects, went on to help concept and launch a bunch of big-name things in Vegas (like Proper Eats, the food court in the Aria hotel). And now he's back. Not as a figurehead, but in the kitchen.

It's his restaurant. His new dream. His new rebuild (a wood fired kitchen is coming). He comes into Happy Half Hour to talk with Troy about the dream and what Little Italy was like in those early days. Follow Jason HERE.

Patricia Sebold, Kalani Millsaps, and Kerry Pierce join Happy Half Hour to discuss their new concept: a women's-focused sports bar opening in North Park. We find out how the project came together and why San Diego is ready for it now.

From Title IX to the Wave's record-setting crowds, they talk about the rise of women's sports, the frustration of watching games on phones in bars that won't put them on TVs, and how packed pop-ups proved there was real demand for a permanent space.

One of Us is slated to open this March, just in time for March Madness and the NWSL season. Follow One of Us HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine.

#415 On the latest Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson traces a proper Sunday roast into its evolution as a distinctly American handheld obsession. Following the breadcrumbs leads straight to Big Jim's Roast Beef in Pacific Beach, which is owned by today's guest, James Jones.

He's a North Shore Boston transplant who brought the "super beef" to our fair shores. His version has a griddled onion roll, rare- to mid-rare beef, and the cult-favorite James River barbecue sauce shipped in from back East. We also get a rapid-fire history lesson featuring British roast-beef nationalism, refrigerated rail cars, the invention of the meat slicer, and L.A.'s French dip origin story. Johnson makes the case that the piled-high roast beef sandwich is top-notch, cross-generational gustatory engineering. Follow Big Jim HERE.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine.

On this episode of Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Niccolò Angius, the Italian-born chef-owner behind Cesarina and Elvira, to explore why pasta holds such an enduring grip on our hearts, memories, and nervous systems. Raised in his parents' Roman trattoria in Trastevere, Angius traces his journey from Rome to San Diego, where he and his wife Cesarina Mezzoni launched a farmers' market pop-up in 2015 focused on handmade vegan pastas and all-natural sauces. That project evolved into Cesarina in 2019—now a perennial San Diego Mag Best Pasta winner and Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient—followed by Elvira, their Roman-focused restaurant in Ocean Beach. Angius also discusses their next chapter: Corallino, opening on Shelter Island this spring. Follow Elvira here.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#413 On Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson talks with chef Elijah Arizmendi about leaving home at 15, training in Vegas and New York, and opening Lucien — an ingredient-obsessed, 30-seat destination built around San Diego produce, house ferments, and meticulous coursing.

On this week's Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson sits down with chef Elijah Arizmendi, the 30-year-old behind Lucien, La Jolla's new 12- to 13-course tasting-menu destination that's already getting "best in the city, maybe the country" texts from chefs like Travis Swikard (Callie, Fleurette). Arizmendi traces his no-shortcuts path: leaving home at 15, early kitchen reps in D.C. and Sacramento, then Vegas (Spago), Robuchon, and a New York run that included opening The Bay in Tribeca… before choosing San Diego for what he calls the ultimate advantage of produce and microclimates. The conversation gets deep into Lucien's obsessive pantry-building: a house-fermented calamansi kosho (with habanero), a red curry squash "miso" inoculated with koji, a lineup of finishing salts, and multiple shoyus, including a koji shoyu he'll drip onto everything from raw fish to a polarizing uni ice cream. Tune in for more details about San Diego's latest culinary force.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#412 This week, Happy Half Hour host Troy Johnson talks with Food Network megastar Guy Fieri about how a one-off Flavortown joke grew into a national food brand, from pop-up kitchens to a fast-growing sauce line and a major new partnership rolling its offerings into 6,500 Circle K stores.

The two also revisit Fieri's early Food Network days, the demo tape that launched his career and the evolution of shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy's Grocery Games, where Johnson frequently appears as a judge. Fieri also reflects on the work of the Guy Fieri Foundation, which now mobilizes volunteers and chefs to produce thousands of meals for families and first responders. Follow Guy here.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#411 Bebemos cofounder Preston Caffrey and Waterfront Bar & Grill's Dennis Glover talk cocktails, what makes a good regular's bar, and running a local legacy

This week on Happy Half Hour, the crew posts up at the iconic Waterfront Bar & Grill, open since 1933 and still run by the same family. Co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant are joined by Bebemos Tequila cofounder Preston Caffrey and Waterfront GM Dennis Glover for a drink-fueled dive into one of San Diego's most beloved institutions. They talk through the bar's nearly century-old history, why Bebemos' $15 pour might be the best deal in town, and what it means to run a bar that still feels like home but serves some of the most high-quality pub grub in the city. To follow Waterfront click here.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine

#410 We sit down with San Diego's longtime restaurant power duo to unpack their two-decade partnership and their latest La Jolla project.

On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson catches up with chef Brian Malarkey and restaurateur Chris Puffer to explore the story behind their newest venture inside the iconic former Herringbone space, now reborn as Le Coq. The trio rewinds through the early days at Ocean Air, the explosive rise of Seersucker, and the city-shaping impact of Herb & Wood—while reflecting on the hard work, near-misses, and creative friction that have defined one of San Diego's rare enduring restaurant partnerships. To Follow Le Coq click here.

Discover more at San Diego Magazine.