Oceanside has one of the fastest-growing chef-driven restaurant communities in the county, and for the next month they’re celebrating their community’s uniqueness with a promotion called the Swell Plate Series.
Conceived by Visit Oceanside, Swell Series is a self-guided tour of creative Oceanside-inspired dishes being offered at 15 restaurants and bars in the city, ranging from downtown’s Michelin-starred Valle to the iconic Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub in South Oceanside to newly opened 24 Suns in Loma Alta. The contest kicked off Wednesday and runs through Feb. 13.
Diners can Visit Oceanside’s Mobile Guide or pick up a printed port at Visit Oceanside’s California Welcome Center as a guide to the restaurants. Diners can collect a port stamp at every restaurant where they order the dish. Anyone who collects three or more stamps will be entered into a prize drawing for a hotel stay and dining credit.
There’s also a photo contest. Diners who take photographs of the dishes they ordered at Swell Plates locations and post it on their Instagram page with the tags @VisitOceanside and @DineOside will be entered in a prize drawing for restaurant gift cards.
Chefs were given free rein in devising the dishes that they fell best represent the city’s beachside location, culinary influences, local seafood and produce and its laid-back, sustainable culture.
One of the most creative dishes was created by 24 Suns, a hyper-seasonal Chinese restaurant opened last fall by chefs Jacob Jordan and Nick Webber. It’s an abalone, bycatch sausage and smoked vegetable mole dish served in an abalone shell atop a plate with sand and other items symbolizing beach detritus. Inspired by Oceanside Museum of Art’s “Transformative Currents” exhibit, it promotes sustainability and environmental awareness.
At Allmine Restaurant, owner Roxana Pavel has created a burrata salad that celebrates the city’s agricultural heritage. The restaurant 333 Pacific is serving Mussels Mariniere, which are sailor-style mussels honoring the city’s military history. Valle is serving chef Roberto Alcocer’s quesotaco (available on the bar menu only), which represents the city’s connections with Baja California. And at Wrench & Rodent, chef Loren Waite is serving fresh catch from the Oceanside Fisherman’s Market. Most of the rest of the dishes also feature seafood, honoring the city’s deep roots in fishing.
Other participating locations are Blade 1936, Dija Mara, Frankie’s, Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen, Lighthouse Oyster Bar & Grill, Mangia e Bevi, Matsu, Piper, the Plot and the Privateer. Here’s the full lineup of dishes and participating restaurants: visitoceanside.org/swell-plates-series/.
Valle hosts fourth Tres Amigos dinner in Oceanside
Roberto Alcocer, executive chef of Michelin-starred Valle contemporary Mexican restaurant in Oceanside, will host the fourth edition of his Tres Amigos Chef Series on Jan. 30. Alcocer invites acclaimed chefs from other Michelin-starred restaurants to share his kitchen for a diverse, multicourse prix-fixe meal.
This month’s dinner will feature Alcocert cooking with chef Tony Esnault of Michelin-starred Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa and chef Christopher Barnum-Dann of Michelin-starred Localis in Sacramento.
Reservations are available for indoor and patio seating from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 30. Tickets are $200 per person, plus 20 percent service charge and $5 order fee. Valle is at 222 N. Pacific St., Oceanside. 866-723-8906, valleoceanside.com/special-events.
Stories from the Soil in Encinitas
Fox Point Farms in Encinitas has kicked off a new monthly dinner series featuring acclaimed chefs from all over the country cooking in the development’s Haven Restaurant. The first six celebrity chef dinners have been announced. Another six dinners will be unveiled in a few months.
The series kicked off Monday with a dinner by Drew Deckman, owner of 31ThirtyOne Restaurant in North Park and Michelin-starred Conchas de Piedra in Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe.
Next up is Cameron Ingle, executive chef of Marisi restaurant in La Jolla, who will prepare a dinner at 5 p.m. Feb. 10. Dylan Patel, executive chef of Avec, a two-time James Beard Award-winning restaurant in Chicago, will prepare a meal at 5:30 p.m. March 10.
Tim Kolanko, culinary director of San Diego’s Urban Kitchen Group, will be ed by UKC’s Wesley Johnson, at 5:30 p.m. April 7. Javier Plascencia, chef-owner of Michelin-starred Animalón in the Valle de Guadalupe, will serve a meal at 5:30 p.m. May 12.
Helene Henderson, founder of Malibu Farm restaurant company, will helm the kitchen at 5:30 p.m. June 9. And Joe Frillman, chef-owner of Daisies in Chicago, will cook at 6:3 p.m. July 14.
Ticket prices for each dinner will be announced on Fox Point Farms’ event calendar at foxpointfarms.com/events.
Herb & Sea dinner series in Encinitas
Aiden Owens, the executive chef at Herb & Sea restaurant in Encinitas has invited three of Oceanside’s most-renowned chefs to team up with him on a trio of dinners titled “3 Nights at Sea.” Owens will be ed by Davin Waite of the Plot on Jan. 26 (tickets are $65). He’ll cook with Matsu restaurant owner/chef William Eick on Feb. 2; and Michelin-starred Valle chef Robert Alcocer will him on Feb. 5 ($100). Herb & Sea, at 131 West D St. in Encinitas, can be reached at 760-704-8300, herbandsea.com.
