Smoking with Matt

Chef’s Bed at Quarter Kitchen
- Photo by Brook Larios

Who in their right mind doesn’t care for breakfast in bed? And dinner in bed? Yes, please. Enter Quarter Kitchen’s (600 F St., Downtown) Chef’s Bed, tucked into a private nook near the open kitchen, where happy-go-lucky executive chef Brian Pusztai and his crew serve you crazy-good fare while you chill on a bed. Yep, just like that. quarterkitchen.com

Native Foods Café, an organic vegan restaurant headquartered in Orange County and with locations in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Los Angeles and soon Chicago, is making more than a cameo in the San Diego restaurant scene. Expect multiple locations during the next year, with the first opening this fall in Encinitas. nativefoods.com

Oh, those busy, busy Cohns. Not to be outdone by restaurateurs who partner with nightclub owners and brewery owners, they’ve partnered (space-wise) with a car dealership for 10,000-square-foot Vintana (1205 Auto Parkway in Escondido), a restaurant and event space located on the third floor of Lexus Escondido’s 300,000-square-foot dealership. Think: California cuisine with a menu by chef Deborah Scott. It’s set to open in February 2012. The price point is slated to be under $25.

The team behind Flavor Del Mar is scheduled to open SIP at Flavor Del Mar, a wine bar and lounge located behind its sister locale (1555 Camino Del Mar, Third Floor). Chef Jason Maitland will house-cure boar sausage, duck proscuitto and other meats. Coming on board: Chuy Galvan, La Valencia’s former sommelier. Thomas Schoos, the German-bointerior designer responsible for Brian Malarkey’s upcoming Asian-cowboy (ahem)-themed Burlap will helm the design of this spot, too. flavordelmar.com

We Olive La Jolla (1158 Prospect St.), home of cold-pressed, regional olive oil, has opened its wine bar. The owners have tapped wineries from up and down the state, including the Russian River Valley and seminal Sonoma, for Pinots, Chards and more, complemented by charcuterie, cheese, crostini and sweets. Though, I’m not so hot on the corkage fee they’ll charge people who want to drink the bottle they purchased on the premises. weolive.com

True North tavern (3815 30th St. in North Park) and Cigar Rights of America (CRA) have partnered for a cigar event at 6 p.m. Monday, July 25, featuring a cigar-inspired fourcourse dinner by Urban Solace’s Matt Gordon (smoked chicken with fig tartine, for example), unlimited wine tasting by Hacienda de las Rosas and a one-year CRA membership. Cigar aficionado Litto Gomez will present his family’s line of La Flor Dominicana cigars, made from tobacco cultivated on his family’s property. Go and you’ll smoke and/or take home 18 cigars. $150. truenorthtavern.com

Sea Rocket Bistro (3382 30th St. in North Park) will be featured on The Cooking Channel’s Hook, Line and Dinner at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 27. (Disclosure: I do PR for Sea Rocket.) searocketbistro.com

Got food news? Write to brookl@sdcitybeat.com.