Candice Woo

San Diego

Food Writer at Freelance

Contributor at The San Diego Union-Tribune

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Articles

Top local chef Andrew Bachelier and skate legend Tony Hawk partner on new North County restaurant

2 weeks ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Candice Woo

A highly-anticipated collaboration — several years in the making — between one of San Diego’s most influential athletes and one of its best chefs will finally take flight this June when Chick & Hawk opens in Encinitas. Landing just east of the train tracks across from the coastal beach community of Leucadia, this will be the second area restaurant for Andrew Bachelier, who grew up in Rancho Peñasquitos and has spent the majority of his 20-plus year career cooking in North County kitchens.
Best Restaurants for Passover Dinner in San Diego

3 weeks ago | sandiego.eater.com | Roxana Becerril |Candice Woo

Passover, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the Israelite exodus from ancient Egypt, spans over a week, starting this year at sundown on April 12 and running through April 20.
Starlite ready to shine once again under new proprietors

1 month ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Candice Woo

One of San Diego’s most universally beloved restaurants will reopen next week after a 14-month closure, carrying on a legacy that began nearly 18 years ago. Nestled along India Street in the neighborhood between Mission Hills and downtown appropriately named Middletown, Starlite opened in 2007 as somewhat of a revelation, converging a craft cocktail bar and locally-sourced gastropub together in a way that’s now familiar but had just barely begun to emerge in San Diego at the time.
Sushi Ichifuji - Review - Kearny Mesa - San Diego - The Infatuation

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Candice Woo

RESERVE A TABLEThis omakase spot is a whole lot fancier than the rastafarian sushi roll joint it replaced, but it still has an all-are-welcome feel. And although its itamae sushi chefs are more smiley than serious, they also give diners what might be the closest to a Tokyo-style sushi experience as you can get in San Diego without flying across the Pacific. The $160 omakase menu is available at the 10-seat sushi counter or the enclosed patio, and it nimbly shifts with the seasons.
31THIRTYONE by Deckman's - Review - North Park - San Diego - The Infatuation

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Candice Woo

photo credit: Paul PapanekRESERVE A TABLEThis three-level North Park hub has the backing of Padres ace pitcher Joe Musgrove, who signed on after eating at one of the sister restaurants in Baja. Have an aperitif at the rooftop oyster bar before heading downstairs, where you can choose between a seven-course tasting menu at the chef’s counter that bellies up to the kitchen, or a lower-key prix fixe in the dining room.
Aqui Es Texcoco - Review - Chula Vista - San Diego - The Infatuation

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Candice Woo

Lamb is king at Aqui Es Texcoco, and if you leave without the meat sweats, you didn’t do it right. The cafeteria-like Chula Vista restaurant does brisk business in barbacoa, served with mugs of piping hot lamb broth and chickpea soup that make great hangover helpers, especially at breakfast time. Cuts of slow-roasted lamb, both fatty and lean, come with fresh corn tortillas and all the fixings to fashion your own tacos.
Soichi Sushi - Review - University Heights - San Diego - The Infatuation

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Candice Woo

photo credit: Deanna SandovalRESERVE A TABLESet a calendar reminder to book Soichi’s sushi omakase—reservations disappear within minutes of their monthly release at noon on the first day of each month. With a warm wabi-sabi aesthetic, this Adams Avenue restaurant offers takeout and a la carte options, but its main attraction is a $169 omakase with a dozen rounds of nigiri (and often, rarer cuts).
Kettner Exchange

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Candice Woo

RESERVE A TABLEKettner Exchange might be the only clubstaurant in San Diego with legitimately good food. If you don’t want to party in a cabana on the raucous patio, grab a quieter booth and grab a Pig Mac that swaps pork belly for beef and folds the lot into a steamed Asian bun with a cartoon pig face made out of dough on the side. Or dig into assertively numbing and spicy Szechuan frog legs, and a giant duck meatball that outshines most Italian restaurants.
The Fishery - Review - Pacific Beach - San Diego - The Infatuation

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Candice Woo

RESERVE A TABLEThis Pacific Beach restaurant looks like a quintessential tavern—all polished wood, with fish mounted on the walls—where you could get great clam chowder. And you can. But you can also splash out on specials like caviar-topped scallops in a silky butter sauce and be smug in the knowledge that you’re scoring the most prized catch at any given moment, since The Fishery is attached to its own seafood distributor. Look out for local spot prawns or delicate sand dabs.
Cellar Hand - Review - North Park - San Diego - The Infatuation

1 month ago | theinfatuation.com | Candice Woo

RESERVE A TABLEAt first glance the food at Cellar Hand is all-over-the-map, but it’s actually extremely local. There’s a double-digit number of farms and producers—including a ranch in Ramona where they source almost all their meat—on the menu. And even if you’re not in the habit of binge-watching homesteading videos on YouTube, it’s hard not to be impressed by the in-house baker and fermentation specialists at work.