Nicolle Monico

3 weeks ago | sandiegomagazine.com | Nicolle Monico |Cole Novak

As I stood there, eyes closed, blue lighting showering the room, my mind raced through thoughts of the past few months back at home in San Diego. The holidays had been followed by my birthday, a breakup, and a new role at work. February was already beginning to feel like six months trapped into 28 days. “Take a deep breath in, then a deep exhale,” cooed energy healer Lizbeth Murguia. We were in the middle of a private room at Sparitual, Corazon Resort & Spa’s wellness center in Cabo San Lucas.

3 weeks ago | sandiegomagazine.com | Beth Demmon |Nicolle Monico

Hard to overstate it—restaurateur John Resnick and chef Eric Bost have rewritten the book of North County’s food culture. But after fighting to the top, facing headwinds at the apex, losing—then finding—their footing, they’re back, and poised to be better than ever. In a few weeks, they’ll open Lilo, their fourth restaurant together. Its debut will mark the end of a long, often intense, beautiful story with all signs pointing to a happy ending. But let’s start at the beginning.

1 month ago | sandiegomagazine.com | Jackie Bryant |Nicolle Monico

In 2018, long-time Ocean Beach resident and graphic designer Aaron Null got tired of the endless Facebook rants about trash. Instead of arguing, he grabbed a map, marked a green line, and declared, “This block is mine.” “Within weeks, we had almost the whole town covered,” says Null. “Then I tried it in other neighborhoods, and the same thing happened.

1 month ago | sandiegomagazine.com | Jackie Bryant |Nicolle Monico

If there’s one thing Giacomo Pizzigoni knows, it’s how to turn a meal into a movement. The Milan-born restaurateur behind Ambrogio15, the recently shuttered Ambrogio by Acquerello, and Ambrogio15 Enoteca has long been using food as a vehicle for something bigger, whether that’s showcasing natural wines from small Italian producers, Italianizing San Diego’s dining scene, or giving back to the city that’s embraced him since his arrival 15 years ago.

1 month ago | sandiegomagazine.com | Troy Johnson |Nicolle Monico

When Matt Hoyt passed in 2021, the record scratched on San Diego’s culture. His cocktail bar and restaurant, Starlite, was the low-lit cocktail haven for kids who loved odd music and art and graphic novels and time-period clothes and kitschy vinyl concept albums and Japanese documentaries exclusively in black and white. The kind of people who loved the conspiratorial comfort of shadows. I’m making all of these details up based on things the most creative people I know love.