#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