#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.

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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.

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#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.

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#412 This week, Happy Half Hour host Troy Johnson talks with Food Network megastar Guy Fieri about how a one-off Flavortown joke grew into a national food brand, from pop-up kitchens to a fast-growing sauce line and a major new partnership rolling its offerings into 6,500 Circle K stores.

The two also revisit Fieri's early Food Network days, the demo tape that launched his career and the evolution of shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Guy's Grocery Games, where Johnson frequently appears as a judge. Fieri also reflects on the work of the Guy Fieri Foundation, which now mobilizes volunteers and chefs to produce thousands of meals for families and first responders. Follow Guy here.

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#411 Bebemos cofounder Preston Caffrey and Waterfront Bar & Grill's Dennis Glover talk cocktails, what makes a good regular's bar, and running a local legacy

This week on Happy Half Hour, the crew posts up at the iconic Waterfront Bar & Grill, open since 1933 and still run by the same family. Co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant are joined by Bebemos Tequila cofounder Preston Caffrey and Waterfront GM Dennis Glover for a drink-fueled dive into one of San Diego's most beloved institutions. They talk through the bar's nearly century-old history, why Bebemos' $15 pour might be the best deal in town, and what it means to run a bar that still feels like home but serves some of the most high-quality pub grub in the city. To follow Waterfront click here.

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#410 We sit down with San Diego's longtime restaurant power duo to unpack their two-decade partnership and their latest La Jolla project.

On this episode of Happy Half Hour, Troy Johnson catches up with chef Brian Malarkey and restaurateur Chris Puffer to explore the story behind their newest venture inside the iconic former Herringbone space, now reborn as Le Coq. The trio rewinds through the early days at Ocean Air, the explosive rise of Seersucker, and the city-shaping impact of Herb & Wood—while reflecting on the hard work, near-misses, and creative friction that have defined one of San Diego's rare enduring restaurant partnerships. To Follow Le Coq click here.

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#409 Andrew Zimmern, a four-time James Beard Award–winning TV host best known for Bizarre Foods and for using food as a lens into culture joins Happy Half Hour co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant this week. A longtime champion of global food culture, Zimmern shares his new book, The Blue Food Cookbook: Delicious Seafood Recipes for a Sustainable Future and discusses why Americans misunderstand seafood and what San Diego can teach the rest of the country about primarily eating from the water.

Zimmern's new book is a guide to buying and cooking seafood in ways that are smarter for the oceans and the people who harvest from them. He breaks down the biggest myths that hold Americans back from cooking fish, shares stories from decades spent traveling and reporting on global foodways, talks about why markets like Tuna Harbor matter more than ever, and explains why harvesting food that comes from our oceans is the key to achieving sustainability goals. To follow Andrew click here.

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#408 On this week's Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant sit down with Joe Bower and Dan Valerino, the duo behind Finca, one of North Park's buzziest and newest restaurants. The pair met during their Juniper & Ivy days and reunited to open a spot that blends the warmth of Spanish wine culture with California's seasonal bounty and upscale tapas culture. They dive into vermouth, sherry, and what it means to build a neighborhood restaurant and wine list with soul while reminiscing about the grind that shaped them. To follow Finca click here.

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