Animae is an Asian-inspired steakhouse in downtown San Diego that combines a menu of steaks and seafood with flavors drawn from across Asia, including Filipino dishes and ingredients. Executive Chef Tara Monsod has led Animae’s kitchen since 2021, bringing a Filipino-American perspective to a menu that draws from her own culinary background. Monsod has been named a James Beard Award semifinalist three times and was a finalist for Best Chef: California in both 2024 and 2025, becoming San Diego’s first chef to reach the finalist stage in the category. The restaurant is located at the base of the Pacific Gate tower, with a dramatic dining room that leans into Art Deco-inspired design, velvet and gold accents, and a large-scale, theatrical feel. SHORT RIB KARE KARE - green beans, eggplant, peanut sauce, bagoong oil. The kare kare subs in braised short rib for oxtail and uses the pungent bagoong, a fermented shrimp paste. MANTOU -chive steamed bun, soy glaze, sour cream butter. Delish. For dessert, the Turon Tart combines caramelized brown sugar custard, jackfruit gel and banana ice cream in a take on the Filipino fried banana-and-jackfruit dessert. The custard was smooth and caramelized, with the jackfruit and banana bringing the familiar fruit flavors of turon into a much more composed dessert. Grade: A

The Jungle Drive-In is the Mid-Ohio Valley's only drive-in movie theater -- and one of the few remaining in West Virginia. I love searching out West Virginia experiences -- and while this one isn't centered aroubd food, there is definitely food involved. They have a "Jungle Snack Store" concession stand that includes pepperoni rolls from none other than The Pizza Station and popcorn from Smith Candy Co. Have you been?

Roberto’s Taco Shop is one of the classic San Diego taco-shop-style Mexican fast-food spots -- the kind of place associated with big burritos, rolled tacos, carne asada fries and open late-night/24-hours. There are multiple Roberto’s locations, and menus/prices vary somewhat by location.

The California burrito is one of the foods that really captures the overlap between San Diego’s Mexican-American taco-shop culture and California’s fast-food culture: carne asada, a flour tortilla and Mexican flavors combined with something decidedly American—French fries.

At Roberto’s, the basic version is simple: Carne asada + French fries + cheese + flour tortilla. The combination of salty, savory, charred beef with a soft/starchy fry is made even better with melted cheese - all wrapped in a giant flour tortilla. Dipping it in a salsa adds a punch of flavor. I wouldn't mind some more inside.

Grade: B

There are so many incredible restaurants in San Diego and so little time. So, I got this one delivered to me at the hotel.

Meet Dumpling is a tiny, family-run Northern Chinese dumpling shop in Point Loma, at 2907 Shelter Island Drive. It opened in 2023 and was specifically highlighted by Eater San Diego for its handmade dumplings, which the owner's mother-in-law makes.

The menu is focused on boiled Northern Chinese dumpling, and I went with the "Green Chive w. Shrimp & Pork Dumplings."

That filling is savory pork, sweet/briny shrimp, and the fresh, slightly garlicky chive flavor. And the noodle is so silky and delicate. It's exactly why pasta is one of my favorite foods.

Grade: A

Here's my latest column:

Autumn olive is easier to dislike in theory than it is on the tongue.

Autumn olive, or Elaeagnus umbellata, is a big, bushy shrub that has spreading, thorny branches covered with oval green leaves that have silvery, speckled undersides — much like an olive tree.

In the spring, the bush has small, fragrant pale-yellow flowers, but by its fall fruiting season, it is full of small red berries covered in tiny silver dots.

Autumn olive is found all over Appalachia — especially along roadsides, old fields, forest edges and former mining areas.

But it wasn’t always that way.

It is native to China, Japan and Korea and was introduced to the U.S. around the 1830s in an effort to help the environment through a few different ways:

Erosion control: Autumn olive’s extensive roots helped stabilize disturbed soil, especially on strip-mined land, roadsides and slopes.

Reclaiming poor land: Autumn olive can thrive in poor soil because it fixes nitrogen, essentially improving soil fertility.

Wildlife habitat and food: Its abundant berries were promoted as food for birds and other wildlife, while its dense growth provided cover.

Fast revegetation: In Appalachia, where mining and other activities left large areas of stripped ground, a fast-growing, tough shrub seemed like an ideal way to make barren land green again.

Those same characteristics that made autumn olive valuable … now make it an invasive species.

The shrub produces enormous quantities of red berries. Birds eat them and disperse the seeds, allowing autumn olive to take over roadsides, fields, stream corridors and forest edges.

It can form dense thickets that crowd out native shrubs and alter the soil chemistry through nitrogen fixation.

What was once considered a useful conservation plant by government agencies and programs is now classified as a noxious weed.

But birds aren’t the only ones who developed a taste for those red berries. Appalachians have made do with what is available to them for ages — even if what’s available is an invasive shrub.

Autumn olive berries are usually tart, slightly sweet and a little astringent. The flavor is a mix of cranberry, sour cherry and tomato. The texture can become a bit mealy due to the tiny seeds. And, they are unusually high in lycopene, the antioxidant associated with tomatoes.

That makes these berries perfect for primarily jams and jellies, but also pies, cobblers, sauces, fruit leather, juice and syrups.

Autumn olive jam works anywhere you might use cranberry sauce, sour-cherry preserves or another fruit spread. Spread it on toast, biscuits, English muffins or cornbread, or use it as the fruity layer in a grilled cheese sandwich.

It’s particularly good with cheese; try it alongside a sharp cheddar, goat cheese, brie or a crumbly blue cheese on a cheeseboard. For breakfast, spoon it over pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or yogurt, or swirl it into a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

It can also become a glaze for roasted pork, chicken or duck, or be stirred into a vinaigrette for a salad with bitter greens, nuts and cheese.

Autumn olive was introduced to Appalachia to heal damaged landscapes — only to be a little too good for its own good.

Fortunately, Appalachians are good at making do, finding the good in what’s at hand and turning those tart little berries into something good — like a jar of jam.