



The chaos of July is behind us and it's August in San Diego County - the last full month of summer 2016. Keep the good times rolling all month long with this list of more than 50 fun & delicious events taking place around America's Finest City. Make your reservations, purchase your tickets, and get out there to support local businesses.As usual, if an event has not made this list, there is likely a reason for it. Certain events and food festivals are just not worth the time or money, and we aim to guide our readers to only the best! Check out the list below and please email us at august@sandiegoville.com with any recommendations for events to add.- Following several months of construction and more than a year of recipe testing that took place in Italy, authentic Milanese pizzeria Ambrogio15 will open to the public on Monday, August 1 at 3pm in the former Table 926 space. The North Pacific Beach eatery’s menu will feature unique crusts including a paper-thin pizza that bakes in two minutes, whole-wheat pizza, soft Nuvola (Cloud) Focaccia and crunchy Scrocchiarella - all baked in a rotating turbo gas-firing oven that handles seven 15” pizzas at once. Also available at Ambrogio14 will be fifteen San Diego craft beers and biodynamic wines from small-scale wine makers in Italy. While walk-ins are welcome, foodies can nab an early reservation by calling 8 58.291.8650 - Want to find out who is the baddest female mother-shucker in SoCal? Eight fierce female competitors will each take a turn behind Ironside Fish & Oyster's raw bar to shuck as many oysters as they can in one hour, with every oyster sold during that hour to be donated to each shucker's chosen charity. Ironside will be offering the buck-a-shuck special all night long with 100% of the proceeds from every purchase of a $1 signature Ironside Select Oyster going straight to charity. Ironside's Charity Shuck-A-Thon is a free-to-attend event, open to the public, and walk-ins are welcome.-Enjoy a special five-course prix-fixe menu curated by Executive Chef Brian Gruber and Guest Chef Andrew Leonard that encompasses some of the best “in-season” fare along with The Lost Abbey’s most popular brews. The dinner will feature an educational component as a representative from the brewery will speak on the complementary dynamic of each food and beer pairing. Tickets are $60.- A two-day event showcasing culinary artistry tastings, craft beer, wine education, fashion and master mixology, The Fashion of Food and Spirits is an event where “fashion meets food and drinks with passion”. Live music and entertainment will accompany the evening brining the best of San Diego culture to life. The Fashion of Food and Spirits is an event designed to showcase and celebrate the culture of local fashions, the art of mixology and craft beer and local restaurants culinary creations. Tickets start at $20.- Bull BBQ is on a nationwide hunt to find the country’s best burgers. Over 20 competitors will throw down for bragging rights to the title of “Best Burger in San Diego”. The winner will take home a new Bull Outdoor Steer Barbecue and an all-expenses paid trip for two to the World Food Championships to compete on Team Bull for the chance to walk away with over $100,000. Free admission offered to first 400 attendees.- Artisan chocolate shop Sweet Petite Confections in Bay Park will celebrate the third installment in its trio of summertime chocolate-making classes. Guests will enjoy making bonbons with flavors reminiscent of the Aloha State, such as toasted coconut infused ganache and passion fruit caramel, plus mango, pineapple and toasted macadamia nuts will be used to create chocolate bark with a tropical twist. Sweet Petite Confections’ chocolate classes are priced at $35 per adult or parent-child team, and guests leave with 1.5 pounds of their own colorful creations. To reserve a space, visit the website or call the shop directly at 858.688.0210 - August 6th is National Mead Day! Celebrate by learning how to make mead from the experts at Golden Coast Mead. This two-hour hands-on workshop with Golden Coast Mead's CEO/Founder/Head Mead Maker, Frank Golbeck, and Head of R&D, Chris Herr, is perfect for amateur and experienced brewers alike. The $30 ticket includes a mead-making workshop, mead tasting and lunch.- Now in its seventh year, Farm to Bay is a unique tasting event on San Diego Bay that supports coastal wildlife, education, and sustainability at the Living Coast Discovery Center. With over 40 food and beverage partners and a sold-out crowd, Farm to Bay is the only local fundraiser held on a national wildlife refuge. Tickets start at $85.- Join Societe Brewing Company on Sunday, August 7 for a casual pairing with Vegan Sweets San Diego. The $8 registration includes three, 3 ounce tasters and three desserts. Registration will also be available on the day of the event for $10, while supplies last.- Benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County's Operation Bigs program, for the 8th year, Phil's BBQ is serving up mouthwatering BBQ at one of Southern California’s largest tailgate parties complete with live music featuring the Morgan Leigh Band, Kid Ventures Kid Zone and a beer garden sponsored by Karl Strauss Brewery and Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. For $25, guests will enjoy Phil’s ribs and chicken plus two sides, a Coca-Cola beverage, and a ticket to the 1:40 p.m. Padres vs. Phillies game. VIP seating will be in the Field Plaza for the Padres Game. For $50, VIP ticket holders will enjoy all of the above plus two 12 oz. beers and preferential line and seating treatment at the tailgate.- This event will bring diners a 5 course Fermented Pairings dinner with each course highlighting a fermented ingredient which will be prepared by San Diegos top chefs. This dinner will also be one of the few times to get White Labs beer outside of the brewery itself. This dinner will feature food and pairings from Erik Fowler of White Labs, Tyson Blake of O'Brien's, Nate Soroko of Toronado, Phillip Esteban of The Cork & Craft, and Karen Barnett of Small Bar. Tickets are $45.- The Bankers Hill eatery will offer guests a caffeinated evening out with a special Stumptown Coffee Cupping experience. Designed to introduce guests to the flavors and aromas of four artisanal varieties of Stumptown Coffee, this event will also feature a pop-up art gallery from local painter Susan Synder and happy hour pricing on food and drinks throughout the evening. Guests will also have the opportunity to see Susan perform the unique fortune-telling method of coffee grounds reading, a practice similar to tea leaf reading which provides an aromatic peek into one’s past and future. Participation in Royal Stone’s Stumptown Coffee Cupping experience includes a suggested $5 donation. Reservations are encouraged via a signup sheet at the restaurant or by calling Royal Stone at 619.738.8550 - Join Marine Room Executive Chef Bernard Guillas and Chef de Cuisine Ron Oliver as they present “Foraged, Hooked, Picked ... My Chef’s Table,” a cooking demonstration and discussion where guests will learn tips and tricks while chefs share insights and recipes. A three-course dinner and wine pairing will follow, which will include mushroom risotto, Alaskan halibut and frozen pistachio nougat. The $85 ticket includes access to the cooking demonstration, followed by a three-course dinner and wine pairing.- Love Lagunitas Brewing Company? Pacific Beach’s Barrel Republic is hosting these craft beer experts for a brew-tastic Tap Takeover and Keep the Pint Night featuring some of Lagunitas’ limited-releases and crowd-favorites. Join Barrel Republic and Lagunitas as they celebrate some of the most exciting Lagunitas flavor combinations, from imaginative hops to classic tastes. This Tap Takeover and Keep the Pint Night will begin at 6pm, inviting guests to savor in all the memories made by taking your pint home with you! Whether it’s a light and crisp Pilsner, a dry and hoppy DownLow or chocolatey Wilco Tango Foxtrot, every beer-lover is sure to be impressed.- San Diego CityBeat will unite San Diego's top chefs and mixologists to join forces to battle the best in town at The Lafayette Hote. Each team has to use one key ingredient - pineapple - to create their special food and drinks. Voting is done by those in attendance and to conclude the event, the top Chef + Top Shaker will be awarded the top prize! Participating restaurants include Cowboy Star, Hope 46, Carnita's Snack Shack, Stella, Saltbox, 1919, Whiskey Girl, Ocean Pacific, Riviera Supper Club, Waypoint Public, Parq, Park & Rec, Burnside, Sycamore Den, and more. Tickets are $25.- Oceanside’s Barrel Republic is hosting a DOUBLE TAP TAKEOVER with Green Flash Brewing Co. and Alpine Beer Company for a night of pure hoppiness! This fun beer event will take place starting at 6pm and will feature incredible hops such as their limited reserve collections, West Coast-style IPAs and tropical wheat ales. Come experience the freedom to pour your own brew and savor in the tastes of some San Diego’s favorite breweries all in one night. This is not a ticketed event.- Gianni Buonomo winery is ready to break into their 2013 line-up, and are throwing a party to celebrate! "The 2012 wines were wonderful, but 2013 might just blow them out of the water," says winemaker Keith Rolle. "It's exciting to see the differences between the 2012 and the 2013 vintages. I look forward to talking wine with my clients and friends." Come enjoy the Ocean Beach winery's latest wines paired with tasty bites from some of the peninsula's finest eateries, including the multiple award-winning Solare Ristorante. Tickets are $30.- Limited to only 30 guests, the August edition of Analog's Beats & Eats supper club has a Hawaiian theme and will consist of 4 luau-inspired courses each paired with a handcrafted tiki cocktail. Each course is explained and served with the dinner starting promptly at 7pm and ending at 9pm. Tickets start at $40.- San Diego CityBeat and the Mira Mesa Chamber of Commerce present the 5th annual Mira Mesa Festival of Beers, taking place at the Mira Mesa Community Park. There will be over 30 breweries pouring over sixty different beers, live music and food trucks, all in a beautiful outdoor park setting on what will most definitely be a beautiful San Diego afternoon. We are raffling off 2 VIP passes for one lucky reader as well as offering promo codefor $5 savings per ticket. Tickets start at $45.50.- The San Diego Reader is continuing its search to find the best taco in Southern California, and at Tacotopia at the Track, over 40 top eateries from America's Finest City, Tijuana & Los Angeles (including Ensenada's famed La Guerrerense!) will compete for bragging rights at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. There is also a free concert by 311 & Matisyahu following the event! We're giving away 2 tickets to this already-almost-sold-out event and also offering promo codefor $5 savings on any ticket type. Tickets are $45.- Spend an evening on the farm with family and friends during the peak of the Perseid meteor shower at the annual Bates Nut Farm Summer Food Truck Festival & Campout. San Diego’s favorite food trucks will serving the best in mobile cuisine from 4-9pm, with beer and wine available for purchase. Enjoy live music from Calico Ridge on the Bates Stage from 5-9pm. There will also be pony rides, a petting corral, face painting and a scavenger hunt to make this a fun event for the entire family. The food truck lineup includes Chubby’s, Devilicious, Epic Eatz, Mariposa Ice Cream, Organic Truck, SnoCal Shaved Ice, and Two For the Road. Each RV or tent is $20, with food and drink available for separate purchase. There will also be a Sunday morning breakfast.- Nothing says summer time like Hillcrest Cityfest! Join your family and friends in a huge celebration of community spirit through music, arts, crafts, and food. This event attracts 150,000+ attendees each year from across the west coast. Stay past sundown and dance with Hillcrest’s best DJs under the Hillcrest sign with an all ages dance party. Cityfest is free to attend.- Green Flash will welcome Urge Gastropub, Manzanita Roasting and Nomad Donuts to its Cellar 3 Tasting room for a new program designed to take brunch culture to the next level, pairing Green Flash Brews to the personal styles of San Diego's finest breakfast experts. The $50 ticket includes 4 brunch courses each paired with a beer and a surprise giveaway for all attendees.- This is the only event devoted to Latin food that you should even consider going to this month! This event will take place at a picturesque organic farm in Tecate, Mexico. The Baja Kitchen's first Sunday Funday includes round trip transportation to/from San Diego (about 1-hour driving time), hors d'oeuvres, a tasting of Valle de Guadalupe wines, a farm-fresh gourmet brunch, a finely curated bazar, time to relax in nature, and an optional tour of the 6-acre organic garden at La Cocina Que Canta (“The Kitchen That Sings”) culinary center. And after a few glasses of wine and some chilling, sharpen your bocce skills, improve your horseshoe game, or lounge on a hammock. Tickets are $180.34.- North Park's Tiger Tiger will light up their Santa Maria Style BBQ for a summer backyard BBQ, offering an a la carte menu of special barbecue dishes to be paired with beers from Highland Park Brewery. Menu items include smoked jalapeno and cheddar corn bread, jerk chicken skewers, smoked brisket, baby back ribs, fish steak sandwich and much more. This event is free to attend but will fill up fast.- The Cork and Craft's monthly beer dinner is touted as one of the best in town, and for the 18th installment, enjoy an elevated multi-course dinner with carefully selected beer pairings. What makes these dinners “abnormal”? Not only are the pairing menus created just for this one night, but each dish’s flavor components are designed to compliment each beer that it is paired with. This month, Cork and Craft is collaborating with Mikkeller San Diego (their very first beer dinner out here!) and guest chef Jason Mcleod from Ironside Fish & Oyster. Tickets are $99.- Join BiCE Ristorante, Solare, and Piazza 1909 for the summer installment of Season’s Seasoning - the third in a series of dinners celebrating the four seasons with a four-course tasting dinner and wine pairings. The latest collaborative culinary event will honor the annual Italian summer feast, Ferragosto. Chefs Stefano Ceresoli of Piazza 1909, Accursio Lotá of Solare, and Mario Cassineri and Francesca Penoncelli of BiCE Ristorante will offer an authentic, one-of-a-kind dining experience. The event is $85 per person.- The Patio on Goldfinch and Certified Cicerone Jensen Cummings have embarked on a national tour with Brewed Food, a collective food movement founded in 2014 with the core philosophy to celebrate brewing as a culinary art by cooking with ingredients and techniques used to create the best craft beers, rather than the norm of cooking with finished beers. Chef Cummings comes to the The Patio on Goldfinch for a collaborative 6-course Brewing Dinner, with every dish featuring a brewing ingredient from breweries New Belgium and Green Flash Brewery along with beers from these breweries paired with each course. Tickets are $70.- Bay Park's The High Dive will feature Ironfire Brewing from Temecula at its next Chicks for Beer dinner. Beer will be paired with each of the 5 delicious courses, alongside a fun social Beer 101. Each $45 ticket will entitle purchaser to 5+ beers alongside thoughtfully paired courses, as well as one beer of your choice. Chicks for Beer is an event that brings women together in a warm and friendly environment to discover, learn about and enjoy craft beer all while eating an expertly paired 5-course meal. All proceeds go to the San Diego chapter of the Susan G Komen foundation to help those with breast cancer and their families.- The Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association will host the 28th installment of their annual Taste of Main Street. Held along S. Coast Hwy 101 in Downtown Encinitas, participants will be able to sample tastes from more than 30 local restaurants, sample wine and beer at 15 “Sip Stops,” and enjoy live music at 8 different locations. In addition to the “Sip Stops” featuring beer and wine, the event will feature several locations serving non-alcoholic beverages, such as coffee, kombucha, sports drinks, juices and water. Tickets are $35.- Enjoy a seasonal feast for the senses with the a winemaker, master coffee roaster, cheese monger & chef at Bernardo Winery & Cellar. This dining and wine experience will feature tasty pairings of seasonal bites influenced by the Rizzo family's long heritage of "Living off the Land". These seasonal dishes will be paired with a selection of wines, as well as barrel samples and pre-released wines. The night will include a tour of Bernardo Winery and a demonstration and introduction of Manzanita Coffee Roasters. The night will finish with delicious fresh roasted coffee and espresso drinks to order. Tickets are $80.- The North Park craft beer haven will offer guests a unique opportunity to experience a dinner menu specially curated by Waypoint Public's Executive Chef Rich Sweeney, to be paired with a unique selection of beers from Societe Brewing. At every dinner you will hear directly from Chef Rich and his team, as well as the guest brewery's Brewmaster. They will share the story of how their food and beer have come together for this special dining experience. Tickets are $75.- The Barrel Smoker Dinner Series & Dining Out SD presenta cookout competition between two great chefs! The chefs will each make an appetizer, a soup and a sandwich, and diners get the chance to vote for their favorite dish in each round. Tickets start at $40.- Eat food that has been grown from living soil less than 20 miles from Oceanside's Golden Coast Mead and picked within 48 hours. This unique Hawaiian-fusion dinner will be paired with mead (alcohol fermented from honey) made with local honey and brewed by Golden Coast Mead. Don't miss this organic farm-to-table meal and dessert, grown and prepared by Living Earth Systems, and paired with Golden Coast Mead tasting flight. Tickets are $50.- Celebrity Chef Richard Blais and J+P Executive Chef Jon Sloan will host this seven-course meal on the restaurant’s patio, focusing their culinary efforts on locally raised lamb from Teralta Ranch in El Cajon, paired with wines from Italy’s Grattamacco Estate. Tickets are $175. For more information or to reserve seats contact tlacerva@juniperandivy.com - Held every summer in San Diego since 2006 and always a complete sell-out, Tiki Oasis is the biggest annual tiki party in the world - a four-day event that celebrates the "tiki lifestyle" with music, art, cars, cocktails and fun in the sun. This year, Tiki Oasis has a monster theme, celebrating famous beasts of Hollywood like Dracula, Godzilla, and Frankenstein. We are raffling off 2 weekend passes to attend Tiki Oasis 2016. Weekend passes start at $90- The beautiful Loews Coronado Bay invites guests to this unique dining experience, kicking off at 7pm with a reception followed by a five-course multi-sensory wine dinner. With each course, the experience will change dramatically, from the music and choreographed lighting to the spectacular presentations and other unexpected surprises. Executive Chef Chris Aguirre and his culinary team will host live action stations and Eric Jenkins, Director of Food & Beverage, along with Alessia Botturi from Antinori Wines will lead the dinner in a conversational atmosphere that will extend to the community style tables. Tickets start at $141.62.- On the night before the Stone 20th Anniversary Celebration & Invitational Beer Festival is this Friday evening kickoff event.Help yourself to dozens of excellent beers and delicious complimentary food in a truly festive atmosphere. The $85 ticket includes more than 40 beers on tap, a cigar lounge, a commemorative Brewers Reception glass, complimentary gourmet fare by Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, live music all evening long at the main stage, and a panel discussion with Greg Koch and brewing friends.