{"id":602129,"date":"2026-02-19T23:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/602129\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T23:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:44:10","slug":"diners-drive-ins-and-dives-alum-opening-san-diego-eatery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/602129\/","title":{"rendered":"Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Alum Opening San Diego Eatery"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a sprawling mix-and-match menu<\/a> that allows for over 6.7 million different combinations, Gretchen LeMiere promises there\u2019s definitely something for everyone at Taste Craft Eatery<\/a>, the restaurant she opened in San Luis Obispo with her husband Scott in 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can come in with your 90-year-old grandma and your 5-year-old son and know that everybody\u2019s going to find something that they want to eat,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guy Fieri agrees. When Taste appeared on Food Network\u2019s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives<\/a> in 2024, Fieri called the menu \u201cmadness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t find something on the menu, you\u2019ve got problems,\u201d he says on the episode.<\/p>\n

Taste\u2019s schtick is their choose-your-meal approach, where guests can go for a Duo (pick any two items for $17), a Trio (pick any three items for $22), or a Quartet, where you can (you guessed it) pick any four items for $32. The menu ranges from sliders to sandwiches to salads, customizable mac and cheese, seasonal soups, and weekend brunch where yes, you can mix and match different eggs Benedict with French toast croissant bowls or chilaquiles. Did I mention there are over 6.7 million possible combinations?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple currently run two Taste locations\u2014the original SLO spot and the second one they opened in Paso Robles in 2020. LeMiere says they\u2019ve had their eyes open for number three for quite some time, looking everywhere from the Bay Area to Santa Barbara. But San Diego always stayed on their radar\u2014her first chef job was in La Jolla, Scott went to SDSU, and both of their kids were born at Scripps Memorial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it holds some nostalgia for us,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

So when they took a look at a restaurant space in Carlsbad, it felt right. And as a family business, you end up spending more time at the restaurant than your actual home\u2014so it better feel good.<\/p>\n

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Taste Carlsbad<\/a> opens this summer in The Square at Bressi Ranch. The nearly 4,000-square-foot space will have a large front patio and interior that LeMiere calls classy, but casual. \u201cI want people to come in and feel like they\u2019re coming into a really nice spot, but it\u2019s approachable,\u201d she says. You can come get a burger and fries with a beer, or a kale salad topped with ahi and a zero-proof cocktail with agave and bubbly cranberry juice. Really, anything goes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While coming to Carlsbad feels like a homecoming, she says it\u2019s also exciting to be a part of the new North County dining scene. \u201cThe growth in Carlsbad is insane,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re having so much fun getting reintroduced to an area that we love so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taste Carlsb<\/a>a<\/a>d<\/a> is located at 2668 Gateway Road, Suite 170 in The Square at Bressi Ranch and opens in late summer 2026. Initial opening hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Courtesy of Todo Pa\u2019 La Cruda<\/p>\n

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events<\/p>\n

Todo Pa\u2019 La Cruda Opens Third Location February 20<\/p>\n

Some restaurants expand excruciatingly slowly, if at all. Others don\u2019t pass an opportunity up. Todo Pa\u2019 La Cruda<\/a> seems to fall into that second camp, and is set to open a third location in Hillcrest<\/a> at 406 University Avenue, Suite B on February 20.\u00a0 Originally, the space was going to be Los Cardonas Mexican Restaurant<\/a>, according to Todo Pa\u2019 La Cruda owner Elizabeth Ruiz. But after a (very) short stint, Ruiz says the landlord approached her to take it over. <\/p>\n

She was already primed to open a third location after lease negotiations failed in Pacific Beach, so setting her sights to Hillcrest was an easy switch. She says it\u2019s a good spot for her style of homestyle cooking, since most of the Mexican restaurants in the area are fast-casual taco shops rather than comfort food. She\u2019ll open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day to start, with the same menu as her Grant Hill and Barrio Logan locations. But this will probably be the last expansion\u2014for a while, at least. \u201cMy hands are full,\u201d Ruiz laughs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Beth\u2019s Bites<\/p>\n