Everyone is doing brunch these days and here are a couple more choices. In Point Loma, The Pearl, kicks off Sunday brunch on May 4 from 10am to 2pm with newly installed executive chef Trey Hartinger. This particular Sunday is called The Groove 24/7 Brunch Party because it’s not only about the $20 meal with bottomless mimosas. If brunch isn’t your thing, arrive after 2pm for $5 drinks and nibbles til 8pm. Hartinger also redid the dinner menu and when Buzz has a minute, will give it a taste–pork belly, sweet breads and other interesting dishes show off Hartinger’s stints at Azzura Point and Stingaree. 1416 Rosecrans, 619-226-6100.

North Park’s Cardamom Cafe and Bakery will open in the next few weeks for breakfast, lunch and bakery items. Owner Joanne Sherif’s fascination with this wonderful spice comes partly from her Ethiopian husband and the use of cardamom in various sauces as well as Scandinavian baked goods, Indian curries and more. Should be a terrific change of pace and it’s at the end of 30th at 2977 Upas, 619-546-5609.

For city views while you sip your mimosa and munch on an omelet Ivy Hotel features weekend Eden Rooftop breakfasts from 7am to 2pm with items from $5 to $17. Reservations: 619-814-2000.

Bankers Hill is getting to be a mini gourmet gulch. Very soon to open is Mukashi Restaurant and Seafood Market on Fifth Avenue at Nutmeg and in the same block there’s the popular Avenue 5). Just up the street at Fifth and Redwood is the wonderfully eclectic coffee house Cafe Bassam and of course Extraordinary Desserts

Spicy Pickle opened their first downtown location at Beech and Union serving paninis, sandwiches and that sort of thing. It’s a franchise, and their second location is due in Poway soon.

Bleu Bohème owner Philippe Beltran is at it again as he readies his second Beltran Restaurant Concepts (BRC) location, Papa Nanou, Cuisine du Voyage. Located just a storefront down from the empty Phil’s BBQ on Goldfinch Street in Mission Hills, it will serve Beltran’s brand of comfort food–diverse dishes in a casual setting.  Expect a summer opening.

Cupcakes Squared (yep, they’re square not round) just opened next to Stumps Market on Voltaire in Point Loma.  Former graphics artist Robin Ross Wisotsky and her husband decided to shift gears and have a second career in cupcakes and truly enjoy her love of cooking (she also catered for years).  She uses French chocolate, Hawaiian vanilla and all natural ingredients to make a variety of flavors.  3772 Voltaire St., 619-226-3485.  Closed Monday, Tuesday to Friday 11am to 6pm, Saturday ’til 5pm, Sunday ’til 4pm. 

If taking a cooking class with well-known local chefs sounds good, here are two you might consider.  The Marine Room’s Executive Chef Bernard Guillas offers spring cooking classes on May 7 and June June 11, $50 plus tax, tip and beverage.  Up at The Grand Del Mar, the resort offers a different class each month ranging from Breakfast in Bed (for Mom) on May 10 to a Winners Circle Cocktail Party, just in time for race season, July 9, both are $75. 

Service. There’s a lot of Buzz about it lately from local diners out for a for a business or pleasure meal.  In these tight economic times when customers think twice about where to spend their dining dollars, San Diego restaurants–new and old–need to be ever more vigilant about service.  Mind you, service begins the moment you enter a restaurant, how you’re treated–from the hostess and servers to the bartender, busser and manager–good service will keep customers, even if there’s an off night in the kitchen.  One word about bad service spreads faster than many good words about food. 

A word of caution here.  Bad service stories are not something Buzz fact checks; it’s not about he said, she said. The customer needs to let the restaurant know when there is a problem, right then and there.  Depending on the issue, a manager or owner can right a wrong, and how the restaurant handles the situation at that moment further defines service.  What did they do to make it okay for the customer who–without some sort of positive acknowledgement such as a comped dessert or drink…something…anything– will go out and tell ten pals never to patronize the place again.

A few examples: A reader sent a note to complain about Zenbu, a La Jolla mainstay for fresh sushi, a Buzz favorite and a place that doesn’t take reservations.  The customer revealed that a new hostess and the manager continuously gave their party of six the wrong wait time for their table–told 35 minutes, waited nearly 2 hours.  Why not leave?  Well, the party believed the hostess who kept saying they’d be seated any minute.  When finally seated, they waited more than an hour for food, even though other tables seated after them were served.  Management offered no comps to appease but did add 18% gratuity to the check.  Not the way to treat customers, no matter how busy your restaurant may be.

Red Marlin, a recent arrival to the Mission Bay area, caught the ire of another local who wanted to bring in a bottle of wine.   The comment by Carlo posted in Solare and Red Marlin explains the situation, and how management missed the cue from a customer looking to buy a bottle from the list and still bring his own for a special evening.  

On the positive side, Buzz popped in for the first time to Urban Solace. I sat at the bar while most diners were on the patio enjoying the warm day.  The bartender/server helped me decide my order–no on the fabulously rich the mac and cheese and yes on the light, flavorful salad of grilled ahi pieces, diced cucumber, red pepper and avocado, innovatively served with not a leaf of lettuce–a balance of texture and flavor in a mouthful.  Sure the bar wasn’t busy, but many times that can lead to poor service when staff does chores or just stands around. Even the hostess, though not perched at the door, had it right. Every time the door opened, she was front and center to greet guests.  Good food coupled with good service makes a winner.  

Buzz would like to hear your stories:  Service–good and bad–and what the restaurant did to be sure you would return.