In Kensington, a “uber  fun, cool and eclectic” new wine bar , Village Vino, opens  (softly) June 28 at the corner of Adams Avenue and Kensington Drive in the same block as the Ken Theater and Kensington Grill.  Owner  Rita Pirkl will feature wines from around the world from small producers, many family run.  There will be classes too.  Buzz has seen the space and it offers all of the fun and none of the pretense of so many other wine bars in this town (no sofas either!).  4095 Adams Ave., 619-546-8466, open Sunday to Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday until midnight, closed Monday.

If you’re looking for a restaurant to buy, here are two you might be interested in:  Avenue 5 Restaurant and Bar in Bankers Hill is on the block as is City Deli in Hillcrest.  For additional information, 858-792-5521.

More Malarkey for his minions:  The empire spreads  to Scottsdale with a second Searsucker  for those hungry “zonies; waived c orkage Tuesdays and half off selected bottles at all five venues; and happy hour arrives at Burlap  from 4 to 6pm.  Growing pains at the three-month-old Gabardine where chef Chad White is out and Malarkey is in with a pared down menu (unfortunately not yet posted online) and appetizers that include mac n’ cheese, shishito peppers and fries (they were sides before).   Is  Malarkey trying too hard here with a new brunch hook at Gabardine? Disco? Kind of odd for this old Point Loma neighborhood.

Herringbone just opened in La Jolla, making it the fifth in the fabric named restaurants.  If you love noisy, be-there-be-seen places, you’ll be right at home here as you watch nimble wait staff juggle food and drinks around a packed bar and 100-year-old olive trees planted inside the huge ex-warehouse space.  Expect a pricey dinner meal with most mains in the high $20′s and starters in the high teens.

And a final thought on Malarkey:  Is the expansion too fast and furious given his turnover of chefs (Burlap and Gabardine)?  Gabardine certainly needed more thought when it opened (and still may) as the elements of decor, dark corners at the bar, noise and a mish mash of a menu were not cohesive for the four times I visited.  (The place is a mile from my home.)  Time will tell if he can get the locals hooked.

Chefs Confab (a group of 14 very good San Diego chefs)  hosts a week of sustainable seafood events that include dinners, talks, and more.  Check the website for information on the series that runs from May 31 to June 6  ending with a $125 dinner at 1500 Ocean created by many of the Confab chefs.

Executive chef Matt Smith, will move from Winesellar & Brasserie to The 3rd Corner’s soon-to-open third location in Palm Desert.  Smith is from Indio and this move will let him be closer to home as well as run Ed Moore’s newest restaurant that opens late June. Desert goers will find the restaurant at the junction of Highways 111 and 74 in the old Palomino site.

Blanca lost chef Jason Neroni who quickly realized that San Diego diners weren’t ready to expand their eating habits to include pork in a various ways or foods cooked sous vide, so he packed up and went back to his New York roots.  In his place,  Gavin Schmidt who just arrived from San Francisco with a resume that includes work as executive chef at the highly rated  Campton Place and chef de cuisine at the two-star Michelin rated  Coi.  We wish him well.

Executive chef Bernard Guillas of The Marine Room , just returned from New York where he launched his cookbook: Flying Pans: Two Chefs, One World.

Buzz fav, Avenue 5 Restaurant & Bar on Fifth between Nutmeg and Oliver, decided to take on the burger craze in a more interesting way.  Every Wednesday is Bodacious Burger night from 5pm to close.  What kind of burgers?  Interesting round-the-world flavored burgers that arrive with six ounces of protein, a small salad, truffle fries and a dill pickle spear and range from $10.95 to $14.95 and include the Aussie lamb burger, the Scottish salmon burger, the Frenchie burger, portobello burger and others.  Closed Monday.

Tuesdays at Jayne’s Gastropub in North Park features a Jayne burger and any draft beer for $15.

Roseville in Point Loma has a new menu created by chef Chad White with prices $20 and under along with bar food choices and nightly specials.  They do need to get their website updated however, as former executive chef Amy DiBiase now heads the Glass Door (with a great view of the bay and Little Italy) at the Hotel Porto Vista.

Tommy Pastrami, with some of the best pastrami and corned beef on corned rye bread is finally opening this summer.  Buzz mentioned them a year ago but they clearly had some problems getting the space finished downtown at 555 West C at Fifth between Broadway and C.

The newest place for Mexican food on Fifth Avenue at Nutmeg is an Isabel Cruz creation, Barrio Star, previously mentioned here.  The tag line on the menu:  “Mexican Soul Food” and Buzz would agree.  Let’s be clear here, tacos are a dime a dozen all over the city. And some would whine that they shouldn’t be more than a few bucks apiece.

If, however, you want house made tortillas from corn freshly ground daily to become masa for tortillas and tamales, or chunks of oven cooked pork for greaseless yet flavorful carnitas, or tamales with moist masa and lots of chicken, or fresh made salsas or interesting black beans and rice and even greens, then this is your place.

The brightly decorated room with a bar is modern with light from the windows that face Fifth Avenue. The attention to and use of high quality ingredients such as Brandt beef and local suppliers make all the difference from the run of the mill taco joint. Two street size tacos piled with carnitas and a side of beans $9.50 at lunch $13 at dinner with three tacos, or the chicken tamale loaded with succulent chicken  $10.  Open for lunch weekdays from 11:30 to 2:30 and dinner daily from 5 to 10pm.  Reservations accepted. 2706 5th Avenue San Diego, 619-501-7827