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.

**Wolfgang Puck’s venture into San Diego with JAI at the La Jolla Playhouse, may soon be short lived.  It seems that they miss their after theater audience by closing at 10 pm, and there’s no lunch service that might catch people looking for a quiet place to meet.  For many San Diegans, traveling to a university campus to see a play or eat dinner, is more than they can bear…

**Downtown, we’re hearing the Ivy will soon have a new management company.  What that means for Quarter Kitchen, and the rest of the property, well, time will tell.  Stay tuned.

**Opening in February, across the street from Ivy, in the former site of EXY, Jared Van Camp, well-known Chicago chef will oversee the kitchen of Quality Social.  From their press release:  “no guest list, no cover, no dress code. The destination will carefully pay tribute to the most treasured elements of the iconic dive bar, with a devil-may-care attitude serving as a visceral component. “  Sounds like a no pretense place that will serve house made charcuterie and some fun dishes such as a BLT with a confit of pork belly and heirloom tomatoes, or a smoked in-house hot dog served in a Pabst Blue Ribbon carton.  And no frilly drinks, either.  More to come when it opens.

**Pizza seems to be the latest inexpensive comfort food to blanket San Diego.  Coming in April, the second location of URBN opens in North Park at University and 31^st. The coal fired pizza joint is Jon Magnin’s spin-off of BASIC Urban Kitchen + Bar.  He opened his first URBN in Vista in 2008 and plans to open 10 to 15 more up and down the coast.

**Support your local restaurants and dine out during San Diego’s restaurant week that runs from January 17 to January 22.  Check for the participating restaurants and their menus (three-courses for $20, $30 and $40, depending on the venue).  This is a good time to try new places and support our local restaurant economy.

**The Counter Burger arrived in Carlsbad and if you’re in the area of Calle Barcelona and the shops in the Forum at Carlsbad, this franchise that began in Santa Monica in 2004 is making waves.   It’s a build your own burger joint and should do well in North County.  Buzz hasn’t tried it yet.

Quick takes:   The latest issue of  San Diego’s Dining Out magazine is on the stands now.  It’s a good mag to have around with up to the minute info on our local eateries…and interviews too with chefs.

The Linkery will take over the recently closed Aperitivo space just down the street from their current location on 30th near University. Look for a Summer 2010 open with a California-Spanish-Baja small plate affordable concept.  More to be fleshed out in the coming months.

Join the all-you-can-eat Chefs Celebration finale for this year’s Beer Week.  Sixteen chefs and eight breweries are paired for fun and food from 1 pm to 4pm at the Irwin Jacobs Hall on the Qualcom Campus and all for $65.

We’re hearing Phil’s BBQ could open a North County joint in the up coming months.  The exact location not secure, but perhaps in the San Marcos vicinity.