Seems like La Jolla is picking up with the soon-to-open WeOlive.  From the website it looks to have quite an impressive selection of California oils, as well as other olive products including soaps, mustards and tapenades.  Opens about February 1 at 1158 Prospect, La Jolla.

Those of you who wonder what the next food craze could be need only look to San Francisco’s well-known Tartine Bakery & Cafe and its sister Bar Tartine where new chef Nick Balla arrives March 1. He and Tartine owners Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt will take the food and the breads to Eastern and Central Europe according to the San Francisco Chronicle.  Note also that many other San Francisco restaurants are changing menus to explore this mostly untapped culinary area.   Wonder if San Diego restaurants (and their patrons) would ever embrace the modern versions of goulash and a fabulous house made rye bread.

Those of you who remember Jason Seibert (chef/owner of the closed Cafe Cerise) might want to catch up with him on Tuesday, December 7 from 6pm on.   You’ll find him at the Stout Public House (site of Cafe Cerise) as he bids goodbye to San Diego for a position as executive sous chef at Eventi, a Kimpton hotel property in New York City.

Au Revoir Bistro finally opened in the old La Vache site in Hillcrest (Robinson and Fourth).  This is the latest venture from the group that owns Arrivederci Ristorante among others in Hillcrest, North Park, La Jolla and Point Loma.

If you’re looking for unusual Italian and American small food and wine producer, Corti Brothers in Sacramento is worth checking out.  Should you want Delamain Grande Champagne Cognac 1982, or panettone from two of Italy’s well-known bakeries, Loison and Bardi, or aged aceto balsamico, be sure to read the newsletters on the website.  Owner Darrell Corti is renowned for his food and wine knowledge and this well-established  family business has been around since 1947.  5810 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95819, 800-509-3663 and the website for more information.

Congratulations to Lisa Redwine (General Manager, The Shores Restaurant) and Ted Glennon (Wine Director, 1500 Ocean) two of San Diego’s well-known wine directors who just passed The Court of Master Sommeliers Level 3 Advanced course and tests on their way to Master Sommelier.  They join advanced sommelier  Jesse Rodriguez (Wine Director, The Grand Del Mar) and hope to become master sommeliers, an august group of just 174 worldwide.  The first American Master Sommelier is another San Diegan, Eddie Osterland.

Foodbuzzsd will take a short break until the New Year unless there is breaking news. Happy Holidays to you all

Some observations from readers and Buzz…feel free to comment.

If you experience issues with your meal or service, please don’t wait til you leave or, as happened at Farm House Cafe, write an anonymous two page scorching letter about the scallop dish they ate.  Had Olivier Bioteau, the chef/owner been aware at the time of the meal, he could have replaced the errant dish and could have dealt with the diner at the moment.  By not expressing (nicely, by the way) the problem when it happens, everyone loses.  And, restaurants and their owners always like to hear good comments also. (Side note:  Farm House Cafe will be closed Labor Day weekend from Sunday dinner to reopen for dinner on Wednesday, September 8).

Shishito peppers seem to be the current darling of local chefs.  The summer pepper is small and thin-skinned, not really hot and usually served in Japanese restaurants as an appetizer (peppers flash fried in a tiny bit of oil and cooked to just barely scorch the skin, then served with sea salt or topped with bonito flakes).  Buzz ate them at Searsucker (called so over cleverly “no shoshiito schoos”)  and heard from a reader about them at Bali Hai.

Trader Joe’s now carries coconut water, a good mix of electrolytes, with no additives that Buzz can attest, tastes good.  It comes from the water of green coconuts and is considered to be quite a healthy drink.  If you’d like to buy fresh green coconuts and coconut trees, check out Florida Coconuts, a company that grows and ships the coconuts nationwide.

The New York Times Op-Ed piece, Math Lessons for Locovores is worth the read and certain to provoke discussion.  If you’ve not encountered an interesting site called Grist, it has a good vitural roundtable discussion addressing this Op-Ed story.