A few days ago we heard there was a wholesale dismissal of the restaurant team at Del Mar’s  Arterra Restaurant that included executive chef Jason Maitland and others in management.  It seems that the powers that be have long wanted to re-concept the restaurant.  It’s unclear what that concept will be and who will be at the helm, but their website does say (under Jobs at the bottom of the site) that the hotel is looking for people to be “part of an exciting team while learning and using your culinary skills.”  Good luck.

**Popped into the latest pizza place to grace the University Heights dining landscape: Pizzeria Bruno.  Three of us arrived about 6:15 and asked to be seated in the bar area—two adorable, yet screaming children were enjoying pizza on the other side of the room.  The kids aside, this is terrific pizza as it should be made…a wood fire oven, very fresh ingredients and a pizza crust that is light, slightly chewy, blistered from the fire and worth every carb bite.

Try the house made mozzarella and tomato salad (ripe heirlooms) with a lovely little balsamic dressing served on the side to be dabbed not smothered on the cheese. ($8)  The handmade breadsticks (from the pizza dough) work to sop the cheese, fresh garlic slices and olive oil on the platter. ($6). The 11-inch Campania pizza included tomato sauce, mozzarella, fennel sausage, mushrooms and roasted onions ($15). The short Italian wine list features small boutique wines by the glass and bottle (nothing over $35). Service is spot on and smart (and our server didn’t need to announce her name, she was great). Open for lunch Thursday to Saturday, from noon, closed Monday. 4207 Park Blvd, (between Howard and El Cajon), 619-260-1311.

**Love wine, German wine in particular? Or never tried it, think it always just something sweet?  Well, here’s a chance to taste more than eight mostly white (in many styles) top notch German wines with Rudi Wiest, one of the best known German wine importers.  This rare event is happening at ENO and 1500 Ocean, two great venues at the Hotel Del Coronado.   Starting at 4pm in ENO with wines, cheese and charcuterie with a four-course dinner at 6:30  by chef Brian Sinnott at 1500 Ocean.

Cost:  $105 for both or ENO  $35, dinner: $70. Drink to your heart’s content and spend the night with 20% off a room at the hotel.  For information and reservations: 619-522-8490 or contact Ted Glennon, ENO wine director at tglennon@hoteldel.com.

**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.

Happy New Year to you all and here’s to a prosperous 2010:

We’re hearing that with the new year, changes are likely at the corner of Canon and Rosecrans. Rumors have been flying for months about a local bank wanting a presence in Point Loma and a somewhat arrogant landlord who is aggressively pursuing said bank and who for years chose to spread rumors about the current tenant who’s about to move to Liberty Station.  Stay tuned…

The Fourth Avenue Hillcrest location that was La Vache, will soon be a French bistro…by the group that owns  many good Italian places  around town that include Arrivederci Hillcrest and Rancho San Diego and  Pomodoro (Point Loma).

We’re hearing good things about yet another pizza place.  Pizzeria Bruno on Park Ave, brings wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas to San Diego.  Will be trying it soon.

And while we’re on pizza, the sliver of a place in Little Italy that originally was Luigi’s third location, changed names when the partnership that included Landini broke up.  It’s now Landini’s and good (though the sausage was flavorless and not the chunky bulk style). 1827 India Street, 619-238-3502.

Point Loma’s newest addition, The Wine Pub, snuggled away in a corner of a small strip mall on Scott Street, makes a cozy place to meet for a glass or two of wine.  It’s small with a few seats at the bar and tables in a simple room ringed with bottles of wine.  There’s an outdoor patio with a fire pit, heaters and even blankets to wrap up in while you sip.  The wine list is small but features some out of the ordinary choices such as a dry German Riesling named Sabrina that is a Buzz favorite.  We wish for less emphasis on pub when it comes to food…pretzel poppers don’t cut it with a glass of bubbles or wine.  Their substantial panini’s make for a good snack and work better with the wines and their bruschetta’s while small, are tasty.   Open daily from 4pm., 2907 Shelter Island Dr. (at Scott), 619-758-9325.

With the holidays in full swing San Diego offers many varied choices to celebrate the New Year. Many hotels offer rooms so you can ring in 2010 and not worry about a DUI.  Check with your favorite places for their holiday events and here are a few more to consider:

**Downtown, the restaurant Suite & Tender at the Se San Diego Hotel offer a New Year’s package of dining, drinking, and dancing.  The “Night in Tokyo” includes a four-course, wine-pairing menu complete with a Champagne toast. Then choose to dance to a lives band in the ballroom or pulse the night away with DJ’s music at the Siren pool deck. Spend the night at the hotel that offers six different packages, some featuring a Hangover Spa service for two, complimentary breakfast, and overnight valet services, each with tickets to either the pool deck or the ballroom. For reservations and information, call 619.515.3000.

**In La Jolla, Nine-Ten’s Jason Knibb and dessert wiz, Jack Fisher cook up special three-and five-course prix-fixe dinners ($55 to $75 without wine pairing) on New Year’s Eve. In keeping with their ongoing commitment to creating innovative cuisine using only the freshest local ingredients, the chefs’ New Year’s Eve Dinner menus will feature the bounty of the season and the best of the harvest. Click here to see the complete New Year’s Eve dinner menu.  For information and reservations: 858.964.5400 or online.

**The Winesellar & Brasserie in Sorrento Valley features a $75 three course menu with lovely choices that include among others vanilla poached lobster salad, smoked goat cheese tortellini, skate wing and rack of lamb. Seatings from 5:00 – 10:00 pm.   For reservations please call 858-450-9557.

**If you’d rather get out of the city and try your luck at the slots, take a short drive to Lakeside and make it a mini vacation at Barona Resort & Casino.  The Ranch House will serve an all-you-can-eat New Year’s feast priced at $29.95 per person. The special buffet menu will be offered from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Check their website for their other restaurant offerings.

**North Park’s Splash features their second annual wine/finger food pairing for $45.  If you’re partying at home they can help you with your wine selections.

**Rainwater’s on Kettner a San Diego steak and seafood institution for 20 plus years will close New Year’s eve.  It’s all about the over-crowded market that is the Gaslamp, and the desire to reopen closer to their clientele, many of whom live in La Jolla. Buzz will keep you posted when they find their new location.

**Euro Food Depot is new and primarily an e-commerce business specializing in hard to find foods from France and Europe.  During the holidays, they are open to the public Saturday, December 12^th and 19^th (9:30am to 3pm) and Wednesday, 23^rd and 30^th (3:30pm to 6:30pm). They are committed to selling rare imported foods at competitive prices (after all, they are a depot…) and can special order products as well.  Expect to find (as I did) sherry vinegar, a variety of French mustards, olives oil and cornichons, boudin noir and boudin blanc and other sausages, pates, prosciutto and a growing selection of cheese from France. After the first of the year they will sell online. 6370 Lusk Blvd., #F102, 858-452-9200.

**In  La Jolla, those who love to cook their own steak while smoozing at the grill with friends, can now do it at the latest Cohn restaurant, La Jolla Strip Club, in the old Trophy’s location in UTC.  With nearly 100 vodkas, all of which are $7, and a fun big bar, as well as a couple of pool tables on the patio, this venue speaks to the 21 to 45 year-old demographic. 4282 Esplanade Ct., in the Costa Verde Shopping Center. 858-450-1400.  Open for lunch weekdays, dinner daily.

**San Diego is a tough place to find good take out food that doesn’t come from a large supermarket.  The tiny PrepKitchen is worth noting and does some very good food for takeout or casual patio dining.  This is Whisknladle’s second location and both places feature seasonal, local and artisanal dishes. Buzz recently bought  a pine nut and raisin spiked eggplant caponata with the vegetables finely diced and not overcooked, a gently truffled chicken salad with raisins and a faro salad with grapes and walnuts and a drop dead chocolate brownie topped with  salted caramel…an intense and very good dessert.  PrepKitchen also features sandwiches, green salads, soups and entrees such as PK meat loaf with beef, Fontina cheese mushrooms and fresh herbs ($13.50), roasted fresh catch ($17.95) and hand made pasta at market price, among others. While the salads or snacks as they are called are all quite good, my only minor note would be the overuse of raisins, nuts and grapes in each. They carry Framani cured meats (though they also make their own that you’ll find at Whisknladle) and a few artisanal cheeses—a cheddar from Fresno and a lovely French sheeps milk.  Their cheeses are $5 per quarter pound; those  snacks are all $5 for 8 ounces, enough to serve two and the entrees all come with a side of vegetables or starch. 7556 Fay Ave, across from Vons, 858-875-7737. Open from 11am to 9pm.

Do something nice for others this holiday season.  Get down to Little Italy’s Mercato on December 12 with food for chronically hungry kids who don’t have food for the weekend.  Well-known local food bloggers Caron Golden and Alice Robertson are spearheading this year’s drive that is part of the San Diego Food Bank.  Essentially, for about $6 a week, the program fills backpacks with kid friendly snacks so the children have food for the weekend.  All the program info is here and if you’d like to donate money, Caron and Alice have a special link so that all donations go directly to the backpack program.  Their monetary goal is $5000 and they are half way there, but foods  such as peanut butter, mac and cheese and raisins as well as neutral colored backpacks are welcome on December 12.