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I hope that you don’t mind me taking space in your inbox so quickly again this week, but I wanted to get this story out to you as the subject of today’s newsletter will be in San Diego for a very special event.

Entering a craft beer bar for many women and persons of color can be intimidating. Although the craft beer landscape has changed quite a bit from when I lived in Atlanta and the massive growth (and contraction) of the scene here in San Diego, seeing large groups of black and brown faces are more rare than commonplace. 

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My friend and today’s guest Brandon Montgomery aims to challenge people of all hues to break out of their comfort zone and try more than their usual. On his instagram account @BlackBeerTravelers he shares the beer that he tries along with his numerous travel destinations.

Brandon Montgomery, center, at a beer event in Texas

Macro beer (Budweiser, Coors etc.) can be an entry point but independent beer has so much more to bring to the table. Brandon is now a Texan but he’s hosting a beer dinner at the new Kimpton Alma Hotel here in San Diego and although tickets quickly sold out, additional tickets have been released.

If you’re coming to San Diego, he offers a few watering holes that he thinks you should be a patron of. His choices for black-owned beer and wine in San Diego include Chula Vista Brewery and Le Charcuterie Bar. 

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Brandon says “Chula Vista Brewery Eastlake has some of its own in-house specialty brews not seen at the original taproom as well as a full kitchen. Definitely a little something for everyone.” I’ve been to Chula Vista Brewery myself and in addition to being black-owned, the owner is a veteran as well. San Diego has a strong tradition of offering services for our large military population and supporting veteran-owned endeavors.

I haven’t yet been to Le Charcuterie Bar, and Montgomery says LCB is a new cheese shop in the East Village of Downtown, San Diego. The menu and selection is still growing but the heritage (and staff) of Boutique Vino denotes the high quality of its offerings. Stop in for various cheese, meat, and wine selections made to order.

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On the travel front, I asked Brandon to share some of his favorite finds and two, in particular, stood out to him. 

DALEVIEW BISCUITS AND BEER: the Hot Chicken biscuit was so good I forgot to pair it with their La Hefe, hefeweizen; which was tasty in its own right and slightly fuller in body than most hefeweizens. The breading on the fried chicken was seasoned to perfection and paired very well with the sriracha and biscuit.

& SON’S HAM BAR: It's one of six businesses in the local neighborhood owned by Andre Mack. This establishment is an intimate venue that highlights American Wines and American Cured Meats. You'll definitely want to have a reservation because there is only room for twenty.   When ordering, choose your own adventure. I made a board with two country hams, one meat, goat cheese and the tomato dish, so refreshing!. My wines were Chardonnay, Blanc de Noirs Brut and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a beautiful time that was topped with Andre's surprise presence.

As I alluded to earlier, Brandon will be hosting a special four-course ticketed dinner highlighting California-based beers exclusively from Black and diversity-owned breweries on February 24th inside Kimpton Alma San Diego’s The Desmond, from 7 - 10 PM. A percentage of each ticket sale will be donated to their cause, San Diego’s BIPOC Support Foundation. 

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Tickets are available at the link below! I want to thank everyone again for your support of my new publication - whether you’re a free or paid subscriber. I appreciate you and if you like what you’ve read here, please consider hitting the heart button on this website or leave a comment there or in the Substack app. This helps my publication get to more food and travel lovers like yourself.

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I’d like to welcome many of you who have joined the newsletter after my appearance on Maggy’s podcast, Planetarian Life. You can listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. If you’d like to listen to the soundtrack I’m listening to while writing this newsletter, check out this fantastic BBC show.

Maggy had been witnessing my posts on my personal Facebook page about the many different spices and blends that I’ve been incorporating into my cooking since the pandemic began, and asked me after our conversation to talk about some of my favorites.

Once I started getting down to it, I soon realized that it was practically a newsletter in and of itself. I’ll expand on my conversation that was included in the Planetarian Life newsletter, and given that it’s a very very small part of my overflowing pantry, this will be a regular feature in this newsletter. If you have any ideas on products I should try, please leave them in the comments and hit the heart button to help get Savory Exposure out to more readers.

Big thanks to Maggy for the illustration above, as I personally am still working my way through figuring out Canva and Adobe Express!

In 2018, I made a very long voyage from LAX to New Delhi, India thanks to an amazing airfare I found online. The kicker? It included a FORTY-FIVE minute connection in Guangzhou, China. Suffice it to say, my anxiety was at 11, but I made my connections both ways without issue. I’ll have to say it was sad to go all the way to China and not even have time to slurp a bowl of noodles. Next time!

A stall in Jaipur, India selling saris in 2018. Photo by Broderick Smylie

The products of Brooklyn Delhi take me back to the streets of New Delhi and Jaipur, with vibrant flavors served in the open air. Their products fell on my radar after a knockoff was created by Trader Joe’s and their arrival on Amazon. They have many products but Maggy asked me to pick a favorite and the Roasted Garlic Achaar is divine. It’s concentrated and a jar goes a long way. I love to add it to eggs, pasta and as a flavor enhancer for rice. The companion Tomato Achaar is delicious as well.

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Both Brooklyn Delhi and my next company, Diaspora Co. are owned by South Asian women and both deserve their own newsletter issues of their own. Diaspora Co. has so many amazing products, that it was impossible to choose one, but I did my best. Diaspora Co. first gained notoriety with their turmeric, but I believe their Makhir Ginger is one that will live in my pantry for as long as they sell it. The depth of flavor is intoxicating and was one of the spices I shipped to my mother for her to try it (along with cumin and nutmeg). Jamaican and Indian cooking are closely intertwined and my mother loved the flowery scent. If you’re a baker, you also need their cinnamon in your life, NOW.

I’ve subscribed to 's newsletter for a bit and many of you have also subscribed as it's one of my recommended newsletters here on Savory Exposure. I LOVE the breadth of writers on this platform and I was excited about her cookbook and her line of spices. Sadly, they are sold out right now but keep an eye on Burlap and Barrel’s website for a restock. I love that her blends are salt-free and she recognizes the health issues that many of us in black and brown communities have to work with and it enables me to monitor my sodium intake. I love using the Adobo for a gourmet touch on garlic bread and the sazón is perfect on my air fryer wings.

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Courtesy of Omsom

Omsom was launched during the pandemic with two Vietnamese sisters on a mission to bring loud and proud Asian flavors into homes and can now be featured at Whole Foods and Amazon.

I’m lucky that I can head to Super Hmart or Zion Market in less than fifteen minutes and grab already marinated bulgogi, or patronize the many Asian-owned restaurants in my vicinity. Many other grocery stores offer similar flavors but they can be a bit muted. Their sauces are small enough that you could travel with them in your purse or pocket, or fit into your clear plastic bag when going through a TSA checkpoint. The bulgogi sauce packet is my favorite but they’re all delicious.

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We have a little store in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood called Home Ec and it has so many treasures and San Diego-made products that you just have to stop in when you visit. Fear not, they also ship and Carynn has already agreed to appear in a future newsletter. One of her finds is West Coast Koji and their delightful fermented products. I’ve only tried one so far, and their smoked shoyu powder is amazing. Owner Michael Vera chatted about his products with San Diego magazine’s Happy Half Hour podcast about his adventures in fermentation

Essie Spice has a whole collection of African and Caribbean sauces and as a Jamaican and a lover of all things Mexico, their Tamarind-Oh! is the sauce for me that stands out. They recently had this flavor along with the mango chili medley. These two sauces are also in select Target stores, I found mine at the Ocean Beach store here locally. Check the Target app or buy direct from the company!

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Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

Rihanna’s Black Girl Magic shined bright like a diamond

It was a joy to witness Rihanna’s return to the stage last night at the Super Bowl.

The whole country of Barbados, where Robyn Rihanna Fenty hails from, has a population of fewer than 300,000 residents - significantly smaller than the population of Omaha, Nebraska. She reigned on that stage and the backlash was predictable but inspired a playlist that I created today full of strong women from throughout the Caribbean and African diaspora. You’ll recognize the Rihanna tunes, but I hope that you’ll some new favorites of well. One of my favorites is a fairly new song I heard on David Rodigan’s popular show full of reggae music, FIFTY by dancehall icons Tanya Stephens and Patra.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this issue!

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Yours truly, in one of my favorite cities on Earth, Mexico City, Mexico - aka CDMX!

              My mother loves to remind me that at an early age, I declared that I was vegetarian. In our Jamaican household, we eat a lot of meat and seafood, so I’m sure that it presented some challenges, but I’m so thankful to have grown up in such a loving and supportive family.

Obviously, things have changed quite a bit and I don’t see myself ever giving up meat and seafood. My favorite thing to eat are eggs! It’s been humorous seeing all of the memes in regards to egg shortages and price increases, and I think for awhile it affected California more than other places as we have some stricter guidelines regarding eggs and cages, however, it seems to be settling down. However I was so concerned, that even though I’d been participating in Veganuary most of the month, I grabbed the last two reasonably priced packs of eggs in Target.

Photo by Shannon Nickerson on Unsplash

What exactly is Veganuary? It’s an opportunity at the beginning of every year to experience a plant-based diet. I wouldn’t even say "be a vegan" for a month because if you’re wearing a leather jacket, the pitchforks may come out if you tell someone you’re vegan this month. For the past three years, I've participated in some form of Veganuary. I thought about just doing the vegetarian thing, but I actually truly love the challenge that it presents to me.

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              My dear friend Maggy in New York at Planetarian Life, asked me to be a guest on her podcast to discuss all things vegan and plant-based, and we had a lovely conversation. I’ll send a link to you once it goes live and may even present it here in the Substack if given permission. I’ll also discuss a bit more about my tips for adding more plant-based into your cooking (no pressure, seriously!). As well, as a few of the many small makers making great products that make plant based cooking flavorful, and yes fun.

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              This brings me to Substack. I thank you SO much for sticking with me as I got everything together to present this new form of communication to my followers outside of social media. The game has changed and will continue to evolve. Many of you may know me from Atlanta when I hosted a popular blog with the same name, or may follow me and my adventures in food on Twitter and Instagram. I’ve got the TikTok too, after recently recovering my username & perhaps once I get some help from a Gen Zer, that will be more active as well.

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A heartfelt thank you to my friends and family who have contributed financially, as well as those who have signed up at the founders level. It allowed me to buy some gear to become a better creator and set up this Substack with a custom domain from the start. Since I initially planned to launch the newsletter in August, Substack has rolled out a ton of new features that I’ll be implementing in this new venture. I promise you’ll hear more for me soon. I’ve already interviewed one of my favorite makers, Kim of Omsom (the best PROUD AND LOUD) Asian sauces, as well as my good friend Brandon Montgomery of Black Beer Travelers.

              You’ll hear more from me soon. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Y

Yours truly, enjoying the sunshine in Palm Springs at Monterey Manor

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In 2020, in the thick of the pandemic, I decided to sign up for Substack with a return to writing. I’ve always enjoyed it, paid a bit of coin for that good ol’ bachelor's degree, and was an early food blogger, before the words influencer and creator became commonplace for people who made money on the internet. I attended Substack’s first writer conference virtually and was inspired but then, nothing!

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Fast forward to now, and I’m ready for action. The blogging and social media landscape is changing rapidly and I’m embracing that change and looking forward to sharing my experiences beyond what’s capable in a tweet, an Instagram reel, a TikTok, or a Facebook post. I’m looking forward to sharing food and photography, both things that Savory Exposure 1.0 was known for. Savory Exposure has been profiled in Upscale Magazine, The Georgia Voice and Atlanta’s indie newspaper Creative Loafing. Check the Georgia Voice profile here.

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Savory Exposure 2.0 on Substack will be that and more. Bare with me while I get the walls painted and floors cleaned up. I’ve got some new tools and am furiously learning the worlds of audio and video.

I’d planned to launch in September, but surprisingly a few patrons already trusted me enough for me to receive my first paid subscriptions. It means the world to me that as I look towards a long-term goal of relying on a portion of my income on content creation, as well as other work I’m doing behind the scenes in digital marketing.

If you do follow me on IG, you know that I love to travel. This will definitely be a part of my presence here on Substack. While sitting in quarantine, I thought a lot about the insane amount of travel that I did a few years prior, from Belgium to India to Brussels. I’m by no means a rich man (HA!) but none of my airfares were over $500 and my accommodations were budget all the way. Would you be interested in hearing about budget travel tips? Let me know by replying, I want to give my readers what you want! 

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The photos I’ve chosen to include during this preview post were taken throughout Mexico. I’ve never been to Cancun or Cabo San Lucas, but I have traveled to 13 out of the 32 states in the republic. A bit of a warning, if you’re one of those “Build That Wall” supporters, you might be disappointed in the space I’m creating here. 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. It means the world to me!