Diversify Your Palate

Escape your food and drink comfort zone

Photo by Mary Rebecca Elliott on Unsplash

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.