Here is some of the latest in dining news from across San Diego County, as well as some upcoming events for foodies.
Beyond the Rainbow: A Wizard of Oz-themed party is making its way to Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa. The Beyond the Rainbow event transforms part of the resort and teleports guests to the Emerald City with themed cocktails and appetizers and actors performing as characters for “The Wizard of Oz.” Guests are also encouraged to dress up. 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday. 9700 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. $124.56. eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-rainbow
Salt & Straw and Taco Bell mashup: A taco ice cream is now available at Salt & Straw. The ice cream shop has teamed up with Taco Bell to create the Tacolate. It is a waffle cone shaped like a taco and filled with cinnamon-ancho and covered on top with dark chocolate and crunchy puffed quinoa. The Tacolate is available at the Del Mar, Little Italy and University Town Center Salt & Straw locations. saltandstraw.com
Lionfish’s Halloween menu: Lionfish is debuting a Halloween cocktail menu available for eight days only. The four limited-time drinks are: the Black Widow with activated charcoal, tequila, mezcal, agave, lime juice and peach bitters; the Pretty Poison contains gin, a melon liqueur, cucumbers, honeydew melon, lemon and simple syrup; the PSM mixes vodka, a pumpkin spiced liqueur, house-made spiced syrup and oat milk; and The Bite is made with tequila, mango juice, agave, lime juice and chamoy. Each cocktail is $18. 5 to 10 p.m. Friday. through Oct. 31. 435 Fifth Ave., San Diego. 619-738-7200, lionfishsd.com
Lion’s Share and The Friendly collaboration: For one night, The Lion’s Share and The Friendly are collaborating for the second time for a special dinner menu. Food options are The Friendly Venison Smash Burger with butter, onions, garlic aioli and Havarti cheese; The Fish Frog Taco, is an Ensenada-inspired dish with caviar, cabbage, radishes and lemon; and the McApple Hand Pie, a chicken liver mousse. The collaboration dinner and cocktails is from Lion’s Share’s executive chef Dante Romero and The Friendly’s chef Rob Striker. 4 to 8 p.m. Monday. 629 Kettner Blvd., San Diego. 619-564-6924, lionssharesd.com
Golden hour specials: The Ponyboy, a restaurant at The Pearl Hotel, is now offering food and drink deals for one hour. Its golden hour menu features $1 oysters, $9 cheeseburgers and half-off appetizers such as cornbread and prime rib sliders. There will also be a variety of cocktails and wines from $7 to $10. Wednesday through Sunday. 4 to 5 p.m. 1410 Rosecrans St., San Diego. 619-226-6100, theponyboy.com
Taco winner: Through Oct. 31, visitors to Pechanga Resort Casino can try the winning entry from this year’s Pechanga Taco Fest. The first-place taco is from chef Raymond Sanchez of the Temptations Food Court. The people’s choice taco is called the loaded vampiro tacos and contains marinated ribeye steak, grilled panela cheese, roasted esquites with queso fresco, cotija cheese, Mexican crema and lime juice and is served on a blue corn tortilla. It costs $15 and is available at Agave inside Pechanga’s food court. Now through Oct. 31. 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula. pechanga.com
Carlos Rico, Union-Tribune
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 10:56 AM PDT