June 14 -

BIGA San Diego and Solare have teamed up for a special dinner this Thursday (June 14) @ BIGA on 6th Ave in Gaslamp. You can get lots of info and buy tickets (do not wait) here.

I will be at the dinner – and I bought my ticket at the link above.

Yes — BIGA presents The “Wood Fired Dinner Series” Dual wood ovens. Imported from Italy. It’s one of the things that they take pride in at BIGA.

For this dinner it is BIGA’s Chef de Cuisine, Chris Osborne, and Solare’s Accursio Lotà teaming up to create an evening of magic.   BIGA’s Wood Fired Dinner Series, are a showcase of chefs, fire and ingredients. These prix fixe, four-course tasting menus are meant to highlight a chef, using our wood ovens and some of the best products we can procure locally, as well as wines from around the world.

June 09 - Cooking Class: Ravioli and Fresh Pasta from Scratch – Sold Out

Solare’s pasta is made fresh every day – in our kitchen. This is an opportunity to see exactly how Chef Accursio makes that happen! He will teach you all the right techniques to enable you to make the best “pasta fresca” and perfect ravioli. This is a hands-on pasta making class where you will learn the classic dough techniques and so much more. The fun starts at 10:30am at Solare with an Italian-style coffee of your choice and a pastry. Italian wine is served for students interested in “cooking with wine”. – Limit 10 — $85/student that includes the class, wine, and lunch. Contact us for details. – Sold Out

June 06 - Tuscany! A Wine Dinner with San Felice Winemaker

Wow! Let’s have Tuscany in San Diego! We have the wine-maker (and my wonderful friend) from the famous Tuscan winery, San Felice, here for a Wine Dinner at Solare. His name is Leonardo Bellaccini and we have been great friends for several years now via an intro by Bruno Cumar; and Tommy and I were just with him at his winery in April after Vinitaly. Leonardo is a very charismatic guy and engaging presenter. This is a 4-course dinner with 5 San Felice wines including their Gran Selezione and their Vigorello. $88/person includes the dinner and the 5 delightful San Felice wines. 6:45pm Dinner and 6:15pm Reception. RSVP Today.

May 26 - Cooking Class: Fish and Shellfish + Fish Market – Sold Out

Meet at Solare and drive together to a local fish market (less than 3 miles) to learn about fish and buying fresh fish with confidence. Then we all head back to Solare to prepare and cook some great seafood dishes. Chef Accursio was born on the coast of the island of Sicily, and he will teach you how to cook the following incredible dishes: Traditional Cioppino (fish stew), Crudo all’Italiana (sashimi Italian style!), and “Pesce alla Siciliana” (whole fish). Seafood lovers will not want to miss this opportunity. NOTE that for this class, the fun starts at 10am instead of the normal 10:30am as we are visiting the fish market. We meet at Solare with an Italian-style coffee of your choice and a pastry. Italian wine is served for students interested in “cooking with wine”. – Limit 10 — $85/student that includes the class, wine, and lunch. Contact us for details. – Sold Out

May 22 - Wine Dinner with La Rioja Alta – Epic!

A wine dinner highlighting Rioja! This is a first … and an exception … but what a wonderful first and exception this is. Every Wine Dinner we have done here at Solare has featured wines from Italy (most of the time), Calif/Washington/Oregon, or locally with Baja wines. For this dinner, we have Rafael Momeñe Artola from the La Rioja Alta Winery in Rioja … this is one of my favorite wineries and regions in the world. La Rioja Alta has an amazing line-up of wines (go Tempranillo!) and a long history … they started in July 1890 by five Riojan and Basque families. The dinner starts at 6:45pm with a Reception with Rafael at 6:15pm. $88 for 5 amazing wines and the 4-course dinner designed by Chef Accursio. Reserve today via email or call 619-270-9670

May 20 - “Heart of Spring” Dinner

Solare at our best! We are having our annual hyper-local “Heart of Spring” feast on Sunday, May 20, to celebrate the flavors and tastes of Spring in San Diego. This is extra-special as we will be doing the dinner outside on the lawn next to Solare … Under the Sky! We have one long community table … and we have teamed with folks across San Diego County for all the ingredients and drinks. As examples, we are working with Tommy Gomes at Catalina Offshore to have a “caught that day” whole fish be prepared “gills to tail” for the dinner – and we will have lamb and pork for meats. Farms and produce suppliers across San Diego are teaming with us too. And, of course, we are working with San Diego County wineries, breweries, and distillers of fine spirits. Please let your server know if you would like to be notified when tickets are available ~ The dinner begins at 5pm ~ $125/person excluding tax/gratuity. Advance confirmed reservations and tickets required as this dinner is limited to 60 persons max. Request an invitation today via email or call 619-270-9670. Yay!