San Diego, CA

Inside Michelin-Starred Drew Deckman's 31ThirtyOne in North Park

Published

2 years ago

August 12, 2024

Inside Michelin-Starred Drew Deckman's 31ThirtyOne in North Park

He’s responsible for one-third of Mexico’s Michelin stars for sustainability and has a regular ole Michelin star, too. He’s a failed baseball umpire. His truck smells like Persian cucumbers and quail. He makes his own wine, his own olive oil, and shucks oysters like a robot. And now, Drew Deckman is finally opening his first restaurant in San Diego, with his son Sam cooking on the line with him and Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, a partner.

Overhyping restaurants is as gross as it is predictable, puts too much pressure on what is ostensibly a dinner party with a permanent address. But, f*ck it. His arrival here, in this tiny New Yorkian fissure of a restaurant space, is the beginning of a new era for North Park.

31ThirtyOne opens Wednesday, August 14.

Deckman’s existence alone is imposing. He’s 6’6” or 6’13”. Sitting in his office, two days before opening night, he has to duck to not concuss himself on a low part of the ceiling.

“It’s an air duct, so we can’t move it,” he laughs.

On the white board behind him, the words “PRECISION” and “EXECUTION.” Below that, in wobblier script, “I love my dad,” written four or five times. His nine-year-old has been here for this whole process, watching her dad gut a failed restaurant, endure protracted delays, beg mercy from governing bodies that must sign-off before he can serve a single grain.

“I’ve had a shaman come in here twice to cleanse the place,” he says. “She’s coming again Friday.”

His hair, whitish-gray like the coals he cleaned out of his grill under that Baja tree for the last decade at Deckman’s en El Mogor, makes him look snow-topped. He is alpine. He has a constant, slight hunch, either the result of many years leaned over a cutting board in famous places run by famous food names (Paul Bocuse, Jacques Maximin, his mentor Madeleine Kamman) or because he’s trying to un-impose himself. Lower his altitude to relate.

Courtesy of 31ThirtyOne

Last night was his final “friends and family” dinner—dress rehearsals for his staff. Invite-only, free meals served to investors and friends and loved ones. Grateful guinea pigs who are told to expect everything to go wrong and be kind. Friends and families are an exorcism of last fatal mistakes by staff, before the doors fling open to the savage gen-pop of foodieland.

The food was incredible and imperfect. A 14-day, dry-aged ribeye with potato mousseline is steak and potatoes of your dreams, the crust of the steak so good it turns you feral. The Mindful mushrooms (from growers in El Cajon) with kale and smoked bacon are under-seasoned. At one point, the whole ordering system goes dark. The kitchen staff flies blind. A door handle to the restroom keeps falling off. I pass by the kitchen (everyone passes it, it’s wide open in the tiny middle of the place, a laying bare of the process) and he looks mad, ravenous for a little bit of control, a very seasoned and capable captain on a boat with an engine fire.

The next day, I walk in to see how he’s doing. His staff is gathered around him.

“Last night was terrible,” he says to them. “I was terrible. I never want us to get there again. But this is why we do this. If we did a test run and everyone said everything was great, that does us no good.” He makes six or seven metaphors. At one point he holds up a strainer and equates its perfect circle to the gaggle of humans that make up a restaurant organism.

He’s not chiding. He got his college degree in philosophy. He’s doing that.

Michelin-starred chef Drew Deckman who opened 31ThirtyOne in North Park in his Baja Mexico restaurant Deckman's En El Mogor — Courtesy of Deckman’s En El Mogor

It’s such a wild thing to see Deckman here, in a formal kitchen. For years, he’s stood under pine trees in the dry, open wild of Baja, goggles on, smoke billowing around him, giant tongs in hand. I ask him how it feels to be caged again.

“I love it,” he says. “I can handle it now. This was my life for so many years, that decade in Europe. It became my whole life back then, and not in a healthy way. It was 24 hours a day, no ability to have any relationship. I remember distinctly when Bernard Loiseau shot himself because he was afraid he was going to lose a Michelin star. That changed me. I stopped and said, ‘What the fuck are we doing?’”

And so he went free-range. He got work on fishing boats in Hawaii, then Mexico. When he saw how much biomass was being thrown back into the oceans, he got a bigger perspective on food. Deckman’s, and now 31ThirtyOne, is the reflection of that. All produce and greens are from San Diego farms. Oysters from Baja. Food of its place.

“At some point, you get so close to it all you can see is a single dot on the page,” he says of the unhealthy side of the chef obsession, The Bear–type kitchen life. “Then you back away and you see all these other dots that make up the bigger picture. When you’re only seeing that dot it’s all ego. In the beginning it was all about me. I thought I was the best thing since beer in a can. But you can only be a dick so long until people won’t answer your phone calls. As I moved away from the kitchen and found other things. I had to stand back from the fire. And then you realize it’s not about you. There are all these people holding up the ship. So stop trying to be the ship and be the water.”

That’s why there are no titles in his kitchen at 31ThirtyOne. No hierarchy. “We’re all just cooks, we’re all just bartenders and servers.”

At one point in opening 31ThirtyOne, he was so deep in blueprints and permitting applications and sheetrock contractors, he couldn’t see the vision of what the food would be. “My PR team kept saying, ‘What do you mean you don’t have a menu? Do you realize you open in a month?’”

So after construction crews had gone home, he sat alone in the kitchen in the dark and tried to see it. “I sat there for 45 minutes to an hour every night,” he says. “And it finally started to come.”

Wednesday, we’ll see what came.

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San Diego, CA

San Diego State moves back into NCAA Tournament field in latest ESPN Bracketology

Published

57 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

San Diego State moves back into NCAA Tournament field in latest ESPN Bracketology

The San Diego State Aztecs’ have moved off the bubble and back into the NCAA Tournament’s Field of 64 in the latest ESPN’s Bracketology projections.

The Aztecs must feel like a yo-yo, but now it’s in a good way. Bracket expert Joe Lunardi moved them from the bottom of the First Four Out — No. 72 — to holding the Mountain West’s automatic bid after an 89-72 home romp Wednesday night over Utah State, which had held the auto-bid in bracketology for a few weeks now.

Lunardi now has the Aztecs as the No. 11 seed in the West Region, with a projected first-round date against former MW rival BYU in Portland.

Lunardi wrote that SDSU’s auto-bid “shifts the entire bubble.”

Wednesday night’s victory not only pulled the Aztecs (19-8, 13-4) into a tie with Utah State (23-5, 13-4) atop the MW standings, but it was just their second Quad 1 victory in six such opportunities.

SDSU’s next two games are both Quad 1 chances, at New Mexico on Saturday and then at Boise State on Tuesday night.

The win lifted the Aztecs only one spot in the NCAA NET Rankings, to No. 43. Those rankings are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for March Madness.

SDSU’s resume for earning an at-large berth has been on shaky ground all season, and was seriously damaged last week when the Aztecs lost at home to Grand Canyon and were then routed at Colorado State, both Quad 2 games.

SDSU’s best bet to assure a trip to March Madness for the sixth straight season is to win the MW tournament in Las Vegas and claim the automatic bid. That requires winning three games in as many days, and perhaps a third showdown against the Aggies, who beat the Aztecs 71-66 in Logan on Jan. 31.

Lunardi now has Utah State projected as an at-large team, but still with the No. 7 seed in the East, facing No. 10 Texas A&M in a first-round game in St. Louis.

New Mexico (21-7, 12-5), lurking just a game behind SDSU and USU, has dropped from the Last Four In at No. 68 to the First Four Out at No. 70.

The Aztecs were the unanimous preseason pick to win the MW regular-season title in their final season in the league before moving into the Pac-12 along with Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State.

Saturday’s game at New Mexico is set to tip off at 11 a.m. PT and will air on CBS.

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San Diego, CA

Oregon State Dismantles San Diego 83-49

Published

13 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

The top teams in the West Coast Conference are jockeying for position in the standings as the regular season draws to a close, and the Oregon State women took care of business Thursday night, blowing out the San Diego Toreros 83-49 to move to 21-9 on the season, and 13-4 in conference play.

Oregon State’s Tiara Bolden Grabs WCC Honor After 44 Points Over Two Games

The Toreros have been a basement dweller in the conference for the last few seasons, so this result isn’t surprising, though it’s magnitude is a bit eye-raising. The Beavers wasted no time putting San Diego into a hole, opening the first quarter on an 8-0 run that Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler getting involved early. Oregon State held a 14 point, 26-12 lead after one.

The second quarter wasn’t as lopsided, but San Diego wasn’t able to make much headway into the Beaver lead. Six points from Olivia Owens kept San Diego within shooting distance, but defensive pressure from Kennedie Shuler and strong rebounding from Lizzy Williamson kept the Toreros under control. Oregon State ended the first half up by 13, 40-27.

Oregon State Dominates Cougars in 79-51 Blowout

Oregon State tightened their grip in the third. While Olivia Owens and Kylie Ray managed to give the Toreros some hope early in the quarter, Oregon State went on a run late in the period to get their lead to 21 at the highest. San Diego finally snapped the Beaver hot streak, but a three from Kennedie Shuler ended the quarter in a 61-43, 18 point Beaver lead.

The bottom seemed to fall out of San Diego in the fourth, with the Toreros only putting six points on the board. Tiara Bolden and Kennedie Shuler kept the points flowing for the Beavers, while Lizzy Willilamson continued to dominate the boards. A layup with an and one from Elisa Mehyar were the last Beaver points of the game, giving Oregon State a 34 point, 83-49 win.

Oregon State Takes Down Portland 64-54 in Season Saving Game

It was a good night for several Beavers, with Kennedie Shuler once again leading the team in scoring. She finished the night with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. She can do just about everything on the court.

Tiara Bolden continued her hot streak with a 17 point night, along with four rebounds and four assists. Jenna Villa added 14 points, one rebound and one assist. Lizzy Williamson added another double double to her resume, with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Oregon State’s Winning Streak Ends With 55-51 Loss to LMU

There’s one last item on the agenda for Oregon State, a season-closing meeting with the Loyola Marymount Lions Saturday at Gill Coliseum. The Lions handed Oregon State their first WCC loss of the season back in January, so getting some revenge before the conference tournament would be a good statement from the team. Tip off is set for 1 PM PT.

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San Diego, CA

Live in San Diego? The city wants your feedback on the next fiscal budget in a survey

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Live in San Diego? The city wants your feedback on the next fiscal budget in a survey

Mayor Todd Gloria sought the public’s feedback Thursday in shaping San Diego’s 2026-27 fiscal year budget, as the city launched a digital survey to help determine which programs and services are prioritized and which are reduced.

The survey is available at datasd.typeform.com/2027budget.

Officials will use responses in crafting the new budget, which takes effect on July 1. The City Charter deadline to release a draft budget is April 15, “allowing ample time for resident feedback to be considered during budget discussions,” officials said.

Gloria said that the city has already “closed hundreds of millions of dollars of a longstanding structural deficit, but we are not done. The next budget will require even tougher choices, and I want to be clear with residents: We will not be able to do everything we might like to do.

“I’m asking San Diegans to take a few minutes to tell us what matters most to them, and what they’re willing to forgo, as we build next year’s budget,” he added.

The five-minute survey is open to residents living within San Diego city limits. Those without home computer access can fill out the survey at any city library.

According to Gloria’s office, the city’s projected deficit is $120 million for the next budget, which the city is required by law to keep balanced.

In addition to asking what residents’ top priorities are, the survey asks if the city “should generate more revenue to protect services.”

Offered in English and Spanish, the survey is available until the start of May.

Officials said residents can also sound off on the budget process by attending City Council budget meetings either in person or via Zoom.

Council members will discuss the budget during their March 10 meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at the City Administration Building downtown.

Public library locations can be found at sandiego.gov/public- library/locations.

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