Happy Summer everyone! Here's what's going on at the Rocket.

Food News

Dennis went to visit Black Dog Farms recently out in the Imperial Valley. We're buying some things from the organic part of their farm, so keep your eye out for their produce on our menu, along with the plethora of other local farms we buy from of course.

We've finally found a new source for California olives, so you'll now be able to get green olives on our tapas menu that are from up north in Corning. We've created a house-made marinade for them including some minced veggies, lemon and chili peppers.

On that note...We've changed some things about our Market Fish Plate, including a new Green Olive Tapenade and the addition of a side of California Wild Rice along with the steamed seasonal veggies. The rice has a wonderfully chewy texture and is seasoned with some of our chimichurri sauce (herbs, citrus & oil).

Events and Other Cool Things

Here are some photos of our current art installation by Maura Vazakas. If you haven't seen them in person yet, the two very different styles of expression are definitely worth a look.

30th on 30th will be on Wednesday this month, so don't be afraid of fighting too big a crowd. Christy is planning to make some Chinese Broccoli sauteed in a house made oyster sauce, and we usually pick a beer to pair with our special but that's still TBD at this point. Just stay tuned to our facebook page or 30th Street blog for updates. And if you're not a beer drinker, never fear, because it just so happens that every Wednesday we offer select wines 1/2 price by the glass all night!

We'll be closing in observance of the 4th of July holiday this year since last year was really quiet. We hope you enjoy your day and we'll be back open on Monday the 5th for business as usual.

Check out the fun, free, local concert series put on at Bird Park this summer. Maybe we'll see you there, or maybe we'll see you at the bistro for dinner after the music is over and the sun has gone down. We're just 2 blocks away!

Until Dennis finishes up our super spiffy custom iPhone restaurant app, check in on our live specials board anytime you're wondering what's on tap or off-menu.

The SDBikeCommuter.com website is growing, and so is Art Produce Gallery's garden space.

It's newsletter time, so let's get newsy. April is packed, so I'll try to keep it as to-the-point as possible.

We just had a great skateboard photography exhibition party for Brian Fick. I used to skate with Brian when they had the vert ramp in Mission Valley, and now more recently at the park in Clairmont. We'll have his photos up through mid-April for you to check out. There are photos of everyone from Bucky Lasek to Bob Burnquist, as well as a bunch of other amazing skaters.

Our fish sculpture artist Matt Mahoney just had his senior exhibition at the Keller Gallery at Point Loma Nazarene University.

A group of ranchers are trying to get a USDA slaughterhouse going in San Diego. If this happens, it could make local grass-fed meat readily available in San Diego without the costs of going to L.A. for slaughter.

On Tuesday (that's probably today!), we're doing the 30th on 30th. Our special pairing this month will be a Ground Beef Sloppy Joe with house-made pickles & bottle of Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale for $8.

We had a great time watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution this past Friday. In fact, it was so much fun we'll be showing it every Friday at 9pm on our big screen.

On Easter Sunday (April 4th), we'll be doing some to-be-determined brunch specials. We're open for lunch every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am-3pm.

On Mondays in April, we'll be continuing Flip Night. If you call it right, one of your entrees is free!

Thursday, April 8th, we'll be hosting a Dine Out for San Diego Oceans Foundation fundraiser. 15% of sales will be donated to this great cause.

Thursday, April 15th is tax day. To make things easier for you that day, we're doing a No Tax Day! Have dinner at the restaurant and don't pay any sales tax on your check. Given that sales tax is now at 8.75% in San Diego, that's not a bad deal for you.

Saturday, April 17th, from 5-7pm will be our next Blind Wine Tasting. Bring a bottle (hidden in a paper bag) and $15 and enjoy a mixer-style happy hour which includes a variety of tasty tapas. We'll add a link to the meetup page when week get it.

April 21st is the monthly Third Wednesday DrinkAbout. It's been gaining steam ever since that night it poured rain on everyone.

April 22nd is Earth Day. It's also the start of the Park 2 Park Shuttle. Omar Passons has been doing a lot of work to make this a great service. Looking forward to seeing it in action!

April 24th is an electric vehicle conversion workshop. Read about it here and see Schwarzenegger on one sweet ride.

Valentine's Day Weekend
If you're still looking for a place to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, check out our Valentine's Weekend Prix Fixe Menu. Reservations are being accepted Friday through Sunday. If you're not into that, don't miss out on our opt-out option at the bar: $2 off all bottles of Stone Brewing beers, all weekend!

Fat Tuesday Party
If Mardi Gras is more your style, we've got a great party planned next Tuesday, February 16th, featuring the sounds of New Orleans DJed by Johnny Tran and drdiggs from 5pm until close. See details, including Chef Christy's Cajun Creations here.

3rd Third Wednesday DrinkAbout
The next Third Wednesday DrinkAbout is coming up Feb. 17th. Hopefully it won't be as cold and wet as last month's event! This month, we'll be introducing a special beer pairing, offering a beer and a small starter plate. This month, Christy will be cooking up some Beer-Glazed Berkshire Ham, which will be served with a glass of Airdale Afterburner Amber for $10. Each month going forward, we'll offer a different food pairing with one of our best draft beers just for this event.

Green Flash Belgian Beer Dinner, Thursday February 25th
Following on the heels of that beer-centered night, Chris is organizing a Green Flash Belgian Beer Dinner which will feature 5 Belgian-style beers from Green Flash Brewing along with 5 small plates to match. Menu details will be released in next week's blog, but the beer list will include their Trippel Belgian, Le Freak, Belgian Brown, Belgian Stout and Anniversary Belgian Red. Reservations will be necessary and seating is limited to 20 in the front room. Dinner starts at 7pm, cost is $50 per person, and to top if off Chuck Silva, Brewmaster at Green Flash, will pop by for a visit!

"30th on 28th"
As if that weren't enough for special events this month, the new 30th on 30th extravaganza continues, even though there is no 30th of the month this month! Instead, it will take place on Sunday, February 28th. Check out the blog for details on what everyone will be offering.

Bike Rack & Biking Discount Reminder
Some of you may have met our new Assistant Manager, Greg Hawkins, who joined our team last month. When he heard about our biking discount (he bikes to work himself), he immediately arranged to put a bike rack right in front of the restaurant, so now there's a place to stash your ride while you dine for 10% off.

Weekend Lunch
Now that football season is over, don't forget that we're now open for weekend lunch! You can still collect a $1 bottle of wine for your next dinner visit if you come in for lunch any Saturday or Sunday until the end of this month.

Here's what's on tap (literally) as of this weekend. Plus, learn about the FREE Third Thursday Drinkabout shuttle!

And tonight, 12/17, we're showing this crazy Christmas movie for your enjoyment, starting at 7pm.

We still have some dates left for holiday party reservations, and we're starting to accept reservations for our New Year's Eve Prix Fixe. If it's anything like last New Year's, we'll be busting at the seams, so make sure you give us enough notice that you want to come in. This is one of only two days in the entire year when we take reservations, so call us at 619-255-7049.

Before that, of course (next week!) we're offering a Christmas Eve Prix Fixe Menu. If we don't see you there, we wish you a very happy holidays!

Big news for next month! We're opening for Weekend Lunch starting Saturday, January 2nd. We'll be open every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am-3pm. Most of our casual dinner favorites plus some new lunchtime only additions will be available. Fish tacos anyone?!

Got Corks? Bring us your used bottle corks (real cork only, no synthetics) and we'll send them off to be recycled into various things- cork tile, cork shoe beds... Alternately, if you've always wanted to make something out of corks yourself but could never collect enough of them to do it, just let us know and we'll give you some!

Dennis got some funky salted croaker from some shady Russians in Hillcrest. Actually, I'm sure they were perfectly normal people. Check it out.

He also went on a little road trip a few weeks ago, and made some pretty cool stops at some NorCal slow-food hot spots!

Sea Rocket in the News
San Diego Food Finds article by Maria Desiderata.
examiner.com article on San Diego's Sustainable Restaurants.

Hopefully you all got out and enjoyed the first ever San Diego Beer Week that took place over the last 10 days. We had a whole slew of events at the bistro to celebrate all the great local craft breweries, and had a great time checking out some of the other events that happened all over San Diego. Thanks to all of our local brewers for being such active parts of the community, collaborating with bars and restaurants on great parties, and of course providing the amazing libations!