We Indulge Our Sweet Tooths with Baker Justin Gaspar of Hommage Bakehouse

Welcome back to the Happy Half Hour! We're back after a short Labor Day break, and we're with Justin Gaspar, the head baker at Hommage Bakehouse in Pacific Beach. Hommage, which launched last fall, is based inside La Clochette du Coin, a French bakery and café. Justin, who is from the Bay Area and worked at the acclaimed Manresa Bread (that's the bakery that spun off from Manresa restaurant, which has three Michelin stars), says the pastries he bakes at Hommage honor both his Filipino heritage as well as his classic French training. Justin walks us through the menu, from the croissants to the kouign-amanns and breads, and gives us a preview of soon-to-debut pastries like an ube custard bun. You have to try the kouign-amann with blueberry compote! Justin also shares with us the big news that he will be competing on Baker's Dozen, a new Hulu show that streams on October 7. In Hot Plates, Cocina de Barrio, a Oaxacan restaurant in Hillcrest that made our Best Restaurants list for Best Birria, is opening a second location in Point Loma. Kingfisher, a modern Vietnamese restaurant and bar that's been in the works, is opening soon in Golden Hill. Mike Minor, who worked at Border Grill in Las Vegas, was promoted from chef de cuisine to executive chef at The Marine Room. Finally, Michelin is publishing its guide to California this month, and yesterday they released a preview of restaurants in San Diego as "new gems and returning culinary stars." For Two People, $50, Justin recommends the Bees Mode pizza at Tribute Pizza. Troy's pick this week is the ahi crudo at Catania, and David says to order the jungle curry mussels at Hoxton Manor. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from you. Need a restaurant recommendation? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you're too shy, you can email us at [email protected]. See you next week.