I would like to introduce you to Kevin Shin, owner of one of Oceanside‘s newest restaurants, The Switchboard Restaurant & Bar. Perhaps you recall seeing my past posts, but I think it’s important to help you get to know who is behind the scenes and the driving force behind the establishment.
Barb: Hi Kevin! 2020 has been quite the year to open a new business! What have been the challenges and blessings associated with that this last year? Kevin: Challenges: juggling opening a restaurant, working in the fire service, and taking care of my family. Blessings have been getting to watch the employees turn into a part of my family, providing Oceanside great food and getting to know the locals. Barb: Who inspires you most? Kevin: Mom. She's my biggest inspiration. Barb: Your menu is fantastic! Tell us more about what sets The Switchboard apart. Kevin: Chef Justin Haupt has had great experience learning about cuisine on Maui and you can see that passion in our menu. Barb: You are very loyal to Oceanside. What are some of your favorite Oceanside businesses and places to hang out? Kevin: It’s a long list and I'm going to forget to say a few but here we go: Lighthouse Oyster Bar & Grill, Real Surf Shop, DIJA MARA, Breakwater Brewing Company, Bagby Beer, Masters Kitchen and Cocktail, Oceanside Sports Bar & Kitchen, Coomber Craft Wines Oceanside-Winery and Tasting Room, Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen, Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub, The Plot Restaurant, Banana Dang, and I have to go to Oceanside Ace Hardware almost daily. If you guys haven’t yet tried The Switchboard, please make it a priority to enjoy their tasty island-inspired menu SOON! Thank you Kevin for sharing more with us about yourself and the restaurant. https://theswitchboardrestaurant.com/ Boy did I have a fun afternoon on my first ever walking food tour! I recently went on the maiden voyage of Carla and Linda's Walking Food Tours NEW Vista tour with a group of wonderful food-loving people. We started our tour at Starbucks in the village where we all assembled and introduced ourselves. Our first stop was Belching Beaver Brewery Tavern & Grill, where after a brief walk we enjoyed crispy plantains topped with pit-roasted mojo pork and dressed with cilantro, citrus sauce and me so honey cream. Next visit was Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen for house-made pasta with veggies, sausage, micro greens and a carrot reduction sauce. Next we looped around to When Pigs Fly BBQ for a smoked rib with slaw. We finished our tour by walking back to Little Cakes Cupcake Kitchen to indulge in our choice of cupcake. I selected chocolate peanut butter and it was divine.
All along the tour we were blessed to be able to chat with the chefs and owners/operators and find out more about them, their food and restaurants. While on the walking portion of the tour Linda told us great little facts about different pieces of art and businesses along the way. One of the fun things about these tours is that ahead of time we have no idea what we will be served. We just show up and enjoy! ***Update: Since I originally wrote this, I have also been on two additional Oceanside tours and they were both fantastic as well as was the Vista tour. I highly recommend this experience. The concept, restaurants and tour guides are all tops. I definitely plan to do this again and again in the future. Find out more at www.shoesandchews.com. Use code Barb to save $10 on each ticket you purchase. |