Local chefs and their restaurants for Hispanic Heritage Month

Casa Gabriela - Banda el Recodo (courtesy photo)

Hispanic Heritage Month begins Monday, September 15, and San Diego’s culinary scene is filled with talented chefs with Hispanic roots. Hispanic Heritage Month has its roots in 1968, when it was first celebrated as a week-long event under President Lyndon Johnson. It was later expanded to a full month in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. Here are five local chefs and their restaurants to celebrate this year:

Restaurateur Gerry Torres is the founder of San Diego’s City Tacos taqueria chain, Tour de Tapas with “Euro Small Plates & Sips” in La Mesa Village, and Fonda del Barrio, his latest concept that opened at the end of August and features ancestral Mexican in the Barrio Logan cultural district. Torres is originally from Mexico City, and he moved to San Diego in 1992. He became a U.S. Citizen in 2022. Torres founded his first City Tacos in 2014 in North Park, and he has since expanded to Encinitas, La Mesa, Los Angeles (on the campus of USC), Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, and Sorrento Mesa. In partnership with Barrio Logan Association, Fonda del Barrio will celebrate Mexican Independence Day and its official grand opening with a ribbon cutting and party on Tuesday, September 16 at 3:30 p.m. The party is open to the general public, and complimentary bites and tasting sips from Executive Chef Eduardo Baeza and Lead Bartender Rudy Corona will be provided. Live music will be a part of the afternoon as well.

Gabriela Lopez, fondly known as Chef Gaby, is Partner/Executive Chef of Casa Gabriela in La Mesa Village. This is her first restaurant with her own namesake, reaching the pinnacle of a culinary journey that began as a child in Tijuana. Growing up just south of the border, Chef Gaby watched her mother and grandmother in the kitchen and knew she wanted to be a chef. She became pregnant with her first child at the age of 17, but instead of pursuing her dreams of becoming a chef, she cleaned houses during the day and went to culinary school at night. She went on to have three more kids and they are now 28-, 27-, 23- and 21-years old. It wasn’t until after her third child that she started going to culinary school to begin her pursuit of her dream. Fast forward to 2020, she became Executive Chef at La Doña in Ocean Beach. The Cohn Restaurant Group then brought her on to open Casa Gabriela in January 2023. The menu features many of her family’s recipes and is inspired by Baja seafood and her family’s roots in Guadalajara. On Thursday, August 21, the famous Mexican band Banda el Rocodo visited Casa Gabriela for a late lunch. One of Gaby’s sous chefs is friends with the band.

Anna Adams joined George’s at the Cove's leadership team as Pastry Chef in June 2024. The Escondido native was inspired to bake at a young age while visiting her uncle’s bakery in Ruiz, Nayarit, Mexico. She began working at Georges as an intern in 2015 while attending Art Institute of California – San Diego. Adams then became a pastry cook in 2016, an assistant to Pastry Chef Aly Lyng in 2019, and she was named Pastry Sous Chef in 2022. For nearly a year during her time as Lyng’s assistant, Adams also had a stint with North Park’s Blackmarket Bakery, working overnight shifts in addition to her daily schedule at Georges. Adams thanks her late grandmother Jean Adams for pushing her to pursue a career in baking, helping pay her way through culinary school.

Chef Miguel Meraz helms the kitchen at Duck Dive, bringing hints of his heritage to the menu at this popular beach-side dining spot. He has been at Duck Dive for nearly a decade, and from the jalapenos and cilantro-lime aioli served with Duck Dive’s Calamari & Peppers, to many of the seasonings and sauces used throughout, Chef Miguel has truly helped create a flavor-packed menu, elevating many classic coastal dishes. Chef Miguel’s favorite dish growing up was his mother’s short rib with dark mole and nopales!

Meet Spill the Beans Pastry Chef Karina Orozco, the creator of the original bagel recipe still used today after expanding to five locations across San Diego. Made from just five simple ingredients—water, yeast, brown sugar, flour, and salt—its magic lies in the process. Each bagel is boiled with agave syrup, creating a beautifully caramelized crust with a hint of sweetness. Today, Chef Karina continues to innovate with a rotating “Bagel of the Month” feature while maintaining customer-favorite flavors like Sundried Tomato and Cheese, Bacon and White Cheddar, Onion and Garlic, French Toast, and Cinnamon Raisin. All bagels are scratch made every morning, offering bold, unique flavors like Serrano Habanero and Jack Cheese, Chile Limón with Elote Cream Cheese (seasonal special), and a Concha Bagel with Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese (seasonal special), each paying homage to her Mexican roots.

Courtesy of Alternative Strategies