Taste of Mission Hills

Taste of Mission Hills returns to Mission Hills on Wednesday, October 14, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. It's the 14th annual edition of the neighborhood's food festival, and the format is the same as always: the neighborhood becomes an open-air tasting tour, with about 25 purveyors serving up tastes that range from international to local. The route covers about five miles across West Lewis Street, Fort Stockton Drive, Goldfinch Street, West Washington Street, Reynard Way, and India Street.

The lineup this year brings together a wide mix of chefs, cheesemongers, baristas, bakers, and gelato makers. You'll find Burger Deck, Cake, Cardellino, Communion, El Indio, Falcon Liquor, Farmer's Bottega, Fiori's Pizza, Fort Oak, Gelato Vero Caffé, Karina's Ceviches & More, Kettle & Stone, Komatsuya, La Puerta, Lazy Acres Natural Market, Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria, Lewis & Fay, Paradis, Pizza e Birra, Red Door, Rubicon Deli, Saffron Thai, Sushi Deli 1, Venissimo Cheese, and Wild Child Ice Cream. Between the pizza, the sushi, the ceviche, and the gelato, there's enough to keep you moving from one end of the route to the other.

Getting around is easy: a free Old Town Trolley runs a continuous loop every fifteen minutes along the route, sponsored by La Puerta and A Designed Space. If you're picking up tickets at Will Call, that's set up at Lazy Acres Natural Market on the day of the event. Tickets are $50 plus a small credit-card processing fee, and only 600 are sold, with a donation from title sponsor US Bank's Mission Hills branch helping keep the price down.

Behind the scenes, Taste of Mission Hills is the annual fundraiser for the Mission Hills Business Improvement District, a 501(c)(6) California nonprofit that works year-round to keep the neighborhood vibrant, partly funded by the City of San Diego. The event turns one of San Diego's premier dining destinations into a tasting tour for the evening. It runs from 5:30 to 8:30 PM on Wednesday, October 14, with tickets at $50 plus fees.