This issue is delicious. We’re going to roll it up, dip it in garlic butter, and bite it like a lobster tail. On page 38, you’ll find our list of the Best Restaurants of 2024, featuring picks from food critic Troy Johnson and your reader faves, which are based on more than 41,000 nominations (a new record). Sprinkled throughout, you’ll meet some of the top people behind San Diego’s vibrant dining scene, explore trends shaping SD’s food culture, and probably feel some belly lust for sushi, pasta, burgers, pizza, tacos, and countless other provisions. Loosen your pants now—it’s a feast.

On page 24, we bring you a beautiful profile from author, scientist, and cook Madhushree Gosh on the family ties behind one of her favorite restaurants, Punjabi Tandoor. On page 112, we’re celebrating 100 years of Tijuana’s Caesar salad, and, on page 100, we’re bar-hopping and mirror-selfieing through some of the city’s sexiest bathrooms.

On the cover, you’ll find Oceanside’s Jordan Howlett—a viral video come to life—who broke bread with our executive editor, Mateo Hoke and let him in on what it took for him to rise to the 25-million follower echelons of social media stardom. Since his videos are typically casual affairs shot in the bathroom and kitchen of the home he shares with his parents and older brother, we asked to style him to the nines to offer our readers a look most of his fans have never seen before.

NOTE: ORDERS ARE CURRENTLY PRE-ORDER ONLY. ALL ORDERS WILL BE MAILED OUT BEGINNING APRIL 30TH.