Fort Oak brings back tasting menu; Wise Ox butcher shop now open

The interior of Fort Oak, a Mission Hills restaurant that has recently brought back its tasting menu experience

Sept. 18, 2020 3:13 PM PT

Chef Brad Wise of Fort Oak restaurant in Mission Hills will relaunch the 20-month-old restaurant’s tasting menu experience on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and continuing on Wednesday nights through Oct. 14.

The fall-focused menu will be paired with wine and cocktails by wine director Ben Zuba and bar manager Jessica Stewart.

The price is $150 per person for the eight-course-plus tasting and beverage pairings. There will be two seatings at 5:15 pm and 8:15 pm. To reserve, visit www.fortoaksd.com.

Wise Ox butcher shop now open

The Wise Ox, a new butcher shop owned by the Trust Restaurant Group, opened Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 2855 El Cajon Blvd., Suite 1, in North Park.

The Wise Ox replaces Heart & Trottery butchery. Trust purchased the business and lease on the property from Heart & Trottery’s founders over the summer and made the brand change over Labor Day weekend.

Besides the existing premium butcher shop, Wise Ox also offers select grocery items, a deli, craft beers and a wine program. Onsite seating was also added for onsite dining of deli and house-made charcuterie items. Visit thewiseoxsd.com.

Pam Kragen writes about restaurants for The San Diego Union-Tribune. Email her at pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com.

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Pam Kragen

Pam Kragen is the arts and entertainment editor, as well as the chief theater, dining and opera critic, for the San Diego Union-Tribune. She joined the Union-Tribune staff in October 2012 after 27 years at the North County Times, where she served as the Arts & Features Editor, as well as the paper’s longtime arts writer and theater and opera critic. She is the co-founder of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from San Diego State University and completed fellowships in theater criticism at the University of Southern California and opera-classical music criticism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. And in 2022, she was chosen as one of the fellows in the prestigious National Critics Institute, run by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterf, Conn.