Fort Oak launches Chef's Counter Experience

Fort Oak launches Chef’s Counter Experience

Get a bird’s eye view of chef Brad Wise’s wood-fired magic when Fort Oak, one of the best new restaurants to open in San Diego in 2019, holds an intimate, six-course experience at its 14-seat counter

San Diego Union-Tribune

July 11, 2019 1:11 PM PT

If you’ve ever wondered how chef Brad Wise works his flavor wizardry at Fort Oak — one of the best restaurants to open this year — a new dining event will put his skills on full display.

On Wednesday, Fort Oak will launch an intimate, 14-seat, six-course Chef’s Counter Experience in the Mission Hills restaurant’s exhibition kitchen.

Wise, who is also executive chef of the popular Trust in Hillcrest, will prepare a unique menu featuring fresh produce, meats and seafood, with many of them bearing his signature wood-fired flair.

The dinners will be held on Wednesday and Thursday nights, every other week. An optional $40 wine pairing will be offered.

The 14-seat, L-shaped counter rings Fort Oak’s impressive, 7,000-pound, open-flame custom grill, so think of the chef’s whim tasting menu as the ultimate fire pit experience.

Fort Oak Chef’s Counter Experience
Wednesday and Thursday nights, every other week, starting Wednesday. 1011 Fort Stockton Drive, Mission Hills. Six courses $100; optional wine pairing $40. Reservations, for parties of one or two, are pre-paid. (619) 722-3398. fortoaksd.com

Eat | Drink Things To Do

Michele Parente

Michele Parente is the Dining, Wine + Lifestyle reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune. Her areas of expertise include the Valle de Guadalupe wine region, fashion, television, women’s issues and coverage of aging, such as the impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia and family caregiving. Michele is the former Sunday and features editor, where she oversaw profiles, special projects, such as the Legacy of WWII and in-depth reports on a variety of topics. She joined the U-T in 2003, supervising coverage areas that have included features, fashion, TV, Food, Consumer Health and Arts & Entertainment. Previously, Michele was the assistant features editor at The Oregonian, in Portland, as well as the Portland City Hall reporter. She spent 10 years at New York Newsday as a reporter on the crime, education, state legislature and New York City Hall beats. She was part of a team that won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting. A native New Yorker, Michele received her B.A. in political science and Italian Literature at UC Berkeley. In 1980, she studied at L’Università di Urbino, in Italy. One of her life’s goals is to make her way through each of the world’s great wine regions.