Kiss My Glass: San Diego is in a really beautiful expansion period

May 27, 2019 12:31 PM PT

You could say Stephen Kurpinsky is a busy man. Along with being the bar manager at Hundred Proof in University Heights, he’s also the president of the San Diego chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild and in his spare time he consults with Nortico, a progressive speakeasy in Tijuana.

Kurpinsky is a big supporter of cross-border relationships in the hospitality industry and believes it helps elevate San Diego’s food and drink cultures.

Starting his career in his hometown of San Francisco, Kurpinsky has been behind the bar at such places as Blondie’s pizza near Union Square, The Lodge at Torrey Pines and George’s at the Cove’s Level2 in La Jolla and now runs the bar program at Hundred Proof.

He recently stopped by the PACIFIC office to record an episode of Kiss My Glass and along with his collaborations in Tijuana, here’s what he and host Edwin Real talked about in the podcast:

Collaboration with Tijuana restaurant Oryx Capital and its speakeasy, Nortico
Bringing craft cocktails to Tijuana
What it’s like working alongside a great chef
Learning food science first hand in back of house
Creating cocktails by feel rather than science
Acquiring talent and figuring out how to best use them
Hundred Proof as a great bar with really good food
Launching career in San Francisco at Blondie’s Pizza
Growing from a time of flavored martinis and margarita machines
Stint at Lodge at Torrey Pines
Launching George’s Level 2 concept
Creating Neighborhoods of San Diego cocktail book
Leading the San Diego chapter of the U.S. Bartenders Guild
Seeing success elsewhere in town is part of own success
Where to drink around town
A need for another vegan death metal bar/restaurant?
The importance of the relationship between Tijuana and San Diego
New menu coming out at Hundred Proof
Guest bartender appearances

Kiss My Glass is a collaboration between PACIFIC and Facebookgroup Eating and Drinking in San Diego. The podcast is hosted on the U-T Podcast Network.

Subscribe to Kiss My Glass and sister podcast Dish It Up wherever you listen to podcasts, including iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Soundcloud.