Finding Our 50

Inside

SELECTING OUR ANNUAL “50 People To Watch” is not exactly an art. Nor is it really a science. The list will, however, often include an artist or scientist. And reaching across all boundaries and finding 50 local notables is a task that requires an artistic touch and a modicum of scientific wizardry. If you will, call our collection a hybrid.

The editorial staff screens candidates all year. But we start to get focused each October. Some proud people nominate themselves. Public relations practitioners nominate their clients. We scan the newspapers and keep an eye on the tube for folks who might make a difference in the coming year.

It’s impossible, of course, to fully predict who is on the verge of a breakout year. Often the best candidates for the list have already achieved some notoriety. We weigh how much more that person might bring to the table in the coming year.

The best aspect of our “Watch” list is its eclectic nature. This is not a yearbook of gray-haired white businessmen. It’s a diverse group in terms of gender, ethnicity and occupation. We offer a list that covers an author of “chick” literature, as well as a veteran Padres pitcher. A bank CEO and gay politicos. Entrepreneurs and a restaurateur. And many others whose jobs don’t rhyme as well.

SPEAKING OF RESTAURATEURS, the month of January also brings us Restaurant Week. It was highly successful last year, and San Diego gets two Restaurant Weeks in 2008 (January 27–February 2 and June 22-27), as described in David Nelson’s feature story.

What is it? During Restaurant Week, more than 130 high-end eateries offer three-course meals for $30 or $40 per person. The restaurants see it as a way to introduce their food to diners who may not have three cars in the driveway of a Rancho Santa Fe manse. And the local folk——more than 200,000 participated in the eat-for-less program in 2007——seem to know a bargain when they taste one.

Another significant bit of food for thought: This year, we have changed the month we will run our “Best Restaurants” coverage. We’ve moved it up to June——switched it, in fact, with our annual “Best of San Diego” issue.

Since “Best Restaurants” is now coming out in June, we had to change the months in which we feature the “Best Restaurants” ballot. It appears in this issue and will also run in February and March. The deadline for submitting ballots is March 20. And this year, we will allow you to vote online, at sandiegomagazine.com. One vote per gourmand, please.

As for the rest of the issue, see what happens when a stripper finds religion, hear what the fire chief thinks about our current level of firestorm preparedness, and (one last note on food) find out where you can go bowling for burgers.

Enjoy digesting the issue.

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