Welcome to Tides & Tacos, a project sharing diverse stories of San Diego’s food scene
How years of working for restaurants and newsrooms amid an ever-shrinking media market led me to creating my own space for culinary journalism
There’s something wrong with food writing in San Diego.
Ever since I moved to this beautiful region nearly two decades ago, I’ve been working toward becoming a food writer. I worked in the culinary industry as a server, craft cocktail bartender and line cook while putting myself through college to earn degrees in culinary arts, journalism and political science.
My college years were spent writing restaurant reviews for my two campus newspapers — The Mesa Press at San Diego Mesa College and The Daily Aztec at San Diego State University. I covered food-related stories as a freelancer at North Coast Current and Times of San Diego, and since 2008, I have self-published content on my food and travel blog, Off the Mapp.
During my four years at The San Diego Union-Tribune, I wrote food-related stories whenever I could squeeze them in between my multiple full-time beats and took a workshop on food writing from Write Like a Honey Badger. One of my fondest accomplishments while on staff at the Union-Tribune was that my story searching for the best California burrito in San Diego garnered the greatest number of conversions to subscribers and eighth greatest readership during the nearly five years I was on staff there.
But instead of getting closer to my goal, I have watched as fewer journalists are tasked with covering one of my favorite topics to read and write about, both locally and across the country.
In 2018, Eater reported that Saveur Magazine reduced its publishing schedule from six to four editions annually, and cut 17% of its American staff. Three years later, the magazine discontinued its physical edition, before relaunching as a twice-yearly print publication starting this spring/summer.
Last year, Condé Nast — the parent company to Bon Appétit and Epicurious — announced layoffs impacting staffers at both food publications, as well as a number of its other properties.
And just this January, layoffs were reported at the Los Angeles Times, which included three members of the Food section. Less than a month later, Food52 — a platform that pairs recipe content with kitchenware sales — announced layoffs of 22% of its staff.
Locally, food journalism has suffered its own losses.
In 2019, San Diegan readers saw the sale (and eventual closure) of City Beat, an alternative weekly that frequently covered local restaurants, breweries and cocktail bars. And when The San Diego Union-Tribune’s food critic (my former co-worker and current friend) Michele Parente retired in 2020, her position was never refilled.
What is happening to culinary journalism is, of course, not a unique problem within the national media landscape.
Pew Research Center reports that newsroom employment in the United States dropped 26% between 2008 and 2020. And in the five years since I graduated from college, there have been 27,855 newsroom layoffs across the country, according to Fast Company, a business and technology media brand.
Between the ever-shrinking food writing opportunities; the need to obtain, sustain and please advertisers; and the struggles of journalists often encumbered with juggling multiple beats, food writing has inevitably suffered.
While food stories that are both credible and engaging are still published on several local platforms — including San Diego Magazine and Edible San Diego — the medium has suffered in general.
Deep, thought-provoking coverage is often pushed aside for stories that are fast hits, clickbait or mere rewrites of press releases. Sometimes, content on local food websites warns readers with disclaimers that it is paid advertising.
Instead of turning to a trusted local journalist to find a restaurant, many people today turn to social media influencers, who are frequently given free food or monetary payment in exchange for positive coverage in their posts.
There is also one writer of a popular, San Diego tourism-focused website who not only posts stories that are basically press releases, but also commonly bullies other food writers and influencers.
Fewer food writing positions mean there are also fewer perspectives represented in the medium.
And while some food writers have a background in the culinary industry, there are many more who have no (or limited) experience working in restaurants.
The latter doesn’t know how carrying countless buckets of ice can permanently strain one’s shoulders or how frequently even the most seasoned chef might knick the tips of their fingers with a razor-sharp knife. Nor do they look down at their arms in the bright, San Diego sun and see the remnants of the time a hot pan slipped and accidentally burned their bicep — not that I’m, ahem, speaking from personal reference or anything.
So what can you expect from Tides & Tacos?
Tides & Tacos will be a different writing project than many other food media that San Diego has to offer. Because there won’t be advertisers to please or agreements with restaurants to fulfill, my content will solely contain honest reviews of the restaurants I cover.
Sometimes these posts will be about restaurants that have recently opened, best of lists or accomplishments of local chefs receiving Michelin stars and James Beard awards. But readers will also find stories of small or family-owned culinary businesses that have been serving the community for years.
Unlike the global focus of my blog, Off the Mapp, this Substack account will be primarily focused on food and dining in San Diego County. Despite the name of the Substack, not every article will be about seafood and tacos, but as two of my favorite food groups, you will definitely see some stories about both.
Each Tuesday, I will post a full-length story about a food or beverage-related topic, such as where to get the best fish tacos or what foods Black San Diegans enjoy eating on Juneteenth. Sometimes, I will leave the county’s restaurants, cafes and bars behind to instead share narratives of local farmers, gardeners and other food producers our food ecosystem depends on.
Then on Thursdays, a pair of cocktail recipes featuring locally sourced ingredients will land in your inbox.
Because I understand that there are many reasons why folks abstain from alcohol (and that there are often not enough interesting, booze-free alternatives) there will always be a non-alcoholic option featured along with a drink with alcohol in it so readers can have their choice on how they’d like to imbibe.
In addition to the regularly scheduled Tuesday and Thursday postings, which will be focused on foods and beverages throughout San Diego County, you may sometimes see bonus content about my travels nationally and abroad on the weekends.
How to support this project
Unlike the food influencers that run a dime a dozen across social media platforms, I will not be accepting free food or financial payments in exchange for positive coverage. In abstaining from such opportunities, you can trust that if I am recommending a dish from a specific restaurant, it’s because I genuinely enjoy it and think you might, too.
Since I won’t be accepting such payments, this project and the meals I order to write about will be entirely funded out-of-pocket and by subscriptions to this Substack account.
I appreciate all of you for joining me on this mission to share diverse and authentic culinary stories that highlight the true flavors and experiences of San Diego's vibrant food scene. I especially want to give a shoutout to my dad, Ronald Mapp, who has stepped up to edit my pieces each week in exchange for purple M&M’s.
Feel free to share my Substack with friends, enemies and everyone in between, and send in ideas for content you would like to see on Instagram or via email at lauren@offthemappblog.com. If you have already hit the subscribe button, thank you from the bottom of my heart, and if you haven’t yet, what are you waiting for?
I favor organic corn, if possible.
So excited for this project! Congrats on the launch, Lauren!