2015 Best of Ranch & Coast: Personality + Philanthropy

Kimberly Hunt, KGTV

TV Personality
Emmy Award winning journalist Kimberly Hunt is easily our readers’ choice for Best TV Personality year after year. Hunt has interviewed sitting presidents and local celebrities along with delivering breaking news and investigative reporting. And she does her job with approachable wit and charm.

Jeff & Jer, KYXY 96.5 FM

Radio Personality
Every weekday morning, more San Diego listeners tune into the Jeff & Jer Showgram to be entertained by local radio veterans Jeff Detrow and Jerry Cesak and their colleagues.

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Athlete
Recognized as one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, Rivers is ranked 4th all-time in consecutive starts in NFL history. The Chargers traded their first draft pick Eli Manning to the NY Giants and the team and fans have not looked back. Go Chargers!

Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflezighi, Marathon Runner

Athlete, 2nd Place
Eritrean-born Keflezighi graduated from UCLA where he won four NCAA championships with the Bruins track and field team. Meb has go on to win an Olympic Silver Medal and won both the Boston and New York Marathons. If you see him on a local trail, it’s bound to be a quick glance.

Irwin Jacobs

Business Leader
Jacobs taught electrical engineering at MIT and Computer Science and Engineering at UCSD before turning his prolific skills to industry. One of the results is Qualcomm and its CDMA technology used in today’s smartphones. UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering is part of the family legacy along with Principals of Communication Engineering, his textbook published in 1965 and still in use today.

Aloha Taylor, KSWB

Weatherperson
Hawaii native Aloha (Ku’ualoha) Taylor earned her degree in communications from Hawaii Pacific University before coming to the mainland to secure a B.S. in Meteorology from Mississippi State. Along the way she was crowned Miss Hawaii USA and has become a favorite of San Diego viewers.

Dagmar Midcap, KNSD

Weatherperson
Meteorologist Midcap emigrated from Vancouver BC and has credits in television and film. She delivers even bad weather news with a smile, making her a Ranch & Coast reader favorite.

Brian Malarkey

Executive Chef
In just four years, Chef Brian Malarkey has created seven wildly successful restaurants across the United States with more on the way. Along with Herringbone in La Jolla and Searsucker in San Diego and Del Malarkey has announced a new concept in Little Italy.

Bertrand Hug

Restaurateur
Hug emigrated from rural Southwest France and worked his way across America in French restaurants, settling in San Diego in 1973. He brought elegant European cuisine to our region, winning top international awards along with Ranch & Coast votes. Two major anniversaries are currently being celebrated in 2015: Mille Fleurs is 30 and Bertrand at Mister A’s is 50! Cheers!

Joshua Orr, Marina Kitchen San Diego Marriott Marquis

Sommelier
Orr was recruited from Fiamma in Las Vegas when Marina Kitchen was opened to bring his enology talents to San Diego. He’s been a hit, hosting wine and food fest events and has assembled a 330-bottle list of top flight California and international wines as well as craft beers and small batch spirits.

Marko Dedic, Mille Fleurs

Maitre ‘D
Marko Dedic brought his abundant charm and fine dining skills to San Diego from his native Serbia in 1998 and he loves his new home. Our readers love Dedic’s outgoing style and skill, voting him Best Matire ‘D in a very competitive restaurant scene. Chin-Chin Marko!

Rob McShea, The Duck Dive

Bartender
Ranch & Coast readers agree with the Food Network, which recognized The Duck Dive in Pacific Beach as home to one of the nation’s best Bloody Marys. General manager and bartender Rob McShea’s recipe earned top honors at the 2014 NYC Wine and Food Festival’s Chopped Bloody Mary Contest. McShea won at the statewide level and then advanced through the Food Network’s nationwide competition with his “Jamaican Me Crazy” recipe. Cheers!

Conrad Prebys

Philanthropist/Volunteer
Conrad Prebys got in on San Diego’s building boom early, when he settled here in 1965. Today his 81 properties are home to more than 7,000 tenants, and Prebys has aggressively shared his good fortune with the San Diego community. Most recently, his $100 million donation to Sanford-Burham Medical Research Institute, now named Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, will further implement its 10-year strategic vision to accelerate the delivery of innovative new treatments that will have a tangible impact on improving human health.

Barrio Logan College Institute

Nonprofit
The Barrio Logan College Institute serves underrepresented, college-bound students in San Diego through free academic enrichment, skill building, tutoring, mentoring, and college exploration & application services. And these urgently needed services are designed specifically for bilingual, bicultural students and their families. (www.blci.org)

Javier Plascencia, Chef/Restaurateur

Local Well-Known You’d Like to Lunch With
Plascencia has brought wonderful skills from his family’s restaurants in Tijuana from fresh fish preparations to authentic Caesar’s salad. His new restaurant Bracero in Little Italy is clearly a hit and our readers would love to share lunch with this talented owner/chef.

Abe Botello

Up-And-Comer to Watch
Botello started cooking in his father’s Los Pinos kitchen at age 16 before attending the New School of Architecture and San Diego City College. He landed his first job at Urban Solace under the direct supervision of chef/owner Matt Gordon. After moving around a bit, Botello became the executive chef of West Coast Tavern in 2013, and has been dishing out a playful menu there since. Our readers are keeping an eye on this shooting star.