A new wine bar, called Kensington Vine, recently opened on Adams Avenue and offers about 70 labels from California wineries, many of them in the “boutique” category. Longtime wine hobbyists and brothers, Scott and Lance Owens, own the business. The atmosphere is intimate and elegant and features a banquette that runs the length of the interior, plus an outdoor patio. Wines by the glass range from $6 to $18, and bottles run $12 to $60. Bruschetta, gourmet pizzas, tapanades and assorted cheeses comprise the bill of fare. The wine bar is open daily from 11 a.m. to about 11 p.m.

Down the street, The Green Tomato served its last meal this week after operating in the neighborhood for four years. Owner Royce Hammond is keeping the name in the event he opens another restaurant in the future. A French restaurant with a new proprietor may be taking over the space sometime this summer.

San Diego’s very own vegan restaurant and “nut butter factory” is gaining tremendous popularity among the Hollywood set. In the past year, Spread in North Park has catered its bright and revolutionary food to the back stages of The Emmys, Golden Globes, the Sundance Film Festival and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Los Angeles. And next month, it will provide the chow for MTV’s annual award show. Owners Andrew and Robin Schiff say the glitterari are finding them through word-of-mouth fanfare they’ve generated since starting the business a few years ago, not to mention the exposure they’ve received in Vanity Fair, Entrepreneur magazine and “The Today Show.” The couple currently makes 139 different types of nut butters that start at $30 a pound and climb to $700 a pound for spreads using a macadamia nut foundation that’s infused with things like high-quality green tea, edible gold and rare liqueurs. Many of the spreads are available at the University Avenue eatery and on the Web site www.spreadtherestaurant.com.

Slow Food San Diego will host its first-ever membership fair in metro San Diego from 3-5 p.m., this Sunday, April 22, at the McCoy House in Old Town State Park. The forum is designed for members and non-members to learn more about the organization’s events and its mission, which celebrates the cultural cuisine and natural food bounties of one’s region while promoting dining as a source of pleasure – and we’re not talking McDonald’s Happy Meals!

The Marine Room in La Jolla has announced its high-tide dinner schedule for those who fancy eating French-inspired meals with the ocean lapping at the picture window. The restaurant’s high-tide dining dates are: May 15, 16 and 17; June 12, 13 and 14; July 12, 13 and 14; and August 10 and 11. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 858-459-7222.

The exquisite, fine-dining Mexican restaurant in Birdrock, called Delirio’s, has ushered in new Executive Chef Aaron La Monica, a long-time protégé of nationally acclaimed Chef Michael Stebner, the father of San Diego’s “market-to-table” cuisine concept. La Monica opened Nine-Ten Restaurant with Stebner and followed him to Region in Hillcrest, where he became sous chef. La Monica ranks among the new crop of chefs who obsess over the provenance of their organic ingredients and befriend the local farmers and fishermen to obtain them.

If you don’t mind eating from plastic plates and with the local “wharf raff” of Harbor Island, then head on over to Captain’s Quarters Galley from 6-9 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays, when the bar rolls out its patio grill for bargain steak dinners. The “big ass,” 20-ounce porterhouse cut costs only $17 and includes a salad and roll, plus a choice of baked beans, applesauce, corn or green beans. The sides also are included with a 10-ounce New York steak for $11 and the “cheap ass” flatiron steak for $6. The bar, which offers 14 beers on tap, is located on the second level behind the Ramada Limited hotel on Rosecrans in Point Loma.