The luxury Japanese restaurant Zuma is coming to San Diego.

Why it matters: Zuma has spread to high-end cities throughout the world, and picked San Diego as its first California location because of locals' appreciation of fine dining, vice president of operations Nick Fielding told Axios.

• It's another sign of the blossoming local food scene, which recently earned recognition from Conde Nast Traveler and Robb Report.

Driving the news: Zuma opened this week inside The Guild Hotel on Broadway downtown.

• It's the sixth U.S. location for the brand, which started in London in 2002.

What they're saying: Its opening proves San Diego has made it to the dining world stage, San Diego Magazine food critic Beth Demmon wrote this week.

The feeling is apparently mutual.

• "There's something about this city where the locals are incredibly well versed in food and culture," Fielding said. "It's not flashy, it's a very understated kind of wealth here, and they get luxury."

Then there's the food. Zuma is known for signature dishes including miso black cod, spicy peat tenderloin and meats cooked on the robata grill.

• Robata uses slow-burning Japanese charcoal that is odorless and flavors the meat, Fielding said.
• Plus sushi using some locally sourced fish.
• "The uni comes literally right off the pier, the waterfront here," he said.

The bar has more than 40 kinds of sake, plus Japanese whiskey and other cocktails.

Inside the room: The restaurant was designed around its grand entrance on Columbia Street that creates an indoor-outdoor feeling, Fielding said.

• The design was inspired by San Diego's ocean and rugged coastline, using a blue color scheme and a lot of granite, he said.
• "We built this beautiful, dramatic wood tunnel that leads into the terrace, and the first thing you see is this stunning terrace that has all this foliage," he said.

By the numbers: The restaurant spans 12,000 square feet and seats around 220 guests.

• It's centered around a grill surrounded by a wraparound bar.
• It also has a DJ booth, though Fielding promises a music director makes sure they "don't go off on wild club-like tangents."

Yes, but: It isn't cheap, with sushi rolls in the $20 range and signature dishes north of $50.

• Still, Fielding is confident San Diego was the right choice for their next expansion.
• "The energy of the city is unmatched," he said.

Tell a foodie

Two popular hiking trails in Cleveland National Forest are closed this month because of the heat.

The big picture: San Diego River Gorge and Three Sisters hiking trails are off-limits, and anyone who goes on them can be fined $5,000, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

• The Forest Service has maps of the closure areas, but the main instruction is to stay off the trails.

Threat level: The closures came after 11 heat-related rescues and 18 heat-related assists during July and the first week of August, per the Union-Tribune.

• The rescues involved helicopters, which should be reserved for fires, according to the Forest Service.

What's next: The Forest Service will look at weather predictions and decide whether to reopen the trails when this hot, hot month is behind us.

Tell a hiker

💦 African savanna elephant Sdudla decided to escape the heat and go for a swim at San Diego Safari Park's Elephant Valley. (YouTube)

• You can watch more on the zoo's new "Meet the Herd" series.

🏫 Special education classrooms in at least 21 San Diego Unified schools used substitutes for at least half of last school year. (Voice of San Diego)

• Many subs were not fully credentialed and few had special education credentials.

UC San Diego Jewish fraternity members found antisemitic graffiti spray-painted on their home in University City. (Union-Tribune)

• It's being investigated as a hate crime.

🦸 Marvel ignored city warnings and covered the Gaslamp arch with a massive "Avengers: Doomsday" ad during Comic-Con, earning the studio a $160,000 fine. (UT)

What do you know, we're an expensive city to commute in.

The big picture: We're in the top 10 of most expensive cities for commuting, according to data from the nonprofit Vettory.

• Add it to the list along with our astronomical rents, housing and burritos.

Zoom in: The amounts were calculated using average commute distance, gas prices and parking, according to Vetty.

• Our annual average of $3,700 was far below New York City and San Francisco, both of which pay a premium for downtown parking.
• Transit was cheaper than driving in almost every city.

I recently got to play tourist and go whale watching and it didn't disappoint!

• We saw four fin whales all swimming together. They'd blow out air a few times and then dive down to feed.
• Even our guide seemed excited. "This is very special," she said.

It's not really the season to see gray whales, and we had to travel about an hour off the coast to get to these beauties.

• That's because the warm El Niño ocean water has pushed the krill further out, according to our guide.

But the journey was worth it! We were so close to the fin whales it took my breath away.

If you go: There are a few whale watching outfits in town.

• Gone Whale Watching: 40-passenger catamaran offers 360-degree views and can cover more water in search of whales. Tours start at $60 per person.
• Legacy Whale Watch: 80-foot boat with indoor seating, two outdoor decks and bathrooms. Tickets are $34.
• San Diego Whale Watch: Marine naturalists lead the trips. Tickets start at $63 for adults and $58 for kids, seniors and military.