Thanks everyone for all the responses. This is really helping us decide. Everything I’ve heard so far makes the downtown area or Hillcrest seem like the way to go. My only problem is the school system, which I guess we’ll just have to figure out (the area scores show that only 20-30% of the middle school students are passing the nat’l minimums). Thanks cher3 for the info on opting out–we may have to do that, or go private.
fetus, I’m looking for these places, but have yet to see any of them :(. I am looking at these new condos downtown, and they look great.
As far as the Hillcrest area being gay, that’s fine with me. I’m a pretty liberal military guy. I also like exposing my kids to that–I do not want them growing up intolerant, which is what’ll probably happen if I stick to military housing all the time.
And I’m happy to fight the Bridge. Like I said, right now my wife is driving three hours a day. If I can get her under 30 minutes, I’ll be happy. Hopefully mine won’t be more than an hour each way.
Now for the bad news–I’m not a red meat eater (but my wife is, so I’ll consider Hodad’s.). We do eat out a ton, so really, if anyone has other suggestions for restaurants, we’d love to have them. I’ll definitely be checking out Newport Pizza & Ale House and Golden Dragon.
Sipz is an entirely vegetarian place that meat eaters will probably like. There’s one right by where I live in Clairemont. www.sipz.com
My favorite restaurant in town is The Linkery, which is in North Park. Their name comes from the fact that they make their own sausages (chicken, pork, all sorts of meats) but they have much more than that. We are actually having them cater our wedding. www.thelinkery.com
Hodad’s actually makes a good veggie burger, which if I must confess, is what I order when we go there. So if you like veggie burgers, you might try that. I think they also have a chicken sandwich, but have never tried it.
There are a ton of restaurants on University Avenue in Hillcrest and North Park, some really nice, some little holes in the wall, but that’s actually a wonderful place to grab a meal.
Downtown in the Gaslamp also has some good choices - for a nice meal you might consider Chive. They are a fusion-y sort of place with a bit of Asian influence. We just went there for the first time a few weeks ago, and loved the food. Also downtown is Cafe Chloe, which is like a French cafe. We ordered a cheese plate, I had the macaroni and cheese (with prosciutto!) and my boyfriend ordered something which escapes me, but it was a meat dish, and the side he got with it was fantastic.
I guess things have changed in the last few years. Didn’t mean to lead you on.
Convoy St. in Kearny Mesa is great for authentic Vietnamese food, and, to a lesser extent, Korean and Japanese. I live ridiculously close, but I’m perpetually broke so I haven’t had much of a chance to try it out. There’s a high rate of turnover–the market is saturated–so the places I have tried, the Curry House and RedBerry, may not be there by the time you arrive. The Curry House has an interesting Japanese take on curry. RedBerry is a kinda surreal frozen yogurt place. The product itself is more tart than sweet, and they have all kinds of toppings you can add yourself, ranging from the usual (sprinkles, crushed Oreos, etc.) to the more bizarre (Cap’n Crunch), and the decor and ambience is kind of like a mix between A Clockwork Orange and a Korean pop music video. There’s lots of boba tea and pho to be had in the area if you’re into that; I’ve never been incredibly impressed by boba and I haven’t mustered up the courage to try pho yet.
It’s not easy to get good Buffalo wings in San Diego–I haven’t found any good ones at a local place yet, anyway–but when (and if) you crave them, you can also hop over to Wings N Things, which is on Convoy. The Original Pancake House in the same strip mall isn’t local either, but it is by far the best chain breakfast you can get anywhere, IMO. You can also pay a couple extra bucks during strawberry season to get fresh-from-the-grove strawberries on your pancakes/waffles/whatever.
Ranch 99 (also in Kearny Mesa, but not on Convoy) is much more permanent, although not a restaurant; it’s an all-around Asian supermarket, with every flavor of Pocky, some nice Korean fruit-flavored wines (the plum wine is even better after you nuke it for 30 seconds, and the peach wine goes well on ice), and loads of other very authentic stuff. There are usually some carts in there selling cheap and delicious Asian snacks too. It’s a bit of a hipster trap, though.
Sushi is everywhere; my favorite place to go during high school, which will be really close to where you’ll live, was Sushi Itto. I haven’t been there in a couple of years and I’ve heard mixed reviews, but I loved the food there and it was also the first (and only) place I ever had fried ice cream, which is certainly an experience. There’s a Japanese buffet at the main Mission Valley mall called Onami where the sushi itself isn’t the absolute best in the area, but there’s always a wide and varied selection, and the desserts are pretty cool. There’s one particular sushi place on Prospect in La Jolla that is absolutely to die for, and it apparently has the Japanese Customer Seal of Approval, which is important. I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me; I’ll try to get back to you on that. I’m not adventurous enough to try any of the strip-mall sushi places, although I’ve never heard anything specifically bad about any of them.
Santana’s is a local burrito chain that will get you hooked if you live here long enough. The spelling and grammar on their menus is atrocious (forgive me, I’m a language geek) but the food is awesome. If you’re really feeling indulgent, the chicken chips or chicken fries (ie, nachos or fries with pollo asado, salsa, sour cream, guacamole and cheese all over them) are great. Either way, when you land in a real Mexican restaurant, try the horchata; it’s a Mexican cinnamon rice drink that reduces most of us locals to twitching addicts. (Not alcoholic or anything, it’s just that tasty.) It’s properly served over ice, so beware the warm horchata that gas stations try to sell out of a machine in immigrant neighborhoods sometimes. Nobody buys that stuff.
Joe’s Crab Shack at Hazard Center in Mission Valley, on Friars and Mission Center Rd, has fine fish and chips. Apparently their other seafood is good too, but I’m not that big on seafood so I wouldn’t know. The shrimp is hit-or-miss, however. They do have half-decent Mexican beer (Modelo Especial), unlike the Corona everyone will try to make you drink here. I wish they had Negro Modelo, though. C’est la vie.
The Pannikin on Girard Ave. in La Jolla is a pretty cool place for a cup of coffee (or tea) and some light breakfast/lunch fare; what really makes it worth going out of your way for is DG Wills, the eclectic bookstore next door with a whole bookshelf full of dog-eared books going for $1 each. I’ve scored some real classics there; it’s definitely worth checking out every once in a while.
If you’re a movie buff, there’s a video rental store next to the Ken Theatre I mentioned above, also called the Ken. There is no movie too obscure to find there.
This post is getting long enough, but I know there are some restaurants I’m forgetting. I’ll come back later after I assemble another assload of recommendations.
You should take note that Sipz serves mostly Chinese food. The “chicken” (everything is vegan, or at least vegetarian) is stunningly convincing, but tastes awful after a day in the refrigerator. It doesn’t spoil that fast, it just doesn’t hold its flavor well in the refrigerator, I guess.
BTW, you should be able to get some pretty good deals on tickets to the tourist traps (SeaWorld, etc.) on base. I forget the name of the department that handles that, though, and it may be different in Coronado anyway.
Oh! I knew I was forgetting something. Phil’s BBQ on Sports Arena Blvd is the place to go for the best ribs in the county. The sauce is just tangy enough and the meat is so tender it almost falls off the bone. (I’m pretty sure there’s BBQ chicken and such there, too.) There’s no service to speak of, and it’s a little expensive, but the food is amazing.
Correction: the ballpark is in East Village, not Little Italy. East Village is another example of an area that went from trashy to classy fast, though.
Remembered some other things. DZ Akins is a local favorite, over in La Mesa off the 8. (I think it’s near the Alvarado Road exit; not quite sure.) It’s a great little Jewish deli.
El Indio is a good place for Mexican food on India Street in Old Town. Pretty close to downtown. Don’t buy tortilla chips at the grocery store–get them at El Indio, they’ll sell them to you in a big ol’ bag.
Bronx Pizza on Washington Street is (was? it’s been a while) an excellent New York-style pizza place, like the name says. Greasy, but good.
Mootown is good for ice cream on Nobel Dr. in La Jolla, and they have a Coronado location too. Lots of interesting flavors, and you can get shakes too.
Haven’t been to the Linkery, but another interesting place in North Park (that I also actually haven’t been to, but I’ve heard good things) is Crazy Burger. Not only do they have (reportedly) some of the best burgers in the area, they also have unusual selections like alligator burgers and ostrich burgers. And, I hear, a pretty good beer selection. If I stumble in, I’ll let you know what I think.
There’s also a vegetarian Mexican place called Rancho’s in North Park, IIRC. Also haven’t been there, but the vegetarians I know rave about it.
ETA: I can also go on and on about local hookah lounges, if you’re into that.
Ranchos in North Park is pretty good, and they also have a location in Ocean Beach.
And I am extremely pleased to report that Bronx Pizza is still alive and kicking. Some people (I do not include myself in this group) feel that Lefty’s Pizzeria in North Park is superior. I leave that as an exercise to the reader, because pizza is so personal.
Isn’t Lefty’s Chicago-style? I haven’t been there, but I’ve heard it’s the best Chicago-style pizza in town, so it’s probably a question of whether you’re an NY pizza person or a Chicago pizza person.
I’m a frequent tourist in San Diego when I visit my daughter. She lives in La Mesa which seems like a nice enough place. You can rent a 2 or 3 BR house there for around US $2,200/month. There are quite a few military folks living around there.
One thing to remember is the trolley. It’s cheap and goes to a lot of handy places.
fetus
Do they still have Arrogant Bastard ale there? Last time I was in SD there was some kind of problem with the alcohol content of the stuff being too high to be called ale.
Yeah, but La Mesa is a bit far out for someone who wants to be near downtown. And although La Mesa is better than the rest of East County, East County in general is not the place to raise tolerant, cultured kids. Or find decent vegetarian food, for that matter.
[quote=Testyfetus
Do they still have Arrogant Bastard ale there? Last time I was in SD there was some kind of problem with the alcohol content of the stuff being too high to be called ale.[/QUOTE]
I’ve seen it around. Some quick research shows it to be 7.20% ABV, which is enough to move it from the category of American IPA into American Strong Ale, but not by much. The word “ale” just means it’s top-fermented, not bottom-fermented like a lager. It doesn’t have anything to do with alcohol content, although craft-brewed ales tend to taste stronger due to a higher hops presence. That certainly seems to be true for Arrogant Bastard as well. I think I haven’t had it–I had a Stone beer in a cup at my 21st birthday that tasted like an IPA, but didn’t taste like Stone IPA, so I may very well have drank that. I was pretty blitzed, so who’s to say? At that point it was an accomplishment for my less progressive-minded friends to get me to wear more than a towel.
fetus
Thanks for that. I mentioned La Mesa because there seem to be quite a few mil-spec folks living there. My daughter was a nanny/governess to a couple of kids that belonged to a single SEAL of some sort.
On the Arrogant Bastard ale, I think the issues were over the stuff having a higher alcohol content than was mentioned on the can. Never mind, I didn’t really care for the taste but loved the name and logo.
I usually go eat at BJ’s Pizza place. They have some very good beer there.
Ooh, since Testy mentions BJ’s Pizza and La Mesa, I’m figuring he goes to the one at Grossmont Center. Which brings me to my point: Casa de Pico, which is right next door.
Now, this probably isn’t the best Mexican food in the city, but if you want to take someone to the “quintessential Mexican joint” that isn’t a hole in the wall but that serves margaritas the size of your head, this is the place.
Yep, Grossmont it is. I’ve been to the Casa a couple of times but, thanks to the margaritas, don’t really remember whether the food was any good or not.
We very rarely have smog. Keep in mind I spent the first 17 years of my life in Los Angeles, so I am well aware of what smog is. It’s not really a problem here. Sometimes when the winds blow, we might get some haze, but generally our air is pretty good considering.
Oooh, Scout1222, you’re my new favourite person! We’re Canadian, but we stay in San Diego for about 2 months of every year, visiting family. We’re also vegetarians, so your Sipz recommendation is awesome. We already have a number of favourite veg-friendly restaurants in San Diego (Spread in Hillcrest, World Curry in PB, Ki’s in Cardiff, etc.) and we can always use more. Sipz looks fabulous. Thank you so much!
Regarding the humidity, I don’t find it bad in Spring, Fall or Winter, but in the Summer, I do find it a little uncomfortable. I do, however live in an extremely dry area of Canada, so I’m not really used to ANY humidity.
As to smog, I’m asthmatic, and I’ve never had trouble with any smog in San Diego. Smoke can be an issue, obviously.
Finally, the recommendation for Rancho from fetus is a good one, with one caveat. The food is great (especially the guac enchiladas) but at the OB location, the service is always very, very, very slow. The other location is apparently better in terms of the service, so you may want to try that location first. It is definitely worth trying out.
Service is slow in OB in general. It’s definitely a community, and the service industry there would rather have leisurely conversations with the members of that community–the regulars at the hippest hangouts, like Newport Pizza, Rancho’s, etc.–than actually serve paying non-OBecians. At Newport Pizza, it’s not uncommon to have to stand around at the bar for several minutes while the bartender chats with a couple of regulars before anyone actually notices you’re trying to buy beer (and it’s the regulars, not the bartender, who notices). It’s part of OB’s unusual and charming ethos.
ETA: For the same reason, it’s pretty much impossible to get a job anywhere in OB unless the people there know you and you’ve been a regular at the place for a long time. Not that that’s particularly relevant for the OP, but just thought I’d add it.
At that point it was an accomplishment for my less progressive-minded friends to get me to wear more than a towel.