San Diego March 2004
 

My group of five is planning to visit San Diego for a few days at the end of March. Mostly, our plans consist of Sea World (have never been before) and dining out a lot - we are all professed foodies, with one of us in culinary school. Any recommended places that we simply MUST try? And is the end of March too cool weather-wise for much beach activity? We've been warned by a fellow resident (Hillside dweller) that the Gas Lamp quarter is too touristy for us, so we're planning to either go cheap on Hotel Circle or go for beachfront, if the beach is worth going to? At the very least, we already plan to visit Coronoado Island and La Jolla at least to watch the sunset?

The restaurant at the Westgate Hotel is expensive but wonderful. The service was outstanding.

Go to the restaurant Prado in Balboa Park for some very good, sometimes unusual cuisine and fun atmosphere. If you like seafood (of course you do!), eat at Anthony's Star of the Sea down on the wharf, or--for lunch--Anthony's Grotto. Please have the gulf shrimp and avocado salad for me, along with a Margarita.

If you want to try Mexican/Old California food, go to Bandini's in Old Town. The food is very good and beautifully presented and the Margaritas are nearly big enough to swim in. You can sit inside in really lovely rooms or outside on the patio around a fountain, serenaded by a mariachi band.

A newish place is the restaurant (can't remember the name) at The Inn at Torrey Pines, which has gotten very good reviews.

And yes, it's likely tht the end of March will be too cool for the beach, or at least for swimming in the ocean.

Hotel Circle will put you close to Balboa Park, with the great zoo and the excellent museums. It's only about a 10-minute drive to get to the down-town area (which you can give a miss) or the highway that will take you out to Coronado Island. BTW, there are a number of good restaurants out there along the main street.

Sorry--the Mexican restaurant in old town is formally called Casa de Bandini.

It will be to cold in March for most beach activities. You could still consider staying on mission bay to be close to sea world. We ussually stay in "downtown" by seaport village. We always seem to get a good deal on the Hyatt overlooking the water on Priceline. Its walking distance (but far enough away so there will be no noise) to the gas lampp, seaport village, and central to other areas.

I am a foodie too (I am a lawyer turned caterer) so here are some of my choices in my hometown:
1. Marine Room in La Jolla next door to the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. The Marine Room is located right on the water, the waves actually crash into the picture window and the food is outstanding, the chef, Bernard (I can't spell the last name) does an excellent job (he has cooked at the Beard House in N.Y.) We always take visitors here.
2. Pamplemouse Grille in Del Mar. I ate their for Valentine's day and it was great. Jeffrey Strauss is the chef and the truffle-oil, parmesan french fries are to die for.
3. George's at the Cove is an institution with great sea food in La Jolla
4. Go to Il Fornaio in either Del Mar or Coronado for Italian in a great setting, both have ocean views and I have never been dissapointed with the food.
All of the above are not cheap (between $20 to $35 an entree.
For great "cheap" eats,try
1. Point Loma Seafoods in Point Loma-a fresh fish market right on the water, the food from the takeout counter is delicious and don't let the large crowd detour you it moves quickly.($6-10)
2. Alfonso's in La Jolla for mexican food. Great Nachos with choizo and carne asada
3. Miguel's (located both in point loma and coronado) also has great mexican food. The "white queso" dip is to die for and you willhave to jog it off. I live right next door to old town and have found the mexican restaurants there to be too touristy.
4. Waters @SDMA, if you are in Balboa Park, try to eat at this new place, it is casual, but with excellent food. On weekends they serve breakfast and the Valrona Choc. pancakes are excellent. They have a place called Waters Fine Foods to Go located in bay park that is also excellent and makes wonderful stuff for a picnic or a quick lunch. Mary Kay Waters is a CIA graduate and will be cooking the Easter lunch at Beard House in April. All food items are under $10.
5. Extraordinary Desserts (located on 5th near Balboa Park). Karen Krasne the owner has cooked at Beard house and her cakes have been the cover of Bon Appetit. A nice idea for a Balboa Park outing would be to eat an early dinner at Prado and then take in a play at the Old Globe Theater (its director, Jack O'Brien won a Tony this year for directing Hairspray) and then finish with dessert/coffe/tea at Extraordinary. (desserts are not cheap-$5-$10, but they are to die for)
6. for breakfast-Hash House A GoGo also in 5th is good. Huge portions
7. Indigo Grill in Little Italy is also very interesting. Portions huge and entreesa are between $12-$18. It is hard to describe the type of food sort of southwest meets alaska, but everything I hate on Sat. was delicious.
8. If you are not from southern california then you must try the only fast food joint I go to, In and Out Burgers. They are located throughout san diego, and boy are those hamburgers good. They have been around for 50 years and there is always a crowd but it moves fast.
Before your trip try to go on the web sites for san Diego magazine and San Diego Home-Garden. Both do awards,
rest. reviews and rest. listings. Feel free to email me if you have specific areas of town you want to know more about re: food. Hope this is helpful, itsv.

Thanks everyone so far for your suggestions. My research on restaurants in San Diego has been overwhelming (seems like there is so much to choose from!) which is why I'm looking for suggestions of must-not-be-missed places to help whittle the list down. Although there's lots of good food everywhere, I'm particularly interested in food that is unique and/or especially good for San Diego or California in general. Is there something specific for our trip that we should look to try?

For instance, we are from Chicago so we will definitely pick out a place to get some seafood out here to enjoy the extra freshness, but we are not as interested in say, steaks or deep-dish pizza since that is one of Chicago's specialities.

if you get a craving for casual pizza - pizza port in solana beach or mountain mikes in san diego on claremont drive are my favorites.

You've been given some great suggestions. I have a couple more to add; very casual hidden gems:

For a San Diego specialty, try the mahi mahi fish tacos at South Beach Bar and Grill in Ocean Beach, at the beach end of Newport Avenue. It's definitely not fancy, but fantastic local food with no tourists in sight.

For another true dining experience that's away from the tourist traps, try Ciao Bella in La Mesa. It's in a strip mall next to the 7-11, but has the best, most authentic Italian food I've found in 10 years here in San Diego. Even though it's a hole-in-the-wall, you'll probably need reservations. You'll feel like you're in Italy with all the thick Italian accents and the animated owner Francesco sitting down at your table with you.

My favorite Mexican place is Eva's in Mission Valley, but last time I checked (a couple weeks ago) they were closed for renovations. Not sure when they'll open again.

I know a lot of people like Anthony's, but for seafood I much prefer The Fish Market, about a half mile south.

Have a great time and be sure to report back!