Caroline B. wrote: >I will be in San Diego in two weeks for a conference, and I am interested >in hearing about good restaurants in the area. The conference will be in >La Jolla, but I'll have a car at least part of the time. I am particularly >interested in Pacific Rim and Nouvelle Southwestern cuisine. Fish restaurants >are also good. > >/C >[email removed] > >P.S. Has anyone had any experience with "Cilantro's?" cdb To answer your PS first, yes, Cilantro's is probably the best Nouvelle Southwest in San Diego County. It's on Via de la Valle between Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe - 619.259.8777. It's sister restaurant, Epazote, in the Del Mar Plaza, has a wonderful view, but the food and service are inconsistent at best. Cilantro's is one of my favorites in the county, and the only reason you could get me to go to Epazote would be for a drink at sunset, perhaps. As for Pacific Rim food, you have several good choices. In downtown La Jolla there is George's at the Cove, at 1250 Prospect - 619.454.4244. It's considered one of the two or three best restaurants in San Diego County. Their fish dishes are the best bar none IMHO. I should point out that the executive chef at George's, Scott Meskan, is a good friend and neighbor. But I admired the restaurant before I became his neighbor. In the Aventine complex there's Cafe Japengo, which I like to call Nouvelle Pacific Rim. It has a distinctly Asian flavor, and is another of my favorites in town. 619.450.3355. Nearby in the Aventine complex are a couple of other restaurants - a Nouvelle Southwest Restaurant called Kiva that a friend of mine describes a bit more succinctly than I do - the only way he would go back is to loot the smoking remains. There's a small chain Italian place there called Sfuzzi, which is Ok, but nothing to write home about. I don't recall what the other place is (if it's even open at this time - there tends to be a fair amount of turnover there, but Cafe Japengo has been there since the place was built). In Del Mar there is Pacifica Del Mar (where, oddly enough, I just returned from dinner with a friend). Interesting Pacific fish dishes; definitely nouvelle in preparation style. Reasonably kicked back. 619.792.0476, also in the Del Mar Plaza. For simple grilled fish there's the Fish Market (several locations, the closest to La Jolla would be the one in Del Mar - 619.755.2277, west of I-5 on Via de la Valle). Tends to be noisy and there's usually a short wait for a table. Cheers,
San Diego, CA