Many places come to mind. Starting with LA County (assuming you'll be venturing into parts of LA from Santa Monica): Philippe's (downtown LA) - inventors of the french dip sandwich. A unique place with really yummy food. Worth a drive from anywhere in the area. Surprising wine-by-the-glass list for a lunch-room kinda place. If you like spicy mustards you will want to take home a jar of their signature brew. Kokomo's (Farmer's Market) - ultra yummy for breakfast or lunch. Swiss cheese pancakes rock! There are other places of note at the FM, including Gumbo Pot (excellent Cajun) and a Mexican place whose name escapes me. Hampton's (Hollywood) - groovy local lunch spot with some excellent burgers and other offerings. In 'n' Out (all over) - arguably the world's greatest fast food burgers. I'm guessing with 3 weeks in SoCal you will be at In 'n' Out more than a few times! Tommy's (all over) - another SoCal burger chain, way different from In 'n' Out. Known for their kinda nuclear orange looking chili made in custom pressure cookers. Excellent on their burgers and dogs. I have a particular weakness for their breakfast sandwiches. Islands (all over) - an upscale burger (and plenty else) chain. (La) Serenata Gourmet (2 westside locations) - on the upscale side for young ones, but it sounds like your kids have pretty adventurous palates for their ages. This is Mexican food like no place else. Specializing in fresh seafood, but with chicken and beef dishes too, they offer a variety of masterful and sometimes unique sauces. La Frite (No Hollywood/Studio City near Universal) - yummy bistro with a huge menu from which to choose. Literally something for everyone, and the creme brulee against which all others are judged. Service can be enigmatic, but that can be said for just about any place in LA! Plenty of yummy places in SD County too: Hash House a Go Go (Hillcrest) - huge, artful presentations of modern takes on comfort food. Fish Market (several locations) - SD's best reasonably priced seafood chain. Tamarindo (La Jolla) - if you do Serenata and the kids like it this would be a great followup. Really cool room and you can make a feast from amongst their large list of small plates. Sammy's Wood Fired Pizza (all over) - turning into a national (or at least regional chain), and deservedly so. Excellent pizzas, salads and other stuff to enjoy. Rubio's Fish Taco's (all over) - getting more national every day, but with an excellent product. San Diego is home for them. I especially look forward to grabbing a couple when I take in a ball game at the Q. WayneG wrote: >Off to California for 3 weeks vacation with familly ( 3 kids- 11,9 & 5) >staying 10 days in Santa Monica, and 10 in San Diego- can anyone recomend >suitable restaurants for us and the kids? - ( they eat most things ( >Chinese, Japanese, Pizza, etc - but won;t eat Curry) > >[email removed] > > > >
San Diego, CA