At the low end of the price curve try: Rubio's has fish tacos ( very good, very low cost ) and other standard Mexican dishes. Look in the phone book it has several locations. Roberto's and Alberto's are competing chains of Mexican restaurants ( also very good, very low cost ). Look in the phone book for locations. Some even have 24 hour drive thru. Try getting some takeout from the Roberto's on Via Del Valle in Del Mar and eating while enjoying the view at the Torrey Pines Beach. Las Olas is a Mexican place in North County right near the beach. I forget the exact town ( maybe Solana Beach, it's been a few years since I've lived in San Diego ), look in the phone book. Try Sluggo's in the La Jolla ( or maybe it's called Birdrock by then ) neighborhood of San Diego. It has your basic food groups like polish sausage, hot dogs, and hamburgers in a Chiacgo motif. They even have the Chicago Tribune Newspaper for your reading pleasure. Watchout San Diego has plenty of those places where you get a small scrap of food that is artfully arranged on a plate and the chef or the owner stop by to ask if you're enjoying your dining experience.
San Diego, CA
Suggestions in (or near) San Diego
Someone wrote: >I will be in the San Diego area next week and would like any suggestions on >where to find good food at reasonable prices. > >Thanks in advance. Chris. > > I posted a request much like this a few weeks ago, and many nice people contacted me with suggestions. First of all, thanks to everyone who responded to my post (I tried to thank everyone individually, but in case I missed anyone...), and here is a report of what I tried. Cafe Japengo: I must have eaten here 5 or six times. The conference I was at took place at the Hyatt Regency Aventine, and this restaurant was in the same complex. In fact, you could charge meals to the room! I ate mostly at the sushi bar where everything was good, but particularly recommended were the rainbow roll, the volcano, the special california, and anything with spicy tuna. I also ate at the restaurant twice. The cuisine there was "pacific rim", and quite good and unusual. Cilantro's: in Del Mar. Nouvelle Southwestern, and they have red corn tortillas! The food was good, although not as innovative as Japengo. Still worth the trip. Pacifica Del Mar: seemed like basic California cuisine, but very well done. The view from the balcony was great. Recommended for lunch. The Big Kitchen: for breakfast, what a great steer. Go not only for the food, but also for the atmosphere which is 60's and great. The Blue Bird: in Solena Beach. I was actually a bit underwhelmed by this place. Okay food, but not really worth the drive. Also, it was very hard to find. Old Town Mexican Cafe: A lot of people wrote that the mexican food in old town was not that great, so I wasn't planning to try any, but the last day we were there we did go to old town, and when I saw people making tortillas in the window, I had to try some. We kept it simple: a choriza and potato soft taco, and a carnitas buritto. And, we got extra tortillas. We got these to go, and had a picnic. Messy, but great, and this way we didn't have to eat any food on the flight home. Starbucks: I need my coffee in the morning, and this was a great place to get it. There are lots of them around, but we tried the one in La Jolla. Afterwards, you can go for a walk by the water and see the sea lions on the rocks. Wonderful. /C
Someone wrote: >Roberto's and Alberto's are competing chains of Mexican restaurants >( also very good, very low cost ). Look in the phone book for >locations. Some even have 24 hour drive thru. Try getting some takeout from >the Roberto's on Via Del Valle in Del Mar and eating while enjoying the >view at the Torrey Pines Beach. Actually, I'd be hard pressed to call Roberto's or Alberto's *restaurants*, unless you count fast food places as restaurants. This isn't a slam against Roberto's or Alberto's -- I'm a loyal customer of Roberto's, in fact -- it's just that they're more of take-out places. Speaking of Roberto's, there seems to be some unwritten rule in San Diego county that all taco and burrito shops must end in "berto's". A while ago, someone compiled a list of all of the Mexican food places with "berto" in their name: - - -
Caroline B. wrote: >Starbucks: I need my coffee in the morning, and this was a great place to >get it. There are lots of them around, but we tried the one in La Jolla. Try The Pannikin instead. They're a small local outfit with maybe a half dozen stores around San Diego and North County. I personally like them because they're not as franchisey-plasticy as Starbuck's and it's nice to support a local business if one can. They have two locations in La Jolla, one with a killer view, and another in Del Mar, as well as, as I said, a few more locations around the area. [No, I don't have any financial or other interest in The Pannikin -- I just buy my coffee and have lunch there every once and a while] spl