sdaints's Profile
San Diego CLOSED Restaurants - Replacement for old board.
I am pretty surprised by this. I have only been there once and it was crowded and it seems busy any time that I have walked by. Any reason as to why?
San Diego New Places Opening
Two other places that have signs up to open in Hillcrest are Freebirds World Burrito and Luna Grill. Freebirds is part of a chain from Texas that I had not heard of and is opening in the former Kemosabe. It looks like Luna Grill already has some other locations in SD, although I have never been to any of them. They are opening in the former Chef Wok location.
Neither of them sound like anything too exciting but I guess it is better than another pizza place.
http://freebirds.com/
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Luna Grill
7825 Highland Village Pl Ste 105, San Diego, CA 92129
Opening Day at Petco Park..Where to eat?
I went down to the game and enjoyed some great weather and the Padres win. I didn't have time to try a lot of the trucks but it was cool to see them all down there. I thought about getting something from Miho but decided to give the Patty Melt a chance. When I saw the $4 price tag I adjusted my expectations but I was still a little disappointed. The bread was dry and didn't seem like it had been cooked with everything as in a traditional patty melt. I wasn't that hungry but the size of the burger left me thinking "where's the beef". Obviously they are trying to keep the prices down but I would have rather paid a couple of dollars more and had a better melt.
Carlsbad strawberries
I have often wondered the same thing. The ones that I get at the grocery, whether it is Henry's, Trader Joes or somewhere else never seem to be that sweet. I think RB Hound's theory is a pretty good explanation. I don't always make it to the farmers market but is there a certain vendor that seems to have better strawberries that the rest? The last time I went to the Hillcrest one it seemed like there were tons of options.
San Diego CLOSED Restaurants - Replacement for old board.
I saw that Pizza Fusion has closed. There is a sign up saying that it is planning to reopen in the future with new chefs and an improved concept. There are so many pizza places that have opened within a few blocks of that location that I don't know how they could all survive.
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Pizza Fusion
, San Diego, CA 92101
Boudin Sausage
I am curious as to what your source is for Louisiana meats? I don't know how much you want to get, but you could try contacting one of the New Orleans grocery stores or butchers to see if they would ship it to you (Langensteins, Couchon butcher, Hebert's meats). It may not be practical but just an idea. Most of the stuff I have seen in SD has been the cooked variety. What are you making? I am from New Orleans and I don't think I have ever attempted to cook with Boudin.
San Diego New Places Opening
It is good to hear that they are putting out good food. I have not tried it yet but every time I walk by they are very friendly, although not very busy. They could work on the noise issue although living close by I don't find it that bad.
There are 2 other places opening within a couple of blocks of this place on 5th. Naked Pizza is opening next to Starbucks and Pita's Mediterranean is opening next to Chocolat, in a location where another middle eastern place used to be. Maybe that is what is in demand, but I don't understand opening another pizza place, especially when there is already one in the same block. I also can't believe that after all of the time that the space next to Chocolat sat empty (close to 3 years) it is being filled by another version of the last place that failed.
San Diego CLOSED Restaurants - Replacement for old board.
It was announced a few weeks ago but Kemo Sabe looks to be officially closed. I think there is talk of them maybe reopening in North County. I saw Sushi Itto in Hillcrest appears to be closed. No loss there as it was probably some of the worst sushi that I have had in SD.
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Kemo Sabe
3958 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103
Celebrate the Craft SD
I went to this event for the first time and I have to say although it is pricey, it was probably the best food and wine event that we have been to in San Diego. There were a lot of good wines, both from wineries that I was familiar with (Tablas Creek) and ones that I had not had before (Freestone, a new winery from Joseph Phelps). Not all of the food was stellar but there were a lot of great dishes. Some of my favorites were the Rabbit burger with some unusual condiments from Nathan Coulon (who was very nice) and Cafe Chloe, the Pacific Cod in an heirloom bean broth from Romesco, and the unbelievably fresh vegetables from Suzie's farms. The most unusual dish was the bone marrow custard, with onion puree and cowboy bacon from brandt beef and my favorite was the Taten tatin creme fraicite from Market. The weather was perfect and it is an incredible setting.
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Cafe Chloe
721 9th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
San Diego New Places Opening
It is not a "new" restaurant but I drove by the Hillcrest location of Burger Lounge and saw it was open for the first time. It must have opened within the past few days.
San Diego New Places Opening
Just to clarify, this is not the Busalacchi restaurant. That is being built a block away from this new place. I was talking to the people there about how it is strange that they closed the location they had on 5th, only to build a new location a block away. Maybe they got a better deal on the space.
I don't know anything about the food at this restaurant as it just opened yesterday but I am hopeful that we can get some better Italian food here. I was not blown away by it but I had a good meal at Bencotto a couple of months ago and the place was packed. It was definitely one of the better Italian places that I have tried in town.
San Diego New Places Opening
Did anyone ever eat at Cali Deli? Whenever I stopped in they said that they weren't serving food yet. Finally they did start offering sandwiches but before I could try it they had closed. It has to be close to a record for how quickly they closed. They literally seem to have spent longer perfecting the decorations. I feel bad for them.
On a positive note, I walked by Origano, a new Italian restaurant that opened yesterday, next to Pappalecco on 5th. I talked to a couple of the people there and they said that it is authentic Italian and they are making their own pastas. They seem to do a nice job renovating the space and they have an outdoor patio area as well. Their menu is not up yet but they seemed to offer a good mix of antipasta, pastas, and entrees .
http://osteriaorigano.com/
NO native needs comments on restaurant list
I wanted to report back on my NO trip. I know that Paisley was curious to hear about the rehearsal dinner at Calcasieu. This was my first time there so I can't compare it to their regular menu but I would say that everything was fine and the private room worked well. I would estimate there were about 70 people there and it was nice to have a private room, which I know can be hard to find at some places. They tray passed a couple of items--a goat cheese bruschetta and a onion olive tapenade. I am not a big olive fan but I thought that both were sort of typical as to what you would get at a dinner party. For dinner, we all got a salad, followed by our choice or chicken or fish. I got the fish and it was very plain and served over eggplant rice that didn't seem to have much eggplant. For dessert they served a good version of choc chip bread pudding. Overall, it was a nice event but as far as the food goes I would imagine there are better options.
We ended up going to Stanley's instead of Cake Caffe for brunch. It was packed but we didn't mind waiting. I got the french toast which was a bananas foster french toast. I was disappointed that they took a short cut and served raw banana slices over the french bread that had a sauce which resembled what you would find in bananas foster. The other people got the Stanley's benedict which they seemed to like but was very small and basic, especially for the price. I probably would not go back here.
Monday we went to Green Goddess for lunch. Even though we got there late, there was still a wait but it was worth it. They had a very interesting menu and executed well on all of the dishes. I would recommend trying this place and I would be interested in going back for dinner.
Monday night we tried Feast. I was excited to try it after all of the rave reviews. Overall, it is definitely a cool place and worth checking out. The scallops St. Jacques had a great presentation and the cheese with the scallops seemed to work. My wife was not crazy about the fish and scallop pie as it was mostly mashed potatoes with chunks of seafood inside. We tried the 1/2 pig head which was an incredible presentation but proved tough to get the meat off of it. There was a tremendous amount of fat on it and not as much meat. I would say you are better off with other options. Definitely try some of the extras. We really liked the bubble and squeak and the whisky prunes. Everyone at the table loved the pork rillions but I found them a bit tough, but still worth trying.
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Green Goddess
307 Exchange Place, New Orleans, LA 70130
Oton
I have not been here yet but it is on my list of places to try. It sounds like you got a lot of dishes. Was this for 2 people? Are the dishes more tapas sized or were some of these apps and other entree sized portions? Thanks for the detailed review. Makes me want to try it soon. I have heard that it is a small place. Is it necessary to make a reservation?
In-Fluence La Jolla
Yeah, they still don't have the liquor license yet but they claim they are getting it any day. One of the people we were going with really want to enjoy some wine with dinner so we are going to hold off on trying it for now. They told her that they are not allowed to let people BYOB. I am not sure on the laws on this but it seems to vary by restaurant. I still am curious to try it at some point but it doesn't look like I will make it this week. So, I am looking forward to hearing what other people say and to see if they like it as much as the people on Yelp and our friend.
In-Fluence La Jolla
This is a pretty new French restaurant that opened a couple of months ago and one of our friends raved about it. We may be going there this week so I was curious if anyone else had made it there and if so, what are your impressions? They don't seem to have a website but I did find a facebook page that has their menu. It is very limited and looks more like a RW menu the way it is set up.
If we go, I'll report back on my thoughts but in the meantime if anyone has any suggestions on must have dishes or ones to stay away from, let me know.
NO native needs comments on restaurant list
Thanks. I am leaning toward Feast at this point and will have to try Cochon on a future trip. I will report back on Calcasieu and let you know my thoughts.
I have had heard good things about Ralphs on the Park but I think we are looking for something more casual for brunch. I would like to make it there at some point.
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Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130
NO native needs comments on restaurant list
I am staying in the FQ and will have access to a car so that is not an issue. I have been to Clancy's, Galatoire's and Bon Ton multiple times before and want to try something different. Just to clarify, I am not looking for a fancy place for brunch, just a place with good food. I loved Elizabeth's when it was actually owned by Elizabeth but when I have gone there since I was disappointed. Herbsaint and Emeril's are both good but I have been to those as well. As part of the wedding weekend we are going to Calcasieu but it is a set menu. Anything great there I should try?
Ggordi1--thanks for the feedback. Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing that Green Goddess has different chefs for lunch v. dinner. I would like to try it, Cochon, Iris, and Feast but I only have 1 dinner open. Is there one you would suggest if I am looking for a stand out meal? At this point I am leaning toward either Cochon or Feast. Your review of Feast and the menu is what made me want to try it. I considered trying to go to Cochon for lunch but I don't know if the timing will work.
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Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Emeril's Restaurant
800 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130
Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
Bon Ton Cafe
401 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Green Goddess
307 Exchange Place, New Orleans, LA 70130
NO native needs comments on restaurant list
I am from NO and have eaten at a lot of the good restaurants throughout the city. I now come back a couple of times a year and always like checking out new places and old favorites. This time I am coming back for a wedding so I will have limited time to go to restaurants. I basically have Sunday brunch/lunch and lunch and dinner on Monday. I know that some places are closed on Monday. Here are some places that I am considering. Let me know if you have any comments or other suggestions of new places I am missing.
Cake Caffe-this is where we are planning for Sunday brunch but if there is a better option let me know
A Mano
Feast--it just opened but the menu sounds very interesting
Couchon
Iris--is it anything special or just a good place?
Luke--I have been to August and La Provance but not his other restaurants
Green Goddess--for lunch
To give you an idea the last time that I was in town we ate out at a bunch of places. I really enjoyed Bistro Daisy, Patois and loved Bouchiere. We had a great lunch at Bayona and I also liked Coquette but probably not as much as the others. Feel free to suggest places that have been around for a while but I am mainly interested in newer ones (last 3 years) as I am less likely to have been there.
Thanks.
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Bayona
430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112
Bistro Daisy
New Orleans, LA, New Orleans, LA
The Super Stews of Super Cocina [Review] w/ Pics!
That was a great review and some awesome pictures. I have been meaning to go back to SC and now I am feeling like I need to go even sooner. My Spanish is very limited so I sometime don't get a full appreciation for everything that is going on in the dishes there so it is good to read a more detailed description.
Bencotto
We had a bottle of a pretty good blend (cab, merlot and zin) for under $40. I believe it was called 3 kings or something like that.
Bencotto
I went there for the first time this weekend and overall I enjoyed my meal. It is definitely a busy and noisy place although the people who I went with said that the restaurant had taken some measures to reduce the noise problem. The meatball starter was simple but good with a spicy tomato sauce. I was not a huge fan of the fried zuchinni blossoms. They were fine but nothing I would get again.
I really enjoyed the pumpkin ravioli that I had but I was not as crazy about the papperdalle with the bencotto sauce. The pasta itself really stuck together and the sauce was not very flavorful even though it had been described on the menu as spicy. On a positive note, the tirmasu was one of the better versions that I have had in a long time. This is a fun place with very reasonable prices so I plan to go back to try some other things on the menu.
spinoff post - is san diego really ready for food trucks??
I think it depends more on the people than where they are from. A lot of the people we know are adventuresome when it comes to eating so they are always excited when I tell them about a new taco truck or about having lunch in someone's driveway. I agree that generally people in SD may not be as into following food trucks around but I think there is definitely a segment of the population that would be into it. I have tried a few of the trucks around town and have enjoyed them all. I want to try MIHO and I thought Tabe sounded good as well but it seems to get some mixed reviews on the board.
Il Postino - North Park / Smoking Goat - North Park
I thought it sounded like a good new addition so I tried it for lunch. We had the bbq pork sandwich and the short rib sandwich. Both were fine but neither left me wanting to rush back any time soon. The bread seemed to be over buttered and the pork was a bit on the dry side. They did a nice job renovating the place and the people were nice so I hope it does well. Our fries were crisp but I didn't notice any truffle oil and they just seemed like ordinary fries.
Food trucks in SD...where are they?
I don't know if it is still true but when I ate there in Mira Mesa, the owner said that they serve lunch at Qualcomm every weekday.
Yeah, most of the trucks seem to do well and I enjoy eating at them so it is too bad that there aren't more of them and that some of the higher end restaurants don't experiment with having trucks as has happened in LA.
Cohn restaurants- if you had to choose one (SD)
I have not been to all of their places but of the few that I have tried I like Kemo Sabe and Indigo Grill the best. I would probably say that Indigo has a more interesting menu. I know that a lot of people are not fans of the Cohn restaurants. Personally, I think some of their restaurants are enjoyable. I had a similar experience to you at Corvette and probably wouldn't go back there. I agree that it might not be the best food in town but they do some things well and it is certainly better than going to a chain restaurant.
King Cake in San Diego?
It turns out I was a little late with Opera. I called them and they did one but it was only if you pre-ordered it for delivery yesterday.
King Cake in San Diego?
I saw some people on facebook talking about 12th night and eating king cakes and it made me wonder whether there are any places in SD to get a decent king cake. I did a search and found some people on yelp saying that Opera Patisserie does one. Has anyone tried one from there or anywhere else? I am from New Orleans so I am not expecting the real thing but would be willing to try some here to see what they are like.
Looking for a few good recommendations for the San Diego area...
Is this a new truck or one that has been there? Do you know what hours/days they are there? There are a number of trucks and small places that I have seen in that area but I haven't tried too many. Any others that you would suggest trying?
Commodity Beef [split from California]
Not to turn this into a meat lesson, but I am trying to get a better understanding of some of the terminology here. I tried looking it up but didn't find what I am looking for. You said that Whole Foods carries organic and pastured meats. Is it labeled this way or is all organic meat also pastured? Is grass fed meat always organic? It seems like an animal can organic even if it is fed corn but maybe I am missing something.
I might try getting some of the chickens from Curtis Womach at the farmers market. Where is the market does he usually set up? Does he sell only whole chickens? If so, about how much are they? Thanks for the information.
