Food is AWFUL in San Diego UNLESS...... (live, shops)

[moved]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Probably the hardest one is finding a good BBQ place. Anywhere that cranks out a lot of it usually loses some QC. Iron Pig has good brisket, ribs ...probably lil piggy.

Beef ribs? I haven't found any place that can touch mine and I make my own sauce and rubs. (secret)

The best BBQ is Coops in Lemon Grove.

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by CNYC

...You stick to sandwiches, salads , or fruit.

The rest is hogwash and will kill you just as quick as booze, tobacco, and pills.

Ok I have been here for 3 years so I can rant if I wan't to. Sorry if this comes across anti-american on Memorial Day. My sincere apologies.

However I can't get over how pathetic the food scene is here in San Diego. It is dominated by fast food and semi fast food corporations who are the only ones able to afford the rent. Today was a huge reckoning moment for me...IHOP. Liquid eggs filled with pancake mix , red DEEP FRIED potatoes with raw onions and peppers sprinkled on top. Pancakes GLOBBED with butter. Just gross. Exploring food options is a hobby of mine but I will stick to Tijuana for it. I have had very little luck in San Diego. Some of the ok food places charge exorbitant prices so they might as well serve spam.

God Bless the little mexican taco shops ! Some of them are gems.

The supermarkets are where its at in SD. Just stick to fruits and salads with the occasional sandwich and you are good to go. No great asian food or diners or delis...nada. Good weather, weed , and proximity to Mexico .

NYC was worse. Great Food unaffordable prices. I don't know which is worse

It's not only San Diego. This entire country is ..........

Happy Memorial Day

I agree, Compared to NYC the food is Terrible.
I was born and Raised here San Diego but i have lived in, NYC South Bronx, Texas and Southern Louisiana and San Diego has the worst tasting food of all 3 IMO.
I once had a Chef tell me that "it's something in our Water here in California" that makes the food taste so bland.
Don't know how true it is but he was 5 star Chef that work all over world so who knows
I Love Coop's and i love Brazen BBQ but they fail in Comparison to Texas BBQ, hell even Southern Louisiana BBQ.
And This is coming from a life long San Diegan even the Mexican Food down in Ensenada taste better than the Mexican food up here IMO.

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by CNYC

...You stick to sandwiches, salads , or fruit.

The rest is hogwash and will kill you just as quick as booze, tobacco, and pills.

Ok I have been here for 3 years so I can rant if I wan't to. Sorry if this comes across anti-american on Memorial Day. My sincere apologies.

However I can't get over how pathetic the food scene is here in San Diego. It is dominated by fast food and semi fast food corporations who are the only ones able to afford the rent. Today was a huge reckoning moment for me...IHOP. Liquid eggs filled with pancake mix , red DEEP FRIED potatoes with raw onions and peppers sprinkled on top. Pancakes GLOBBED with butter. Just gross. Exploring food options is a hobby of mine but I will stick to Tijuana for it. I have had very little luck in San Diego. Some of the ok food places charge exorbitant prices so they might as well serve spam.

God Bless the little mexican taco shops ! Some of them are gems.

The supermarkets are where its at in SD. Just stick to fruits and salads with the occasional sandwich and you are good to go. No great asian food or diners or delis...nada. Good weather, weed , and proximity to Mexico .

NYC was worse. Great Food unaffordable prices. I don't know which is worse

It's not only San Diego. This entire country is ..........

Happy Memorial Day

Oh brother

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by eastcoastbias

I do my own beef ribs as well usually don’t order something like that out.

Where do you get your ribs? I’ve tried Seisels - very good kinda pricey. Believe it or not one of the better places I’ve bought short ribs- Food4Less. I was shocked- they were meaty and tasty

Depends. I normally call my Uncle on our ranch in CO and he ships me out half a steer. Sometimes local places like Vons are pretty much selling soup bones or they'll hide one underneath another and the bottom one looks like it was picked over by vultures. If I need to get local one of my favorite is a lil butcher shop in Valley Center and another in Chula Vista. Seisels is $$ but at least you know it's not only bones. As you said Food4Less has some deals on top of the cheapest for bulk beer too Right now they blow away Rite Aid or WM for domestic beer prices.

[Curious.In.California]

Originally Posted by CNYC

...You stick to sandwiches, salads , or fruit.

I eat a lot of fish so my go-to places are:

- Fish Shop (in PB or Encinitas). I always get 2 fish tacos a la carte and its not pricey at all. Fresh and flavorful.

- California Fish Grill (Mission Valley). Fairly new place, opened up less than a year ago. Same thing, I always get 2 fish tacos (although I have gotten their chimichurri chicken taco and it was very tasty).

- El Pescador (La Jolla). I actually preferred their smaller location...now its seems their prices are have gone up.

My other favorites around town:

- The Taco Stand (La Jolla). I've tried El Gordo but I prefer Taco Stand (plus, they offer a 10% discount when you check-in on Yelp).

- World Curry (PB). Love their veggie tikka masala w/ brown rice.

- Lil' Farmers Cafe (Kearny Mesa). Really tasty salads and grain bowls.

- Regents Pizza (UTC). I don't eat a lot of pizza but when I do, its here.

- Burgers: NO to Hodads (overrated, IMO). I had one at a Padres game and all I could taste was mayo and a dry bun. Ick. I prefer the little dive places like Bunz in Mission Valley or Twist in North Park.

Originally Posted by Mike930

Grand ole BBQ Y Asado on 32nd is really good.

Yes, they are very good!

Originally Posted by bloom

We're looking forward to your summer CityDataForum Bbq at your place; we all will bring the drinks and sides.

LOL! Yes, when should we all be receiving our invitations?

[msgsing]

Food is awful in San Diego. Good grief. Millennials are certainly found of hyperbole.

[NJ Brazen_3133]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

Sorry, but lots of basic foods are cheaper in New York than many other places, and that includes many southern US cities. Fresh fruit, vegetables, and bread are almost always cheaper in New York than Georgia, though packaged goods like cereals and processed foods are more expensive when not on sale. That said, the variety of food is greater and the quality is higher in New York. The rest of the US generally has poor-quality food compared to New York and to most countries in Europe. New York can be much closer to European quality and variety.

Absolutely agree about NYC RE -- rents and homeownership are more expensive in all 5 boroughs. If I ever leave NYC, it will be because of one thing: housing.

Are we talking about restaurant food that is prepped or food you buy in supermarkets now?

[NJ Brazen_3133]

Originally Posted by CNYC

Produce can be "affordable" at certain times of the year like summer for corn, cherries, and strawberries but the majority of the time it will cost you dearly.

Grapes were around $6 a pound when I left 3 years ago. Strawberries....forget about it. Even lettuce was rip off city.

Both New Jersey and Long Island have farms which truck to NYC but again the deal periods are very short lived.

Just by these few comments I can tell the poster is a gentrifier and not a native.

Long Island has few farms actually, and I doubt they are discount farms.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by CNYC

You guys and the IHOP comments are really juvenile. Obviously the thread is about food in SD as a whole. The last straw for me was getting pancake batter filled liquid eggs for $13 at IHOP. My point was even at a dump like IHOP they can't crack a few "real" eggs for you, and how pathetic is that at those prices ?

That's what IHOP meant to me. Usually real eggs are REALLY easy to get. Even airports serve real eggs.

Sorry, but anyone who even admits to going to IHOP has no business talking about food. You lost all credibility right there. Things get even better after raving about Texas Roadhouse and then complaining about how you can't get a good sandwich at any supermarket delis around here. LOL

And it's actually a huge compliment to San Diego that you can't decide whether the food scene in NYC is better or worse than here.

[jeena]

Originally Posted by BBslider001

I will definitely agree that it is overpriced. And you are correct....even Denny's these days is expensive in SD County.

Try Teri Cafe if you like Chicken Teryaki, good rice, and decent sushi. I would take my wife and kid there quite a bit because we could all eat well and have a Sapporo for less than $40. That was for 3 people with good appetites.

I haven't been visiting in North County for 13 years (I'm a New Yorker), but I still remember how expensive Denny's was for breakfast (about $8.99 back then (I think Denny's was in Oceanside or near it), I could get the same breakfast in a New York suburb diner for $1.99 back then, including the coffee. Today the same egg, potatoes, toast, and coffee breakfast costs $4.00 in NY!
I went to several good restaurants in Carlsbad, LaJolla, Coronado, and Balboa Park. As a matter of fact, my swordfish dinner at the Hotel Del Coronado on Good Friday was one of the best meals I ever had in my life! My friend wanted to eat Mexican all the time in North County, but when my blood pressure shot up the first two weeks I was there, probably from the salty food, I started to bring food home from Costco, Ralph's, etc. and an organic store in Oceanside and cook my own meals.