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Old 01-30-2013, 06:07 PM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
3,545 posts, read 6,004,170 times
Reputation: 4096

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Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurbanite View Post
Nice to see that we are hitting up some of the same dives around town But no Royal Mandarin for the salt and pepper chicken wings?

For Asian (and other ethnic, too), check out the mmm-yoso's food blog. This guy does "Hole in the walls" real well.

mmm-yoso!!!

Another fun one to check out is Convoy Conquest. Two girls grazing up and down Convoy.

Convoy Conquest
mmm-yoso is one of my faves. Haven't seen Convoy Conquest before, can't wait to get home so I can peruse it properly!
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Old 01-30-2013, 06:25 PM
 
Location: Sandy Eggo - Kensington
5,291 posts, read 12,692,362 times
Reputation: 3194
Quote:
Originally Posted by earlyretirement View Post
I don't know San Diego nearly as well as all of you locals and those that have lived here many years. One thing I noticed however is that many locals just don't embrace restaurants and dining out and the appreciation of great food like other cities I've lived in. In other cities I've lived in, people will get together more often and it's not uncommon for me to go to lunch or dinner several times a week and spend hours in a restaurant eating/chatting/etc.
I think the above depends on your circle of friends, lifestyle and area of town you live in. When I go to dinner with friends, it's never just to eat, but also to catch up and enjoy each others company. Sometimes we'll grab dessert at another place, then a beer afterwards, which drags the evening out even longer. I thought all dinner parties did that? LOL
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Old 01-30-2013, 06:29 PM
 
Location: Santaluz - San Diego, CA
4,498 posts, read 9,353,375 times
Reputation: 2015
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurbanite View Post
I think the above depends on your circle of friends, lifestyle and area of town you live in. When I go to dinner with friends, it's never just to eat, but also to catch up and enjoy each others company. Sometimes we'll grab dessert at another place, then a beer afterwards, which drags the evening out even longer. I thought all dinner parties did that? LOL
Oh yes sdurbanite! I'm the same way. We spend quite a bit of time in other countries where they embrace the whole "dining out" experience and spending time with friends. It's funny in some countries we go to where you might have a reservation at 8 or 9 PM and they will just block out the table the entire evening as they don't expect you will leave before 12 PM or so. And they wouldn't even dream about bringing the check over until you ask for it or trying to rush you out to seat another party.

Long dinner, dessert, coffee/drink, etc. Man you sound like my kind of people... LOL.
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Old 01-30-2013, 06:36 PM
 
Location: Sandy Eggo - Kensington
5,291 posts, read 12,692,362 times
Reputation: 3194
Just wondering, everyone keeps comparing SD's dining scene to other places, but no one is naming names! What cities are you guaranteed not to have even a mediocre meal? Lots of great restaurants in NYC, but there are just as many bad ones. The worst Chinese I've ever eaten was in NYC Chinatown.
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Old 01-30-2013, 06:37 PM
 
Location: Sandy Eggo - Kensington
5,291 posts, read 12,692,362 times
Reputation: 3194
Quote:
Originally Posted by earlyretirement View Post
Long dinner, dessert, coffee/drink, etc. Man you sound like my kind of people... LOL.
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Old 01-30-2013, 06:56 PM
 
Location: 92037
4,630 posts, read 10,236,439 times
Reputation: 1955
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurbanite View Post
Just wondering, everyone keeps comparing SD's dining scene to other places, but no one is naming names! What cities are you guaranteed not to have even a mediocre meal? Lots of great restaurants in NYC, but there are just as many bad ones. The worst Chinese I've ever eaten was in NYC Chinatown.
That's because no respectable Chinese would eat at one there (actually there aree a few, but tgats about it). Its Just like a Euro 'Italian' eating in Little Italy. lol

Napa and Sonoma come to mind as well as Grand Forks. Their Olive Garden is the one to rule them all
Marilyn Hagerty's Olive Garden Review For 'Grand Forks Herald' Goes Viral
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Old 01-30-2013, 07:07 PM
 
Location: Sandy Eggo - Kensington
5,291 posts, read 12,692,362 times
Reputation: 3194
Quote:
Originally Posted by earlyretirement View Post
I dine out with friends a few times a week and we always try to go to a new place each week and I've very rarely had a truly bad meal here.
In addition to Jenkay's suggestions and without being too obnoxious, here are a few places to check out that I've always enjoyed. Will any of them be the best meal of your life? Probably not, but the combination of food and atmosphere should make for a nice evening out with friends. Keep in mind, these are close to where I live so you'll have to make the drive South......


Cowboy Star
Blue Boheme
Ave 5
Alchemy
Bankers Hill
Hane
Izakaya Masa
Amarin Thai
Yu Me Ya (Del Mar, also)
Carnita's (outdoor seating only, so bring a jacket)
Jayne's Gastropub
Cafe 21 (Normal Heights location)
Local Habit
Brooklyn Girl
Red Door
Cafe Bleu
Starlite
Pomegranate
Urban Solace
Alexander's
The Linkery (Some people hate it, I like it)
Saltbox
Barrio Star
Counterpoint
El Zarape
Plumeria (Will make you change your mind about vegetarian)
Muzita
The Lion's Share
Tractor Room (across from Hash House A Go Go)
Hash House A Go Go (People hate the big portions)
Parkhouse Eatery
Urban Solace
Basic (Thin Connecticut style pizza)
URBN (Basic's cousin)
Soltan Banoo
The Smoking Goat
Arrivederci
Origano
Il Postino
Davanti Enoteca (made Bon Appetit's 50 best restaurant list last year)
Bice
Blue Water
Farm House
Cueva Bar (next door to Farm House)


For dessert, check out DBar (Dinner served, also) Extraordinary Desserts or Chocolat

Bon Appetit!!
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Old 01-30-2013, 07:09 PM
 
Location: Santaluz - San Diego, CA
4,498 posts, read 9,353,375 times
Reputation: 2015
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurbanite View Post
Just wondering, everyone keeps comparing SD's dining scene to other places, but no one is naming names! What cities are you guaranteed not to have even a mediocre meal? Lots of great restaurants in NYC, but there are just as many bad ones. The worst Chinese I've ever eaten was in NYC Chinatown.

I think you definitely can't expect to always find a bad meal in most major metro city. You're right there are just as many bad restaurants in NYC as good ones and you can't even always go by some of the review sites as they aren't always accurate and also many places have hit and miss meals depending on when you go.

My favorite restaurant cities:

- Paris
- San Francisco
- Buenos Aires
- Rome
- Portland
- Barcelona
- Chicago
- New York City
- Toronto



Cities that sometimes get lots of raves from foodies but I felt are a bit overrated are Seattle, Santa Fe, Austin and San Antonio.

This is considering at least 2 weeks in each of these cities dining out. Not to say you can't find GREAT restaurants in these cities but I felt they were a bit hyped up.



Quote:
Originally Posted by sdurbanite View Post
In addition to Jenkay's suggestions and without sounding too obnoxious, here are a few places to check out that I've always enjoyed. Will any of them be the best meal of your life? Probably not, but the combination of food and atmosphere should make for a nice evening out with friends. Keep in mind, these are close to where I live so you'll have to make the drive South......


Cowboy Star
Blue Boheme
Ave 5
Alchemy
Bankers Hill
Hane
Izakaya Masa
Amarin Thai
Yu Me Ya (Del Mar, also)
Carnita's (outdoor seating only, so bring a jacket)
Jayne's Gastropub
Cafe 21 (Normal Heights location)
Local Habit
Brooklyn Girl
Red Door
Cafe Bleu
Starlite
Pomegranate
Urban Solace
Alexander's
The Linkery (Some people hate it, I like it)
Saltbox
Barrio Star
Counterpoint
El Zarape
Plumeria (Will make you change your mind about vegetarian)
Muzita
The Lion's Share
Tractor Room (across from Hash House A Go Go)
Hash House A Go Go (People hate the big portions)
Parkhouse Eatery
Urban Solace
Basic (Thin Connecticut style pizza)
URBN (Basic's cousin)
Soltan Banoo
The Smoking Goat
Arrivederci
Origano
Il Postino
Davanti Enoteca (made Bon Appetit's 50 best restaurant list last year)
Bice
Blue Water
Farm House
Cueva Bar (next door to Farm House)


For dessert, check out DBar (Dinner served, also) Extraordinary Desserts or Chocolat

Bon Appetit!!
Holy cow! What a great list. I've been to several of these places and all were great meals but I haven't been to many of them. I'm going to make it a point to try one of these each week until I hit them all. Hey, I'm hitting Urban Solace tonight. Thanks for sharing!



Quote:
Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd View Post
T Their Olive Garden is the one to rule them all
Marilyn Hagerty's Olive Garden Review For 'Grand Forks Herald' Goes Viral

OMG! Too funny! See I told you guys that some people consider Olive Garden "fancy dining out". LOL.

Last edited by earlyretirement; 01-30-2013 at 07:19 PM..
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Old 01-30-2013, 07:10 PM
 
Location: Sandy Eggo - Kensington
5,291 posts, read 12,692,362 times
Reputation: 3194
Quote:
Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd View Post
That's because no respectable Chinese would eat at one there (actually there aree a few, but tgats about it). Its Just like a Euro 'Italian' eating in Little Italy. lol

Napa and Sonoma come to mind as well as Grand Forks. Their Olive Garden is the one to rule them all
Marilyn Hagerty's Olive Garden Review For 'Grand Forks Herald' Goes Viral
I knew better but I had to do it, right? Queens is where it's at, but trust me when I say that some places looked too dirty, even from the outside! It's sorta like going to El Indio for Mexican.
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Old 01-30-2013, 07:26 PM
 
Location: Poway
1,445 posts, read 2,729,970 times
Reputation: 954
Quote:
Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd View Post
That's because no respectable Chinese would eat at one there (actually there aree a few, but tgats about it). Its Just like a Euro 'Italian' eating in Little Italy. lol

Napa and Sonoma come to mind as well as Grand Forks. Their Olive Garden is the one to rule them all
Marilyn Hagerty's Olive Garden Review For 'Grand Forks Herald' Goes Viral
The two Chinese-born engineers running the team at one of my former companies took everyone out for a traditional Chinese meal for a get together.

We went here:

Chin's Seafood & Grill
9355 Kearny Mesa Road
San Diego, CA 92126

I can't pronounce any of the items that we ate, but it was very delicious.

It's near Miramar Rd. and I-15.
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