Many people refer to San Diego as a Mecca for Foodies, and I believe it was a trolley driver who said you could try a different restaurant every night for 3 years and still not exhaust the possibilities. That, my friends, is a LOT of restaurants. In this post I will weave in my thoughts about six of them.
As far as sightseeing goes, after you’ve “done the zoo,” I believe you’d enjoy strolling through all that Balboa Park has to offer, taking the Old Town Trolley Tour, and driving across the bridge to Coronado Island for shopping and some lunch. But, my favorite spot was right on the harbor beside the USS Midway. Steve toured the Midway in honor of his dad who served in the Navy and was in the Pacific during WWII. I strolled around outside and found “A National Salute to Bob Hope and the Military.” It was wonderful. The sculptures are so well-done, and there is a continuous soundtrack of Bob Hope entertaining the troops stationed far away from home in times of war. It brought back so many memories of watching TV specials of him doing that very thing around Christmas time when I was growing up. It’s a must-see, in my opinion.
If you can spare a day while you’re in the San Diego area, I would highly recommend finding La Jolla Cove. The water is cobalt blue. There’s a jagged section of coastline with crashing waves, pelicans, seals, and sea gulls. It will remind you of scenes around the Mediterranean with colorful houses in layers on the cliffs overlooking the shoreline. Strolling through the village, you will find unique shops, such as Cote Sud, a French tablecloth shop and several amazing art galleries. Our favorite was Mangelsen Images of Nature Gallery. Spectacular photography. I loved the fact that you could hear church bells play a snippet of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” every hour on the hour. We had lunch at Georges at the Cove — wonderful food prepared by Trey Foshee a famous chef in that part of the country. When I say we had fish tacos and tuna melt, it sounds very plain and ho-hum, but I can assure you that both of those items were extraordinary.
We actually spent the night at The Bed and Breakfast Inn at La Jolla. Steve and I are still debating whether we had a small room or a large closet — let’s just say it was tiny — but the great smells of homemade cinnamon rolls and brownies offered as we checked in, chased away our complaints. Breakfast the next day consisted of fresh fruit, quiche, sausage links, broiled tomatoes and blackberry sorbet. Our table companions were delightful — a hiker from Baltimore, an 80-year-old lady from Scotland, and her son and daughter-in-law from Vancouver. Imagine that conversation. 🙂
For the rest of our time in San Diego, we stayed at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. It is in a great location, and our corner room had large picture windows overlooking the bay in two different directions. Be sure to get the add-on deal to include parking and breakfast. The wonderful buffet at their restaurant, Vela, could make usual buffet-haters into buffet-appreciators. Smoked salmon for breakfast? Why yes, I believe so.
Other restaurants I would recommend:
Hash House A Go Go at 3628 5th Avenue in San Diego. Take a look at what they call a chicken pot pie. A farm-to-table showcase.
The Fish Market at 750 Harbor Drive. Steve had fresh Pacific yellowtail. I had Idaho rainbow trout. And we shared a delectable slice of key lime pie. Oh my goodness.
Miguel’s Cocina in Old Town. We shared a chimichanga and pollo asado burrito. Excellent.
Filippi’s Pizza Grotto in Little Italy. Hands down, our favorite place in or around San Diego. You will never forget the smells. The looks of the outside might make you keep on walking. It’s in the back of a family-owned storefront, but PLEASE go on inside. It tastes authentically Italian and outstrips Olive Garden by a LONG way. We shared lasagna and eggplant parmesan with meatballs. Momma Mia!
Have you booked your plane ticket? Go on. What’s keeping you away? Life is short. There’s a great big world out there.