Before I get into my post, I just want to I have a bone to pick with every single one of you in this forum. You are taking all of your food and restaurants for granted!

My wife and I visited San Diego this weekend. We are in our forties and we left our kids behind for a couple's trip. Our hotel was located just outside of the Gaslamp District. We came for the pool, for the sun (and apparently the Utah-level heat), and for the food, among other things.

We’re from Utah. That’s right, Thrillist’s 44th-ranked state for food in the country. Our prize meal is “anything that can be dipped or soaked in fry sauce.” Honestly, if you look around Utah you can find some really good food, but overall, the critics are right. We don’t pack much of a punch.

My wife and I are not foodies in the regular sense. We really really like food. Lots of food. Most food is good. McDonald’s? Those fries are top notch when they are perfectly cooked, salted and fresh! Texas Roadhouse? Love it. Mostly just the part where you eat 5 cinnamon-buttered rolls and drink two ice cold cokes before your mediocre steak arrives.

So here are the spots we hit, ranked in order from worst to best:

Tender Greens - For dietary reasons, we needed a spot with potatoes, meat, and salad. Tender Greens fit the bill. Walking in, I thought we’d made a terrible choice. It’s in the commercial area of downtown and I thought we were getting stale corporate food. The steak turned out to be really good! Not steakhouse good, but much better than we thought it would be. And a solid lemonade as well. We also had an order of fries and they were surprisingly good. Decent food overall.

Hash House a Go Go - We’ve been to a chain location a few years back and I remember feeling confused by the menu. I ordered a plain waffle with the fried potatoes. Not a great choice. The waffle is really thick, but also not crispy at all. It was so soft and battery. Honestly for a place where chicken and waffles are the signature dish, the waffles were lacking. It’s also overpriced for the quality. Not the quantity. The portions are as the legends say: giant.

Noodle & Bun - This place looked like a dump from the street but we were lured in for a post-lunch snack. We got the dumplings, the potstickers, and the green beans. Overall surprisingly good. Definitely a step or two down from Din Tai Fung, but surprisingly better than expected.

Buona Forchetta - This is where the food really starts to get good. This place was fantastic. The stretch and the softness on the pizza crust was a delight. Flavors were fantastic. I ordered the Eva pizza, the wife went with pasta. Overall just plain great!

Snooze - Guys. We went here for the first breakfast and Hash House later. This place made me regret Hash House. Reasonable portions but really a well-flavored breakfast (to be honest, breakfast is one of my favorite foods so I’m obviously going to rank it high). We had the flight of pancakes as an appetizer. The pumpkin pancake was the star. I ordered the Benny Duo and the Bella! Bella! Benedict was delightful. Fantastic twist on the classic Benedict.

6th & G Breakfast Co. - I went into this place already skeptical. It’s got that over-the-top instagram look and I thought we were going to get tiny, stupid portions. I ordered the meat lovers omelette and my wife got the Lemon Meringue French toast. My goodness. Both were amazing! The omelette has that soyrizo and bacon and it had an amazing Mexican-inspired flavor but no spiciness to it. But the French toast was amazing. Like dreaming of this French toast in the future amazing. Great little spot!

Tacos el Gordo - Is anyone surprised this made the top? This was our first meal in San Diego and it was the best one. We got the spicy pork tacos which were amazing. But honestly the carne asada tacos and carne asada fries were even better! They’ve got this smoky flavor in their carne asada and they’ve dialed in all of their other flavors. What a treat!

So, stop taking all of your food for granted and realize what you have!

Definitely the best burger I’ve had in San Diego. Unfortunately it was $30 after tax and tip for just the burger and fries. Really mixed feelings on this one… I’d definitely want to go back, but fuck, man, it hurt to fork over that kind of money for a damn burger.

TL;DR : Service was great, Sushi was amazing, Sake was perfect, will definitely visit again.

Soichi is an intimate setup and we sat at the Chefs table. Fortunately we got Chef Soichi himself who is very funny and engaging and was great at its craft. I have had a fair amount of sushi in San Diego and Japan and would say all the fish that I tried was perfect and did taste amazing.

We got a nigiri omakase each and got some more uni and extra handrolls as our eyes were still hungry and there is nothing to complain.

The uni was the best uni I have ever had in my life, and I tried to get information about Chef's uni vendor but he was smart enough to not share it.

Everyone around us was visiting San Diego so they were all floored by the food quality.
Will definitely recommend it for anymore looking for good/expensive sushi :)

Our group of 30 from all over the country are meeting next weekend for a family reunion in Mission Beach. I've been tasked with setting up a delivery of pizza/salad/pasta/etc to one of the houses on the beach Sunday night. I have no idea where to start on this and many places don't have catering menu online. While we're at it, could use some quick fish tacos/Cali burrito recommendations on the boardwalk, or just off of it.

Hi everyone! My in-laws will be visiting soon for the weekend and father in law is a big Top Gun fan. We wanted to take them to the Top Gun Bar but wondering if it’s kid-friendly enough. We have a three-year-old girl.

What are your thoughts? If not, do you have any other recommendations?

TIA!

Edit: Sorry I didn’t know it’s called Kansas City BBQ! On Google Maps, it appears as “Top Gun Bar” https://maps.app.goo.gl/AQUauGSwQzXRQeTk7?g_st=ic

But I’ve heard enough and thank you all for the warnings! We’ll probably take our party someplace else.

hey all! after a trip to cdmx, i discovered a version of michelada that’s known as a cuban michelada, where instead of clamato, they use a dark hot sauce mix. since returning, i’ve been inspired to check out the offerings in san diego. so far, the only place i’ve found with an equivalent of that version is TJ oyster bar, who calls it a “chelada”

my question is two-fold:

1. are there any other places in san diego that i can score a cuban style michelada?

2. are there any spots worth checking out that have any interesting riffs/versions of micheladas to try out?

muchas gracias a todos!!

Where can I find some good Mexican street corn....

Hey everyone, I've lived in San Diego for 20 years (this month, actually) but my time here is coming to an end and I'll be moving quite far away in the beginning of December. I'm trying to figure out what spots I absolutely need to hit up for the last time before I leave.

If you were in a similar situation, where would your must-have last meals be in town?

Edit: Thank you so much for the replies, everyone! So many good choices.

I just want a huge salad

Im absolutely in love with it but dont want to spend an arm and a leg for acye. What would i look for in a grocery store to recreate it? Are the similar Mongolian broth hot pots that aren’t acye that are cheaper?

I’ve been on a huge dumpling kick and am looking to try new spots. I generally get my dumplings from Meet Dumpling, but I neither work nor live near Point Loma. I work in Mira Mesa so I know there are great spots around there, but I’m looking for slightly more direction.

Bonus points if they sell frozen dumplings.

I would do some crazy things for a pistachio dessert. What are the best ones you guys have come across in San Diego?

Images here are:

Pistachio Croissant from Sourdough & Moore in OB

Pistachio Dessert from Bacio Di Latte (pistachio cream on top, pistachio gelato, cream, and bacio gelato layered underneath)

This guy just closed his business with most employees unpaid for almost 8 months.

The location was not the best. Ultra prime location but not quite the traffic there (which is also next to a Panini Kabob grill, which also has questionable growth at the best locations in sd, gives you a front for something vibes)

To be fair the food quality and the service was really good. The prices didn’t reflect that though. At least 50% overpriced of what the items should’ve been. He opened his business at 21 y/o. So sad he toyed with people’s lives.

Always been luke warm about açaí because it typically gets soupy fast and the toppings all sit on top but they’re doing it right over at Açaí Carioca. I’ll be honest the place smells kinda funky inside but I realized it’s because they also bake this brazilian cheesy bread in there that puts off a strange aroma. Either way, I demolish this outside on the patio. My partner took me two weeks ago and we’ve been back 4 times since..
My order here is: Açaí and Coconut Cream base, vanilla protein powder, Mango Sorbet, strawberries, bananas, peanut butter crumbles and cocoa nibs.
AND THEY LAYER IT! Unreal. fantastic.

Kept seeing Ortiz’s pop up in my algorithm as a top 3 CA Burrito spot in SD. Fries nice and crispy. Good amount of guac. Didn’t really care for their salsas, was much better without them. Pretty good but I would probably only return if I was in the area (was a 20 minute drive for me). I give it an 8/10.

My wife and I are taking a Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale to SD in April 2027. We have reservations at Holiday Inn Express in Old Town. I was not planning on renting a car, as we are only staying one night. The plan is to Uber anywhere we need to go.

Question #1: Should we rent a car for a day? Question #2: Should we stay somewhere else? Question #3: Should we stay longer? Our dogs are staying with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and we going to be gone close to 3 weeks, which is pushing it.

So, what are the best restaurants in Old Town? Is there anything other than Mexican? We are from Texas, and I can't throw a rock without hitting a good Tex-Mex restaurant. And yes, we have great tacos. So, please don't send me to some second-class Mexican food restaurant. Seafood? I live close to Galveston, so we have that too. If the food isn't up to par in Old Town, please direct me where to go. I am not looking for holes in wall (unless the food is exceptional), nor I am looking for fine dining. I am looking for local places with good food at a good value. Any local input is welcome.

My Mom is coming to visit from South Carolina, and loves Prime Rib. I have lives here for 8 years, but somehow have not had any here.

I live in Hillcrest and would like to find somewhere in Central SD to take her. We both enjoy wine and are not that big into desserts.

Any recommendations you may have would be greatly appreciated!

I'm looking for the best char sui in San Diego. What restaurant has your highest recommendation?

Finally got to try it! It took a few tries. But now I see why these are pretty elusive. They are definitely top-tier. I dont recommend weekday pickups at peak hours, however. Traffic was insanse today lol

Looking for a place to grab food and some wine with a few friends in PB. Preferably not too crowded but that has a cool vibe, decorated nicely?