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What did we do while we were in San Diego? Hmm…let’s see. We ate. We drank. We ate some more….This is how we like to conquer a new city!
I always like to put together these little recaps of what we ate when we visited a particular destination – including the good, the bad and the meh. The blog can’t be all fluff right? You want honesty. So, to be honest, I’ve kind of put off writing this for far too long partly because I wasn’t in love with all the food we had in San Diego.
Visiting a new city presents itself with the challenge of having way too many food options, and deciding on where to eat and/or drink can often be a little overwhelming. We always end up scouring reviews and can still come up short when we do finally settle on places. So, while there were definitely some food hits, there were also some misses.
Here’s the recap on what we put into our bellies while visiting the classy city of San Diego!
Puesto
789 W Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101
https://www.eatpuesto.com
We started off our weekend of feasting at Puesto, which is in the marketplace right next to the hotel we stayed at, the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Since we were heading to a beer fest shortly after, we just got a couple of drinks and an appetizer (we thought we were going to be eating tacos at said festival, which never actually happened because the lines were too long and I literally drank too much got heatstroke way too fast…I’ll save that for another time though).
Happy Hour Drinks
We had the special Margarita of the Month (pepper margaritas) which were good but a wee bit pricey ($12 a pop), and then washed down our crab guacamole with some Mexican IPAs (our favorite was the Insurgente La Lupulosa from Tijuana).
In terms of ambiance, I loved the artwork and the vibe in there – very open, slightly industrial, and colorful.
Crab Guacamole
The crab guacamole was tasty, but I would say you don’t really need the crab to enjoy the guac. You can save $4 (probably more than that by now) by nixing the crab and going with the traditional guac, and put that $4 towards a taco.
Tacos!
On our last night in San Diego, we came back to Puesto! Why? I guess we wanted to empty our bank account. LOL. In all seriousness, this place is a little overpriced for what you get. However, I was really enticed by the photos of all their tacos on their website and didn’t want to experience fancy taco FOMO. By fancy tacos, I mean that Puesto’s tacos are not your traditional Mexican taco…it’s a more upscale interpretation which can be fun with the right ingredients.
Tamarindo Shrimp Tacos
I had the Tamarindo shrimp tacos, which the waiter said were his fav. I’ll give him that – the Tamarindo shrimp were good, especially with the guacamole; however…that’s ALL there was on the tacos…nothing else. I wish there could have been something more in the taco. Cabbage? Cilantro? Some kind of salsa? I dunno….maybe that’s just me being taco-topping greedy.
The tortillas: pros of the tortillas were that they are freshly made on site and are thick and fluffy. They won’t fall apart (which brings me back to my point of putting as much stuff in there as possible – they should take advantage of that!). Cons – not much flavor, which was especially disappointing given that the tacos weren’t filled with much.
Cost – We paid $18.00 for three Tamarindo shrimp tacos.
Other Tacos
Micah had the carnitas and one of the chicken tacos they offered at the time, and we split the lobster taco (at a premium of $3.50 extra). Cost for this taco plate in 2017 – $18.50.
I will say that these were better in that they had more toppings than the Tamarindo shrimp, offering a little more flavor diversity, as well as different textural components to the tacos. Would I probably get the lobster taco again? Nah. I think they excel in their non-seafood taco offerings which is just fine because that saves you a little $$$.
Tres Leches (the best part)
Last but not least, our waiter graciously brought us a dessert on the house (we did mention we were there for a belated anniversary weekend). This turned out to be the best thing we ate all night! It’s a tres leches with mocha and chocolate shavings.
I’m not normally a huge cake or tres leches fan for that matter, but this was damn good and it’s worth going to Puesto again just to eat dessert. Redemption.
All in all, I’d say we weren’t really too impressed with the tacos at Puesto that we tried, but I’d definitely be willing to go back and give it another shot! They do after all have quite an extensive vegetarian taco menu which I would definitely like try.
Petco Park Grub
Please excuse the unappetizing cell phone pics of my ballpark food…it was dark, and I was too hungry to grab the camera out of the bag.
Basically, ballpark food is ballpark food. We had these nachos (oddly topped with BBQ sauce) and they were alright…nothing amazing though.
Fish Taco Plate = Winner!
However, I was actually pleasantly surprised with this fish taco from one of the food stands. I would totally eat it again! Where else do you get fish tacos at a baseball game but in San Diego? The green sauce was good, and I of course enjoyed the side of white rice and black beans. A pretty good value if I must say.
Barleymash
6916, 600 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.barleymash.com/menu/brunch/
Brunch!!!! San Diego rivals my beloved Portland with the amount of brunch options that are available. We actually chose Barleymash when our first choice, Werewolf, had a very long wait and this was just around the corner…absolutely no wait and much roomier.
Build Your Own Bloody Mary
My favorite thing about Barleymash was their build your own Bloody Mary bar. Need I say more? They bring you a mason jar of vodka and you choose your tomato juice, hot sauce, seasonings, and skewer fixings. A fun twist on a brunch classic – which I very much appreciate because I always want more hot sauce and green olives! And yes, that is a giant stack of bacon for all you meatheads.
The Veggie Hash
I got the the veggie hash which was HUGE, with chunks of potatoes with zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, and melted cheese, all topped with a bourbon brown-butter hollandaise. I had mine sans fried eggs because I’m not a huge egg fan, but they come standard on the hash dishes. It was so much food – I could not finish it! I would definitely recommend sharing this dish for sure.
Pretzel Benedict
Then there was this red chili braised short rib benedict on top of pretzel bread for Micah (of course also topped with their yummy bourbon brown-butter hollandaise)! It’s nice to get creative with different variations of a brunch staple, and the pretzel bread is a unique choice over the traditional English muffin.
Gettin Hazy at Modern Times
3725 Greenwood St, San Diego, CA 92110
https://www.moderntimesbeer.com/locations/lomaland-fermentorium/
One of the main reasons we chose San Diego was because it’s an awesome beer destination. Being a fan of Modern Times, this tasting room was number one on our list. They actually have a few locations, but we took an Uber over to the Point Loma location on Greenwood Street.
Beware, on a hot summer day…well…it’s hot and humid in there. It was also pretty crowded as it’s a popular stop, but we found a spot on one of the couches to enjoy our beers.
Favorites at the time:
- Accumulated Knowledge – a juicy hazy IPA at 6.2% ABV
- Critical Band – another hazy IPA at 6.2% ABV (and also one of my favorite beers of 2017)
We also tried the Spaceship Earth, Attack Frequency, and Roots of Coincidence, which were all special release hazy IPAs. Gotta love those hazies!
Don’t forget to check out the Michael Jackson Post-it art on one of the walls there. I mean, you can’t really miss it…
Pizza Port Brewing
1956 Bacon St, San Diego, CA 92107
https://www.pizzaport.com/
A short Uber/cab ride away from Modern Times is the Ocean Beach location of Pizza Port Brewing, another brewery with some good IPAs (i.e. Swami’s is a go-to fav). It’s a very casual joint that would be a great place to bring your family.
It was a little crowded in there, but we were able to sit at the bar on the left when you walk in, which I recommend if you don’t want to be in the midst of the chaos. We were only here for a quick stop but we tasted the Jackhammer Dragon IPA, as well as the Jetty IPA.
A nice snack to have during your visit to Pizza Port is this Pizza Solana, with shrimp, clams, onions, olives, bell peppers and mushrooms. Why not get a pizza while at Pizza Port Brewing, am I right? We actually had a few pieces left over that we took back to our room for later and it was just as tasty cold!
The Oyster Bar SKC
*Sad news folks…the San Diego location of The Oyster Bar SKC has apparently closed…but you can still enjoy the flavors up at their Anaheim location.
So, we originally went to The Oyster Bar to get oysters, of course, for the big guy. However, they actually ran out by the time we got there! An oyster bar running out of oysters? Whoever heard of such a thing. We decided we’d still stay for dinner anyway because we didn’t really want to go searching for a new place to eat. It turned out to be a really great decision!
Here’s what we at at The Oyster Bar SKC:
Crab cocktail: I do love crab, but if I really knew it was just crab legs, I probably would have passed this up for something different. Not that it’s bad, it’s just nothing super special, you know? And your fingers get pretty crabby after cracking them open. Have no fear, their delicious Moscow Mules certainly made up for it.
Shrimp and Grits: The shrimp and grits were good – flavorful grits with perfectly seasoned/cooked shrimp.
Pan Roast: This my friends…is probably one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten! To describe it: it’s like a tomato-base seafood stew, with a nice serving of white rice. I seriously contemplated going back here one day just to shovel this in my mouth after I was already full from eating a bunch of tacos. We talked with the owner and he said that this is their most popular dish, and I can certainly see why. It was a little on the pricey side but so worth it for the flavor.
Have a little fun – write your creative oyster-related quote or phrase on the wall – “Shucknado” for us! Not sure if the Anaheim location also has this fun wall?
The Oysters: So, we eventually did get the oysters. Since they were out a few days prior, we had to come back before heading to the airport so Micah could get his fix.
Garage Kitchen & Bar
655 Fourth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
https://www.garagekitchenbar.com/
Brunch number two was at The Garage. We again tried to go to Werewolf and not wanting to wait too long, we wandered down a few doors to The Garage.
Breakfast Drinks
They have tasty Bloody Marys here, but also have these unique things called cereal shots! It actually looks like a little bowl of cereal in a shot. Some were good and some were a bit odd. For example: “Fruit Loops” made with 3 Olives Loopy Vodka and Rumchata; or the “Pancake Breakfast” made with Jameson, Buttershots, and OJ. The Rumchata is the alcohol that gives the shot it’s milky appearance, mimicking cereal milk. Quite an interesting concept and I recommend giving them a “shot.” Ha. Of course total photo fail because I didn’t even take a pic.
Chilaquiles Verde
Micah had the chilaquiles with carnitas, tomatillo salsa, house tortilla chips, an over easy egg and queso oaxaca. Kind of hard to go wrong with chilaquiles! This was definitely a winner.
Avocado & Lox Toast
I went with the the avocado and lox toast since I didn’t want to eat anything eggy for breakfast that day. It was a nice and light way to start the day. I enjoy being a basic avocado toast bitch every now and then anyway. And it’s certainly more worth the money when there’s smoked salmon on the toast!
And they have tasty cheddar and chive biscuits. I would have loved some veggie gravy on that though…
Oscar’s Mexican Seafood
927 J St, San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.oscarsmexicanseafood.com/
Helloooo fish tacos! I kept saying the whole trip I wanted to find a good fish taco place because that’s a huge thing San Diego is known for. With limited time in the city, we went with one of the top rated joints – Oscar’s Mexican Seafood.
We visited the location Downtown but the original location is actually their Pacific Beach shop.
It was so hard to choose because they offer so many variations but we ultimately decided on a variety of six tacos. And they were yummy. I have no complaints. They all seem to come with a different combo of their toppings – avocado, cilantro, cabbage, onion, and tomato – depending on which you get.
- Battered Fish Taco: The most affordable and simple taco. We got two because…$1.99…
- Smoked Fish Taco: One of their staples – and super delicious!
- Taco Especial: Smoked fish, shrimp & scallops all in one taco.
- Grilled Octopus Tacos: Gotta give that pulpo a little love too!
If you’re going for the basic battered fish or shrimp taco, they’ll set you back $1.99 or $2.99. When you get into ordering the specialty tacos, they get a little pricey at $4.50+ each. Even though the specialty tacos were some $$$ tacos, they were still delicious and I’d happily go back for more.
Favorites Recaps
Our San Diego adventures definitely had some highlights and we’d for sure be back for these delights:
- Pan Roast at The Oyster Bar SKC
- Fish/Seafood tacos at Oscar’s Mexican Seafood
- Bloody Mary bar at Barleymash
- Tres leches cake at Puesto
If you’ve been to San Diego before, are there any favorite foodie joints you could recommend to us for our next trip?
Happy eating!
Pin this post for your next trip to San Diego!
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