A Utahn's perspective on the food in San Diego
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!