where to — san diego
nouveau season + bar siesta coming oh so soon
where to — san diego:
san diego to me is a surftown stuck in the nineties — offspring’s always on the radio though i don’t mind... fashion and overall feel’s just a littleee out of date, but that said, sd easily has the best mexican food in the states. yep, my hot take is san diego has better tacos + burritos than la. there, i said it! maybe it’s being closer to mexico, maybe it’s because i’m pescetarian and there’s more affordable mexican seafood taquerias in sd than la… i don’t know! la, i love you the most always, but i stand by this.
i grew up having family reunions in san diego so it has a soft spot in my adolescent heart. i thought i was a member of rocket power (woogity woogity woogity) and ate fat california burritos and churros along the boardwalk of mission and pacific beach with my cousins, where our big extended family would rent a place for the week. then more recently, my parents were living in la jolla so i found myself there at least once a month to hang and eat my fill of shrimp tacos till they returned back to atl (their loss!). so i have a good grasp on past and present san diego. full disclosure: not much has changed, but in a refreshing way. my full san diego guide with all my go-tos is complimentary for my lovely paid subscribers if you scroll down.
if you’re driving down from la to sd like me, break up the trip and pit stop in costa mesa at either wip goods (for a bfast burrito, cookie + capp combo) in the am and/or semi tropic wines (for a glass or bottle to go!) in the pm. or avoid traffic completely, and hop on the amtrak, staring out the window, all main character style while the coast blurs by you.
san diego’s more spread out than you’d think, so i’m going to bounce around the town here, but if i could only pick one coffee, one lunch, one dinner, etc., i’d go with… coffee + pastry at oliver coffea, lobster burrito (i modify no cheese no crema, add avo for truly one of my favorite meals) at bahia don bravo overlooking the water, walk down to blacks beach, fish + shrimp taco snack at oscar’s mexican seafood, bike / skate along the mission beach boardwalk, dinner at el pescador fish market, and end the night with a glass of wine at mabel’s gone fishing. just promise me that you’ll order at least one shrimp taco, and if you eat meat, a california burrito (fries, steak + guac) before heading back home.
la happenings + openings:
nouveau season! - nouveau sidewalk sips by r. o’neill latta & romain des grottes at psychic wines tonight / sat nov 16th 4-9pm
rasarumah - pearl river deli chef / owner johnny lee along with last word hospitality (found oyster etc.) bringing malaysian to beverly blvd in the next weeks
bar siesta - siesta co. + heather sperling of botanica join forces for a spanish tapas + wine bar at the old alimento space in silverlake opening later this month
baby bistro - joining (hopefully soon!) the echo park / chinatown cuspy courtyard home to bakers bench, heavy water, perilla + cassell’s
skyduster - your chef’s favorite beer’s working on a taproom at the former bar restaurant space in silverlake
ayoh - molly baz did it again with immaculately branded mayo based condiments launching nov 18th. sad to miss the launch party :/ but ready to up my condiment game at home
now playing:
all the things she said by t.a.t.u.
i was obsessed with anora the movie as is, but when this bop came on, i almost lost it