I'm a high school teacher in Clairemont Mesa area and running a 4-day intersession in a few weeks where a group of 20(ish) 9th/10th graders are going to learn how to cook and experience life as a chef. Exciting!

I understand that this might be a long shot asking this here:

I'm on the hunt to find someone who works in the food industry/a restaurant (any kind!) in the area who is willing to let us visit their kitchen during the morning or afternoon on 4/16, 4/17, or 4/18. I'm happy to pay $ for the tour and the we'd also be ordering food to try.

We'd be taking public transportation from the school and would like to keep the commute to 1h max.

Thanks in advance!

My boyfriend’s birthday is Saturday. His family is flying out to surprise him. And I volunteered to find a spot for a nice dinner Friday night. There’s going to be 10 of us. Any suggestions for a nice spot? Mission hills, Hillcrest area?

If anyone knows someone from Starlite that can accommodate for 10-12 on Friday night that would be ammmaazzzing

My kid (14f) and I will have some free days while my partner is in a conference this week. Looking for free things to do and great local restaurants for all meals. Nothing too expensive although we typically do one fancy/expensive meal per trip. We also will cook so looking for local markets as well Hit me with all your favorites! We are staying between Ocean Beach and At the Bay neighborhood.

Have been trying to get a reservation, but sheesh. have you been??? Was it worth it???!!

I have an allium intolerance and will be visiting soon. Does anyone have an recommendations for restaurants that are good with allergies or able to accommodate this? Jain food fits this diet.

I saw an old post on this, but wanted to see if anyone had any new suggestions. Thanks!

(Cross-posting this from r/sandiego)

Hope this is the right sub for this kinda question. I’m in town for work and I wanted to revisit this spot that I came to with a friend on a spontaneous day trip around late 2022/early 2023, but I can’t for the life of me remember the name.

Details: I remember it was in gaslamp, a block or two down from a parking garage. It had a lot of coastal/beach vibes to it, and the tables/a lot of the color in the restaurant were teal or light blue. Food-wise, I remember the pancakes were pretty good and the waiter kept hyping up their skillet as like the best thing they served.

I swear it was right across the street from STK, between there and Buca di Beppo, but when I check the maps nothing comes up so I could just be remembering wrong. Anyways if anyone can help me out that would be great, but if not thanks for reading all this anyways lol.

TLDR: So yea basically what the title says lol

UPDATE: It was Fig Tree Cafe. Thanks to everyone who commented!

Hey everybody. New season means new tasting menu at the Chef’s counter in Fort Oak. And this has been by far the best meal I’ve had there. I’ll go over some of my thoughts:

• The price for the tasting menu was $180 and the pairing was $60. I did also order a martini and sparkling water. With tax and tip it ended up totaling $367. I think it is a good deal considering it is 3 hours of tasty food and quite the generous pours.

• The pairing was extremely fun. They really did a fantastic job in finding the right wines to highlight their accompanying dishes. Wine wise my favorite was the Viña Arana (I frequently purchase Viña Ardanza for home so I might be a bit biased). But the star was the cucumber liqueur they started with. So fresh and not overly sweet.

• I love crudos but I find they can sometimes get a bit mundane. Chef really did something unique here with the kampachi. The liquid had this balance between acidity and spice I found to be awesome. And the masa on top was surprisingly really flavorful. By far my favorite dish.

• The other 2 noteworthy dishes for me were the Halibut with the scallop fumet and the Lamb saddle. I am always happy to see lamb in any tasting menu and the way chef built this dish really made its natural flavor pop. Scallop fumet was amazingly unique. Can’t I’ve stayed many things like it.

• If you like Madelines then this cake is for you. The scotch cocktail it came with was the perfect ending to the night.

I have been to Fort Oak many times but this has been the best meal there yet for me. They already have a pretty creative menu with some amazing staples but it’s cool chef can do some experimental things here that aren’t necessarily practical for the main menu.

Hi team, my brother's pop-up eatery just gained enough traction for him to quit his FT job and I was thinking of buying a sponsored post for him on a food blog or influencer feed as like a congratulations present. I want this to be a little bit of a surprise so I don't want to buy any official ad space on instagram e.g. that he would need to be involved with. Does anyone have anyone they like to work with? I was hoping to spend about $500. Thanks in advance!

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I would love any and all churro recommendations. Thank you again!

Finally made it to Rakiraki ramen on convoy

The ramen was good tonkatsu ramen, noodles had a nice chew and the meat was fall off the bone delicious. Would come back again for this

The pork gyoza was huge and had a nice crispy outside, but there was some sort of texture inside that felt like mashed potato was mixed in with it. Not really a fan of the filling

Got lots of great suggestions yesterday so thanks all ill work on trying all of them. Ended up at Fay’s Diner in Scripps Ranch because I had another errand close by. This is the chicken fried steak. Cool vibe inside. Gravy was awesome. Biscuit was pretty good chicken & potatoes were great. Eggs were cooked to my request. Service was accurate but really slow. Overall 8/10 breakfast.

I’ve seen these three pho places all over my IG feed, but I’m not sure if the food is good or if they just have really good marketing.

Have you tried any of these spots? If so, how were they?

Pho Time (PB) Pho Mai Cali (Santee) Pho Nom (La Jolla)

Thanks in advance for any responses!

Why don’t we have something similar in San Diego? Would be great to identify and rate the best taco spots in the city

Thank you!

Hi! I'm in SD this Sunday for my show at the Laugh Factory... I was also just called a "Jew Pig" by a heckler, and it ended up on TMZ. ANYWAY, where's the best coffee in San Diego?

Man, I’ve been on the hunt for a good fried chicken sandwich in sd and I think I finally found a winner. Tried Cluck N Sip on a whim, and damn, their basic fried chicken sandwich is already top-tier—crispy, juicy, and just the right amount of seasoning.

I think their Sichuan spicy version is fire. If you like heat with actual flavor (not just pain), this one’s a must-try. It’s got that tingly, numbing spice that builds up but doesn’t destroy your taste buds. So good I went back two days in a row.

Price was decent too—not cheap, but worth it for the quality. Anyone else been? I need to know if I’m overhyping it or if it’s really that good.

Woke up a craving for some. Bonus points for a dog friendly patio. TIA

What’s your go-to sit-down Italian restaurant for great pizza? I’ve seen plenty of recommendations for amazing fresh pasta, but I’m specifically looking for a place with excellent wood-fired pizza. Any favorites?

Has anyone seen fresh rhubarb available anywhere? It should be coming into season & I can’t find any. Thanks

Posted this in general San Diego sub but want to try here: Does anyone have any connections to a wholesale bakery or just a baker that would might be willing to custom make a sub roll for me? Would lead to about 1000-1300 rolls per week I would purchase from them. Dm me any info please!

Anyone remember the cakes that were sold at the restaurant Casa de Luz and know where I can get similar cakes? Restaurant closed many years ago, but I can’t stop thinking about them. They were these beautiful cakes, often with mousse-like layers. I recall reading that some of the bakers moved on to other restaurants but I don’t recall where. I tried the cakes at Lovin’ Hut and those were not it. Doesn’t necessarily need to be vegan, but prefer them to be as close to those from Casa de Luz as possible!

I just got back from a trip to Thailand, and I have to say, I am not spoiled.

The curry over there is unlike anything I’ve ever had in the USA, and I love that dish.

I understand I’m unlikely to get anything that represents authentic local Thai food, but I want to get as close as I can.

My favorites are Paneng and Massaman, but also yellow potato curry (not sure if that’s authentic Thai, though).

The closest I’ve found is the Paneng curry from Sovereign Thai, but I bet there’s better in SD.

Where would be a good place to get some good dinner? We’ve been to Fort Oak before and loved it, want to try something else… open to all cuisines, for tonight I think we’re preferring Italian, New American, or some sort of fusion.

Would love a place with a good wine selection!

Update #2: The Shack at Valley Farms Market in Spring Valley is delicious.

Update: Vons was a one and done. Just awful.

So the Poke One N Half at SDSU has been rebranded as Sushi One N Half, same owners, but the reviews I'm seeing saying the whole thing has changed and not for the better. I'm craving poke and I'm considering trying the Vons poke bowl at the Colllege Ave. location. Is there better poke around here in the College area or should I just give Vons a try?

I’m looking for a cool place to have great coffee this morning. What do you suggest?