San Diego {Vacation Food}

Ben and I took our first vacation without Carson at the end of March.  We had a really nice time being alone and getting a break from life at home.  We missed having our little guy around, especially when we went to La Jolla to watch the sea lions.  But having the opportunity to go see a movie on a whim and not worry about getting home for nap time or bed time was a treat.  It was a nice little escape for us.

We stayed in the Gaslamp Quarter, close to downtown, at the Hilton Gaslamp.  We were really close to restaurants and walked to dinner a couple of nights from our hotel.  Parking down there would have been a nightmare.

Our last night there we splurged big time and stayed at the Coronado in an ocean view room.  It was purely wonderful.

Instead of posting about each restaurant we visited on our vacation, here are the iPhone photos I took of our food on the trip.

We found most of the places using Urbanspoon, but also took some advice from Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Adam Richmond of Man v. Food and Brian Malarkey of Top Chef.

Here are the places we ate, where they are, whether or not I would go again, and food tips.

  1. Bread and Cie: Hillcrest, would go again, we had sandwiches and a cupcake which were good, but I think it is probably best for breakfast, breads and pastries…the bread was terrific.
  2. Escape Fish Bar: Gaslamp, definitely would go again, small and quaint, try the seafood chowder and the tacones.
  3. Broken Yolk: Pacific Beach, from Man v Food, might go again, basic breakfast foods.
  4. Searsucker: Gaslamp, Malarkey’s restaurant, would go again for a splurge and make reservations, my favorites of this meal were the pork butt main and the brussels.
  5. Kono’s Surf Club Cafe: Pacific Beach, would not go again, fun atmosphere and view, but food was just so so.
  6. Bare Back Grill: Gaslamp, would not go again, a good place to drink, but not for great food.  I got a Living Social deal on this one, so it didn’t hurt as much that it was a bust.
  7. Con Pane Rustic Breads and Cafe: Point Loma, would go again, cinnamon rolls are ok, the bread plate is huge and good for sharing.
  8. Leroy’s Kitchen + Lounge: Coronado, would go again, local, fresh and sustainable, everything was delicious.
  9. Crazee Burger: North Park, Diners, Drive Ins and Dives find, would go again, yummy and unique burgers, nice, thin and crispy fries.

One of my most favorite things was going to the Del Mar farmers market.  I got a couple of delicious blood oranges, some French pastries from a local bakery, and of course some freshly made kettle corn.  We could have easily eaten lunch there with all the local vendors, but we’d had a late and filling breakfast.  I highly recommend going to a local farmers market for some tasty food anytime you get the chance.

Our last day in Coronado.