Zenbu 7660 Fay Avenue, La Jolla 858-454-4540 A round, cactus-like object sits atop a bed of white daikon shreds, gently waving purple-black spines. It's the first course of your dinner: live uni. You tell yourself …

Rosticería Los Pollos Constitución, between 6th and 7th Streets, Tijuana (011-52-64) 90-96-88 Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Depends which you want at Eduardo Riquelme Alcocer's "Rosticería Los Pollos" open chicken-roasting place on …

Beef Cheek Cabeza La Campaña 619-232-8756 At pricey French restaurants, many menus offer a comforting Gallic dish that's grown increasingly voguish in the past five years: slow-cooked cheeks of beef or veal. The same item …

Tres Caños Azucar Moreno Food Bowl Supermarket (and others) 619-239-4709 The proverbial problem with white sugar is that it's so ultra-refined, it tastes more like a chemical product than a plant derivative. (Worse yet, the …

Tamales Los Unicos 25th and C, Golden Hill 619-238-1513 There's something about standing outside in the chill of the night, unwrapping your own personal Sinaloa-style tamal, taking a slurp of champurrado, and chatting with everybody …

Vincent Sirino's 113 W. Grand, Escondido 760-745-3835 Chef Vincent Grumel's desserts are his forte, and he's been making his spectacular bavarois for a quarter of a century. This elaborate production number -- this Babylonian sequence …

Nessy Burger at Highway 76 and Old Highway 395, near Pala Mesa Village Up on the windy heights inland from Oceanside, where Route 76 meets Old Highway 395, a little piece of Scotland survives. Alistair, …

Cost Plus World Market 372 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter 619-236-1737 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive, La Jolla 858-455-8210 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa 619-466-2991 What are you gonna do when your grocery store turns …

The Australian Pub 1014 Grand Avenue, Pacific Beach 858-273-9921 Aussie diggers surround you here, downing pints of Fosters Lager faster'n a kookaburra can swallow a fish. Quicker'n a 'roo can bust yer nose. Lagers cost …

The Barbecue Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway, El Cajon 619-462-5434 Four other San Diego locations Virl's the man. He stands at his station with a huge "clog" (shoulder) of slow-roasted beef, carving away at it with …

Salazar's Fine Mexican Food 1502 Market, Sherman Heights 619-238-9674 It's not the flashiest part of town, but for 28 years Frank Salazar's adobe-style New Mexico coffee shop has been a little oasis of old Spanish-speaking …

Kazumi Sushi 3975 Fifth Avenue, Hillcrest 619-682-4054 Most smoked salmon available locally (whether it's the precious Scottish or Irish product or the Lasco packages in the supermarket) follows the same model as Nova Scotia lox: …

Juke Joint Café 327 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp www.jukejointcafe.com Louisiana gumbo is not a Campbell's soup. Thick and spicy, somewhere between a soup and a stew, and between the devil's lure and heaven's reward to good …

Wildflower Catering 3645 Park Boulevard (Embassy Hotel), North Park [email protected] Margot Leidy did all the right things: she went to hotel and restaurant school in San Francisco when she was 18, she learned the sauces, …

Heidi and Bernie's German Bratwurst Tent Thursday-Night Market, North Park Way (between 29th and 30th Streets) 619-588-1288 This is not just your average hot dog stand. "These are traditional Bavarian bratwurst," says Bernie. "I am …

Assenti's Pasta 2004 India Street, Little Italy 619-239-5117 Fresh pasta offers a richer flavor, so forget the boxed stuff and head for Assenti's. Sure, they've got plain pasta, and the plain pasta is superb. But …

Tin Fish Imperial Beach Pier, 910 Seacoast Drive, Imperial Beach www.thetinfish.net There are a lot of crab cakes in the naked city -- crumby crab cakes, fancy crab cakes tasting of too much green pepper, …

El Poblanito/El Imperio del Supertaco 549 25th Street (at Market), Downtown 619-239-9379 You may as well reconcile yourself: everyone you tell will come out with "Urgh! You kissed a cow??" Just invite them to try …

Stella's On Third Avenue 365 3rd Avenue, Chula Vista 619-427-6476 Stella's is a cheery, woody, English tea house-looking place. Green Formica tables, green carpet, cream walls, a giant blue glass vase with craggy sticks in …

Bayou Bar and Grill 329 Market (at Third Avenue), Gaslamp Quarter 619-696-8747 Bayou specializes in Louisiana cooking -- except for desserts, which only use the sweet, heavy pastries of the South as points of inspiration. …

Antique Row Café 3002 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights 619-303-7601 or 619-282-9750 The menu calls them "Three-Egg Omeletes," but it's hard to believe. The chicken that laid three eggs large enough to compose these monsters would …

Sanford Cousin's Old Town Candy Shop 2711 San Diego Avenue, Old Town 619-297-2000, 877-CANDY77 Old-fashioned rock candy sticks are plentiful in flavors such as traditional pure cane as well as blue raspberry, watermelon, cotton candy, …

Hing Long Oriental Food Market and Vinh Hung Hing Long Oriental Food Market 4644 El Cajon Boulevard, City Heights 619-280-2132 or 619-563-9986 Vinh Hung 4690 El Cajon Boulevard, City Heights 619-283-5442 For some San Diegans …

Howard's Bakery 1097 Broadway, El Cajon 619-442-0486 Though he sold the bakery last year, original owner Howard Owens is still on the payroll. Opened in 1979, Howard's is a full-line bakery that has it all. …

Third and Fourth Streets, Coronado It's probably no coincidence that in the afternoons along Fourth Street in Coronado, you see cars parked along the right side with "For Sale" signs and large phone numbers in …

Fir Street Between India and Columbia, Little Italy These brightly painted homes, circa 1900 to 1930, now enjoy a new identity, housing shops as diverse and colorful as the paint adorning them. On the corner, …

Department of Biology, San Diego State University 619-594-6767 San Diego Natural History Museum 619-232-3821 www.sdnhm.org The Natural History Museum, which has already collected 7-1/2 million specimens over the last century and a quarter, is looking …

The Service Station 4222 Adams Avenue, Kensington 619-516-2600 Hair stylist Katie Carney says it started about five years ago, when she was watching the 1941 musical Moon Over Miami. Betty Grable's hair struck her as …

Solar Electric Inc. 5555 Santa Fe Street, Suite D, Pacific Beach 858-581-0051 www.solarelectricinc.com or contact: Utility Consumer Action Network (UCAN) 1717 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy 619-696-6966 www.ucan.org What's a desperate SDG&E addict to do? The …

Safe Deposit Box Vault, Courtyard By Marriott 530 Broadway, Downtown 619-446-3000 This is the place to hold the meeting where the family lawyer tells you you've inherited Grandma's entire La Jolla waterfront estate. Yippee! And …

Borrego Springs Anza Borrego Desert State Park www.borregosprings.com To paraphrase The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Outer space is big. Really, really, big." Buildings, trees, and lights obscure our view of the big sky, unless …

Pioneer Park/Calvary Cemetery West Washington and Randolph Street, Mission Hills Some picnics are spoiled by ants or drizzly weather. But festivities at this park, located about a mile from Old Town, can sour when the …

Finn's Cosmic Collectibles 3089 Clairemont Drive, Suite 202, San Diego eBay seller ID: buymenow When it comes to TV and film memorabilia, Star Trek rules the universe. Ed Finn buys and sells such pop culture …

North County Fair Parking Lot 272 East Via Rancho Parkway, Escondido You Interstate 15 inmates know the drill: You're alternating between sleep and the short but intense adrenaline rushes that come from dozing off at …

Strip mall on the corner of Park Boulevard and El Cajon Boulevard, North Park/University Heights A two-show performance by pop singer Jewel months before the release of her first album was not enough to save …

Longfellow Elementary 5055 July Street, Clairemont 619-276-4206 This is the bilingual idea as it should be in a border town. Kids growing up speaking both Spanish and English with equal facility. "We're total immersion," says …

28th Street, Between Date and A Streets, South Park It's mostly Craftsman houses of varying degrees of size and splendor along this row of houses, with a few Monterey-style houses and Spanish numbers. The highlight …

Chula Vista Nature Center 1000 Gunpowder Point Drive, Chula Vista 619-409-5900 www.chulavistanaturecenter.org The Chula Vista Nature Interpretive Center exhibits birds in their natural habitats, jellyfish in a big tank, tarantulas, and mice. They're doing their …

San Diego Aerospace Museum Hangar 335 Kenney Street, Santee 619-258-1221 This Atlas Missile 2-E is East County's premier anachronism. Its flanks jut up 80 or 90 feet from the low-rise industrial buildings along Gillespie Field's …

ARCO Olympic Training Center 1750 Wueste Road, Chula Vista 619-656-1500 Once you find your way there (which will become easier when Olympic Parkway is completed), you'll be impressed with the design of the place -- …

Institute for Creation Research 10946 Woodside Avenue North, Santee 619-448-0900, ext. 6011 This free "museum of science and history" (open 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday) will "take you on a journey through time!" according …

Petworks Grossmont Center, La Mesa 619-465-4446 Petworks, in Grossmont Center next to Zales Jewelers, opens its doors at 10:00 a.m. to customers eager to try out their pet-walking skills. With a credit card and a …

Kensington Village Café 4090 Adams Avenue, Kensington 619-283-7546 "You are who you eat with." At Jim and Sandy's place, you eat with the best -- if you look up to politicians, that is. Dick Murphy, …

Barona Cultural Center and Museum 1095 Barona Road, Lakeside 619-443-7003, ext. 219 Opened in January 2000, it's the first tribal museum in the county and admission is free. The most impressive feature is the full-size …

Restaurant Afrique 4990 University Avenue, City Heights 619-283-3838 Back in 1999, Abdiaziz Farah thought he was just opening a Somali restaurant, Afrique. But the opening revealed a desperate need in the growing Somali community for …

WorldBeat Center 2100 Park Boulevard, Balboa Park 619-230-1190 The WorldBeat Center is shaped like a drum, which is appropriate because it uses music (lots of reggae) to advance its primary mission -- to present and …

Nature's Storehouse 307 3rd Avenue, Chula Vista 619-425-7480 "We bought the store seven years ago, but the store has been here for over 30 years," explains owner Munther George. "We are a health-food store, and …

St. Joseph's Cathedral 1535 Third Avenue, Downtown 619-239-0229 Catholics who want to go to confession often can't wait for the one-hour available at their parish on Saturday afternoon, and many are afraid that the priest …

Cleveland National Forest, Buckman Springs Area U.S. Forest Service Descanso Ranger District Office, 3348 Alpine Boulevard, Alpine 619-445-6235 Is there still gold in them thar hills? "Yes sir," says Donald Sheckler, 86, who's been mining …

San Diego State University 619-594-6524 The women's movement really came of age between 1970 and 1972. After the protests and the furious national debate, colleges across the country started wondering if this wasn't a subject …

Old Mission Dam, Mission Trails Regional Park 1 Father Junipero Serra Trail, Mission Gorge, San Diego 619-668-3275 www.mtrp.org With its rocky landscape and varied wildlife, Mission Trails Regional Park offers city dwellers an escape from …

Villa Montezuma 1925 K Street, Sherman Heights 619-239-2211 Friday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The Jesse Shepard House, also known as the Villa Montezuma, offers a break from tract-housing suffocation. Built in 1887, it is …

Nancy Greenleese KPBS-FM, 89.5 FM 5200 Campanile Drive, San Diego State 619-594-1515 www.kpbs.org If you listen to KPBS radio at all, you've heard the voice of Nancy Greenleese. She has a distinctive voice, like an …

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia 4070 Mission Avenue, Oceanside 760-757-3250 The rolling hills of Casa de Oro to the south are much unchanged since the Franciscans established this graveyard at the turn of the …

House of Pacific Relations, Balboa Park 619-234-0739 If you've ever craved Hungarian goulash followed by Norwegian abelskiver and Ukrainian pierogi, once a year you can have that meal -- and follow it with genuine French …

Campo Band of Mission Indians 36190 Church Road, Campo 619-478-9046 So you thought that when Europeans came to San Diego, they found a pristine wilderness? Wrong. What they discovered, says the Kumeyaays' Mike Connolly, was …

UCSD Thornton Hospital 9300 Campus Point Drive, La Jolla 858-657-7000 The John M. and Sally B. Thornton Hospital isn't just a sick bay, it's a palace. Only 125 beds on three floors, no wards, two-room …

Everingham Brothers Bait Co. Barges anchored off Point Loma, north of Ballast Point, and in Mission Bay, Quivira Basin 619-696-6673 or 619-223-5384 www.baitbarge.com The night shift on Everingham Brothers' bait barges isn't for the squeamish. …

Seeley Stables Calhoun Street near Juan Street, Old Town 619-220-5427 The best way to introduce a newcomer to the Old Town State Historic Park is to take one of the free one-hour guided tours given …

Del Mar Powerhouse, Powerhouse Park 1658 Coast Boulevard, Del Mar Back in the 1930s it provided steam and hot water for the horsey crowd at the Del Mar Hotel. Then, when the hotel went, the …

State Route 94 East County commuters know State Route 94 as a quick way to get to work downtown and an alternative to traffic-heavy I-8. Going the other way, in under 30 minutes you can …

Poway High School Wrestling In 2001, Poway High School's wrestling team, under the direction of coach Wayne Branstetter, won the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Division I Championship with eight of its wrestlers taking …

Old Tijuana Train Station "Cuidado Con El Tren," says the X-shaped sign where a dusty road crosses Tijuana's only railroad tracks. If you cut over to the left, just south of the US Port of …

South Coast Harley-Davidson 345 E Street, Chula Vista 619-420-7000 They do sell motorcycles here. That's how the business started, with the Harley-Davidsons arrayed in a nondescript showroom with concrete floors. A couple of racks of …

Carley's Magical Garden/Oncology Gardens, Children's Hospital 3020 Children's Way, Kearny Mesa 858-576-1700 www.chsd.org Carley died of leukemia when she was three. Her parents wanted to do something in her memory. They came up with a …

Fountain's Aquarium 7575 University Avenue, La Mesa 619-465-5333 Just shy of Parks on University Avenue, Fountain's Aquarium is an aquatic feast for the eyes, even from the road. Muraled windows of sea life beckon customers …

Glass Sculpture by Nina Karavasiles San Diego Fire Department, Station #11 25th and Broadway, Golden Hill This fire station was already a winner. Station number 11 announces your arrival in the Art Deco Golden Hill …

Balboa Park Municipal Golf Course Clubhouse 2600 Golf Course Drive, East Balboa Park 619-239-1660 There are two courses at Balboa: an 18-hole course that ranks as one of the most challenging in the county and …

Taylor Guitars 1980 Gillespie Way, El Cajon 619-258-1207 It's free, given every Monday through Friday (except for holidays) at 1:00 p.m., and all you have to do is show up. The receptionist will issue you …

Trinity United Methodist Church 3030 Thorn Street, North Park 619-281-2592 or 619-281-2768 Every evening from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. an illuminated eight-foot cross slowly rotates on the tower of Trinity United Methodist Church, casting its …

La Mesa Community Center 4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa 619-667-1300 La Mesa Community Center has a lot to offer little Suzie on her road to culture. Parent & Tot gym classes for one-year olds -- …

City Heights Urban Village 3795 Fairmount Avenue, City Heights 619-641-6125 It began seven years ago with a vague plan to build a police station on 43rd Street. But Price Club founder Sol Price is an …

Broadway Flying Horses Seaport Village The carousel at Seaport Village is one of two permanent carousels in San Diego and is the more enjoyable of the two. The other carousel, at Balboa Park, with its …

Children's Discovery Museum 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Suite 103, Carlsbad 760-720-0737 You might have trouble finding the Children's Discovery Museum. Tucked into a mall near the ocean end of Carlsbad Village Drive, the museum blends …

Spruce Street Suspension Bridge Between Brant and Frost Streets, Banker's Hill Built in 1912, this pedestrian bridge is suspended 70 feet above what Banker's Hill locals call Arroyo Canyon. It was designed by former San …

Lloyd Ruooco's 1950 Design Center Fifth Avenue, north of Brookes Street, near Hillcrest It's hard to believe this glass-dominated redwood and cedar complex is 50 years old. Certainly it has been restored and rebuilt after …

Halfway House (Restaurant Medio Camino) Kilometer 32 on the Tijuana-Ensenada free road In the days of boiling radiators, this was a natural stop for people taking the free road (the only road back then) to …

Team Reprographics 1200 Fourth Avenue, San Diego 619-234-4488 From the earliest days of Beatlemania, band manager Brian Epstein licensed merchandise rights to any product manufacturer with an open wallet. Fab Four mittens, toothbrushes, dishes, wallets, …

Wildlife Rehab, Project Wildlife 887 Sherman, Mission Bay area (near Morena/Linda Vista trolley stop) 619-225-9202; 619-692-9453 You're taking your cat for a walk. He sees a tree. Up he goes. Oh Lord. Down he comes …

Egyptian Court Apartments 3772 Park Boulevard, Hillcrest Egyptian Court on Park Boulevard has no Jacuzzi, no swimming pool, no tennis courts, and no meet-your-neighbors barbecues. But its 12 apartments have hardwood floors and horsetail ferns, …

The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library Corner of Wall Street and Girard Avenue, La Jolla 858-454-5872 It seats only 130 for the Athenaeum's series of classical concerts, on a casual mixture of folding chairs and …

Claire de Lune Coffee Lounge 2906 University Avenue, North Park 619-688-9845 Is this place on fire? Seems like smoke is coming out from under the sidewalk overhang. Then you see people dancing in it! Holding …

Sunday night at Hussong's Avenida Ruiz, #113, Ensenada (011-52-61) 78-32-10 At Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada, they're still waiting for somebody to dispute their claim they're the longest-running cantina in all of the Californias. They've been …

The Tubs 7220 El Cajon Boulevard, La Mesa 619-466-TUBS Don't have the resources to shell out the dinero for your own spa or sauna? Don't worry, The Tubs is waiting for you. For $26 per …

Horse and Cow Bar and Grill 2734 Lytton, Loma Portal 619-224-6409 Inside it's as dark as a mile-deep sub after lights out. Once you get used to it, you start seeing things. "Caution: vent tube …

Copley Symphony Hall (balcony, top rows) and Civic Theater (upper balcony, front and center) The two largest venues for classical music in San Diego are the Civic Theater and Copley Symphony Hall. Here is where …

Buca Di Beppo 705 Sixth Avenue, Downtown 619-233-7272 If you go to Buca Di Beppo for your birthday the servers won't bring you cake and ice cream. However, if you catch the right group of …

Hash House Harriers 760-599-7448 www.SDH3.com This group of more than 1000 runners call themselves "a drinking club with a running problem." Runs, or "hashes," are done in different locations around the county on different nights …

La Casa del Tabaco 1115 Revolución Avenue, Tijuana (011-52-66) 85-52-48 A zillion signs hang out on Revolución advertising "real" Cuban cigars. Most, according to "Casa" owner David Tourgeman, are made in Mexico. He proudly shows …

Spruce Street Forum 301 Spruce Street, Banker's Hill www.sprucestreetforum.com 619-295-0301 or 619-297-3531 Musicians with big names in new music play here from September to June. The space is warmly lit, with cream-colored walls and large …

La Valencia Hotel, Whaling Bar 1132 Prospect, La Jolla 858-454-0771 Dark woods, red carpets on black-marble floors, women in long dresses, men in silk suits, red-studded booths, brass table lamps with black shades. Apart from …

Asia Café 4710 Market Street, Chollas View 619-527-1917 Bob Dylan may not realize it, but he wouldn't be playing his harmonica if the Laotians and Chinese hadn't invented the khaen and the sheng. The bamboo …

Cecil's Café and Fish Market 5083 Santa Monica Avenue, Ocean Beach 619-222-0501 Over the past decade, Cecil's, with its clear view of the popular surfing spot near the Ocean Beach pier, has made a name …

The Cairo Café 3569 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights 619-255-3095 www.cairocafe.org We mean the Middle Eastern hubble-bubble water pipe, of course. The Cairo Café is a little place with outside garden seating serving a few coffees …

La Jolla Chamber Music Society's Discovery Series Sherwood Auditorium, La Jolla 858-459-3728 To most concertgoers, the performers in the La Jolla Chamber Music Society's "Discovery Series" have been relatively unknown. Of next season's musicians, how …

Dream Street 2228 Bacon Street, Ocean Beach 619-222-8131 Almost all new San Diego bands play here at some point. Feeling comfortable in the lounge-style atmosphere, the energy of bands like Ten Percent and Lot 13 …

Joe Rathburn Regular gigs: The Tin Fish, The Galley at the Marina (Chula Vista), Cozy Mel's www.joerathburn.com Last October, local singer-songwriter Joe Rathburn found out that Mikey's Coffeehouse in Poway had less than two months …

Fred's Mexican Café 1165 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach 858-483-8226 also at 535 Fifth Avenue, Downtown 619-232-8226 By the fifth, if the rent is paid and you've still got a little cash left over to party, …

Top Cat Limousine Service 8750 Miramar Place, Miramar 858-546-7550 www.topcatlimo.com Limos aren't just for brides, prom dates, or rich folks anymore, thanks to Top Cat. For any occasion, ride like royalty at reasonable rates. From …

Collage Menage www.collagemenage.com Identical twins Hans and Fritz Jensen have fronted Collage Menage for over ten years. "We have become a live video extravaganza by combining everything in the show we can, like a collage …

Winston's 1921 Bacon Street, Ocean Beach Box office/schedule: 619-222-6822 Event information: 619-222-3802 Talent booking: 619-223-8609 Demographically speaking, any event promoted or perceived as a "Deadhead" happening is sure to attract a specific customer base, if …

Coctelería La Playita 2121 Imperial Avenue, Sherman Heights 619-702-6059 also at 5185 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard 858-715-6773 Around 9:30 a.m., in the restaurant street inside the Farmers' Market, you'll often see a rack of well-dressed men …

Alambres 756 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp 619-233-2838 For the price of one beer, $2-$3, you can fill your gourd with Mexican food, plate after plate, every day in the Gaslamp during happy hour at Alambres. Sure, …

Club Don Loope Jai Alai Palace, Revolución and Calle 8, downtown Tijuana www.donloope.com or www.norteccollective.com A collective has taken over the café to the left of the main entrance. They've called it the "Don Loope." …

Shirley King, Foothill Adult Education Center 1550 Melody Lane, El Cajon 619-401-4122 and Coronado Adult Education Center 650 D Avenue, Coronado 619-522-8911 By day, Shirley King serves as a waitress at the Hotel Del Coronado's …

Hornblower Cruises 1066 North Harbor Drive, Downtown 619-686-8700 Hornblower offers the only three-hour dinner cruise in San Diego aboard its 150-foot yachts with a chance to meet an authority on the local sights -- the …

Dark Thirty Productions House Concerts Eucalyptus Hills, Lakeside 619-443-9622 www.darkthirty.com When Jimmy Duke throws a concert at his house, it's worth the drive to East County. Eight to ten times a year, the gigs get …

Mainly Mozart Festival Neurosciences Institute 619-239-0100 San Diego's two-decade-old Mainly Mozart Festival used to be limited to a couple of weeks in June, with a variety of concerts (orchestral, chamber, and solo) in various venues. …

Tyler Jordan at Caffe Calabria 3933 30th Street, North Park 619-683-7787 Tyler Jordan, who works behind the bar, does it all, from the menu to Italian Riviera and Romanesque scenes on the wall. He did …

The Waterfront 2044 Kettner, Little Italy 619-232-9656 The "Mary minions" often salt their red elixir with a bit of elitism. Every club claims to have its own secret ingredient, which usually turns out to be …

Hajji Baba's 1065 Fourth Avenue, Downtown 619-595-7887 During the daytime, Hajji Baba's is a normal Mediterranean restaurant. Shish kebobs, Greek salads, gyros. But Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the place transforms. Musicians arrive. Tablas (bongo-like …

Lahaina Beach Club 710 Oliver Avenue, Pacific Beach 858-270-3888 You don't have to leave the waterfront to get an ice-cold beer or a gin and tonic. This beach bar, between Reed Street and Grand Avenue, …

Latitude 32 5019 Cass Street, Pacific Beach 858-273-0501 Latitude: 32 degrees north. Longitude: 117 degrees west. Drinks on bar: 92 feet above sea level. Attitude: zero. Two things distinguish this bar from the rest of …

Costco Wholesale Nine locations countywide www.costco.com The perfect combination of syrup and effervescence makes the Coca-Cola at the outdoor food windows at Costco the best there is. If you like your Coke sweet, go to …

A-Thuro-Clean 5663 Balboa Avenue, Clairemont 858-270-5600; 760-720-5200; 619-275-5600 A-Thuro-Clean has been cleaning up the mess in San Diego for over 15 years and can handle large and small jobs. If your house gets flooded, you'll …

Don Hubbard's Gyotaku www.coronadoartassn.com/Don_Hubbard/ Gyotaku is the Japanese art of fish-printing, originally used to record the catches of sports fishermen. The fish to be printed is covered with pigment, whereupon rice paper or cloth is …

Quails Inn Hotel, Bridge Room Mondays, 1:30 p.m. 1025 La Bonita Drive, San Marcos 800-888-7546 The first thing you notice is the view. Stepping out of the afternoon sun into the Quails Inn Bridge Room, …

Hold This 877-HOLD-THIS (465-3844) www.ephoneman.com Customers calling a company with two or more phone lines spend an average of one minute "on hold." If greeted with silence, callers often hang up, but piping in music …

Water Taxi 619-235-8294 Taking a conventional cab from Coronado to Seaport Village will cost you $13-$15 and take 10-20 minutes. But call the other cab, a water taxi, and you can get to the mainland …

Uptown Farmers' Market DMV parking lot, 3960 Normal Street, Hillcrest Sundays, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. A Sunday-morning outing extraordinaire, Uptown Farmers' Market offers a large and eclectic mix of crops and goods. Stalls are abundantly stocked …

Double S Feed Company 14335 Olde Highway 80, El Cajon 619-443-9211 A lesser-known fact about San Diego County is that it has more horses per capita than any other county in the United States. With …

Ebey's North Park Vacuum 2346 University Avenue, North Park 619-291-1194 Cal Ebey stocks a full line of replacement bags as well as other parts and can repair any vacuum. With 20 years' experience, he is …

Flowbee International 9389 Dowdy Drive, Suite D, Miramar 800-728-2887 or 858-578-8011 "Using the suction power of your vacuum cleaner, the Flowbee then draws the hair evenly into the recessed blades and cuts it precisely. The …

Saks Fifth Avenue 7047 Friars Road, Fashion Valley 619-260-0030 The weighty swoosh of Saks Fifth Avenue's bronze and glass entry doors transports you from the bustling mall promenade into a shopping haven. A mood pervades …

Byzantium 2607 Congress Street, Old Town 619-497-1848 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m., closed Mondays This is the place to go for small quantities of reasonably priced burial amber or antique white agate from Africa. Two blocks away …

Clown Mates 10890 Poblado Road, Suite 1222, Rancho Bernardo 858-451-6907 www.clownmates.com Clown Mates offers a full line of cartoon, comic, and popular television character look-alikes to entertain small children and even toddlers. Entertainment includes storytelling, …

Mission Dry Cleaners 105 Washington Street, Mission Hills 619-295-4139 Dry-cleaning work is the same no matter where you go; the biggest difference is service, which is top-notch at Mission Dry Cleaners. Jan and her husband, …

GTM Discount General Store 7663 Broadway, Lemon Grove 619-460-2990 716 16th Street, Downtown 619-234-7122 8967 Carlton Hills Boulevard, Santee 619-499-4953 350 Cypress Lane, El Cajon 619-441-8183 Parking is sometimes at a premium in front of …

B&C Company 1135 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach 619-222-3334 or 858-490-4376 Bob Nourani collects used but perfectly good, common telephones, reconditions them and sells them at about half what your new systems would cost -- and …

Buffalo Breath Costume Company 2050 Hancock Street, Old Town 619-297-1175 www.buffalobreath.com The ultimate getaway doesn't have to be somewhere else. Why not be someone else instead? Without the physical and fiscal pain of plastic surgery. …

RCP Block and Brick 8240 Broadway, Lemon Grove Other locations in Santee, Chula Vista, and Escondido 619-460-9101 Fred, of the 50-year-old RCP (It stands for "Revolutionized Concrete Products"), says dropping a 2-1/2-inch deep layer of …

Fred Cutler, CPA 609 South Highway 101, Solana Beach 858-794-9035 Cutler's not interested in preparing simple returns. "I tell those people to go to H&R Block. They don't need me. I go for the more …

Viajes Cuauhtli 8160 7th (Galeana) Street, between Revolución and Constitución, Tijuana (011-52-66) 85-33-10 Taino Tours 9330, Ignacio Comonfort Street, next to the ball-shaped Cultural Center, behind the McDonald's (011-52-66) 84-96-34 Flights to Cuba are becoming …

Contec Video And Audio 4425 Convoy Street, Suite 212, Kearny Mesa 858-277-2641 With the low price of VCRs and the imminent dominance of DVD, not many places repair VCRs anymore, but Contec still does. They …

Music Choice Through Cox Cable 800-234-3224 or Time Warner Cable 858-695-3220 Both Time Warner Cable and Cox Cable offer their customers a service called Music Choice, which provides the best-sounding, most reliable source for classical …

House of Clocks 3748 Sixth Avenue, Hillcrest 619-298-1345 There was a time when a house clock had more inner works than a battery unit on the back. House of Clocks specializes in the repair and …

Al Atallah's Pine Valley Store 28820 Old Highway 80, Pine Valley 619-473-8723 Talk to the old folks, and they lament the loss of the old general stores, where you knew Al and Al knew you, …

Mr. Bone's Fine Cigars 909 Prospect Avenue, La Jolla 858-551-7047 "Cubans aren't as good as they used to be, but I remember smoking some that were as fantastic as they were rare," smoke-shop owner Ned, …

Michael's 1652 Camino Del Rio North, Mission Valley 619-294-5891 Temporary tattoos allow the indecisive to ink themselves with whimsical abandon. The artwork rubs on with a damp cloth and can be washed away easily with …

Hi Auto Repair 2820 Midway Drive, Midway District 619-223-0998 Mr. Hai and his crew are experts at getting repairs done as quickly and cheaply as possible. It is common for new customers to quote the …

The Prince and the Pauper 3201 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights 619-283-4380 or 800-454-3726 www.oldkidsbooks.com People remember the books they read as kids: Little Golden Books, Dick and Jane, Mercer Mayer, Maurice Sendak, Uncle Wiggly, Huck …

L & A Tailoring 2911 University Avenue, North Park 619-299-7326 Brothers Liam and Minh Tran are throwbacks to an age when men's suits were not found at shopping malls but were made to fit. Trained …

Body Beautiful Downtown 2045 Pacific Highway, Downtown 619-544-7070 All of the Body Beautiful Car Washes do excellent work, but the crew at Pacific Highway and Hawthorne Street are a little more outstanding. Like most other …

Chino Farms Produce Stand 6123 Calzada del Bosque, Rancho Santa Fe 858-756-3184 Back in 1946, the Chino family's Japanese-born parents were released from internment camp. Today, 55 years later, the family sticks by that generation's …

Dr. Kenneth G. Gross, Skin Surgery Medical Group 5222 Balboa Avenue, 6th floor 858-292-5101 Dr. Gross has been doing tattoo removals -- more than 20,000, he says -- since the early '70s. He's grown with …

Rusty Spokes Vintage Bicycles 1344 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach 858-581-1931 Rusty Spokes' owner Dave enjoys showing off his collection of rare wheels almost as much as he loves selling them. "I've been doing this for …

Babette Schwartz 421 University Avenue, Hillcrest 619-220-7048 Babette Schwartz's taste stems from a fascination with pop-culture campiness, and this is the hook upon which her toy store dangles. After paying her dues, and her rent, …

Mitch's Surf Shop 631 Pearl Street, La Jolla 858-459-5933 Opened in 1967, Mitch's Surf Shop in La Jolla is probably the oldest surf shop in the city under single ownership. Today it offers brand-name, fashionable …

Ikea 2149 Fenton Parkway, Mission Valley 619-563-4532 You'll get out eventually, but not until the crafty Ikea floor planners have routed you past every sofa and bookcase in the store. Once you mount the stairs, …

Cheap Rentals 3685 Mission Boulevard, Mission Beach 858-488-9070 Surfboard rentals start at $5 an hour, or $15 per day for soft boards, with fiberglass models priced at $10 an hour or $20 a day. Both …

The Brighter Side 439 S. Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach 858-481-7565 The Brighter Side has been helping cancer patients for six years. "We like to think of ourselves as a one-stop shop for women who are …

Libreria Latino Americana 539 H Street, Chula Vista 619-427-7867 Don Jose Figueroa's place has everything you need, from fine editions of Don Quixote to Spanish for Dummies. And for fun learning, books you already know …

Reliable Furniture 1210-B West Morena Boulevard, Bay Park 619-275-6006 Located next to Jerome's new furniture store on West Morena Boulevard, Reliable offers a more affordable alternative to the furniture establishment of San Diego. (You didn't …

Harvey's Barber Shop 105 South Meadowbrook Drive, Southeast San Diego 619-479-2784 On Saturdays at four in the morning, when Curtis Harvey, 67, unlocks the door to his barbershop, there is already a line. Harvey's customers, …

Automobile Discount Services 112 Encinitas Boulevard, Encinitas 760-720-1972 You bring the make, model, color, year, and any other specific requests to Automobile Discount Services. They find the new car you are looking for the same …

The Enchantress 2465 Heritage Park Row, Old Town 619-294-4544 If you are busting out of that bra, head down to the Burton House in Heritage Park Row in Old Town. Up some creaky steps, above …

Lakeshore Learning Store 7510 Hazard Center, Mission Valley 619-297-8494 At Lakeshore Learning Center things are different. From 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. every Saturday, little creators can test their artistic side at a new craft for free: …

Rite Aid 535 Robinson Avenue, Hillcrest 619-291-3705 Rite Aid's Hillcrest branch dispenses drugs 24 hours, with three pharmacists during the day and one working the graveyard shift. The evening crew is also limited to one …

Célou Bonnet c/o Artworks of Fallbrook Foundry 300 East Alvarado, Fallbrook 760-731-2732 or 760-731-5972 www.celoubonnet.com Célou Bonnet started creating this functional art almost accidentally when an advertising executive commissioned one for his new beach house. …

Tom Jones of Mission Hills Electric and Appliance 902 Fort Stockton Drive, Mission Hills 619-291-6955 Tom Jones can repair just about anything from exhaust fans to convection ovens to washer-dryers. But if you come in …

Drew Hubbell 930 Orchard Lane, Santa Ysabel 1970 Sixth Avenue, Downtown 619-231-0446 www.sandiegoart.com Hubbell is the architect son of the revered artist-designer-builder James Hubbell. Father and son work together on what they call "the architecture …

Laurel Tree Apartments 1307 Laurel Tree Lane, Carlsbad 760-918-1780 "I wanted to get rid of the anonymous tenant," says architect Carlos Rodriguez of his affordable-housing design for low-income tenants in the Carlsbad area. It's part …

Curves, located in mini-malls around San Diego County, seven locations www.curvesforwomen.com If you're a man, don't go to Curves. If you want to look like the 1972 East German women's swim team, don't go to …

Bell, Book And Candle 2007 Main Street, Julian 800-664-5851 or 760-765-1377 Popular sellers include scented candles made from natural fragrances such as Warm Apple Crisp (keeping with Julian's Apple Country theme). Yankee Candles are recognized …

The High Road 6166 El Cajon Boulevard, College Area 619-265-1410 1463 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach 858-273-7501 Everybody smokes those Marlboro reds and GPC longs, but you want to stand out from the smoky clouds surrounding …

Sunglass City 1478 Garnet Avenue, Pacific Beach 858-272-6041 7007 Friars Road, Mission Valley 619-325-2565 Corporate Office: Sunglass City Incorporated 4414 Dale Avenue, La Mesa 619-668-6952; 888-218-6952; 800-925-GLASS www.sunglasscityonline.com Daily shipments provide a selection from manufacturers …

Prater's Septic Tank Service 1675 Vista del Valle, El Cajon 619-444-3318 Septic tanks act as filters while the water is released into the leach field. When the tank gets full, it has to be pumped …

Urban Seed and Flower 7079 University Avenue, La Mesa 619-463-2536 Sixty-seven years ago, Charles Ledgerwood, a UC Davis graduate, began selling seeds to North County flower and vegetable growers. Over time, his market shifted to …

Dave's Display World 1306 Kettner Boulevard, Downtown 619-232-3097 Since 1959, Dave's Display World has been the most comprehensive, all-encompassing store for holiday and party decorations in San Diego. If they can't find it in the …

Desert Shores, off Highway 86, Imperial County Diversified Realty and Investments 800-385-1040 Let's compare: size of Pacific Ocean: 69,000,000 square miles. Price of houses overlooking Pacific Ocean: humongous. Size of Salton Sea? 525 square miles. …

Hildago Flowers Farmers' Markets all over San Diego 760-940-0414 It's hardly a secret that local farmers' markets are often brimming and bursting with blossoms that cost less and seem to last longer than flowers purchased …

Las Rocas Resort & Spa 619-234-9810 or 888-527-7622 Thirty minutes south of the border and ten minutes past "The Rosarito Beach Hotel," Las Rocas rests cliffside and boasts a seamless sunset into the ocean. Each …

Outcall service covering San Diego County 619-543-0334 [email protected] Since 1985, Shelly Deegan and Rent-A-Psychic have provided just-for-fun performances featuring palm and tarot reading, handwriting analysis, numerology consultation and related entertainment, with the emphasis on "entertainment," …

Mobile Marriage Outcall service covering San Diego 619-447-4066 or 619-299-5520 "We travel to any location and perform marriage ceremonies," says Mary Austin. "We can also help couples with necessities like getting their marriage license and …

Aztec Rentals 6602 University Avenue, Rolando 619-582-2245 Some say it's as high as 95 percent. But it's safe to say, at least 75 percent of being a successful do-it-yourselfer is having the right tools to …

Ken Petsch at Camera Exposure 2703 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights 619-640-5300 At Ken Petsch's place you can rent super-ultra telephoto lenses or hot-shot cameras by the day. So you can try out a couple of …

Lynn's Nails of Kearny Mesa 4411 Mercury Street, Suite 109 (Mercury and Balboa), Kearny Mesa 858-495-0816 Lynn's Nails doesn't appear to be anything more than another nail salon sporting a fruit shrine worshipping Buddha. But …

Tower Records 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive, La Jolla 858-452-2566 www.towerrecords.com Any record store will have copies of The Producers or the collected works of Andrew Lloyd Webber. A few might even know the difference …

Doc's Family Boxing/Athletic Fitness Club 702 Broadway, El Cajon 619-448-3551 or 619-579-8004 Sales rep Marco says, "You have access to a ring every day, all day, but first you have to prove yourself responsible and …

Olhausen Pool Tables 5620 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa 800-570-7665 The law says you can't buy one-armed bandits that require coins unless they're genuine antiques, i.e., 1940 or earlier. No problem, says Sheila Roesink, the …

Cloud Nine Recovery 260 1/2 Third Avenue, Chula Vista 619-422-1865 Owner Richard Johnson, 67, ran a used-car business in Imperial Beach for ten years before he retired in 1995. When inactivity palled, he says he …

The Black Bead 5003 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach 619-222-2115 Nestled between a juice bar and a smoke shop, this eight-year-old bead store is just a block from Ocean Beach pier. Inside you'll find thousands of …

Marshalls 685 San Rodolfo Drive, Solana Hills Town Center, Solana Beach 858-755-0791 As a chain, the company advertises prices 40 to 60% off. But there's a difference between the Solana Beach store and the other …

Carlsbad Mineral Water Spa 2802 Carlsbad Boulevard, Carlsbad 760-434-1887 The brochure for the Carlsbad Mineral Water Spa features massage rooms that look like a Hollywood set circa 1957: parquet floors, friezes, massage tables that look …

UFO (Upholstery Fabric Outlet) 1919 Hoover Avenue, National City 619-477-9341 1120 N. Melrose, Vista 760-941-2345 At UFO's two warehouse locations, every material you could ever hope to weave into your world exists. And, at a …

Western Salt Company 1470 Bay Boulevard, Chula Vista 858-566-6600 It looks like a sparkling white pyramid, but it's salt from the last naturally sun-cured salt pans in the West. Western Salt evaporates salt water the …

The Light Bulb Center 7735 University Avenue, La Mesa 619-697-9371 Sid Levinson and his two older brothers started a light bulb wholesale business more than 20 years ago with the help of their dad, who …

G.I. Joe's 544 Sixth Avenue, Downtown 619-531-1910 799 El Cajon Boulevard, El Cajon 619-401-7589 G.I. Joe's carries products honed from 200 years of military survival insights. Like Meals Ready to Eat -- military rations -- …

Kid's Outlet Retail & Wholesale 5971 University Avenue, northeast San Diego 619-582-1676 Other locations in National City, Chula Vista, and San Ysidro The rate at which children outgrow or ruin clothes is startling. At Kid's …

www.amazon.com The winner here, by far is Amazon.com. Their database is enormous and well arranged. If you know what you want, you can find it in an instant, by title (or partial title), composer, or …

Sanborns 1102 Revolución Avenue (at 8th), Tijuana (011-52-66) 88-14-33 Beautifully proportioned, life-sized, true-to-color black-spotted golden cheetahs are for sale at Sanborn's. They are papier mâché models from Jalisco. You can also buy an antelope or …

J&S Beauty Supply 7734 Girard Avenue, La Jolla 858-551-4056 J&S in La Jolla stocks the affordable stage makeup of the stars usually found only in L.A. or by mail order. Concealer by Joe Blasco, worn …

Toko, Antiquities of the Orient 3241 Fifth Avenue, Middletown 619-542-1226 Architect-engineer Eric Fotiadi wanted to do something else. He was vacationing on the French island of Ré when a friend suggested Javanese antiques. "I was …

Charles Alterations, Tailoring & Dry Cleaning 3435 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights 619-283-1574 As children's fashions look more adult, finding a special-occasion dress for your little girl is becoming more difficult. The big chains seem bent …

Connie McNally, The McNally Company Antiques 6033 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe 858-756-1922 Connie McNally is cold to gold. "It's not practical. But silver! It is noble and practical. We wear silver. We eat with …

My Little Pony Rides Outcall service covering San Diego County 619-579-6655 "We come to your backyard, frontyard, sidewalk, a park, or wherever your party is," says Cathy at My Little Pony Rides. "We dress the …

Ilana Mysior 619-583-0076 Back in 1977, Gustavo Romero was just a Mexican-American kid from Chula Vista. Now he's a world-renowned concert pianist, San Diego's most famous musical export. "I was teaching a piano master class …

Doug Coomes, The Palm Company 395 Sunset Drive, Encinitas 760-942-2796 Doug Coomes can truck an 80-foot-tall, 80-year-old Canary Island date palm to your place for maybe $500 or $600, depending on how far he has …

The Paperie 534 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter 619-234-5457 Find Japanese rice paper here for reviving an old lampshade. If you want to make invitations for your garden party, select patterned vellum, organdy ribbon, and sealing …

Jim Stelluti, Artistic Garden Refiner 619-298-7641 Jim Stelluti has spent 30 years creating gardens, and -- uniquely -- taking pictures of them. By now Stelluti has 100 slide shows on every conceivable garden subject, from …

Pawprints In-Home Pet Sitting 619-624-0360 or 619-584-7501 In addition to feeding, walking, and playing with your pet, Pawprints' perfect roommates maintain litter boxes, administer medications, bring in mail and newspapers, water the yard and plants, …

Stern's Gym 3831 Granada Avenue, North Park 619-299-9853 Back in 1946 Leo Stern opened the first (and now oldest) body building gym in California. The gym's second floor location had been a bowling alley, and …

Paras News 3911 30th Street, North Park 619-296-2859 Opened in 1950 as a cigar shop and transformed to a newsstand in 1952, Paras is the most comprehensive newsstand in San Diego. If there's a newspaper …

Quality House Painting 760-940-9192 or 760-632-4110 www.members.home.net/qhp/photo.htm Julian Ayad began painting homes as an apprentice in 1992, and by 1994 he was a fully bonded and licensed contractor, operating his own business, Quality House Painting. …

Wisdom Crystals 4967 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach 619-223-6938 Silversmith Chris Reimer and partner Carol Holaday opened their crystal shop in April of 2000 and have developed a faithful, fanatical clientele. According to Reimer, people buy …

Live Cargo 8874 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa 619-466-0665 It begins with Uncle Milton's Ant Farm ($11.99), and for many, that is where it ends. Hard-shelled, mandible-clad marchers give way to puppies, kittens, and horses. …

Reed's Train Shop 8039 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa 619-464-1672 Call the Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park -- it's the largest such museum in North America -- and ask them to recommend a model …

A-24 Hour Mobile Notary and Fingerprinting 800-536-7233 or 619-233-6654 A-24 Hour Mobile Notary and Fingerprinting specializes in dusting digits for employers who want fingerprint records of their workers, government contractors with security clearance needs, private …

Kitty Kaviar Distributors: ITI Limited 800-583-4339 or 619-266-9886 Back in 1996, San Diegan Todd Myrick's cat gave him an idea. Every time it got around bonito fish, it went wild. "Bonito have that rich 'fishy' …

Micromobile 333 N. Cedar Street, Escondido 760-747-8465 or 760-747-8881 www.micro-mobile.com "If we can fix it in a half hour or less, it's only $39!" is the flagship catchphrase of Micromobile's marketing strategy. The firm rolled …

Brad Burt's Magic Shop 4204 Convoy Street, Kearny Mesa 858-571-4749 This is a one-stop source for bendable keys, flying coins, dove pans, vanishing bottles, magic ropes, die cyphers, and other tools of the conjurer's trade. …

Dream Kids Flower Hill Mall 2710 Via De la Valle, Del Mar 858-755-8552 The imagined bedroom constructs of childhood find incarnation on the showroom floor: a bunkbed system shaped (and painted) as a cottage garden …

Panda's Domestic Service 7677 Ronson Road #202, Kearny Mesa 858-292-5503 Panda's offers reliable housecleaners who will clean to your specifications and stay out of your way. When Pam Thompson started Panda's in 1986, she was …

Gone Bananas Beachwear 3785 Mission Boulevard, Mission Beach 858-488-4900 "All our bathing suit pieces are sold separately, so you can buy a medium top with a small bottom," says Gone Bananas sales clerk Jackie. "We …

Park Boulevard Pharmacy and Medical Supply 3904 Park Boulevard, Hillcrest 619-295-3109 or 619-295-9505 When your health is at stake, the last thing you feel like doing is waiting in line at Rite-Aid or Sav-On. When …

Energy Control On-site service covering San Diego County 619-371-5914 or 858-273-5012 www.energy-control.com Pat Sukup has owned the company since 1985. Sukup is active in all aspects of the business, from sales to service to installation. …

Stereo Design 7260 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Clairemont Mesa 858-573-0060 Sound does count. It's astonishing how much subtlety and sensuality good reproduction equipment can bring out, even when the sound source is an early CD or …

In Harmony Herbs & Spices 4808 Santa Monica Avenue, Ocean Beach 619-223-8051 No other herb vendor in Southern California can match the variety of the products available in this herbal emporium. John Noble and Jodi …

The Glass Doctor 858-268-3200 At the Glass Doctor's 24-hour phone center, Judy is one of the operators who answers service calls and dispatches mobile specialists who can repair, replace, retrack, reseal, or respond to whatever …

Gala Foods 3030 Grape Street, Golden Hill 619-239-8850 The miniature mechanical pony, space ship, and Model-T sitting at the entrance of Gala Foods are the ephemera of a distant childhood. Gala Food's kiddie ride vendor, …

Anissa M 6903 La Jolla Boulevard, La Jolla 858-459-3251 A Fred Segal-style boutique is putting more la-la in La Jolla. International designers such as "B.U.K." duke it out with brands like "Joe's Jeans" and "Seven." …

Mayer Mortuary 2859 Adams Avenue, Normal Heights 619-281-7055 It's extraordinary for one reason: it's independent. This, in a time when the funeral chains are eating up small independents all over. Corporations like the Houston-based Service …

Orange Cab 3911 Pacific Highway, Downtown 619-291-3333 or 619-291-4444 The drivers at Orange Cab are independent operators who pay a fee for company services like radio dispatch. Being self-employed (Orange owns no taxis), the cabbies …

Best Afghan Khyber Pass 521 University Avenue, Hillcrest 619.294.7579 Best After-Hours Club Club Montage 2028 Hancock Street, Midway 619.294.9590 Best American Corvette Diner 3946 Fifth Avenue, Hillcrest 619.542.1001 Best Antique Store Ocean Beach Antique Mall …

Get there at the start of the dinner hour (when many French and American chefs go for a bite before heading for their own restaurants), and sit at the counter. Early arrivals tend to get …

Whenever possible, show up at a Chinese restaurant with a family-size group. Often, tables of six (better yet, eight) have an edge over couples in the quality of service as well as the freedom to …

Jade House Restaurant 569 H Street, Chula Vista 619-426-5951 You're shopping at Macy's, Chula Vista. Your feet are killing you. You're starving. Stop! Resist the shopping-mall eateries. Just a walk away. Cross H Street. Head …

Caffe Italia 1704 India Street, Little Italy 619-234-6767 There's something about Little Italy on a Sunday morning. All the faithful pour out of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic church into the sunshine and make …

Gen Lai Sen Seafood Restaurant 1065 12th Avenue, Downtown 619-239-5478 Across from City College, right by the trolley stop, Gen Lai Sen looks like a forsaken dive and has the standard endless pan-regional San Diego …

Anthony's Star of the Sea 1360 North Harbor Drive, Downtown 619-232-7408 "Chilean seabass," as fishmongers like to call it (its real name is Patagonian toothfish), has been fished nearly to extinction, thanks to the unbridled …

Marine Room Restaurant 2000 Spindrift Drive, La Jolla 858-459-7222 With Bernard Guillas as its top toque, the Marine Room has become the quintessential fine San Diego restaurant, with awesome food to match the view. Guillas …

Wagon Wheel 427 West Mission Avenue (at Centre City Parkway), Escondido 760-745-3227 It's a stone and dark wood place with a white wagon wheel nailed on the front and a sign saying "Good Food Since …

Formosa Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant 16769 Bernardo Center Drive, Rancho Bernardo 858-487-8999 Julie Teng says she has invented a new way of eating without killing animals, which also gives the eater a longer lease on life. …

The Valley House 10767 Woodside Avenue, Santee 619-562-7878 "Back in Iowa they call it 'pork tenderloin,' " explains Dave Hayes, Valley House's owner. "I called it the 'Iowa Porker,' because nobody here knew what 'Pork …

99 Ranch Market 7330 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Kearny Mesa 858-974-8899 A zillion live rock crabs, each the size of a woman's hand, are sitting on a bed of ice. Luckily, they're not as crabby as …

Burning Tree Native American Grill 40080 Old Highway 80, Boulevard 619-766-3442 This 1917 homestead restaurant (once the "Chateau Basque") serves the most wickedly delicious pizza in the county. Its Pine Ridge Pizza is "an Indian …

Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 2422 557 Orange Avenue, Coronado 619-435-6917 This is the biggest surprise in expensive Coronado. $2 lunches -- good, hearty ones at that. Of course, you do feel a little intimidated, …

India Palace 7514 Girard Street, La Jolla 858-551-5133 This is not one of those "curry palaces" where everything tastes the same. It is a beautifully decorated India palace, specializing in the delicate high cuisine of …

Candelas 416 Third Avenue, Gaslamp 619-702-4455 "Langosta Baeza" is the signature dish of Candelas' chef Eduardo Baeza. Although the name sounds like it might be a local spiny lobster, but it's really a Maine lobster …

Royale Brasserie Bar 224 Fifth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter 619-237-4900 If you've a yearning for the life of a moneyed fin de siècle Paris bohemian, then surely in some past incarnation you must have frequented restaurants …

Panadería Nacionál 1701 National Avenue, Barrio Logan 619-239-4043 Outside, you're near the Coronado bridge. Inside, you might just as well be in, say, San Salvador, Mazatlan, or Tijuana. It's a little dark. Behind old varnished …

Dumpling Inn 4619 Convoy Street, Kearny Mesa 858-268-9638 It's hard to find good jellyfish this side of the ocean. Most jellyfish served in the U.S. are rubbery or totally tasteless. Or maybe it's been cooked …

Asia Café 4710 Market Street, Chollas View 619-527-1917 Crying Tigers is one very Laotian dish, and Asia Café is one very Laotian place. It's modest on the outside, in a mainly Lao strip mall. But …

Berta's 3928 Twiggs Street, Old Town 619-295-2343 For anyone who wants to explore the culinary world south of Mexico, where the food can change drastically every few hundred miles, Berta's is a rewarding one-stop voyage …

101 Café 631 South Coast Highway 101, Oceanside 760-722-5220 You're always hearing about ol' cliche-ridden Route 66, but how about our own, glorious Royal Highway, the former Camino Real, Highway 101? Friars to farmers to …

Jimmy Carter's 3172 Fifth Avenue (at Spruce), Banker's Hill 619-295-2070 Who'd guess you'd find Indian breakfasts in a down-home corner café in one of the town's oldest neighborhoods? What happened was that Jimmy Carter (no, …

Ranchos Cocina 3910 30th Street (at University), North Park 619-574-1288 1830 Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, Ocean Beach 619-226-7619 4705 Point Loma Avenue, Ocean Beach 619-224-9815 The restaurant's underlying ethos involves cooking with olive or vegetable oil …

Parallel 33 741 W. Washington Street, Mission Hills 619-260-0033 The energetic Amiko Gubbins is a master of this genre. Her own background is a fusion of America and Japan, and the cosmopolitan food her mother …

Gulf Coast Grill 4130 Park Boulevard, Hillcrest 619-295-2244 Trust KC Jones to create a fantasy. The guy was a budding lawyer who wrote scripts for Hollywood before he got to this point. Perfect combo! Walk …

150 Grand Café 150 West Grand Street, Escondido 760-738-6868 www.150grand.com A mural on one of the walls shows the restaurant's interior and its personnel but includes a mysterious clown. The food at 150 Grand is …

El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn 17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, Rancho Bernardo 858-487-1611 It looks like a roast turnip, sitting there on the plate next to the squab topped with foie-gras-whipped-cream chantilly -- just …

Saigon Restaurant 4455 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park 619-284-4215 or 619-284-4288 There are restaurants more specialized in pho, the traditional meal-in-a-soup dish, but the Saigon gets the balance right: atmosphere, families, airiness, and delicious pho. …

Top O' The Cove Restaurant 1216 Prospect Avenue, La Jolla 858-454-7779 The Top's new chef, Alain Redelsperger, hails from Strasbourg, France, where foie gras is a favorite dish -- especially eaten cold. Hence, Redelsperger's version …

El Morelense 317 Dewey Street, Logan Heights 619-234-2750 Julio and Santos Arellano come from Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City, in the state of Morelos, the home of revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata. The food's just …

Andres' Cuban and Puerto Rican Restaurant 1235 Morena Boulevard, Morena District 619-275-4114 "Old clothes" (Ropa Vieja) is how the Cubans describe shredded beef, because the meat looks like shredded old rags. Maria Dolores, Puerto Rican …

Chicago on a Bun Renaissance Towne Centre 8935 Towne Centre Drive, University City 858-622-0222 Everything -- from the poppy-seed buns to the Vienna sausages -- is imported from the Windy City. A decade ago, Jerry …

Café de Paris 819 C Street, Downtown 619-234-2559 For starters, Faiz (or Frank, as he's known) looks the epitome of the legendary French cook. Jutting jaw, well-wiped apron, hands on hips outside his little place …

Paipa's Oasis, Sycuan Casino 5469 Dehesa Road, El Cajon 619-445-6002 Paipa's is definitely an Oasis from the ka-chinging that rings 24/7 through the Purple Palace out here at Sycuan. Plus, even though it costs around …

Ye Olde Plank Inn 24 Palm Avenue, Imperial Beach 619-423-5976 The Plank is IB's old-line hangout (it opened in 1886 as a liquor store). The low, palm-frond palapa dangles with nets, puffer fish, mini brass …

Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant and Market 15027 Highway 79, Lake Cuyamaca 760-765-0700 When the first winter snows come, Franz Dorninger's is the place to be, watching the wildlife over steamy, wildlife-crowded Lake Cuyamaca. Golden eagles. Bald …

Dim Sum Kingdom 730 Broadway, Downtown 619-239-1782 Most places, there are steaks, and then there are breakfast steaks. Your typical breakfast steak's so thin it's translucent. But not at Mr. and Mrs. Lee's. The Lees …

Maple Canyon Park, Banker's Hill Maple Canyon Park begins at Thorn Street (between Third and Fourth Avenues) and dumps directly onto West Maple. The trail that runs along the bottom of the canyon makes for …

Mission Valley YMCA, Krause Family Skate Park 3250 Camino del Rio North, Mission Valley 619-281-7885 Krause Skate Park lies along the San Diego River next to Interstate 8. Fifty thousand square feet of cement and …

San Diego Miramar Reservoir 619-668-2050 The average skater can circle the five-mile paved loop around Miramar Lake in about a half hour. Vehicles are allowed Saturday through Tuesday on fishing days, but the rest of …

Santee Boulders Across Mast Boulevard from West Hills Park, Santee Park in the West Hills parking lot off Mast, a quarter mile north of Highway 52. Walk across the street and follow the beaten path …

Mission Bay Channel Entrance North and South Jetties Ah, rip currents. A curse for the unwary dough-people visiting from middle America, who are rescued in droves each summer by weary lifeguards, but a blessing for …

Sky Sailing (at the Warner Springs Airport) 31930 Highway 79, Warner Springs 760-782-0404 Soaring is the sport of flying engineless gliders or, more specifically, sailplanes. "The difference," explains Bret Willat, owner of Sky Sailing, "is …

Ocean Beach Pier Just west of Niagara Avenue San Diego Parks & Recreation Department 619-221-8901 Ocean Beach Pier resembles a manmade peninsula jutting from the natural peninsula of Point Loma. "Welcome to the West Coast's …

Mission Bay Sportcenter 1010 Santa Clara Place, Mission Beach 858-488-1004 Since the inlet is protected from strong gusts and high seas, it's a low-key place for a day sail. If you're inept and manage to …

Tourmaline Surf Park West end of Tourmaline Street (just north of the junction of Mission Boulevard and La Jolla Boulevard), Pacific Beach You can park just above this stretch of beach, bounded by Crystal Pier …

La Jolla Cove Coast Boulevard, La Jolla For scofflaws with a taste for shellfish, it's a pretty easy matter to stroke down ten or fifteen feet into the Cove's protected waters, wrangle one of the …

Prince of Peace Abbey 650 Benet Hill Road, Oceanside 760-430-1305 The monks who follow the rule of St. Benedict have carved out a serene niche on their hilltop overlooking the San Luis Rey Valley. The …

Mission Beach Jetty It's gotta be at night, and it's gotta be warm. There are people on the jetty at all hours of the day and night. But it's still possible in the wee hours …

Coronado Municipal Beach where Ocean Boulevard meets Ocean Drive, Coronado Up near the fire rings on Coronado's North Beach, sand hills protecting a little-visited depression from the wind and waves have allowed nature to create …

Sanford Bright Valley Farms 12310 Campo Road, Spring Valley 619-670-1861 Located about 15 minutes west of downtown, several well-maintained grassy pastures are available for rides, most including corrals where you can prep and pamper your …

Canyon Sin Nombre Take I-8 east past the big grade and turn off at S2 in Ocotillo (not to be confused with Ocotillo Wells) and go north until you hit mile marker 51.3. A small …

Lake Morena 619-565-3600 Grab the chicken liver, night crawlers, grubs, blood bait, gigs, shiners, dough balls, and rapallas because the fish at Lake Morena are hungry. After years of drought, this reservoir has shrunk to …

Whale Watching Excursion Seaforth Sportfishing 1717 Quivira Road, Mission Bay 619-224-3383 Winter hours 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. daily Seaforth Sportfishing has been leading whale-watching tours for over 20 years during the grey whale migrations of winter. …

Fun Farm Go Karts 408 Hollister, Palm City 619-423-0793 Mark Williamson has been running his go-kart circuit since he was in high school in 1966 and his dad bought a dairy farm on Hollister and …

Morley Field Disc Golf Course Corner of Pershing Drive and Redwood Street, Balboa Park 619-692-3607 It costs $1 to play here weekdays (when it's open from 8:00 a.m. to dusk); $1.50 on weekends (when it …

Slaughterhouse Canyon Highway 67 south through Slaughterhouse Canyon, Lakeside Heading down Highway 67 from Scripps Poway Parkway, the shoulder is wide, the pavement is smooth, and for three miles the road rollercoasters gently. But then …

Rosarito-Ensenada 50 Mile Fun Bicycle Rides Baja California, Mexico Bicycling West Entry information: PO Box 15128, San Diego CA 92175-5128 619-583-3001 www.rosaritoensenada.com The Rosarito Ensenada 50 Mile Fun Bicycle Ride is the West Coast's largest …

Legoland 1 Lego Drive, Carlsbad (off I-5 at Cannon Road exit) 760-918-LEGO Designed for children ages 3-12, Legoland is an antidote to the Disney overkill that dominates children's entertainment. With nearly everything constructed from Lego …