Best of 2003: Best Family "Early-Bird" Special

Village Garden Restaurant and Bakery
8384 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa
619-462-9100

This is a deal. For a Hamilton, you get a three-course dinner with soda included. The early-bird dinner specials last from 3 to 6 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, and include liver and onions, grilled Alaska cod, meat loaf, baked ham, chicken strips and hamburger steak. You get soup or salad before and lots of steamed veggies (cauliflower, carrot, broccoli, and mushrooms) with the main course, plus mashed potatoes, gravy, and a generous slice of homemade bread. Then a dessert such as apple cobbler. Sodas are refillable. Décor inside is frilly grandma-ish. But you can eat outside in the great Water Wheel Terrace.