Best of 2003: Best North County Dance Club

Margarita Rocks
212 North Tremont Street, Oceanside
www.margaritarocks.net
760-967-7699

This is a 14,000-square-foot extravaganza, with a basement "dive" bar and dance floor, and a large, third-floor, ocean-view deck. Airbrushed murals of waves and sharks riff on '60s surfboard art and catch the unpretentious vibe of the fledgling downtown Oceanside scene. By Gaslamp standards the place "goes off" early, around 10 p.m., which is a good thing if you don't want to stay up until the 4 a.m. closing time. Dancers in their late 20s are the norm, but folks over 40 have been observed. The DJs mix music ranging from Nine Inch Nails to Nelly, and the sound system rocks. Only complaint: everybody crowds onto the dance floor.