San Diego's loaded when it comes to fish counters. It's even got more than its fair share of fish houses, fish shops and even a crab hut. But I'm pretty sure it's only got one …

I would love to live in one of the North County beach towns, with their ability to catch summer swells and too many gorgeous beaches to count. Of course, I tell myself that by living …

It took awhile, but Underbelly, the ramen branch of Consortium Holdings' local restaurant empire, finally opened its long-anticipated second location at the North Parker. Its finishing of the corner space at 30th and Upas completes …

Kolbeh sits in an inauspicious strip of mall on the corner of Black Mountain Road, across form the north gate of Miramar Air Station. Stepping inside, the first thing you notice is yourself, staring back …

Speaking to local roasters and baristas, I keep hearing the same assessment: third-wave coffee in San Diego has lagged way behind the Bay Area and cities such as Austin, and (especially) Portland. But, they like …

I had just enough forethought to book reservations at Mezé the night of the Paul McCartney concert at Petco Park — and it was a good thing I did, because the sign posted above the …

An artisanal approach to coffee isn’t limited to roasting or dripping method. The same creative impulse that dry hops or grapefruit put into beer can drive third-wave coffee purveyors to seek out ways to embellish …

Point Loma High School baseball will have a level playing field this season. At the end of September, construction will finish on Phase 1 of a planned two-part upgrade of David Wells Field, just in …

I don't know why there's no real American equivalent to bento. I suppose the closest thing we have is the lunch combo — a sandwich, bag of chips, maybe a pasta salad if you're lucky. …

I learned a lot about waffles when my dog, Loki, and I finally found Wow Wow Waffle in its semi-secret location behind the coin laundry at 30th Street and Myrtle in North Park. It's a …

Who knows why cupcakes were ever round in the first place? I mean, I know why they're round now — because cupcake tins and those little corrugated paper cups in the grocery stores come that …

As far back as I can recall, every restaurant at 3739B 6th Ave — across from the Rite Aid — has been Japanese. I used to order from the "American Favorites" list back when it …

Sometimes it feels like I photograph fish tacos for a living. I review a lot of fish tacos because I eat a lot of them — because San Diego produces a lot of them. But …

While a handful of roasters have been at it for years — La Jolla–based Pannikin has been cooking beans since 1968 — most of San Diego’s developing artisanal coffee movement has been spurred by newcomers. …

The Italian word bottega carries a sort of double meaning. It can simply mean a shop (like the more commonly known Spanish bodega), or refer to an artist's workshop. Americano, of course, refers to something …

The Whisknladle charcuterie plate might not transport easily, but it’s too good not to take on a picnic. House-cured chorizo, house-made pâté, several types of house-pickled olives.

There are no shortage of restaurants in Kearney Mesa I'd like to try. I actually keep a list, and every once in awhile I hop on the freeway to go and check off another, come …

I drink coffee every day. I probably don’t even drink water every day, or beer, or any other important beverages. But coffee gets the call, rain or shine. For a time I was content to …

I've encountered a few hybrid lunch dishes before: the taco salad, the ramen burger, the teriyaki burrito. Not many have attempted to straddle three different concepts at once. I found one in Hillcrest: a pizza …

Aside from a Karl Strauss outpost, I wasn't sure there were any reasonable spots to find good draft beer in La Jolla – at least, any reasonably priced spots. So I've never really gone there …

What do the tourists see when they come to San Diego? I wondered this as I walked around Old Town, trying to decide in which hokey Mexican spot to have lunch. Fiesta del Reyes seemed …

As if its lines didn't get long enough, meatball specialist Soda and Swine, located at the top of North Park at 30th and Adams, has put a short fence up around its storefront to create …

Maybe it's just me, but the term "gourmet hot dog" conjures an image of a guy in a white-tie tuxedo peering through a quizzing glass at a cocktail wiener, probably muttering something along the lines …

I don't enjoy writing a bad review any more than I enjoy eating bad food. It's just a cruelty of logic that the two always go together. The whole thing leaves a bitter taste in …

When you say "berto's", I think burrito. Adalberto's or Filibertos? Burrito. Aliberto's, Humberto's, or Rigoberto's? Burrito. Or if there's no drive-thru, maybe some rolled tacos. It's just a fact of living here: at some time …

I never thought much about oysters. If you asked me what makes them different from mussels or clams, I'd probably say they make pearls. I do know what they taste like, but it's rarely happened …

It wasn't long ago that I heard the proprietors of Tiger! Tiger! and Blind Lady Ale House had won the contract to open an eatery in the Sculpture Garden Court outside the Museum of Art …

Fresh, often local fish behind a counter that you may have made into a sandwich, salad, taco or beautifully grilled on a plate with a couple of healthy sides. What's not to love? Craft beer washes it down, and loyal customers brag about the place to their friends. It elevates PB's very existence.

The first time I encountered Tender Greens I was milling about the UTC mall waiting to catch a movie at the ArcLight. Something to know about me is that I loathe and detest malls, to …

I've rarely been more than a ten-minute drive to Los Reyes over the years, and for the past few it's been about a five minute walk. The place is entirely what I expect from San …

Driving down Orange Ave I Coronado, I spotted a banner proclaiming "Voted Best Pizza." Interesting, but anybody can buy a banner, I thought. Let's see what you've got, Alexander's Pizza. I flipped a U-turn and …

I won't often admit to consulting Wikipedia, but while researching what is meant when people refer to a "Paleo diet" — based on the premise that our bodies are actually better off only digesting the …

Craft cocktails create the opportunity to celebrate human artistry while going out drinking with friends. That’s what I’d call a win–win. Aero Club Known to have more than 800 whiskies to choose from, it’s little …

The newly constructed North Parker infill property at 30th and Upas has been slowly coming online with a smartly decorated Modern Times tasting room, Influx coffeeshop, and Tacos Perla, which recently fit right into my …

I'll make the effort for a good fish taco, even if it means hustling up to Leucadia from Golden Hill and standing in line out on the sidewalk along PCH. That's where you find Fish …

Goldfinch Street in Mission Hills has become quite the dining hub, with restaurants like Brooklyn Girl, Izakaya Masa and the newly opened Patio worth waiting in line for, and the reliably great Lefty's is a …

I keep wanting to like food trucks. I don't know why — I have no trouble going to traditional storefront restaurants and dining in or taking out. I'd rather eat sitting at a table than …

It's good. Really damn good. Okay, I only earn the right to dole out restaurant reviews by stretching them out to more than a couple of words, so I'll elaborate. North Park's newest taco shop …

It's kind of funny how nostalgia works. Take plate lunches, for example. The Hawaiian lunch staple usually involves some sort of cheap protein, a scoop of rice, and macaroni salad. There's nothing particularly alluring or …

For the second time this year, the yellow house at 1505 Fern Street in South Park was raided by law-enforcement officers and its occupants arrested. At 5 a.m. on the morning of June 11, an …

Brunch. Breakfast + lunch. This simple portmanteau fills me with a mixture of joy and dread. In many ways it's the perfect meal: transitioning seamlessly between savory and sweet dishes; adeptly served by either coffee …

Making a sandwich from three ingredients takes a lot of brass. But mostly it takes three pretty terrific ingredients, and clearly one of them is going to be bread. So what do you get when …

After running around Ocean Beach's dog beach for awhile, I brought Loki over to Shades Oceanfront Bistro to grab some lunch. I mean, why give up on the idea some bikini-clad girl is going to …

Actually, I was trying to go to Tita's Kitchenette, a cramped, cafeteria-style Filipino food counter on Plaza Boulevard in National City. But I passed right by without noticing. I might have driven another five minutes …

I'm not sure what's more disturbing, that I hold every fish taco I eat up to the standards set by a greasy street cart selling them for 85 centavos apiece on some desolate stretch of …

I honestly don't know what I was doing in Old Poway Village. It's a cute enough place, with old-timey storefronts that might be charming except for the fact they house businesses along the lines of …

The California gold rush didn't only bring myriad fortune-seeking people to the Golden State. It also brought trees. Specifically, an Australian species very familiar to anyone who lives in San Diego: the eucalyptus. However, nearly …

I had to go to the courthouse to deal with a traffic ticket — nobody's idea of fun — and had just enough time to squeeze in lunch beforehand. I wanted, needed, a good reason …

For the most part, anyone who tells you they had a satisfying All You Can Eat meal cares more about feeling full than eating good food. This holds especially true when you cross below the …

A recent confrontation between a surfer and a graffiti vigilante at Sunset Cliffs park ended peacefully but raised questions on how to approach the encroachment of vandalism, particularly within our beach communities. An eyewitness reports …