5 replies to this topic

[Kim Shook]

I need a birthday gift for my world traveler BIL who will be living in San Diego for the forseeable future in between trips to Argentina, Portugal, etc. He's late 40's, single, a bit crunchy (drinks green smoothies for breakfast) and very adventuresome in his tastes. Casual is fine, but probably not a real DIVE. It has to be somewhere that will sell us a gift certificate online or on the phone since we are in VA. In one of the posts Costa Brava is mentioned and sounded interesting. Thanks so much for the help!

[kalypso]

I need a birthday gift for my world traveler BIL who will be living in San Diego for the forseeable future in between trips to Argentina, Portugal, etc. He's late 40's, single, a bit crunchy (drinks green smoothies for breakfast) and very adventuresome in his tastes. Casual is fine, but probably not a real DIVE. It has to be somewhere that will sell us a gift certificate online or on the phone since we are in VA. In one of the posts Costa Brava is mentioned and sounded interesting. Thanks so much for the help!

Kim do you happen to know in what part of San Diego he'll be living. We're a pretty big area geographically and it'll be easier to make useful recommendations in his general area. Some of the most interesting and creative dining is actually not in San Diego, it's in Tijuana. That said, here are some local favorites

Tender Greens in Liberty station might fit his "green" agenda
Alchemy
Urban Solace
The Linkery is one of the only true fram-to-table restaurants in SD. It tends to be a little quirky but it's really quite good most of the time
Blanca is a little further north but the food is very good
Market in Del Mar
A.R. Valentein

Take a look at these and see if you think any of them are appropriate. They're all fairly well regarded in SD and solid choices and cover most of the region except for the dreaded East County where finding good dining is a challenge

[FrogPrincesse]

In addition to the above I would recommend

• Nine Ten for local & seasonal upscale food, in La Jolla
• Cucina Urbana for rustic Italian-Californian fusion, a great place to mingle with the local crowd, located in Banker's Hill between downtown and Hillcrest
• Whisknladle, another fun & casual Italian-Californian restaurant, located in La Jolla
• Cafe Chloe downtown for casual French food
• Sea Rocket Bistro in North Park for local seafood (including sea urchin)
• Bali Hai on Shelter Island, which has been recently renovated, for a relaxing tiki experience (think Roy's with vintage tiki cocktails and local ingredients)

[Kim Shook]

Thank you both so for the ideas (and the LINKS - incredible time saver for me). I'll look at all of them as soon as possible. I really don't know where he's going to be living - and neither does he. He's become this major rolling stone since he ditched the corporate world. He sold his house in Phoenix and rented an apartment there and then went off to New Zealand and Patagonia, came back to AZ and decided that since he'd spent the last few years weekending in San Diego anyway, he'd rather have his home base there. So he hasn't actually moved there yet, but will be doing that over the next couple of months. (Yeah, I know...I have to hold my mouth closed in order for the phrase "Must be nice" to stay in my head). Thanks again!

[kalypso]

He's making a wise move, San Diego isn't called America's Finest City without reason. But I may be prejudiced

[Kim Shook]

Thanks, again! We just ordered a gift card from Alchemy!