kalypso

I can understand your reticence, especially after the coconut popcicle incident (besides, anyone knows coconut and chocolate is a match made in heaven, why stop at the rum or pineapple juice, dip the sucker in chocolate too and gild the stick). Last year's crop of cheftestants didn't do much for me - and the winner was even from my town - but this year's group of, umm, lemmings? is so much more enjoyable to watch. FTV takes this all so seriously. Our mistake is to take it seriously as well. Forget about the food because, well, the food is pretty forgettable, and besides, they've told us right up front it isn't about the food, it's about personality (whatever the hell that is). Relax, pour yourself a glass of wine, put your feet up and prepare to be entertained. The challenges are impossible and designed for failure. Why gnash the teeth, just recognize the show for what it is...cooking reduced to the lowest possible denominator that possibly exists Right now I'm rooting for Aaron (I think that's his name) the hospital catering cook because, at the moment, he's the most real person on the set.

Yes. They opened a new location about 18 months ago on Illinois, half block north of University, in North Park. North Park is quite the culinary hot bed these days. Lots of new, trendy and interesting places opening up. El Comal is a little off the main corridor, but it's doing well in this location and the food is quite good. Chilango's has reopened in it's old space in Hillcrest. I went shortly after they reopened and was underwhelmed, but I understand for someone that has gone recently that they've regained their old form. But the most interesting Mexican food is in the southbay (south county SD) these days. Over the last couple of years a lot of Tijuana restaurants have quietly opened branch operations in either Chula Vista or National City. Tacos El Gordo now has 3 locations in SD county, Aqui es Texcoco is in CV doing absolutely spectacular lamb. If menudo is your think Don Vincente's in NC is your place. Dona Maria in CV does killer posole. Mariscos Godoy does land office business as does Durazno Negro. And Romesco's in Bonita is fabulous, worth the drive down from San Diego.

If you think the Nebiello is good at L.A. Cetto, see if you can get the front of the house manager at Laja to sell you a bottle of his private stock. He's growing grapes and making his own and it's really nice. Goes well with food and is way, way, way too easy to drink.

Rockin' Lobster just changed their name. For good Mexican food on Adam's also try Mayahuel. One of the few places in San Diego where you can get a really good mole.

The best food in San Diego isn't in San Diego, it's in the Valley de Guadalupe about 80 miles south of the border. Laja is doing a spectacular job. I know I said The Better Half would be my last meal in San Diego; I should amend that to be my last meal would be at Laja, preceded by a meal at The Better Half.

You can check the menu yourself - The Better Half This is the new summer menu that went up a couple of weeks ago. I've had the tart du jour twice, excellent both times, flaky crust, tender egg, perfect ratio of egg to filling. The house cured gravlax is spectacular and the accompaniments perfect. The charcuterie plate was very good though I thought the housemade lamb sausage was too dry. The whole grain mustard, also made in house, more than made up for the lamb sausage, as did the garnish of deep fried jumbo caper berries. The mussels are great with just a hint of coconut in them, not wild and overpowering. I have not tried the leaning tower of beets app, but know people that have and they adore it. If you're a fan of beets you'd probably like it The short ribs are tender and rich, the pork scallopini light and well done, and the duck confit a spot on rendition. A friend tried the bison ribs last week and raved. I am not a fan of bread pudding but the version offered at the Better Half is nothing short of amazing and goes really well with the French press coffee. App, entree, dessert, coffee, a half bottle of wine, tax and tip will set you back $70-80. Best value in town right now, not to mention the food is really good.

There is no one single reason why SD restaurants are what they are, why the area gets little press and why people tend to write it off. Here are my (native San Diegan) suggestions as to why this may be 1) Even though SD has a long and storied history stretching back several hundred years, it doesn't have an equally storied culinary history on which to draw. Almost everyone who has come to San Diego in the last 400 years has come from some place else and no one group created enough of an enclave to take precedence. Every groups that settled here for more than a few years had to adapt to the environment, semi-arid, desert-like land, clay soil and very little rain or irrigation water. 2) Staying with that everyone's-come-here-from-somewhere-else theme, a huge number of men being discharged from the military elected to settle permanently in San Diego rather than return to the farms and plains of the midwest. Up until the mid-80s or so San Diego had the largest population of Iowans outside of Iowa. As well as substantial numbers of ex-pats from Kansas and Nebraska. They had their wives, lovers and/or families come out and join them. There were many fine cooks among these people, but their food habits and preferences were formed by both the great depression and the straightforward, no nonsense style of cooking common in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas in the first half of the last century. 3) At one point the combined branches of the military owned 60% or more of the land in San Diego county, which is not an insubstantial amount of territory. Quite literally, millions of men and women have passed through San Diego doing basic training or boot camp. Typically, these are young men and women at the beginning of their lives, who haven't traveled very extensively, nor do they have very much expendable income. And the military personnel that is beyond entry level generally has family and not a lot of expendable income. 4) And let's not discount the passing through concept. The border has always been a fairly pourous area. And up until this recent (warranted or not) hysteria about immigration, most of those who crossed into San Diego county didn't stay. They moved on to points north or east where jobs were more plentiful, they already had family, or they thought their risk of getting caught and deported were smaller. Like the millions of people before them, whether coming from the South, East or West, they just passed through San Diego without stopping for very long. So, let's see...so far we've got early explorers who tended not to settle in one place too long, frugal ex-pat midwesterners, cash strapped military and La Migra fearing immigrants passing through. Not exactly the type of rock solid foundation on which to build a fine dining empire. But wait...there's more 5) Let's not forget that historically San Diego has been one of the most conservative cities in America. And not just in politics, but in values and lifestyle as well. Tastes were plain and functional, not sophisticated and flamboyant 6) Even though there has been a tremendous change in the last 20-30 years, SD is still not a very sophisticated city. Scratch the surface and you'll still find all those midwest values. SD is not a hotbed of avant-gard art or music, though it can boast a lustrous theater history. That Anthology has survived and thrived for a year is quite an accomplishment and perhaps a forboding of better things to come (BTW, the food at Anthology is really good and the service is better). The arts survive in this town but they do not particularly break new ground. 7) It's sunny 300+ days out of the year. There are so many things to do, places to go, people to see, eating out has to compete for customers with all the tourist attractions and everyday life activities. Oh, and did I mention it was sunny? The U/T did a lengthy article in the sports page about San Diego and sports ennui, but I think it applies to the food scene as well. I'd love to be able to link the article, but the U.T. web page isn't very user friendly and I couldn't find the article. In a nutshell, the article speculated as to why SD sports fans aren't rabid like, say, Steeler or Yankee fans. Why we seem so willing so settle for "less than". Why in only a couple weeks after the Chargers or Padres flame out, it falls off the fan radar and life goes on. Or why SD has yet to be able to sustain an NBA franchise. Their bottom line? It's the weather, and the attractions, and the easy-living lifestyle, and the variety of every day diversions we all have available to us. It's the same for restaurants. Did I mention it's sunny 300+ days out of the year 8) San Diego bills itself as America's Finest City. And it may very well be. But I think it's more apropo to call it America's Don't Worry Be Happy city. It must be in the incredibly hard, god forsaken water. San Diego doesn't do fine dining because it doesn't have a history of fine dining and it hasn't had a customer base that understood, valued or was willing to pay for it. And while, SD is inching towards respectability in the fine dining arena, it's not going to achieve it overnight. That said, SD does have very very interesting things happening around town right now and they aren't fine dining. Nor are they hole-in-the-wall ethnic eats, plastic fork, styrofoam plate places either. Head down teh 30th street corridor and you'll find some very interesting eats. Aperitivo serves up some delicious tapas and wine at very reasonable prices making it a great place for a quick dinner that won't break the budget. Across the street Caffe Calabria can pull one of the better espressos in town and if the City/County of SD would ever get their permit issues cleared up, they'll be able to fire up their Italian wood burning pizza and turn out the Neopolitan pizzas they've been training to make (Skip Ranchos, dreadful mexican) The best thing Heaven Scent Bakery did was to hire a consulting pastry chef. Huge strides in improving the quality of their products. They're not yet Extraordinary Desserts (which could hold it's own in any city in the U.S., including NYC) but then they aren't trying to be. Urban Solace is capable of turning out some fabulous food, but there's a disconnect between food and service, which is lacking The Linkery just moved but is the only restaurant that is completely 100% sustainable in SD. It is uneven and sometimes inconsistent but you gotta give 'em credit for sicking with their commitment to sustainability Ritual Tavern is anything but goth or pagan. Good food, decent service SeaRocket Bistro just opened (literally) in the old Linkery space and shows a great deal of promise. They, too, will use locally sourced products, heavy on the fish and seafood options, including SDs famed uni. If I had one last meal to eat in SD it would be at The Better Half in Hillcrest. Excellent food but even better service, something that is in short supply in SD. The service is attentive, professional, but best of all, they really make you feel like they're glad you are there. The half bottle of wine idea clicks because people don't always want to drink a whole bottle, especially if dining alone, and they're getting tired of paying huge mark-ups on wine. Far too often service, and servers, in this city are too casual, to laid back, poorly trained and seems too much like an after thought. How can you take the food seriously if the service implies casualness? San Diego is a great place to live and the food is getting better seemingly by the day. San Diego has no pretensions about it's food scene, it's only those of us that whine and dine here that do.

We're all at the beach...

Or at least not food in 30-Minutes... 3 dishes, 1 signature dish each + a collaborative effort, and 9 plates in 30 minutes? No wonder they had underwhelming results. More thinly veiled knock-offs of other FTV shows.

Oh, but it's going to be ever so fun to see just how far she gets Imagine tottering around the kitchen in pointy, spiky shoes. It's only a matter of time until she does in herself.....or another cheftestant

Was she a hoot or what? Prada and Manolo's what a concept. If someone showed up to cook in one of my kitchens wearing stilettos they'd see the back door (or locker room) PDQ. FTV must have good insurance or worker's comp coverage to let a walking safety hazard like her actually work in their kitchens, hold harmless agreement or not. At least the "Diva from Dallas" didn't have big hair... I think it's called "self-absorbed", it's all about her no doubt about that. And can anyone explain to me how community outreach fits into deconstruction of any cuisine It's perfectly fine as concept on it's own, but the prize is a cooking show, not one about social services. Maybe I could have swallowed it if she didn't sound so damn condescending about bringing fine dining to the great unwashed masses.

I liked Adam too, got a chuckle out of BFs comments and was glad to see him survive to cook another day. But, I gotta root for Food Dude (Kevin) as he's our local entry this time around. This year's crop of cheftestants looks to be a little more likable - well most of them are more likable - than last year's crop. But 3 dishes, 30 minutes and 9 plates? Come on, give 'em a fighting chance. Oh wait, that's right...it's not about the food...

I've played around with Mexican chocolate quite a bit. It's kind of a pain to work with but usable. Mexican chocolate will usually have sugar, cinnamon and sometimes ground nuts added to it, the amounts of each will depend entirely upon the brand of chocolate. It doesn't melt well and it's a PITA to chop, but...there are ways to deal with that. Use a sharp knife to chop it up (I've known people to take a hammer to a disc and simply smash it) and put it in a bowl. Cover it with whatever liquid is in the recipe and let it soak for 10-15 minutes until the sugar in the chocolate has dissolved. If the chocolate needs to be melted (like for brownies), you can heat the liquid first and pour it over the chocolate, or heat the liquid after the sugar has dissolved until the chocolate melts and cool to use. If it doesn't need to be melted just add the liquid and the chocolate melts during baking/cooking. The chocolate will always melt, it's the sugar and other additives that cause the problems. Since there is added sugar in Mexican chocolate the amount of sugar in the recipe needs to be reduced to compensate for the sugar in the chocolate. I usually reduce it anywhere from 2 Tbls. to 1/4 cup. For brands like Ibarra or Abuelita reduce sugar in the recipe by 1/4 cup. For brands like Mayordomo or chocolate de metate only reduce by 2 Tbls. In addition to the chile suggestion (dried chipotles <mecos> are also really good with chocolate also try adding a little ground clove and/or allspice to the dry ingredients. Use orange oil or an orange liqueur as part of the liquid. Chocolate, orange, spices and chile is a killer combination

Every city needs a couple of places to hit for a chocolate fix. San Diego has a growing number of respectable and delectable choices. There's always been See's and Chuao made the scene a few years ago. Three new places have opened up over the last year or so. Chi Chocolate in Little Italy offers upscale chocolates at upscale prices. Eclipse Chocolate on El Cajon Blvd. around Alabama grew out of an artists vision. Unusual flavor combinations along the lines of Vosges all seem to work. Who knew you could successfully use sage in a chocolate bar. The chocolates were previously sold through retail gourmet shops and coffee cafes, Eclipse Chocolates opened their own shop last Fall. In addition to the chocolates, there are a few pannini sandwiches, cheese plates, desserts coffee drinks and David Rio teas. A Mother's Day chocolate extravaganza brunch is coming up this month and will be followed by a BBQ & Chocolates deal for Dads. The Elegant Truffle in Point Loma is the newest addition, open only 6 weeks. Dense, rich and very decadent the large truffles come in a lot of flavors from German Chocolate to Jalapeno. Jumbo cookies dipped in chocolate, brown sugar shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate and the OhMyGod Chocolate Cheesecake are other options. Caramel and chocolate are naturals together. The chocolate covered caramels here are about as good as it gets, buttery, silky soft and smooth. I thought they were better than the truffles which are pretty darn good. If there is a better chocolate covered caramel in SD I haven't yet found it, plus the portion size is generous. There's also the Peruvian chocolate lady at (some) of the local farmer's markets (try Hillcrest on Sundays). And if chocolate desserts are more your speed, try Elizabethan Desserts in Encinitas, or Heaven Scent in North Park. Hiring Tina Luu was the best move HS has made; try her Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart for a satisfying afternoon treat. Every Saturday Con Pane in Point Loma (Rosecrans & Canon) sells chocolate bread, which is ideal to use in the Chocolate Bread Pudding recipe in The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharffenberger. If you find yourself in San Diego in need of a chocolate fix or urge to treat your sweet tooth, we've got you covered.

You should definitely stop by, they also do food to go. The crowd is mostly Mexican but there is a growing anglo customer base. I'm not sure how this place got it's name, whether it was because it's the owner's name or something else. Fish tacos don't really send me over the moon. I'm on the trail of a pozoleria in Chula Vista; I find pozole and the Mexican soups more interesting. There's also a menudo place in CV that my friends Alex and Pat are raving about. I'll pass on the menudo, but I understand this place does some other things pretty well too. Plus my friend Pat (who lives in CV) just found another seafood place she things might even be better than Mariscos German. So it looks like I'll be off to explore CV over the next few months.

I have to credit my friend Alex for discovering this place. He was actually driving down University Ave. and stopped at their taco truck for a taco. He thought they were great and kept going back, which is how he found out there was a real brick and mortar restaurant. I had a picture of that somewhere but for the life of me cannot find it. The building looks like it could be straight out of Mexico. And it's a hoot to be driving down a city street in SD and see a building shaped like a boat and not have it be some contrived, quasi-retro thing. There were supposed to be 5 in our group, but one of our more adventursome and heartiest eaters called to say he woke up with the flu and couldn't join us, so 4 of us split all the food you saw in the photos. The tacos use a pretty standard 5" tortilla but, as you can see, are more than generously filled. The quesadillas are enormous and the small coctale was awfully big - and filling. The white sauce on the tacos was more like crema than mayonaisa and it acted more as a lubricant than flavor additive. If you look closely you can see that all the tacos actually have some white cheese on the very bottom (on top of the tortilla), buried under all the goodies. German is not an uncommon given first name in some parts of Mexico, like Sonora and Sinaloa. I've had a few employees named German over the years. It would be pronounced something akin to "Hair-mon". There was a fairly sizable German/Mennonite immigration into northern Mexico in the 1800s, and I am told there are still pockets in northern Mexico where German is still spoken. It's where the Mexican beer brewing tradition comes from, which makes sense since most Mexican beers are based on German models. It wouldn't be inconceivable that the use of German as a name came out of that period and the German immigration. In San Diego it's not really that hard to find a fish taco that isn't produced by a chain restaurant. It's a pretty common menu item down here. South Beach Bar & Grill in Ocean Beach was recently featured on Food TV as having the best fish tacos in the U.S., and they are good. The problem with fish tacos in SD is not finding them, it's finding good ones that aren't overly gringoized or yuppified. You can get them with almost any kind of fish, breaded and deep fried, broiled, grilled or sauteed, in a corn tortilla or flour tortilla, with cabbage or with lettuce, with crema, mayo or even chile flavored Ranch dressing (which, BTW, is pretty dang tasty). The fish and seafood tacos at Mariscos German are excellent because some enterprising chef, restaurant owner, contest entrant, or foodie hasn't over thought them. They're simply decent fish or seafood, prepared with care served in a corn tortilla with fresh vegetables as garnish, sauteed or raw. The flavors don't compete for dominance with each other so it makes for a nice, well balanced flavor profile. These probably aren't the absolute BEST fish tacos in San Diego, but they're worth seeking out and probably would make most top 10 lists. An added bonus is that after you've had fish tacos you can drive a couple of miles over to 25th and C and stop at Panchita's, one of the best panaderias on either side of the border. The best fish tacos I've ever had were in Guadalajara at a street stand, nothing in SD comes even close to that place, not even Mariscos German

Ask anyone what San Diego's culinary claim to fame is and most likely you'll hear "fish tacos". After all, it is the city that gave rise to Ralph Rubio and his chain of fish taco joints. But Mexican's were making fish tacos long before Ralph was born and fish tacos are nothing really new. Since crossing the border has gotten more difficult over the years, so has the quest for decent local fish tacos not birthed by a chain restaurant. It's a quest that can take one into some neighborhoods where the territory is definitely downscale, but the eats are not. One local fish taco gem is Mariscos German, located at the intersection of Ocean View Blvd. and 28th St. in Barrio Logan. It's hard to miss, the building is shaped like a fish and the jukebox blares ranchera and norteño music; there is plenty of parking. Order at the counter, grab a seat and they'll bring your order to you. The menu is strictly seafood with a huge variety of fish tacos, from plain to fancy, tostadas, quesadillas, coctales of every imaginable combination and combo fish plates. The basic fish taco starts with a base of tilapia and builds from there... While the basic fish taco was good, the others are better. The tiny bay scallops were buried under the rest of the taco, but the portion was generous and they were sweet and tender with a slight crispiness around the edges, the result of a few minutes on the flat top grill. Things start to get really interesting when shrimp enters the picture. Tacos Gobernadores contain lots of sauteed shrimp and are topped with a small mountain of onions and peppers that still retain a nice, crunch but have had some of the bite removed by a quick flash in the saute pan. Proving that you don't have to actually light the fire to enjoy shrimp, Camarones Agua Chile is a variation on ceviche. Whole shrimps are shelled, split, cleaned and arrive at the table swimming in a spicy, acidic watery chile broth, hence the name agua chile, or literally chile water. This version came as a tostada and benifited some by resting for about 10 minutes before eating. And finally, the shrimps make a fine filling for a standard quesadilla But back to tacos, the most spectacular taco they serve is smoked marlin, or, as it is on the menu, smoked marlyn. Rich, meaty and every so satisfying the smoked marlyn is the taco to order here. It tastes more like carnitas than fish and comes with the same mound of crisp sauteed onions and peppers, but with the unexpected addition of crescents of celery. If tacos, tostadas and quesadillas are not your thing, try a coctale, Mexico's version of the seafood cocktail. Though it's not on the menu, the Vuelve de Vida, or return to life cocktail, will be made if requested. This is the small one... ...and it was packed with shrimp, a ton of oysters, scallops and octopus. It was accompanied by Mexican saltine crackers, a bottle of ketchup and was gone in a flash All tacos come with a small styro cup of seafood broth and a whole, unshelled shrimp. The broth is deep and flavorful, the same can not be said for the shrimp. They are sometimes a little mushy, probably due to all the long simmering in the broth. In addition to the restaurant at 28th and Ocean View, Mariscos German operates 3 taco trucks serving virtually the same menu. One is located at 35th and University Ave in the City Heights neighborhood. The others are located in the south bay closer to the border. Go. Eat. Enjoy.

Michael Stebner's old place on 5th around Pennslyvania. The space was originally Mixx, then Region and now Celadon. Region was very good but tended to be uneven. Most of SD didn't "get" what Stebner was trying to do. His rent went up substantially as the real estate boom drove prices in Hillcrest evenhigher. He moved to Phoenix.

FWIW, this is the grinder we used last summer at Diana Kennedy's house You had to grind it through twice and used your fingers to kind guide the corn and ground corn down the hopper. Here's what the internal gear looked like The masa was quite good. Time consuming but good. DK grows some of her own corn, does the whole nixtamalization process, but she also sends corn out to the molinaro in the village above hers. I have to say, she's got more interesting contraptions that she's picked up in her travels around Mexico that are so well suited to the task at hand.

Hmm....4 year old thread. A lot has changed. - All the opening chef's at The W moved on to open their own ventures and Rice is sort of hit or miss these days. - El Agave is still in Old Town, but the State of CA in their infinite wisdom decided to end the contract with the Bazaar del Mundo vendor and award the concessions contract to Delaware North a contract food service company from the East Coast. As a result, Old Town is more like Dead Town and the hordes of tourists have disappeared. El Agave is still there and probably will be for a long time. It's got the best selection of tequila and mezcal in SD. You can get flights of single village mezcal or boutique tequilas and that's probably the way to go rather than Margaritas. The food is actually usually pretty okay, but their service runs the gamut. If they don't have the A Team working service it's pretty spotty. Blue Water Grill on India St. right before Washington Blvd. can, and does, give Point Loma Seafood a very good run for the money. Their fish is impeccably fresh and they serve one of the best fish tacos in town. Other good fish tacos can be found at South Beach Bar & Grill (recently featured in FTVs Diner's and Dive's show) at the end of Newport Ave. in Ocean Beach. For that "authentic" (whatever that may mean) fish taco experience a trip into a pretty marginal neighborhood to Marsicos German will reward the diner with some really unique and delicious seafood tacos. Ironically, the least successful taco at Mariscos German is the straight fish taco. But the taco de marlyn is outstanding. The fish is smoked marlin and it has a rich, meaty flavor that is more than a little reminesent of carnitas. The tacos gobernadores are also pretty tasty, stuffed with perfectly cooked shrimp and topped with a blanket of ooey-gooey cheese and sauteed peppers and onions. Tacos of callo (bay scallops) and pulpo (octopus) are also worthy choices. Mariscos German is located at 28th and Ocean View in the Barrio Logan. - Somebody up-thread recommneded Sushi Ota in PB, and it's still going strong. But stronger still is Sakura on Convoy in Kearny Mesa. Or Ba Ren for SD's only Sichuan Chinese. McCormick & Schmick's offers some great Happy Hour food options including a pretty decent cheeseburger. But in the 4 years since the OP posted her review of where she ate, Oceanaire Seafood Room at 4th and Island has opened and now has the best oyster bar downtown. Frequented by the downtown business set, it's a be and be seen networking locale with really good oysters. Oh, and the food's good too. In 4 years the restaurant options in SD have changed and evolved and mostly for the better. There are better chefs and better restaurants turning out better food.

I like chocolate candies, and have tried a lot of them but I absolutely adore See's Candy Sure it might not be the trendiest, most upscale or most elite bon-bon on the shelf, but they have that ability to transport me to another place, another time...or just plain satisfy my sweet tooth. My absolute favorite are the Butterscotch Squares. I could eat a pound of those in one sitting with no guilt and no regret They would have to be followed by the Dark Chocolate Bordeaux's, Key Lime Truffles and ScotchMallows (aka Scotch Kiss). But is there really a bad one in their entire product line? I don't think so. I have very fond Easter memories of big old chocolate covered and decorated Easter eggs from See's, usually filled with walnut butter cream. The best!

The best Mexican food in the city is not close to where you're going to be and would require going into areas that might make a non-local a little uncomfortable. ← So, just in case we don't mind discomfort, what is this place you speak of? ← The place is called Super Cocina (no web site) and it's located at the intersection of University Ave. and Cherokee which is in the City Heights neighborhood. It's perfectly safe during the day, the neighborhood is just a bit frayed around the edges. It's probably a 15-20 minute drive from downtown for people that don't know the area. Super Cocina serves up comida casera, or Mexican home-style cooking. The staff are not professional cooks but rather home cooks who cook their specialties. Each has to cook for the owner and his family before they can be hired. I've sent more than one person here who has turned around and walked out when they saw that the food was held in steam tables. It was their loss (or snobbery, take your pick), don't be put off by the steam tables. Many of the items there benefit from the moist heat, such as the assorted guisados that are served daily. The staff working the steam table will give you a taste of almost anything you ask for, they want you to like what you get. You can order 1 item or 2 item plates that come with fairly forgettable rice and beans, but you aren't there for the rice and beans, you're there for the entrees. Your plate will also come with tortillas (corn) which are, unfortunately, warmed in a microwave so eat them quickly. They are open for breakfast and serve up some delicious chilaquiles. A couple doors down from Super Cocina is a Carnitas Moreliana which is pretty good, and next door to the carnitas place is Fruitilandia, which as the name implies, sells Mexican style fruits along with smoothies and such. I like Fruitilandia but it's a lot like the neighborhood, a little worn around the edges. And while they have an "A" rating from the local department of health (which is really quite strict), the place always seems to a little unkempt, which puts a lot of people off. When fruit is really ripe (and that's not so much in February) they make a dynamite fruit salad combo with (or without) cottage cheese and honey that is a meal in itself. You said you didn't want taco trucks but there's a pretty good mariscos truck at University and 35th, about 3 or 4 blocks West of Super Cocina that serves up some terrific and weird tacos. It's called Mariscos German. The smoked marlin taco is outstanding and the marlin has a meaty taste resembling carnitas, it's hard to explain. The taco gobenadore is a shrimp taco loaded with cheese and sauteed vegetables. Actually they serve shrimp tacos a number of ways, none of them battered or fried. All the tacos come with a styro cup of consume with a whole shrimp (head and all) floating in it. I think the whole shrimp is over cooked and mushy, but the consume is lovely. They do have a really funky little sit down restaurant of the same name located at 28th and Ocean View Blvd. which is about 3 or 4 miles east of Petco Park. It's in Barrio Logan which is a pretty gritty neighborhood, it's definitely safe during the day but it's not very scenic (i.e. no Ocean View). You can't miss the building, it's in the shape of a boat. In the Golden Hills neighborhood, also only a few miles east of downtown, at 25th and "C" St. is Panchita's bakery (next door to Jaycee Market). I am not a huge fan of Mexican pastries, but the ones here are REALLY good. If you go, just grab a pizza tray and tongs and load up. I was there recently and picked up 4 cookies, an empanada and a puff pastry thingie and the entire total for my order was something like $3.95. And everything was excellent, though the guava filling in the empanada didn't really taste much like guava. For a real ethnic experience take the 94 east from downtown to the I-805 southbound (about 5 miles) and go 2 exits on the 805 to the 43rd St. exit. Follow the exit ramp around a long, slow right curve up to the stoplight. Cross the street and you'll be in the parking lot for Northgate Market which is the best Mexican/Latin market in town. It's huge and it is AMAZING. I've found fruits, vegetables, herbs and other "stuff" that I've only seen or eaten in Mexico. Their panaderia is super with a wall of pan dulces and a never ending supply of warm, fresh out of the oven bolillos that people have been known to fight over. They do have a deli and food court that, to be honest, I think it's pretty hit or miss. I haven't been that impressed with their offerings but I do know people that have enjoyed the food from the food court. This place is really a worthy field trip, except they get really testy if you try and take pictures. I doubt you'll find uni at Tin Fish, but Nobu might have it. Sushi Ota in Pacific Beach or Sakura up on Convoy in Kearney Mesa are probably your best bets. You also might want to check out JSix and their JBar. Both are good. You also might want to check out the 30th St. corridor in North Park, it's got some of the hottest new restaurants in town right now. Aperitivo, Urban Solace or The Linkery would all do fine for a medium sized group, and all are turning out pretty interesting food for San Diego. Also in North Park is El Comal (Google it they do have a web site). It's on Illinois Ave. about a 1/2 block north of University (yes, University is a B-I-G street and traverses most of the city). It's good Mexican food, the neighborhood won't freak anyone out, parking will be a b*tchvery because it's in a residential neighborhood. It's not a large place but it is quaint and charming and the food is not taco shop or taqueria fare, it's the real deal. Posole is a ubiquitous to western Mexico and they serve up a good version. This is the place you should probably check out if you're going to venture outside of the downtown area, it really is worth seeking out. The waitresses understand English, I'm not sure how much they really speak. It's midnight my time, I gotta go to bed...

San Diego Mexican is rather hit or miss and surprisingly not really very good for being so close to Mexico. The primary migration came from Jalisco, Sonora and Sinoloa, which is quite different than what you may be used to. San Diego has a taco shop mentality and the carne asada burrito is pretty quintessential to the city. There is a taco shop on Rosecrans Blvd. in Point Loma on the way to the Cabrillo Monument called Santana's that serves a pretty decent CAB. Mind you this is taco shop fare, cheap and not very fancy. The CAB is sort of San Diego's signature burrito, it's nothing but a tortilla, carne asada and quacamole. I'll second the recommendation for Tin Fish. The best Mexican food in the city is not close to where you're going to be and would require going into areas that might make a non-local a little uncomfortable. The other quintessential food to San Diego is uni, what is harvested off the SD coast is world class.

Bob, I know it's now past Valentine's Day and this recommendation isn't exactly French, but it is in Hillcrest and why wait for Valentine's Day to roll around again for a date with your wife Try The Better Half (no web page as of now). It's been open for a couple of months in the space that was formerly occupied by The Abbey, on University between 1st St. and Front, next to Ortega's and across the street from Chilango's. The chef John Robert Kennedy was cooking at Cafe One-Three on Park Ave. until just recently. His cooking pedigree is pretty impressive for a chef in SD...CCA for culinary school in SF, then on to The French Laundry, Charlie Trotter, Daniel Boulard, back to SF to work at Gary Danko and now SD. The food is interesting, creative, almost all of it made in house (including some really good whole grain mustard), and well priced. The bread pudding is probably the best version in the city right now; it's light, almost souffle-like, flavorful and completely seductive. Service was warm, friendly, sincere and some of the best I've seen in San Diego over the last few years. The owner was recently affiliated with the very upscale Blanca in Solana Beach. The whole premise is built around 1/2 bottles of wine rather than full bottles. I dine a lot during the week and sometimes only want a glass or so of wine, not a whole bottle. I'm also not infrequently a solo diner and the half bottle appeals to me on that level too. Their wine list is extensive for half bottles (it includes champagne splits too) and we were very pleasantly surprised at how knowledgable our server was about the different wines. We basically told her what we liked to drink and she made a suggestion that turned out to be perfect for us. They don't sell full bottles of wine, but diners are more than welcome to bring full bottles with them, corkage is a very reasonable $5. Appetizers are $7 - 14, entrees $15 - 25, I thought the prices were quite reasonable, plus they do an amuse and intermettzzo gratis. Don't wait for Valentine's Day, grab your wife and go check out The Better Half.

I haven't been in a while either, but I think the previous posters really unfortunate experience wasn't typical. Tapanade is usually pretty reliable, sound like the "B" team was cooking. I haven't gone back since I was on the receiving end of really snotty service, which is totally uncalled for, especially in SD where service isn't so hot to begin with. I have eaten at Nine-Ten and like it a lot, but it's not French. The food is good the service is usually terrible. Mille Fleurs and Mr. A's are owned by the same family adn both have a long history of serving good food in the French style using French chefs.