San Diego is known for having great authentic Mexican food. One reason is because of how close it is to the border. There are lots of small taco stands and we ventured into this one called La Playa. It was a small shack with counter service - and great food.
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| Very simple nachos - two kinds of cheese on crisp tortillas. |
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| Pork Carnita Taco with everything. Pork was tender and flavorful. The salsa verde was freshly prepared. |
Our last night in PB (that is the acronym everyone uses for Pacific Beach) we ate at Amplified Brewing. They had some great hazy IPAs which is a very popular style here. To me, it was the same as what some brewers have termed a New England IPA. The beer will have a hazy quality since it is largely unfiltered and a lot of the sediment remains in the beer. When done properly, it is very tasty.
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| Fried Zucchini Chips dusted with parmesan. Well fried but needed some more seasoning. Fried items needs to be seasoned right after they come from the fryer and these hadn't been. |
The next day we were headed to Coronado which is a small island just about 20 minutes from SD (see what I did there?). Several years ago, we had been to the Great American Beer Fest in Colorado. If you are a beer fan, it is a must do at least once and I would suggest returning every 5 or 6 years since that is when we tend to see large changes in the beer scene for new styles. When we went, it was the time of the crazy, hoppy IPAs. I always compared it to those shops that sell hot sauces where each sauce claims to be the hottest with 17 million Scoville Units!!! There were beers that would ruin your taste buds for a week. Anyway, the year we went a San Diego brewer called Pizza Port won many of the top prizes. We had always wanted to go but hadn't made it ou this way. Since we were in the area now, it was the time!!
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| Great assortment of styles. I had the Paloma Sour which was a great tribute to my favorite Mexican cocktail. Also tried the Flying Hawaiian which was a wheat beer having a bit of sweetness. |
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| Their deliciou Pizza Monterey!! The cheese had some crispy bits and the crust was substantial enough to stand up to the pepperoni, mushroom and artichoke.
My first full day in Coronado was first spent doing some laundry in IB. That stands for Imperial Beach - sounding more and more like a native. I never knew laundromats had special discount days!!
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After laundry, it was time to explore Downtown Coronado. So many great places and really good happy hours. I had never been to place where you could make your own poke bowl. Poke 123 let you chose from about 10 different proteins, five sauces and and about 15 add-ons. Proteins were different types of tuna (ahi, seared or spicy), cooked shrimp and tofu to name a few. Sauces ranged from mild to "Knock Your Socks Off" (my term). And the add-ons were various fresh ingredients such as edamame, seaweed salad and green onions. And this was all put on your choice of white rice, brown rice, rice noodles or tortilla chips. It was a bit intimidating to have to choose ingredients that would taste good together. I didn't let that deter me. I went with the Poke 123 special tuna which was cut into perfect cubes as well as the spicy tuna which was had been mixed with a sauce all on brown rice. I picked the milder of the two spicy sauces and was glad I did since it had plenty of heat, possibly aided by the spicy tuna. Next time, I would probably not choose the spicy tuna.
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| Poke Bowl from Poke 123. |
The Tavern had a great Happy Hour with a really nice mac and cheese as well as brisket slider.
Next up was The Henry which had the most delicious shishito peppers served with a great Unami sauce. If you have never had these peppers, order them when you see them. Most of the peppers are mild but about one of every ten will have a little kick. They make a fun group appetizer to see who will get the hotter ones. Here they served with an amazing sauce which I think was a combination of melted butter, soy sauce and fish sauce. Dipping the hot peppers into this, coated them with this savory sauce and added such a great punch to them.
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| Shishito Pepper at The Henry |
Next up was Leroy's. I have blogged before about deviled eggs and how I will often pick those from a menu. And the description said they had a Garam Masala seasoning which sounded very interesting. I have to say, these deviled eggs nearly brought tears to my eyes for how thoughtfully prepared they were. I believe they added mango to the egg yolks before pureeing for added sweetness. And there was just enough of the Garam Masala flavor without masking the creamy yolk flavor I crave. At first I thought the frisee salad was a throwaway garnish - but I was wrong. It had also been seasoned with Garam Masala and some additional sea salt to give it a savory flavor, in addition to adding the needed crunchy texture to the eggs. Simply, the next deviled eggs I have ever had!!
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| Leroy's Deviled Eggs |
Having given Coronado lots of love, it was now time to do the same for the Gaslamp District in San Diego. This is one of the older sections of San Diego which has so many bars, restaurants and retail. It is literally right next to Petco Park where the Padres play so I can imagine it is very popular before and after games. We were there on a Sunday morning and all the places were hopping since it was a day for NFL Football. Some of my favorites from the day.
The Garage had some terrific sliders with a sharp cheddar sauce and grilled onions. Three really meaty patties for only $7 during football games. Eight well-fried, crispy wings were also only $7 during the games. I loved that they served the sauce on the side so they stayed crisp. Too often a place will spend time getting wings crispy, only to ruin them with a sauce that makes them soggy. Kudos to The Garage for getting it right!!
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| Cheeseburger Sliders from The Garage |
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| Crispy wings. Simply prepared and delicious. |
Pretzel nuggets from Half Door Brewing. The bartenders highly recommended these so we tried them. Normally pretzel nuggets are dry and tasteless, except for the sauce they come with. Not here. These were tasty, delicate, moist morsels of goodness. Each one had the crispy edges you look for on a pretzel and had each been brushed with melted mutter and then a little salt. They came with a white cheddar sauce and a slightly sweet grain mustard sauce. Both sauces certainly complemented the pretzels, but they weren't needed.
I feel like I only touched the surface of all the places to eat and drink in San Diego and Coronado. Will definitely be coming back in the future for more exploring, eating and drinking. Now we are off to Los Angeles for one night to catch a flight home to the East Coast. Until the next time.
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