roaming_kate23

Those places that everyone wonders why the hell they are so popular.San Diego has quite a few.Places that have cruised along on their mediocrity for many years. Acclaimed?Maybe more in their owns minds. Another HUGE red flag for me is when the owners respond with the same comments over and over again or are very defensive .

There is a place in my neighbourhood(which has new management) which was and is VERY mediocre.The previous owner didn’t like anyone talking bad about his restaurant.It was always the same comments .And to be fair they WERE very valid points,about service,food quality and waitstaff (and he hired some really incompetent people, let me tell you.)

Or:Places that I think are hidden gems.

Mt.Soledad(some of the best views of all of the city.)

Cabrillo Monument (with a view over to Coronado and downtown)

Oceanside Harbour

Spanish Village/Museum Of Man

Book Off(even though it is a chain.I went there yesterday and walked out with four books.)

Bay Books

Crest Cafe

Bread And Cie(they do a REALLY good muffeletta)

Shakespeare’s(I qualify this a little by saying that it’s not horribly busy most days but when they are showing football matches from the UK it can be PACKED.

Thread on the San Diego food reddit post “which SD eateries make you think “why are they still open?”

First place I thought of was the Greek diner in Hillcrest.That place always looks so dark and dingy but reading reviews apparently it’s really good

Looks really can be deceiving-I have to say that some of my best meals’ ve been at hole in the wall places. I also am game for most any types of food-I am NOT a picky eater!

(I love that Reddit BTW..it is relatively bullshit free with a whole lot less of the rah- rahing the trendy places with mediocre food *cough* Carnitas Snack Shack*cough* I am so glad that Chowhound is gone.)

Found a video of urban explorers exploring the old California Theater.

What is urban exploration? Going into abandoned buildings and seeing what is in there.Legal?Probably not .But it’s interesting just the same.

The interesting thing about the California Theater is that isn’t is were I saw the Jesus And Mary Chain back in the day.That’s been 30 plus years ago and I didn’t see anything that I recognised.

San Diego has so many places that I would call hidden gems.Bates Nut Farm(yes that is the actual name of the place) is an actual farm with a store. The only time of the year when it gets *busier* is October when there are all sorts of activities going on(hay ride, pumpkin patch among them.) The one downsides is that most of the time parking is free..however you have to pay during the month of October.But it’s still a fun day out.

Wound up near the Mission near my house. Looked around and went into the church to say a few prayers for family.It was a nice walk too which was nice.I let myself get somewhat lost and I LOVED it! I need to let myself do that more often.(as long as I can get to a bus stop easily (I don’t drive).)

Then..I’m at home at there is a racket outside….ambulances and cop cars and helicopters..turns out that the restaraunt at the end of the Oceanside pier was on fire. I went out for a walk a while after it happened and had to cut it short because the smoke was bad.

 There is a Reddit for San Diego restaraunts  and it is GREAT because there isn’t any of the bullshit that there was within something like  Chowhound  which always worked my nerve with how the most mediocre places were the ones that got the most love. Thinking Carnita’s  Snack  Shack here. There is WAY better Mexican food to be had at taco shops(one of the OG’s is El Indio which has REALLY good food.You can’t go wrong with anything there. That whole India Street area is LOUSY with good places to eat(I like to reco Saffron..their Thai is some of the best that I have had(and I know what I like when it comes to Thai!)

If someone  asks me where they should go I will ALWAYS mention Spicy City on Convoy.Food’s DELICIOUS and yes, spicy.

(If you like fine dining San Diego is your place but it’s good to know which are the good places and which to avoid the hell out of. Whenever a new place opens in my hood and even further afield I like to try it. For a while I would  *always* check the Reader(our local free paper) restaraunt reviews  to see  if there was  anything worth trying(I I have gotten some great  recos especially a place(that is no longer there unfortunately) that  had the most amazing Korean fried chicken.Also in the same neighbourhood  is a hole in the wall Indian place  which has AMAZING food,IMO  the hole in the walls tend to be the best.)

 I was out and about yesterday!

Took the Coaster to Old Town. Didn’t worry about the weather as I had a good umbrella-just bought a new one  and as wet as this winter has been so far that is a GOOD thing! It looked like it rained in Old Town fairly recently.

Hadn’t been to Hillcrest ..bused it there and browsed in a bookstore(and found a book I was looking for AND it was under $10-major score!

Lunch was at a hole in the wall Indian food restaurant-Tandoori Hut-and in spite of the kinda generic name and it being a hole in the wall the food was SO good.

Headed back to Old Town and took the trolley to UTC.Had been wanting to do that  for a while.Best part is getting to see parts of San Diego you wouldn’t see normally.

UTC ,then 101 home.

A full day if I say so myself.

 Bluebird Cafe

Hamburgesa(I seem to recall Hamburgesa being  built around a courtyard.)

City Deli

Anthony’s

(Interestingly all of the places I have mentioned are no longer open)

Chicken Pie Shop

Pt. Loma Seafood(OVE their fish and chips.)

Flipi’s 

Bali Hai(which I haven’t been  to in a while and my one memory is that there was  a staircase going up to where the bathrooms were and  on one side was the women’s bathroom and the men’s on the other,)

Yesterday I took the Coaster to Old Town and then the bus to Hillcrest with stops in Mission Hills.I hadn’t been to Hillcrest in a LONG time let alone take the Coaster so it was different in the best possible way. before I even got in the train I had a couple of things that I had to do-including getting coffee and finding. a ATM both of which I did and even then I had time to kill.

Made good time getting to Hillcrest ands had lunch there-Burger Lounge.I loved the fact that you can get half fries and half onion rings-and their onion rings are GOOD.

Last stop of the day was UTC because I wanted to get some coffee at the Nespresso pods(they just came out with the first seasonal flavour -Pumpkin Spice Cake- and I had to buy a bunch-they are limited so I am going to buy as many of them as I can when they are available.

I was so tired I had to have my dad come pick me up which I wouldn’t normally do but I did a lot.Andm yes, in case you’re wondering,I slept like a baby.Big surprise there!

*Almost Famous was on TCM the other night.Love seeing San Diego-very early on in the movie there is a scene that takes place at the San Diego Sports Arena. Iconic San Diego location and where I saw my first concert a few years(a decade)later. By then it was no great shakes.The tickets we had were not the best but I didn’t care-I was at a Duran Duran concert.

Also, there is a mention of The Old Globe which I am very familiar with having seen a lot of plays there myself. Cameron Crowe’s mom took him to plays at the Old Globe which is something that yes,he worked into the movie(which is based on his life.)

*The Vintage San Diego Facebook page brings back memories of things that I had forgotten about-like Thrift Trader which has several location and what I remember is that the floor at one of the locations collapsed under the weight of vinyl records.

*Hillcrest no longer has a Starbucks..at one point they had two, as well as a Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf. Lots of chances to caffeinate!

*The House Of Blues location was an iconic Woolworth’s(remember those?)