The Persnickety Palate: California Road Trip : San Diego

The last few days in San Diego area have been fun and delicious and this is only the start...

We spent our first day with a morning walk along the Pacific coast in La Jolla Cove watching the seals and snorkelers and enjoying the beautiful weather. Our stomachs still on the East coast, we were hungry by 10:30am and decided to stop in for a snack at George's by the Cove where my son enjoyed his first real Fish Tacos. What makes them different than what we find on East coast? Well, they're made with grilled mahi mahi and topped with cabbage not shredded romaine lettuce. Lime, guacamole and hot salsa are a requirement. And the most important thing of all is that they are served with handmade, thick corn tortillas not store-bought flour or thin corn ones that fall apart as soon as you take the first bite. They were delicious!!

The rest of the day was spent at the harbor and walking around Seaport Village and the USS Midway. After a break and nap at our hotel, we headed to the Gaslamp Quarter for some dinner. We looked through a few menus and my son decided on The Hopping Pig which is a divy looking bar but had some great cocktails and food. He had the sausage flat bread and I opted for the carnitas tacos with a sazerac. We also ordered a side of roasted Brussels sprouts which came with big chunks of pork belly & a balsamic sauce. All was delicious and plates were empty.

Our second morning was spent at the San Diego zoo. Since we got there early, we were able to beat the crowds and cover all the exhibits in 4 hours. Food options in the zoo are your typical junk foods, but I had a plan in advance for lunch. We packed enough snacks to keep our stomachs at bay and then headed over to Liberty Public Market afterwards for lunch. This is a large area with stores and restaurants next to the San Diego airport. One of the building houses a giant food & beer hall with multiple vendors selling their products. The variety includes fresh pasta made to order, Argentinian empanadas, raw bars, sushi, and so much more.

My son opted for a stuffed burger which was gigantic, juicy & delicious and I opted for a Thai spicy basil rice with chicken. We found a table, I grabbed a local beer on tap from the beer hall and enjoyed an amazing but affordable meal. My Thai rice was actually spicy and they provided additional hot sauce if I needed. Thai food on the East coast is always so mild that it makes it taste unauthentic. This had real Thai chilies and basil along with the flavors of fish sauce.

For our final meal in San Diego, we returned to George's in La Jolla, but this time to their fine dining restaurant called California Modern. We opted for the four course dinner and I also indulged in their wine pairings. We loved the food and service at this restaurant and had a very relaxed meal. There is too much food to describe here but suffice it to say it was all delicious. I'll let the pictures do the talking....