San Diego is now one of our favorite restaurant and food cities and here’s why… (Demo)
Don Chido
San Diego’s next door neighbor is a little country you might have heard of called Mexico so you better believe this city does enchiladas and burritos like it’s nobody’s business. Restaurant Don Chido ups the ante on traditional Mexican dining by serving up top-notch south of the border eats while adding in a swank dining room bursting with splashes of color and floor-to-ceiling black and white photographs and dropping it all smack in the middle of the lively Gaslamp Quarter. Order up a round of margaritas (the tequila menu is exhaustive) and pair them with a heaping pile of guac and several plates of shareable street tacos and your night is made.
Rustic Root
Places like Hooters and the Hard Rock Cafe are looking increasingly out of step in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, a former tourist trap turned turned hot spot thanks to new nightlife options and eateries like Searsucker, Double Standard and Rustic Root. The handsome, loft-like dining room at Rustic Root is the perfect place to settle in for a fine meal consisting of standards like a half-roasted chicken or double cut pork chop, but the mad stampede is for the generous and playful rooftop patio, a dream space for lounge lizards, booze hounds and, yes, topiary aficionados. Snag a spot on a balmy evening (hint: there are about 300 a year) or come for a scenic brunch consisting of scrambles, benedicts and lots of cocktails.