408250 Mon Jun 04 22:10:26 -0700 2007 16 3 California 0 2630272 I just started working in downtown san diego around Ash St. & 1st Ave, and I need some good recommendations for lunch that are perferably within walking distance. I have an hour lunch so if it's a bit far off, it will have to be fast. As far as the type of food and price: I will eat or try anything (as long as it is not looking back at me)! And perferably low to moderate price range. I know of the Horton Plaza food court, but what about the area around it? And I've read an article in the SDReader about Brothers Ópera, Patisseries Fines...has anyone tried this place? Mon Jun 04 22:10:26 -0700 2007 56633 darkmob 1 2630359 Ahhh, my old stomping ground. Can't update you on some of the more recent additions, but here were my old stand-bys: Caparell's on First (good pizza, salad, etc), Mixon's Deli across the street from Caparell's (good sandwiches), Taco Express on State (decent Mexican food, fast service), Grab 'n Go Subs (on India, on West C, and on West Broadway), Downtown Johnny Brown's in the Concourse (good burgers, salads, and fish sandwiches), and Karl Strauss on Columbia. Little Italy (India Street between Date & Laurel) is also doable in an hour. There are so many new places there I haven't tried, but be sure to try Buon Appetito, Pete's Meats (get the sausage sandwich!), and Princess Pub for fish & chips. Mon Jun 04 23:19:56 -0700 2007 2630272 11001 phee 1 2630384 it's a bit of a stroll if you're walking, but mona lisa's in little italy has great subs. order the #8 with everything and you'll experience a few minutes of heaven. there's also bud's for cajun and the waterfront for burgers in little italy. more downtown, there's bread on market and cheese shop for some decent, quick sandwiches. Tue Jun 05 00:00:12 -0700 2007 2630272 93262 DoctorQuality 2 2633988 pulpo and a small baguette from Mona Lisa... Tue Jun 05 23:26:07 -0700 2007 2630384 31795 ibstatguy 1 2632112 The Grab n Go aka Mimo's has great stuff. There are several in the Downtown Area, with the original Mimo's on India. PEte's Meats has good grilled sausage sandwiches. Sushi Deli on Broadway. It has good to go items that are no on the lunch menu. Johnny Browns for burgers. Athens Market for Greek. Tue Jun 05 12:53:05 -0700 2007 2630272 21396 normalheightsfoodie 1 2633459 I work in the building with Brothers, and all I can say is it is my absolute last resort - the girls who work there are nice, but the food is Sysco Central. The Mixon Deli across the street is pretty good. Across from that is an Italian place called Caparells. I don't like it, but some people do. I have to admit, I haven't been there in a long time. The Westgate Deli is good - the place itself is a little weird, but the sandwiches are good and they have fantastic pastries, croissants, etc. The entrance is on 3rd, just past the Civic Center. Opera Patisserie is good for desserts, but unless they have expanded it their lunch menu was pretty limited. They had about eight different ways to serve ham and cheese, on a croissant, in a pizza, on a sandwich... but that was it. It was very rich and not that good. Extraordinary Desserts is close by, I have been there a few times, it's ok but expensive and the service is slow. Maria's is a good Mexican hole in the wall - I think it's on 5th, near The Local. Mexican Fiesta is a decent taco shop over on India Street. I don't like Taco Express. I had a really gross pollo asado burrito there a couple of months ago. Johnny Brown's isn't too bad if you're in the mood for a burger and a beer. There's also a Baja Fresh and Sushi Deli down on Broadway. I recently discovered Saladstyle, it's on the other side of the Gaslamp, so a few blocks away - but if you order 3 salads they will deliver free. Salads are all they have, but they are good. www.saladstyle.com In Little Italy, you have Pappalecco (sandwiches and salads as well as gelato) Buon Appetito, Pete's Meats, Indigo Grill, the International Marketplace deli - even Bud's Louisiana Kitchen. I usually take my lunch, but when I don't I often order delivery from the Cheese Shop, they charge a buck fifty to come up to that neighborhood to deliver half a sandwich, but at least they'll do it, and they have really good house-made roast beef - which is *ahem* rare these days. (sorry!) Tue Jun 05 19:39:18 -0700 2007 2630272 11803 Alice Q 2 2633780 The Cheese Shop delivers??? You may have just made my month...Clearly I will have to ask but I am at Columbia & Broadway. The half turkey, avocado, jack is one of my favorite sandwiches EVER. Perhaps this is a bit too far but I like Sabrina's deli, they sell half sandwiches (which is great for little eaters) and they always have a lunch special that includes a main, chips and soda for about seven bucks. As a soda addict they also have the best fountain soda downtown--if you care. I like Taco Express the one on State but I like the taco shop on C street next to Grab-n-Go and a bail bonds better. There is also a place, I cannot remember the name, at the bottom of Horton Plaza by Nordstroms that has a great salad bar and very diverse menu that is tasty and they have the friendliest delivery people. Also, check out China Too for tasty Chinese food. Welcome to downtown btw... Tue Jun 05 21:34:56 -0700 2007 2633459 50314 jturtle 3 2633860 I know, cool huh? For some reason the turkey jack and avo is not made with the same house roasted turkey that they use at the LJ store, but it's still better than your average deli sandwich. They almost always forget my extra pickles and pepperoncinis - but they give you free cookies when they deliver, so I guess it's a decent trade! Is Sabrina's the one on the corner there, in the Emerald Shapery building? I go to the gym at the Y down there. I have also heard raves about Tony's coffee cart, right there in front of the Y, but I haven't tried it yet - I just started riding the trolley to work, so maybe someday I'll get off down there and get coffee on my way to the office. Down in your neck of the woods, I also really like the Fresqueria special (the rest of the menu is sort of eh) from La Fresqueria in the 550 W. C Street building. It's a veggie torta sandwich with avocado, sprouts, cucumbers, onions, tomato and jack cheese with this great salsa on a toasted torta roll. I get half of that and a small smoothie of the day and it makes a great lunch. Tue Jun 05 22:20:32 -0700 2007 2633780 11803 Alice Q 4 2633888 I grew up eating the turkey, avocado, jack at LJ, well that and Jeff's Burfers--sometimes taking the 34 down to La Jolla Shores (go UC!!!) Sabrina is in the same brick square block as Karl Strauss, I am not sure if it has such a fancy name? Right at the corner of C and State across from what was the Wyndam and is now the Westin (good cheese happy hour now.) If you haven't tried Tony's anytime you want I will introduce you. Best part of my morning, the coffee/espresso is excellent and the patrons form a great community! La Fresqueria sounds really good--makes me not want to take my leftovers to work tomorrow! Tue Jun 05 22:33:14 -0700 2007 2633860 50314 jturtle 5 2638215 Go UC? What year?? I would be happy to meet up at Tony's sometime. And what's this about a cheese happy hour? If you want to get in touch, just shoot me an email thru the blog - www.aliceqfoodie.com Thu Jun 07 08:12:36 -0700 2007 2633888 11803 Alice Q 2 2633875 Define "Sysco Central". The reality of restaurant distribution is that Sysco or USFood Serivce pull up to the VAST majority of restaurants in this city (including almost ALL of the current board favorites or upscale places), or to a lesser extent from Restaurant Depot or Costco. Any restaurant or food service operation can buy up or or down the broadline distributors food chain to fit their food budget. Sysco and US Foods deliver according to what each owner, chef or restaurant orders. The quality of the product depends entirely upon what was specified when ordered and what is done with it by the cooks. You can order the best products in the world, but if the cooking staff can't produce, you're sunk. Food doesn't just magically appear in a restaurant kitchen, it's gotta come from somewhere and, unfortunately, increasingly that is a broadline distributor. They will sell any restaurant whatever it wants from El Rey chocolate discs, Spectrum Natural Organics, and amazing blood orange olive oils (at well over $100/gallon) to dirt cheap punch base and bargain basement french fries; but what goes in the kitchen door is determined by the owner or chef, not the distributor. So to refer to something as "Sysco Central" doesn't tell me anything about the food. What's bad about it? Is it the taste? the presentation? the flavor combinations? the preparation method(s)? How are you judging the "quality" of the products? That's one of those very subjective terms we all use but that means different things to each one of us. I am not especially a fan of Sysco, but I know enough about how distribution works in the food industry to know that 1) the food has to get in the kitchen some way, it doesn't just walk in on it's own and 2) product control lies in the hands of the restaurant not the distributor. Sysco bashing is also alot like bashing the Cohn Group, easy to do, but not always valid. (And, no, I am not on the payroll of either Sysco or the Cohn Group, though, in the interest of full disclosure, I have purchased from Sysco and eaten at 4 Cohn restaurants.) That said, the original poster might want to check out Cafe Toussiant at 5th and Ash. It's run by emancipated minors who are living independently in a supervised group facility/home. The cafe serves coffee, pizza, salads, sandwiches. I heard about this place from Caffe Calabria. They're working with them on the coffee business part of it and have provided the training and products. They were really enthusiastic about Cafe Toussiant. It's inexpensive and only a 4 block walk. If it doesn't pan out, at least the OP can say s/he tried it, didn't have to invest a huge amount of $$$ and got a little exercise in the process. Tue Jun 05 22:29:33 -0700 2007 2633459 10506 DiningDiva 3 2633947 Some information about Cafe Toussaint: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070526-9999-1m26cafe.html Tue Jun 05 23:05:00 -0700 2007 2633875 13239 honkman 3 2636853 I was downtown today and stopped into a place called Pierre's Place. I scanned the menu and noticed vanilla gelato with apple turnover in it and realized that it was the place you are referring to. (they mention this flavor in the U-T article) I had a caprese pannini that was excellent. Fresh roll, good mozarella and very tasty pesto sauce. I think it also had a couple of mushrooms on it, which gave it nice texture, even if I couldnt really taste them over the pesto. I also had a cup of iced coffee that tasted good, but could have used some more ice. It came with a choice of fruit, salad or chips, and I got a medium-sized fruit salad with fresh strawberries, grapes and some still-crunchy apple. The room was a cross between an inviting coffee shop and a pizzaria. They had some comfy-looking couches set up in front of a TV playing a music channel, and fairly well-stocked bookshelf. Overall, it was a very nice looking place that served a great lunch. I would want to go back and try the pizza, which had a good looking, thin crust. Wed Jun 06 17:37:00 -0700 2007 2633875 23771 JRSD 4 2637495 Yes, I think you're right. Wed Jun 06 22:25:14 -0700 2007 2636853 10506 DiningDiva 3 2637509 It's boring, generic, commercial bulk-quality food. That's what I mean by Sysco Central. I know Sysco is a necessary evil (I'm not a moron) but I do prefer to eat at places that disguise their products a little more convincingly. Incidentally, I also know how distribution works in the food industry, and I think it's a terrible shame. Not much I can do about that, but I don't have to like it. Thanks for the tip on Cafe Toussaint - it sounds interesting. Wed Jun 06 22:37:10 -0700 2007 2633875 11803 Alice Q 2 2633963 Today, my coworkers and I decided to try Caparells since one wanted pizza. I tried a sandwich which was very good. The toasted sub added great texture to the veggie sandwhich, and my only complaint was that it was too oily due to the generous amount of dressing on it. I will definitely be asking for dressings on the side. As for the pizza my coworker order, he really enjoyed it (a half feta, half mushroom). The crust looked a little too thick for my liking though. And I didn't realize Salad Style delievers! I know a couple of ladies who would want to have a nice salad lunch, so we could get it delivered to us! Now that you mention delivery from 2 places, I will have to see what other places (that are further away) offer delivery, Thanks! Tue Jun 05 23:11:21 -0700 2007 2633459 56633 darkmob 3 2638207 You are welcome - I'm glad to hear you liked Caparells. I usually don't really want something that heavy for lunch, but it is close and I will probably get roped into going there at some point! :-) Thu Jun 07 08:10:28 -0700 2007 2633963 11803 Alice Q