610612 Wed Apr 08 15:29:38 -0700 2009 14 3 California 0 4579411 Hi All. We will be going to El Cajon (Alpine area) Saturday to have lunch with our granddaughter (19 yrs old) She is new to the area and not familiar with where to eat and we're driving down from L.A. We've had one recommendation for the Alpine Inn. Does anyone have any more? Doesn't have to be fancy but prefer nice to really nice and ethnicity not a problem as well. Thanx for any help. Wed Apr 08 15:29:38 -0700 2009 10599 Neta 1 4580354 How about Arriverdici in El Cajon that gets a lot of love on this board..or the Bread Basket in Alpine which is casual but very good. www.ristorante-arrivederci.com www.alpinebreadbasket.com Wed Apr 08 22:09:39 -0700 2009 4579411 97452 Beach Chick 2 4580523 there is an arrivederci in el cajon? wow. knowing that.....you are officially the san Diego restaurant king. Thu Apr 09 01:39:00 -0700 2009 4580354 155341 stevewag23 3 4581315 That's Princess to you! ; ) Thu Apr 09 09:38:32 -0700 2009 4580523 97452 Beach Chick 2 4583069 Thanks. They both look like good choices. Thu Apr 09 18:47:43 -0700 2009 4580354 10599 Neta 1 4581541 I'm really not sure if there's much I would call nice or really nice in East County. Is she in El Cajon or Alpine? Alpine Inn is okay I guess. It tries to be a nicer place in Alpine but the food really isn't that good. Janet's has good breakfast/lunch type food and has a nice country type atmosphere but I'm not sure if that's the type of nice you're looking for. If possible you might want to try and make it down into the North Park/Hillcrest areas which have better options. Thu Apr 09 10:31:06 -0700 2009 4579411 72231 DougOLis 1 4581666 El Cajon has the largest Chaldean population in the USA. Many small Middle Eastern markets and restaurants. Ali Baba on Main Street is excellent and larger than most places. Thu Apr 09 11:02:31 -0700 2009 4579411 12123 Cathy 2 4583263 If you're willing to drive into El Cajon, you may want to consider going the other direction into Santee where you can find La Trattoria in the CVS/Best Buy strip mall. Italian fusion that's very good, and the place is nice. They used to have a website which I was unable to find, but this will give you a location and a few reviews: http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/places/la-trattoria-italian-fusion-cuisine-formerly-tra/ If it's sushi or Thai you crave, I recommend Oishii. We've been going there since it opened, and have never been disappointed. The staff is friendly, service is very efficient, and the food is really good. http://www.oishiisantee.com/ Thu Apr 09 20:14:15 -0700 2009 4581666 11001 phee 3 4584075 It was posted in the "SD restaurants closed..." thread that La Trattoria had closed. Fri Apr 10 07:32:31 -0700 2009 4583263 23771 JRSD 4 4584688 I drove by yesterday at lunch. They are open. Fri Apr 10 10:39:46 -0700 2009 4584075 12123 Cathy 5 4584856 good to hear Fri Apr 10 11:33:49 -0700 2009 4584688 23771 JRSD 5 4586354 Nope - I confirmed tonight they're officially closed. The sign on their door states they thank their valued customers, but are now out of business. That makes me so sad. Fri Apr 10 21:47:06 -0700 2009 4584688 11001 phee 6 4587844 Then it just happened. I go to Navy Federal Credit Union, in that parking lot, almost daily. The door was open and there was a sandwich board sign advertising lunch. I know it was this week. Sat Apr 11 15:21:38 -0700 2009 4586354 12123 Cathy 7 4588379 I don't want to belabor the point, but they sent out a notice to their customers on Monday or Tuesday saying that last Saturday April 4th was their last day of operation. Sat Apr 11 19:38:12 -0700 2009 4587844 10506 DiningDiva 1 4594714 This is too late for your Saturday lunch, but maybe your granddaughter would enjoy trying out some of these places in the future: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/604909?tag=boards;topic-604909 Tue Apr 14 10:25:15 -0700 2009 4579411 10806 Lillian Hsu