Restaurants with No Alternative

[daimyo]

On these boards you get new restaurants reviews, "where should i go", as well as the countless "this place is better than this place" threads. There are such a limited number of places that have no peer. There is no equal. I ask for your locations that, at least for you, there is no comparison. There isn't one other place that can be argued on in the conversation.

Now remember, I'm not talking favorites. If you say sushi, the majority of people here would say that Kaito is their spot. However you'd get the normal passionate response from Shirahama or Ota patrons. Pho...Lucky, Ca Dao, Pho Hao? Pizza....Brunos, Luigis's, Luc's? Tacos...Gordo, Paisa, German, Fachada? Burger...Hodad's, Burger Lounge, The Counter? Ramen...Santouka, Yakyudori...

All can be debated. We all have our favorites. Its a matter of taste or preference!

But the restaurants that have no peer? Here are mine:

Super Cocina
-I really would like to try another place's pipian, puerco enchilado, polle de cilantro. Or for that matter, any guisado not named Chile Colorado or Verde. Unless you all know about it, I know of no place that serves anything like Super Cocina. Let me know if you do!

Sab E Lee
-Sure there are Thai places all over SD if you want Panang Curry or Drucken Noodles. However, SEL is the only legit game in town.

Those are my two. I'll throw in Ba Ren because of the multitude of dishes they serve, but I can get a passable Fish in Hot Sauce at China Chef 2 on Mira Mesa. But that's at least an option! These 3 spots are, IMHO, the gems of San Diego...truly unique to our city.

I love to hear yours!!

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Super Cocina
3627 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92104

China Chef
623 Pearl St, La Jolla, CA 92037

[ipsit]

The Copper Chimney truck belongs on this list - largely for the dosas. Other places in town serve dosas, none do it like this (with 6 unique chutneys and the best sambar in town).
Punjabi Tandoor and Surati Farsan Mart also belong here, though both now have other locations in SoCal, so I dont know if that disqualifies them.

[daantaat]

I 2nd Copper Chimney! Now, if he would expand his days a little more...

[ipsit]

touche!

[HubbieO]

My last visit to Sab E Lee last week was a real disappointment. I think there's been a change in ownership or management, as well as in the kitchen. The garlic rice was bland. The Krathong Tong tasted stale. The Drunken Noodles were tasteless. Only the TomKah soup was good. I'll probably not be returning until I read some reviews that indicate the place has returned to it's former glory.

[Cathy]

Which location?

[Fake Name]

I've been told by a SEL fan and native speaker the LV location has been sold. Previous owner was Laotian, new owner is Thai.

I've not been for a while and cannot verify.

[HubbieO]

Santee

[daantaat]

Okan
Oton

[daimyo]

Ah...good ones. Whole heartedly agree.

[Maxmdwinter]

Lefty's has the best deep dish pizza in town -- equal to several legendary places I've tried in Chicago. Plus, their thin crust is also great, so IMHO, it's the best overall pizza place around.

[stevewag23]

If someone could step up and do a really good Spanish Restaurant in san diego that would certainly have no alternative.

[daimyo]

That would be a place I'd be interested in as well!

[mayache]

It's not the best Spanish restaurant in the US or probably even Southern California, but I would say in the spirit the OP was asking, Costa Brava has no real competitors in town (all the the other Spanish/tapas spots are very poor and don't focus on the food).

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Costa Brava
1653 Garnet Ave, San Diego, CA 92109

[globocity]

What is a better Spanish restaurant in So CA?

[DougOLis]

Jose Andres' The Bazaar in LA

[mayache]

I didn't mean to say I knew one in particular, but I assume there would be some better ones in LA if only for the size of the city. I haven't been to Bazaar (which DougOLis suggests), but I've heard it's quite good.

[stevewag23]

I guess you could give Costa Brava that title by default.

I like what Costa Brava attempts to do and I appreciate that they exist.

But they just don't do Spanish Cuisine any justice. I am not trying to be overly harsh on the place, but Costa Brava barely scratches the surface.

San diego is ready (I hope) for a real joint.

[mayache]

What sort of dishes would you like to see them offer?

[stevewag23]

-

[Pentagarn]

Are there any other restaurants like Pomegranate Russian-Georgian? I haven't been to any yet.

[stevewag23]

Yakitori Yakyudori
Super Cocina

I think Mama Testa is pretty unique all in all as well.

[daimyo]

Until this past Monday, I hadn't had ramen from anywhere other than Yakyudori since they've opened. I went to Santouka, had a great bowl, and remembered what I've been missing since only going to Yakyudori. However, they are completely different and I think you're right that they stand alone.

[globocity]

daimyo, do the ramens at Yakyordori and Santouka have pork broth?

[cgfan]

Santouka's specialty is their pork bone broth. Yakyudori does one too, but it's as a limited lunch-time offering only. Yakyudori's specialty is their Shio (salt) broth...

[Josh]

There are a couple of other spots where you can get guisados that I know of, and I'm sure there are more that I don't know of. Northgate Market's lunch counter has a big variety of them, and there's a spot in the Farmer's Market building in Logan Heights that has them as well.

Pizzeria Bruno is a place that stands alone, IMO.

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Northgate Market
606 N Escondido Blvd, Escondido, CA 92025

[daimyo]

Have you tried that Blue Ribbon Pizza place up in Encinitas? I was curious as to a comparison.

[goodhealthgourmet]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/712218

[Josh]

Word on the street is: meh. Another word on the street is that the site photos are lifted from another pizzeria out there. Can't verify, but am disinclined to check it unless I hear some raves from trusted sources.

[jayporter]

Josh, I don't know if I'm a trusted source, but consider this a rave -- you should check out Blue Ribbon. What we experienced when we were there was super ingredients including the cheeses and the produce (which really popped); fantastic, complex, sour crust that is from a 3-day fermentation; perfectly cooked pizza; starters worthy of the best farm-to-table restaurants around; a delicious dessert; and an excellent wine list. (They also serve craft beers.) If it were in my area I would go there once a week.

[Josh]

Good to know. I will check it out.

What are your thoughts on Bruno?

[daimyo]

I'll definitely have to check these spots for their guisados. i really have nothing to compare Super Cocina to.

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Super Cocina
3627 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92104

[cgfan]

Not a restaurant, and I can't give it across the board accolades, but I do respect Bird Rock Coffee Roasters for one thing and one thing only. I don't think there's another cafe in San Diego that carries such a wide variety of interesting single-origin coffees and actually makes them available not only for purchase to take home, but also for brewing in service.

At best a shop may select one and only one single-origin coffee per day for service, but almost never do they offer "the entire catalog" for service. Exceptions are the likes of Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle, neither of which are in San Diego...

Another "non-restaurant" but unique in S.D. is Hogetsu-do, the Japanese confectionery in Chula Vista.

No longer around but a rather one-of-a-kind restaurant was the Kamameshi specialist in Chula Vista. If I recall correctly their name was Koto, but that was a long time ago and I could be wrong...

Another restaurant that is no longer around but was arguably one-of-a-kind was Wakei (as in "Wakei Seijaku", the distilled values forming the philosophical center of the Japanese tea ceremony), located where Yumeya is now. What made them unique was their particular focus on Japanese tea service and house-made Wagashi.

Then there was the Kaiseki restaurant in Rancho Bernardo, Restaurant Yae. If my recollection of it is still accurate, I believe that to this very day it was the very best Japanese restaurant to have ever existed in San Diego.

When I think of these Japanese specialty restaurants I can't help but feel amazed that they existed at all, as these otherwise excellent restaurants suffered due to no other fault than be established in a San Diego that at the time was not culinarily developed enough to keep them around. Things eventually improved after many, many years of "drought", but these early stalwarts each provided elements that for the most part are still missing today from our local Japanese food scene.