Looking for Chowhound fare in Downtown San Diego

[dweendaddy]

I am going to be in San Diego for two nights and would like to know the best Chowhound fare within an easy walk or bus from Downtown/Petco Park.
I would be especially interested in:
Authentic Chinese (esp good Taiwanese or Shanghainese)
Vietnamese
Other SE Asian
(Non standard) Japanese

And anything else SD hounds love.

Thanks,

Edwin, visiting from Nashville, where we have no daodi fan.

[Dagney]

Well, as far as I am concerned, our poor OP has unknowingly asked for the Chupacabra.

mmmm Gascramp recs, if we must...

Cafe Chloe
Cafe Istanbul
Sultan Shwarma
Panevino, though I have not been there in a long time
Asian? Get thee to Convoy
Pho? Pho Hoa, Euclid Avenue at El Cajon Boulevard

Everything else is a loud burger joint incarnation of Dick's Last Resort; with stupid names like "Wet Willies" and "Whiskey Girl."

[hye]

What does non-standard Japanese mean? "Authentic"? Not sushi? Not Benihana?

I second daan's suggestions, but I've also had very off food from Okan on occasion (maybe 1 in 20 visits), so I've been avoiding it somewhat recently.

[daantaat]

Okan got a new chef in the past year, so that might be the cause of some off dishes.

[Beach Chick]

Fish Market downtown has a decent sushi bar on the waterfront..

[daantaat]

you won't find any Taiwanese or Shanghainese in this county. For that, you have to drive to the San Gabriel Valley.

best non-standard Japanese is outside of the Gaslamp Quarter. Okan and Oton are about a 20" cab ride north and both very good. Izakaya Sakura is in the same general vicinity and also very good.

[dferriot]

Taka (Japanese), Red Pearl Kitchen (Asian fusion) and Rama (Thai).

[chezwhitey]

Unless you get a car, you won't get decent asian food near downtown. There is good vietnamese(city heights), but the chinese/taiwanese fare is nothing special in san diego.

[mcgrath]

Nobu is very close, very expensive, very good and very much a chain. Apart from that, the Asian fare downtown is probably on a par with that of Nashville.

[honkman]

There are a number of good restaurants downtown, e.g. Cafe Chloe, JSix, Cowboy Star, Searsucker, Saltbox but it is not really well known for anything Asian. For that you would have to go to Convoy Street which would be quite a cab drive ( not sure if there is a bus going from downtown to Convoy)

[Rodzilla]

Searsucker? Who took over your account?

[honkman]

We know a number of friends who had very good dinners at Searsucker

[Beach Chick]

Had their brunch and it was very good..