Need Takeout Recommendations

[andjuan]

My wife and I are going to be visiting San Diego next week. We're going to be going to a friend's house for dinner after visiting the Safari Park. My friend said she could pick up Boston Market for us after the park. I told her that my wife and I were really hoping to try some of the local food and not eat at any chains and we would pick up the food on the way back from the park. If I can get the meal here in Florida, I don't want to eat it when I'm on the other coast.

So, I need some good takeout recommendations. She said that Escondido, San Marcos, and Vista are on the way back to her place. There will be four of us and she has a one year old. Any guidance you can offer will be greatly appreciated!

[svnirvana]

How do you feel about cheap Mexican food?

Stop at a Taco shop and get a pound of carna asada, a pound of carnitas, some beans, rice, guacamole, some tortillas and a couple of salsas and you will have a pretty typical SoCal meal.

The question is, which Taco shop? I'm sure people will chime in with there favorites, there are some good ones along your route. There are also several Mexican supermarkets (Vallarta, Northgate) that sell hot food packaged to go.

On the other hand, if you are a craft beer fan you might want to stop by Stone Brewing and get a couple of Growlers filled with something you can't get in Florida.

http://www.stonebrew.com/visit/beer.asp

Stone has a Bistro and they could also set you up with food to go, but I think you would be better of with beer from Stone and Mexican food.

[andjuan]

Stopping at a taco shop and picking up items sounds perfect! It's exactly what I was thinking. Now if anybody wants to throw out their favorites, I'll gladly take them into consideration. I'm a bit partial to carnitas myself, so anywhere with good carnitas gets bonus points. My wife will probably want somewhere she can get some good guac and/or queso.

[JRSD]

I would go to Northgate Gonzalez market and pick up food there. In addition to the hot food - Carnitas, Machaca, rice and beans, etc., they have numerous salsas, ceviches and aguachiles to pick up. They will have guacamole, different kinds of crema and different cheeses - cotija, quesadilla and others.

They make their own tortillas and chips there and have a bakery with desserts and fresh rolls. You can get a great meal to go there. Super unhealthy, but I love getting their huge tortillas, carnitas and the quesadilla cheese and making carnitas quesadillas.

[andjuan]

Thanks for the tip! That sounds great.