Quick Trip to San Diego

[glutton08]

Hi All -

I'm going to be in San Diego for two nights to meet up with a few friends in a couple of weeks. I'd love some recommendations for places with great food. Good beer is also a plus. Cost is not a concern, but we're not looking for fine dining. Think 4 guys in their early 30s meeting up from various cities to catch up for a weekend. We're open to any type of cuisine as well.

We'll be staying in one of the touristy hotels downtown (or maybe it's Gaslight?), but willing to take a cab or walk to another neighborhood (don't think we'll have a car though).

A lot of the reading I've done already seems a bit outdated, but The Linkery looks perfect, as an example. In fact , unless you guys turn up something better, I'm pretty sure that will be Friday night dinner.

Thanks!

[DougOLis]

Staying downtown: Neighborhood, Monkey Paw and Downtown Johnny Brown's are all good beer options. Neighborhood is better for food.

Venturing out a bit:
South Park area: Alchemy and Hamilton's
North Park area: The Linkery (or El Take It Easy) and Toronado
Midtown: Starlite and Regal Beagle

[Rodzilla]

Sounds like your party would do well at Linkery, Urban Solace, Prep Kitchen Little Italy, Starlite might be another option to look into

[glutton08]

Thanks. The Urban Solace menu looks especially good from that list.

It seems like everything suggested so far has been American/farm-to-table. Is that because I mentioned The Linkery or is that type of restaurant just the strength of the San Diego dining scene?

If I only have 2 dinners, it would be great to go to one place like that and something a bit different as well.

[honkman]

SD strength over the last few years is different variation of farm-to-table/bistro style restaurants. But all of them have their unique angles and choosing two of them would still give you very different experiences, e.g. Urban Solace, Cafe Chloe, Alchemy, Linkery, Smoking Goat, Farmhouse Cafe, Starlite, JSix, El Take it Easy

[RB Hound]

Gaslamp, though certain people on this board will try to gaslight some of the regulars who do not like most of the places in the Gaslamp.

If beer is your priority, you could do a lot worse than Neighborhood, Downtown Johnny Brown's, or the Beer Company. If you get a burger and/or fries at Neighborhood, though, don't ask for ketchup. They might send you over to Rock Bottom or something like that.

[glutton08]

Great food is the priority. Local beer would be a nice addition. And, yes, Gaslamp, sorry.

[cstr]

There's a bogo coupon for The Linkery in one of those dining rags, may be helpful.