San Diego Food & Travel

Food & Culture from San Diego to the Ends of the Earth

WORLD FARE: Astral projecting nuns mashed up with the Velvets at Sister Ray’s

It’s a legend that sounds like the basis for a religion or, at the very least, a very cool rock song: an astral projecting nun, who spent her entire life in a Spanish convent, was the first to record the recipe for chili. According to the legend, native women in America’s … [Read more...]

WORLD FARE: Haute cuisine, Tecate-style at Restaurante Amores

There was a time, not so long ago, when few San Diego foodies would have expected to find the best “fine dining” restaurant in our region south of the border. Was it prejudice? Jingoism? Or was it just ignorance? Regardless, one trip to Misión 19 dispelled me of that notion. … [Read more...]

WORLD FARE: Pasta without pretension at Monzù

Italian restaurants in San Diego have tended to fall into one of three categories: 1.) American-Italian joints with cheap red sauce and bad pizza; 2.) middle-of-the-road copycat spots (think early ’90s Gaslamp or Little Italy a decade later), or; 3.) stuffy, pretentious and often … [Read more...]

WORLD FARE: Surprising subtlety at Taste of Hunan

When the massive mortar of smashed eggplant and green chili pepper, along with preserved eggs, arrived at the table, I realized it was a bit of a metaphor for Taste of Hunan as a whole. Sure, the oversized mortar is one thing, but there’s also the tableside show of the staff … [Read more...]

WORLD FARE: San Diego’s ramen glut jumps the shark

There are a lot of local choices when it comes to ramen. It doesn’t seem all that long ago when that was not the case. But around 2015, San Diego experienced what could be described as a bona fide ramen boom. Tajima, Ramen Yamadaya, as well as a few more, were joined by Rakiraki, … [Read more...]