San Diego, CA

Posts from San Diego, California on The Joy of Food blog.

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood - shoyu ahi, garlic salmon

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — San Diego is primarily littered with trendy Chipotle-style poke food culture, sleek places where huge mashups of clumpy rice, stringy toppings, and low-grade fish get layered together before your very eyes. Properly executed, fresh tuna shouldn’t be hot pink like a lollipop.  […]

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Birrieria Don Rafa - tacos con birria de chivo (left) y res (right)

Birrieria Don Rafa

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — For every street taco joint or fish taco truck in San Diego’s many South Bay neighborhoods, there will be at least one birrieria to soak up the alcohol. Birria — a Mexican dish of shredded goat or beef, stewed in a broth […]

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Azuki Sushi - chirashi bowl

Azuki Sushi

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — Azuki Sushi Lounge is a mid-range sushi option in San Diego, tucked somewhere between the higher-end omakase purveyors (Nobu, Sushi Ota) and progressive small plate places that emphasize both style and substance (Cloak & Petal comes to mind).  Incidentally, Hane Sushi — […]

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Curry ’n Kabab - chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and rice

Curry ’n Kabab

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — From the outside, Curry ‘n Kabab looks not unlike every other strip mall Indian purveyor in San Diego, to its left a Mexican food joint and to its right a shop specializing in martial arts. In this part of town, samosas might […]

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Puesto - ceviche verde

Puesto

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — Yes folks, I like Puesto. If you have followed the Puesto story over the years, you will probably know it to be a trendy Mexican-American front-runner in San Diego that excels at food, drinks, and ambiance. These are trophy tacos given an […]

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Taste of the Himalayas - curry and saag aloo

Taste of the Himalayas

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — From the outside, Taste of the Himalayas looks more like a dry cleaner or a payday loan service than a place serving food, tucked away in a corner spot in one of those suburban strip malls where everything is the color of […]

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Las Cuatro Milpas - pork taco

Las Cuatro Milpas

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — Meaning ‘The Four Cornfields,’ Las Cuatro Milpas is the quintessential hole-in-the-wall serving traditional Mexican eats at dirt cheap prices. The long line is there for a reason. You will need some extra time but not a lot of money to eat here. […]

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Pho Hoa - #12 steak, brisket

Pho Hoa

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — In a city teeming with Vietnamese noodle shops specializing in the very fragrant beef noodle soup known as pho, one of them has to be getting it right. In San Diego, Pho Hoa might just be it. They do one thing here, […]

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Donut Bar - strawberry split donut

Donut Bar

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — If you, like me, enjoy yeasty donut goodness, Donut Bar will be your kryptonite.  In theory, Donut Bar represents most of what I rail against when it comes to the un-balanced American diet: too many calories, too much fat, too much sugar, […]

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