San Diego

For Mexican anything that ends in -bertos ex. albertos, jilbertos.

Im going to be out there too 20- 29th.

 

Stone and Ballast Point come to mind...

 

A few musts:

Alpine Brewery
Stone Brewery
Ballast Point Brewery
Societe
Alesmith

Restuarants/Pubs:
O'Briens (Kearny Mesa)
Toronado (North Park)
Tap Room (Pacific Beach)
Blind Lady Ale House

Mexican:
California Burritos (Linda VIsta)
Anything named Alberto's

Sushi
Harney's (Old Town)

And of course In N Out every single day you are there. You won't regret it

 

I'm going to La Jolla next week so I inquired in the Pacific Forum. I got this from BA HeavySpeedway...I now pass this gold watch on to you, Butch !

"This is nanobrew's beer map - you might find it useful:"

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202319603240403294306.0004bdf5878618ab1aef8&msa=0

 

For use at In-N-Out (compliments to grilledsquid) --

http://badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/

 

Societe would be my number one stop as they have beer you can't get anywhere except there including one of my favorite IPA's, "the Pupil". It is easy access off the 163, it's large and roomy with plenty of sitting room inside and out, and a ton of parking which is a rarity in So Cal. North County has several breweries within a short drive of each other including Alesmith, Ballast Point, and Green Flash in the Mira Mesa area with Stone a little further north. Plenty of good eats too, just ask the locals and check places out on trip advisor. Enjoy your trip to beer heaven!

 

If you go to Modern Times, you can do both because there's an In-N-Out about half a block away.

 

Modern Times is definitely worth a visit, IMHO. Bonus points if you catch Nate there as well as Toronado.

In-N-Out is a cheap, fast food hamburger - a lot of people end up disappointed because their expectations are too high. Better than Micky D's, Burger King, etc.? Certainly. But you really need to dress it up or it is sort of bland - look for their secret menu and check out "animal style".

 

Modern Times is fun, and its a very big, open space. You could also make it to Stone Liberty Station from there quite easily. I personally recommend against eating at Stone; its very expensive and I don't think its worth it.

My favorite burger in town was Rocky's Crown Pub, but I haven't been there in years.

 

Don't forget about "Analberto's", lol! (actually do forget about it, I wouldn't eat anywhere with "anal..." in the name.)

 

Most of the good ones have been mentioned. Modern Times is pretty great; it's a cool space. Honestly, Ballast Point and Stone are a little overrated. Thorn St. Brewery in North Park is really cool. I love Alpine. Lost Abbey up in San Marcos is great, but probably not near where you'll be.

Tiger! Tiger! Tavern is great (same people behind Blind Lady Ale House). Neighborhood and Craft and Commerce are great, as is their ramen counterpart, Underbelly. Also in Little Italy is a pretty cool bottle shop called Bottlecraft. You can buy a bottle and drink in the store. I also can't recommend Carnitas' Snack Shack enough. The beer selection isn't amazing, but the food is amazing. Mexican food: El Zarape on Park in University Heights and Roberto's on El Cajon are easily the best, ignore what everyone else says (the carne asada fries at Roberto's are mind-blowing). Clem's Bottle House and Bine and Vine are pretty good bottle shops along with Bottlecraft.

 

Ah, Clem's. The store that hits 95 degrees during a heat wave...

 

Conservative estimate. I love that store so much, but don't the prices seem somewhat inflated? I swear some bottles are 2-3 dollars more there than elsewhere. That being said, it's a great store and have tons of stuff most other stores don't, so I guess it's kind of a wash...

 

Afi4lifer was probably the closest in terms of good recommendations.... Unless you are out here for 3-4 weeks, don't waste time going to places nobody knows about like Thorn St Brewery.

How has nobody mentioned Pizza Port? Easily in the discussion for best brewery operation in San Diego.

Alpine Brew Co. (20-25 min drive east of downtown SD... in the boonies. IPAs on par w/ Russian River)
-Societe
-Pizza Port (Ocean Beach, Solana Beach and Carlsbad... the one closest to beach) - They do lots of styles really well, and make kick ass IPAs.
-Ballast Point - go to Old Grove location in Scripps Ranch (bigger taproom, lots of space to hang out/sit/eat), unless you can't get out that way then go to their location on Morena (HomeBrewMart) (small tasting bar with nowhere to really sit or hang out).
-Green Flash
-Hamilton's Tavern / Small Bar / Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery (all owned by same guy). Hamilton's is probably the most legendary SD beer bar. I would highly recommend Monkey Paw.
-Toronado
-Blind Lady Alehouse / Tiger!Tiger! (owned by same guy, a former brewer at Stone)
-Urge Gastropub
-If you're here on the 3rd Wednesday of the month look up DrinkAbout and do that (make sure you get off the bus at Live Wire.. good taplist and sometimes you find something amazing like Russian River Temptation on tap for $5 per 16oz pour... if not they should have Blind Pig or Pliny there anyway).
-If in North County along the 78 fwy... Pizza Port Carlsbad - Mother Earth Brew Co - Lost Abbey/Port Brewing - Rip Current Brewing - Stone

For Mexican food... go to an Alberto's or Aiberto's or something fast if you want but if you want a good sit down with the best margaritas in SD check out Ponce's Mexican Food.

Food in general- Yelp will lead in you a generally good direction if you understand how to filter reviews.

 

Um, Yes, like 2 years ago I saw 6 packs of Ballast Point Yellowtail (Pale Ale) for $12 or $13. Last time I ever stepped foot in there.

 

BDBS/Krisp has almost everything Clem's has, but is reasonably priced. Ironic considering their premium location downtown.

Clem's is more expensive than even the expensive stores up here in the Bay Area, and that's saying something.

 

Agree on Pizza Port.

Also, you don't need to go to North County for Stone, now. They have a great space down in Liberty Station/Pt. Loma area.

Respectfully, Thorn St. is not a "waste [of] time." It's kind of weird to knock a place for being small and a place "nobody knows about," because at one point or another, so were all the other breweries you mentioned. I would argue Monkey Paw, Mother Earth, and Rip Current are all wastes of time by that logic (I think Thorn St. brews better beer than those three, but that's wading into truly subjective/controversial territory). Thorn St. is a really beautiful place, for a brewery, and it has a unique neighborhood feel (that sounds twee I know, but you kind of have to see/go to know what I mean, or look up pictures and read what others say about it).

To OP, you won't be missing out if you don't hit up Thorn St., but sometimes places off-the-beaten-path prove to be a richer experience. San Diego is a great city with a remarkable, nearly unparalleled, craft beer scene, so you really can't go wrong. I thought it would be nice to recommend places that you might not otherwise find, which is usually the point of posts/threads like these, but I guess other people don't find those places worth the time. I know I do.

 

I was just thinking this last week! BDBS/Krisp had Intense Red for literally 5-6 dollars cheaper than Clem's. It's still an expensive beer, to be sure, so it's not like it's being given away, it's just being sold for a fair price!