Visiting San Diego - Winter 2015

I think we can now safely say that North Park is a 2-day destination in and of itself.

 

Xul, I think for the next time you update this, the homebrewmart got a facelift and is now quite comfy.

 

If only we could still drink on the coaster or appear slightly inebriated.... rip wallet at Padres games now.

 

Yep. I really like staying there too. Very central and right by the park.

 

So it happens I'll be in San Diego at the end of the month very briefly. I will only be there for one full day and then a half day after that. I have no obligations but to drink beer and eat food. Obviously I won't be going to all 4 clusters mentioned above, but more likely visiting 1-2 areas and a handful of breweries/pubs. Any suggestions for a full day including lunch and dinner, and lunch the following day? I understand San Diego is a huge city, so it would be cool to just visit a few "must-sees." My friend and I will have a car, so I'm sure we'll do tasters at a lot of spots.

 

^
30th street. you can't ask for more and its decently centralized in the city.

But the only places that really offer tasters are breweries/tasting rooms and restaurants. You guys will probably just have to split a few half pours at the bars.

 

We will be driving down from LAX on Wednesday the 25th in the morning. We have all day Wednesday and until around 2pm on Thursday (pretty flexible), then we are making the very long drive back up to the Bay Area (probably not arriving until the early morning).

edit: The second "day" is more like "grab lunch and a pint, fill some growlers"

 

AWESOME. Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for. Beachwood is definitely on the itinerary, probably on the drive back up. Any suggestions for dinner on 30th St?

 

Tiger Tiger's menu looks pretty awesome. Wouldn't mind trying Carnitas Snack Shack either. Thanks for your help and suggestions. Should be a nicely packed day.

 

@Xul Tremendous job. Kudos to you. I'm obviously from out of town, but I travel to SD (business and pleasure both) quite frequently, as matter of fact I just came back on Monday after a long weekend there, and your guide hits everything a beer "tourist" needs!

I personally would skip Underbelly. It's a very hipster place to be, and being a Chinese/Japanese, I wouldn't exactly call their ramen groundbreaking, and the wait can be long at time, but that's just me. However, I fully agree on Tacos Perla. If you feel adventurous, get some chapulines/crickets on your tacos, or as a side!

Carnitas is definitely a walk from this corner, and unless you hit the right time of day/night, you can be looking at about 10-15 wait times to order.

I did a "Taco tour" while I was down there drinking and eating, Perla -> City Tacos -> Carnitas, and hit one or two drinking places along the way.

And as far as Modern Times go, while the Tasting Room on 30th St is more convenient, I prefer the main brewery; I dunno, maybe because it speaks more "craft" than that glass house of a tasting room.

Since you put some San Marco locations on your list, do you think Brothers Provisions is worth a mention as well? Good food that open before noon (so you can grab food and pre-game on the way up to Lost Abbey), that also serves beers on tap and a decent size shelves with beer bottles.

Since we talk about breweries and possible (read: most likely) late night drinking, maybe you can expand the list to have places for late night grub around and/or after last call? Like Jimmy Wong's that open until 3A.M.?

 

Late Night grub, search for any place *to's. Guaranteed open late. =P

 

Humberto's. Carne Asada Fries. Yes, this^ post checks out...

 

late night grub - soda and swine! its either that or a burrito

 

This is too many pages back now... bump because apparently no one can figure that out!

 

Now that I have kids the vast majority of my visits to San Diego have involved a child, from baby to toddlerdom and no to whatever you call a 4 year old. Have yet to have an issue at any place, even when crowded, and far from feeling outcast most places seem to be charmed by having a child (or children) in tow.