Comic Con: Eating and Drinking

Eating in the Gaslamp and around the convention center can be really expensive, and it's a lot of chain restaurants or otherwise poor food for the price. There are a few exceptions. Burger Lounge just (as in a day or two ago) opened up their Gaslamp location. While I recommend checking out their Hillcrest, Little Italy, or Kensington locations, I can't deny that this one is the closest to the convention center. They've got a super great turkey burger and yummy fresh french fries. Sushi Deli is super crowded most days, so I'm sure comic-con won't help the situation, but for super cheap sushi it's better than most. Whatever you do don't go to Sushi Itto, I should've realized how bad it was going to be when I realized that the owners were Russian. Something about a trendy neighborhood attracts terrible sushi places. For California style food Sammy's Woodfired Pizza is a good local chain with an inventive menu. I normally abhor places that try to do too much, but Sammy's tends to get it right.

When it comes to drinking in the gaslamp in my experience the place is mostly full of horny businessmen excited to get away from their wives and women that fancy themselves cougars. However I've really enjoyed myself at The Tipsy Crow (why do I always bring up crows?) and The Field. The Tipsy Crow has three levels, a downstairs dance floor (which is usually dead, but has a bar with faster service!), an awesome pub with games and a young professional crowd on the main level, and an upstairs lounge. It's a very fun environment with a great beer selection. I love the Field, which is an irish pub, because I once had three firefighters and a swiss guy propose to me there it's intimate and casual with, of course: a good beer selection.

Of course what everyone really wants to know about San Diego is where the good Mexican food is. My favorite spot is Miguel's Cocina. I really enjoy their Point Loma location as it's got a beautiful view of the city and bay, not to mention lots of lobster specials, but it's a little further from the convention center. They recently opened up a location in Old Town with a beautiful patio area. They've got an amazing white salsa and be sure to ask for the free pickled vegetables if they don't bring them to the table. Their albondigas soup is great and if you're not up for seafood I highly recommend the flank steak which isn't on the menu, but is always a special.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've never had the best fish tacos in San Diego. Based on many, many recommendations from trusted friends I feel comfortable saying South Beach Bar and Grill in Ocean Beach (or O.B.) has the best fish tacos in the city.

But the best place to get San Diego specialties like carne asada fries and california burritos are any local taqueria, known as "berto's." Everyone has a favorite, but you know it's good if the name ends in "berto's." They're pretty much all hole in the wall places and you can find them in almost every shopping center. Try to not let the bars between the cash register and you intimidate you, because Humberto's really is the best. The thing that makes San Diego taco shops different than even the San Diego style taco shops in Sacramento is that they've always got red and green sauce rather than a salsa bar. Every place has their own recipe.

I could probably eat Mexican food every day, but if you want to branch out I recommend Tioli's Crazee Burger and Bleu Boheme. Tioli's has crazee burgers like antelope and gator (which is why it was featured on Diner's, Drive Inns, and Dives), but also tamer choices with great toppings Their fries are the bomb diggity and they've got a pretty sweet beer selection. Bleu Boheme is an upscale, but not outrageous, french bistro. It's in a great neighborhood and they've got delicious mimosas with lavender lemonade. For dessert you can't go wrong with Extraordinary Desserts which has locations in Little Italy and Banker's Hill. Forgo the Dulce De Leche which they are so famous for and get the chocolate croissant bread pudding or white chocolate macadamia cheesecake if they've got it that day.

Like the Gaslamp, PB (aka Pacific Beach) has a lot of bars, but I prefer to spend my time elsewhere.  My go to spots were always Live Wire, Bar Pink, The Tower Bar, Fiesta Cantina, and the college bar, Effins. The Whistle Stop comes highly recommended and I look forward to checking it out next time I visit. Live Wire is my personal favorite though as they have awesome bartenders (and one not so awesome one), pool tables, buck hunter, dogs, and a great jukebox. It's probably the place I miss most in San Diego.

Comic Con: What to do

I don't know how Comic Con works, but it seems like a shame to me to come to San Diego and spend all of your time inside!

One of my favorite hobbies when I lived in San Diego was kayaking. While I've taken plenty of lessons and classes, it's easy even if it's your first time out. I've kayaked in Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean, but I really can't say enough awesome things about La Jolla Cove. You get an opportunity to gawk at beautiful homes and the wild life comes right up to your boat. I've spotted plenty of sea lions, dolphins, and leopard sharks. And if the weather is right you may get a chance to go into some of the caves. I've gone through La Jolla Kayak and really enjoyed it, but I recommend looking around for whatever the best deal is.

Balboa Park probably deserves a post of its own. It's truly the jewel of San Diego. You could easily spend an entire afternoon walking around, only admiring the architecture. I'm a huge Shakespeare nerd so I recommend visiting The Old Globe. They're currently preforming Much Ado About Nothing, Amadeus, and The Tempest. Every Sunday, the  House of Pacific Relations has a lawn program and all of the International Cottages are open. This was one of my favorite things to do when I lived in San Diego as free food was involved (although I did give donations). Each cottage is decorated like a traditional home around the world and there's volunteers eager to teach you about their history and give you a snack. There are a ton of museums in the park. Obviously there's the San Diego Zoo, but there's also the Reuben H Fleet Science Center, San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego Automotive Museum, SD Museum of Man, the SD Museum of Natural History, and many more. The Timken is a free art museum if you feel like doing something cultural without spending more money.

Old Town San Diego is super touristy but somehow I was always happy to go anytime there was a tourist around or I just wanted to play tourist. It's mostly filled with shops and smaller museums, and of course Mexican food.

Another very touristy spot worth checking out is Seaport Village. It's actually an easy walk from the convention center. One of my favorite lazy afternoon activities was sneaking into the hotel pools next to the convention center and then walking around Seaport Village. There are a lot of smaller shops, the only one worth mentioning is Upstart Crow (have I mentioned my love for Shakespeare!?). Mostly it's just a good spot to enjoy San Diego's weather and walk along the bay, taking in views of Coronado.

Comic Con: Getting Around

I'm in my hometown of Sacramento for the summer, but I've spent the last four years living in San Diego... so I'm kind of an expert on the city. Or at least more of an expert than 95% percent of the people writing guides about Comic Con. I've never been to Comic Con, so this is a guide on the city and what to do when you're not at the convention center.

Getting Around:

San Diego is a car city but I've managed to survive for four years without a car. If you're flying into San Diego and hesitant to rent a car I beg you to not limit yourself the area around the convention center known as the gaslamp. Really, if you've got a car it's even more of a reason not to spend too much time in the Gaslamp. I've managed to spend $24 on parking less than two hours in the Gaslamp.The public transportation system is fairly reliable and will take you pretty much where you need to go. You can buy one day passes ($5) on any bus, or a two, three, or four day pass ($9, $12, and $15 dollars respectively) at trolley stops.

The trolley makes it super easy with the special event red line train, but I recommend the bus system as well. From the convention center it is super easy to catch the 2 (to South Park and North Park), 3 (Bankers Hill and Hillcrest), 7 (Balboa Park, Hillcrest, North Park, City Heights, my old apartment, La Mesa), 11 (Bankers Hill, Hillcrest, Normal Heights, and Kensington), 15 (an express bus though Hillcrest, North Park, City Heights, and the College Area), 30 (Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and UCSD), 50 (weekdays only: Clairemont and UTC), 120 (Hillcrest, Fashion Valley, Linda Vista, Kearny Mesa), 150 (weekdays only: Old Town, UCSD, UTC), 923 (Airport, Point Loma, Ocean Beach), and 992 (Airport).