{"id":506349,"date":"2026-10-24T08:24:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T08:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/506349\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T08:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T08:24:32","slug":"5-must-try-meals-in-san-diego-right-now-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/506349\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Must-Try Meals in San Diego Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Someone important lost their composure over a lobster concoction eaten at elevation, our food news<\/a> writer went haywire and started eating dessert first, and our digital editor time-traveled back to an \u201980s movie and rediscovered linguine and clams at Coronado\u2019s newest restaurant-scene addition<\/a>. These are the dishes and drinks that we feel you should search out this month if happiness is still a current pursuit.<\/p>\n

Mister A\u2019s<\/p>\n

Lobster Cheese Sandwich<\/p>\n

The great lie is that lobster automatically makes everything better. Restaurants will throw it in a burger, where it just becomes a meaningless brawl between surf and turf, both of their charms screaming into a great protein void while too much bread also makes a bunch of clatter. <\/p>\n

But toss Maine lobster chunks with chives, and put it on housemade brioche with b\u00e9chamel and a duo of cheeses (Comt\u00e9, cave-aged cheddar) melted with lobster stock? And do it with just the right amounts of each so that it\u2019s not like you\u2019re digging through, trying to find a chunk in the lobster mac \u2019n\u2019 cheese you fell for the upsell on? \u201cSent me to the heavens; no notes,\u201d wrote a hyperventilatey San Diego Magazine CEO, Claire Johnson, after lunch at the city\u2019s restaurant in the sky<\/a>. \u2013Troy Johnson<\/p>\n

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Toasted Gastrobrunch<\/p>\n

Short Rib Benedict<\/p>\n

You know those fancy earth-sheltered bus stops they have in posh, cold towns? The ones that look like a snow-town cenote? Imagine one of those, 100 times as big, with brunch in it, by the beach. That\u2019s essentially Toasted in Oceanside<\/a>. Chef Alfie Szeprethy\u2014who rose up through some San Diego classics (Fleming\u2019s, Banbu, Top of the Market, Roppongi)\u2014swaps out the English muffin for the increased cargo capacity of grilled sourdough, then layers on slow-braised short rib, poached egg, pickled onions, and a lava flow of harissa hollandaise. <\/p>\n

Short ribs in lesser hands lean too heavy on the sugar to caramelize the ribs; it ends up tasting like someone trusted their protein diet bro with making dessert. Szeprethy knows the crimes, avoids them, and this is how brunch should be done. He also says he can tell when you sneak BuzzBallz into his restaurant in your pockets, just FYI.\u00a0\u2014Troy Johnson <\/p>\n

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By the Sea<\/p>\n

Linguine and Clams<\/p>\n

To pre-launch locals\u2019 summer, we ventured to Coronado\u2019s newest restaurant<\/a> from Nolita Hall\u2019s owners, Doug and Lara Hamm. The couple was inspired by their travels through the Mediterranean coast, so By the Sea is Amalfi-style white oak, hand-stained willow reed thatching, Italian limestone, and exposed woodbeams. <\/p>\n

The menu from chef Alex Carpio (ex-Ironside, Underbelly) features everything from a seafood tower to a 28-day dry-aged ribeye and caviar tastings. But sometimes simpler classics sing, namely the linguine and clams with good ole garlic, tomato, and parsley. Pro tip: Don\u2019t split it. You\u2019ll want the whole thing to yourself. \u2014Nicolle Monico<\/p>\n

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Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum<\/p>\n

Black Gold Egg Yolk Cream Bun<\/p>\n

Life is short, so why wait until the end of a meal to order dessert? That ethos is precisely why\u2014whenever I dim sum\u2014I tend to order sweet Cantonese steamed custard buns alongside my savory shumai, char siu bao, and xiao long bao. Hong Kong Kitchen & Dim Sum<\/a>\u2019s version is as eye-catching as it is drool-inducing. The first bite releases a gooey, molten sweet egg custard, pouring out of a jet-black bun, topped with a swipe of golden flair. It\u2019s a beautiful, pillowy, sugar volcano. \u2014Beth Demmon<\/p>\n

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Thai Time<\/p>\n

Panang Curry<\/p>\n

People in my life have clocked my love for Thai Time<\/a>\u2019s Panang curry and attempted to limit my consumption. (Sharing the exact frequency is too shameful; it\u2019s higher than is decent to print.) But I will not be restrained. Creamy, spicy, and packed with perfectly cooked (snappy, but not raw) green beans, peas, and bell peppers, then given the trademark Thai basil. I only get it with tofu, but you can get duck, chicken, pork, even soft-shell crab. Need something refreshing to help cool the spice? Is the cucumber gimlet a cocktail or a spa tincture? It\u2019s both.\u00a0\u2014Emma Veidt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Someone important lost their composure over a lobster concoction eaten at elevation, our food news writer went haywire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1339,74,76,75,195716],"class_list":["post-506349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-food-drink","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-staff-picks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}