{"id":22765,"date":"2019-09-12T13:18:36","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=22765"},"modified":"2019-09-12T13:18:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:18:42","slug":"plates-pints-go-to-to-go-spots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2019\/09\/12\/plates-pints-go-to-to-go-spots\/","title":{"rendered":"Plates & Pints: Go-To To-Go Spots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Publications earn clicks and ad dollars off listicles that tell you the best places for everything from fried chicken to foie gras. This is not one of those articles. I\u2019m not going to tell you where to find the finest rendition of any one dish or laud someplace as a can\u2019t-miss destination. This month\u2019s column is a tribute to the lovely, simple places that call to me after an evening spent at local breweries; these places have drawn me like a moth to an irresistible flame for years or, in some cases,\u00a0decades<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently found myself at one such haunt on my way home from interviewing local brewers and it occurred to me just how fun it would be fun to serve up several of these never-fail bastions of easy, exquisite eats to all of you. Going a step further, I\u2019ve listed the breweries in closest vicinity to each of them. Sharing is caring, after all.

I\u2019m sure you have a handful of gems unique to your palate and geography. Feel free to share them in the comments section. Maybe we\u2019ll end up with an unofficial guide to some of the best little-known spots in the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anny\u2019s Fine Burger<\/strong>s
This place has around 30 burgers topped with everything from \u2018shrooms to pineapple to pastrami. Its sides game is similarly robust with bacon-cheese, Korean BBQ, and even pizza fries. Everything I\u2019ve ever had here has been amazing, but I keep coming back to the simply delicious California Burger (with avocado, bacon, Swiss, and thick, and rich Thousand Island dressing) and crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside fries seasoned with salt and black pepper. Bonus: They have taps and will load you up with condiments free of charge.
5375 Kearny Villa Road, Kearny Mesa\u00a0<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: Quantum Brewing, Societe Brewing, Kilowatt Brewing, Circle Nine Brewing, Ketch Brewing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canada Steak Burger<\/strong>
You\u2019ll have to venture out of North Park and there\u2019s always a line, but it\u2019s worth these minor inconveniences for fresh-sliced strips of lamb tucked into a soft, folded-over bread-velope with sharp, raw onions and chunks of tomatoes. It sounds basic and it is, but few things satisfy the way this Greek treat does, especially slathered in cooling tzatziki, which makes a great dip for the French fries that come with the economical gyro sandwich combo. Feeling particularly carnivorous? Get a burger topped with that succulent spit meat.
3604 University Avenue, City Heights<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: The Original 40, Mike Hess Brewing, North Park Beer Co., Second Chance Beer Co. (tasting room), Rip Current Brewing (tasting room), Thorn St. Brewery, Pariah Brewing, Eppig Brewing, JuneShine, Home Brewing, Barn Brewery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dumpling Inn & Shanghai Saloon<\/strong>
It\u2019s been on my speed-dial since I had a flip phone and \u201cD.I.\u201d was based in a closet-sized strip-mall space. Being so compact, a pre-visit call from cross-street watering hole, O\u2019Brien\u2019s Pub, was essential. Now, this Chinese comfort cuisine classic is six times the size and still just as busy. Key reasons have to be to-die-for xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), a plum-infused take on kung pao and the world\u2019s best hot-and-sour soup. The jellyfish and scallion lamb are darn good, too. Pro Tip: The food is just as good boxed up and carted home.
4625 Convoy Street, Kearny Mesa<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: Circle Nine Brewing, Kilowatt Brewing, Societe Brewing, Ketch Brewing, Quantum Brewing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Money Pit<\/strong>
If county-fair fare is a food group, the undisputed king of the sub-genre is this North County from-scratch oddity. Everything about it is unbelievable, from its penny- and movie poster-encrusted interiors, to a menu sporting caloric splurges that might shave years off your life (but what a way to go). Indulge in a \u201c3×3\u201d burger, meaty \u201ctriple mess\u201d melt, or a \u201crings dog\u201d with onion rings, or go with my standard order of a junkyard dog (with bacon, peppers, jalape\u00f1os, and so much cheese), plus me and Tomme Arthur\u2019s shared love, the chili-cheese fries wrap.
1360 East Mission Road, San Marcos<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: Wild Barrel Brewing, Port Brewing\/The Lost Abbey\/The Hop Concept, My Yard Live, Escondido Brewing, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens\u2014Escondido<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peterson\u2019s Donut Corner<\/strong>
Size matters. The proof is in the queue of hungry folks at this 24-hour purveyor of gargantuan baked\/fried goods. Everything here is big in stature and flavor, be it butter-iced cake, yeast or old-fashioned donuts, cinnamon rolls, muffins, butter logs, or modern novelties like cronuts. They\u2019re not even my favorite donuts, but there\u2019s something incredibly fun about ending an evening with a hefty red-velvet donut and a buttermilk bar that\u2019s basically a pound of Southern biscuit dough glazed within a nanometer of its dense, decadent life.
903 South Escondido Boulevard, Escondido<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: Escondido Brewing, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens\u2014Escondido, Plan 9 Alehouse, Jacked Up Brewery\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A\nSide Order of Soul Food<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For me, there is nothing better than good, San Diego-style taco-shop grub. I\u2019d eat it every day for the rest of my life if that were monetarily and healthfully feasible. So what my dad and I refer to as \u201csoul food\u201d gets its own section. There\u2019ll be no Colima\u2019s or Tacos El Gordo on this list. They\u2019re great, but everybody knows that already. These are the other guys (in no particular order). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaquero\u2019s<\/strong>
My love for taco shops\u2014and quality carne asada\u2014was born at this orange-and-yellow barrel midway from middle school to my house. Decades later, it entertains a line of cars stretching down the street at all hours. Mostly hidden from view but crazily popular, it\u2019s a taste of my past that holds up in the present. With no breweries close by, I\u2019ve gone way out of my way for this place\u2019s carne asada burritos.
6936 Lisbon Street, Encanto<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: 13 Point Brewing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cotixan<\/strong>
This local institution catered my thirtieth and fourtieth birthday parties and its 24\/7 Genesee spot is the resto I\u2019ve frequented most in my lifetime. Their spicy, coating, orange-hued elixir-like salsa is the best I\u2019ve ever had, especially when smothering the largest serving of truly supreme nachos anywhere. They have locations throughout the county, but word to do yourself a favor and avoid the meanies at their Mira Mesa drive-thru.
4370 Genesee Avenue, Clairemont<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: Bitter Brothers Brewing, Karl Strauss Brewing Tasting Room<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vallarta Express<\/strong>
This is the newest addition to my rotation. My son introduced it to me after an extra-innings Padres game. Not only do they have salsa that is indiscernable from Cotixan\u2019s, but they have \u201cChristian\u201d versions of burritos and fries that\u2014heaped with carne asada, bacon, guac, sour cream, oodles of cheese and a fried egg\u2014qualify as a religious experience. I\u2019ve only been to the Mira Mesa location, but it\u2019s all I need!
9313 Mira Mesa Boulevard, Mira Mesa<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: White Labs, Savagewood Brewing, Longship Brewery, Thunderhawk Alements, 2kids Brewing, Protector Brewery, Mikkeller Brewing San Diego, Little Miss Brewing, AleSmith Brewing, Mike Hess Brewing\u2014Miramar, Pure Project Brewing, Amplified Ale Works (tasting room), Duck Foot Brewing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Lucio\u2019s #2<\/strong>
The source of so many decadent Friday nights where I\u2019d pick up burritos filled with tender cabeza or harder-to-find buche, a flavorful al pastor torta, giant three-meat breakfast burrito or the special-order Hawaiian burrito, something so rich and bacon-y it sends my palate into overdrive. Throw in creamy, atomic, avocado-green salsa, kind and hard-working staffers, and a liquor store next door stocked with craft beer, and there\u2019s lots to love about this spinoff.
9969 Mira Mesa Boulevard, #9, Scripps Ranch<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: Savagewood Brewing, Harland Brewing, Newtopia Cyder, JuneShine, White Labs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesenia\u2019s<\/strong>
Order a Grande Burrito, tell them it\u2019s for a \u201cGrande challenge\u201d at Societe (where I also work), then watch the chef proudly attempt to make the most monstrous creation of his life. The Grande is billed as a two-pounder, but they\u2019re likely to go way <\/em>over that weight if they know you\u2019re headed to my nine-to-five. It\u2019s as tasty as it is large and always hits the spot. Want to try the aforementioned challenge? Belly up, order a pint of The Butcher imperial stout and start timer. The current world record is just under four minutes.
8199 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Kearny Mesa<\/em>
Nearby Breweries: Societe Brewing, Quantum Brewing, Kilowatt Brewing, Circle Nine Brewing, Ketch Brewing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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