Now some people might argue that my title is an oxymoron, since fast food is normally not very high quality. Lolita’s layout is similar to many of the mexican fast food places in San Diego (Roberto’s, Sergio’s, etc…), but differs in its quality. Lolita’s has acquired a devout following of people who make pilgrimage to it for the California Burrito and Carne Asada Fries.

Everybody loves carne asada fries, but there is something about the carne asada at Lolita’s that makes it amazing. The California Burrito is a little bit overrated, as there is too many fries in it. I personally try to get something new everytime, and it has paid off. I tried the 2-in-1 burrito, which is an epic burrito with 2 rolled tacos in a carne asada burrito. They also make a good tortas (though not nearly as filling as their burritos) and amazing chimichanga. Also, don’t forget to the red sauce/salsa; it is almost a requirement to take your food to the next level.

If only it weren’t so far from campus (i’m lazy)

This is the best bbq in San Diego. The beef ribs are the best I’ve ever had, and VERY filling. They are fatty, meaty, and reminiscent of the dinosaur bones you see in the Flintstones. The porks ribs are equally good. You get a choice of some sides; I would probably pick the fries and beans. I haven’t tried their sandwiches and other stuff, since you don’t go to Phil’s for that (but I am sure they are great too).

Just one look at Confidential Lounge, and you can tell that it is pretty upscale place, with a crowd consisting of well-dressed post-college graduates to after work professionals. I definitely felt underdressed in flip flops, jeans, and a hoodie (not to mention my bright light blue shirt). Fortunately for me it was Tuesday, since on the weekend, I think it converts to a club. My second impression of the place was not so good: we made reservations for 8:45pm, and were not seated until 9:30. At least our waiter was very friendly, and made our actual dining experience good.

After seating, the fact that it was Tuesday happy hour really paid off. EVERYTHING is half off, which is always a great thing. We ordered a bunch of dishes (tapas style), and most of them were really good. The food’s quality can probably be partly attributed to the fact that the head chef was on Top Chef. If it were not happy hour, I would have felt the prices to be way over the top, but if you are there during happy hour, it is a great place to eat some delicious food in a trendy location.

Trattoria Acqua is a top 10 eating destination according to USA Today (as it says on its site). That claim, with the recommendation of a friend too, set the bar of expectation higher than a normal restaurant. We found the atmosphere to be quite classy, which is always a plus in my book. The layout of the restaurant is definitely non-traditional, since it is like the 2nd floor of a building (but still with outdoor seating in the middle).

The food is the most important part of course. The bread they serve before the meal might the best i’ve ever had. The bread was super fresh and served with.. hummus! Needless to say the bread was consumed quite quickly, and multiple baskets were eaten. Unfortunately, they did not have the meal i wanted, lamb shank, so I got a wild boar pasta (it was game and truffle week – crazy!). The wild boar pasta was actually very good, but if the meat alone (without any pasta) was a little bit too salty. I tried some lobster ravioli, which was not as good as I expected (but it grows on you). The restaurant offers some other crazy dishes, but they are really expensive, such as lobster pot pie.

The best part of the meal was the dessert (and the reason it was recommended to me). I got a molten chocolate souffle, which came with blueberry gelato, and a raspberry sauce on the side. It was reallly good, with a nice tinge of alcohol in the souffle and sauce. The tiramisu was also very delicious; my friend thought it was amazing. Too bad we couldn’t order more desserts, they have a big menu of tasty sounding items.

Anyways, the rating breakdown would be this:
bread – 5 stars
entree- 4 stars
dessert- 5 stars

Daphne’s a fast food Greek restaurant chain. It has pretty average food, but its a nice change from eating burritos everyday. The wait for the food, after ordering, is usually only like 5 minutes.

Little Sheep Hot Pot offers a different brand of eating hot pot: mongolian style. Instead of just having a big ol’ pot of piping hot water which you throw water in, the pot is split into two halves: a spicy side and a non-spicy side. Each side is filled with herbs and spices, which is what flavors the meats and veggies that are cooked inside it. Rather than having sauces (such as Satay or Peanut at a chinese hot pot), you just take a scoop of the soup in the pot or just eat straight out of the pot.

The food is pretty good, although I personally prefer chinese hot pot (which I’m only on decent terms with). There is a bit too many peppers in the spicy side (the better-tasting side), which start to invade your bowl and you’ll inevitably eat some (not fun). The non-hot pot items, such as a meat pastry or fried bun are good though. It was nice that when we were there, we got a 15% discount since we had birthdays in the month of September (I don’t know if they do it for every month). I’d recommend this place if you want to experiment with a new take on hot pot, or are just plain tired of chinese hot pot (and trust me, its easy to get tired of).

So the Corvette Diner is a 50s or 60s themed diner, featuring, upon entrance, a nice corvette. It has continuous oldies music playing, and you can request songs. The waiters/waitresses are all RIDICULOUSLY nice and dressed up in fun costumes. They also go dance at random times. Anyways, this is a high energy and very fun place to eat.

Now the food. Since it has a 50s era theme, the food it is best known for are the burgers and shakes. They have some cool sounding burgers, but their well-known one is called the Rory burger, which has bacon and peanut butter on a patty; it’s unique and delicious.

This is great birthday location. For girls, they will put straws in your hair to make it all crazy; for guys, they make a silly hat with a balloon on it (hopefully i will get the pictures soon). There is also a balloon animal guy, which is always good times. Go to this place with energetic friends, and i guarantee you’ll have a great time. And don’t forget to try some of their Bazooka bubble gum they just throw around.

I decided to hang out with some friends and we were having some trouble deciding on a restaurant. While driving around, we noted how whenever we went to Yogurtland, we would see the places nearby but never actually ate at any of them. Incidentally, one friend happened to try Crab Hut once, and told us about how you peel your crab and stuff and that it was pretty fun, so we headed there.

Despite being a Friday night group of 5, we got a table immediately (fortunately we had a table of 6, not a table for 4 like the previous reviewer got =( ). There are about 8-10 things on the menu that you actually crack and open yourself; stuff like crab legs, shrimp, crawfish, dungeness crab, etc…) I was feeling pretty darn hungry, so I got a whole dungeness crab and some gumbo (shrimp and crawfish in tomato base). You get the choice of 5 different sauces for your meal to be cooked in, though I went with the “full house,” which is a combination of 3 of their sauces.

Anyways, eating the meal is completely different than a normal restaurant. They give you a bag with your crustacean/seafood cooked in your sauce of choice, and you open it up and peel it. You throw the shell anywhere you want. They also give you a bib to wear, and roll of paper towels to maintain a respectable level of cleanliness. It was pretty fun to open that up, and the more people you have, the higher chance that some crab will end up flying into people’s faces, which is always a good time. The price for my whole dungeness crab was a little bit expensive (more than I thought was advertised, but whatever) and it was a lot of work (even if fun), so it gets 4 stars. I wouldn’t suggest this place if you were eating alone =P.

By the way, if its your bday (or close to it, as my friends justified), you get a funky crab hat to wear.

There aren’t too many OPHs in a given locality, but that doesn’t stop people from going to them. There is almost guaranteed to be a wait if you go in the late morning or lunch-time, especially on a weekend. Nonetheless, it is so worth the wait, since the food is amazing and the service is solid.

Despite all the people, the service is consistent and you won’t wait too long for your food. You’ll have to hold your hunger for a bit as you watch your neighbors get their food and you wonder to yourself “wow that looks so good, i wonder if i should’ve ordered that..” Your wait is rewarded with amazing food, though. There are a million different pancakes available to order, as well as omelettes, eggs benedict, and corned beef hash. Normally I wouldn’t bring up corned beef hash, but it is one of their specialties here and a popular dish. The omelettes are HUGE, fluffy, and filled with goodness. The pancakes are complex, big, and more than just a sloppy addition of some syruppy fruit to pancakes. This place just puts other breakfast places, like Dennys or IHOP, to shame.

The BBQ here was very good, especially the Kalbi (or galbee), which was juicy and tender. The pajeon is a MUST; it is way better than many others that I’ve tried. If this restaurant was near where I lived, I’d probably just order it as a meal for myself. The restaurant itself is very clean and nice, with a modern-looking outdoor seating as well as indoor. The pricing is about what I’d expect from Korean, a bit more expensive than other restaurants, but good-sized portions and plenty of side dishes.