What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's San Diego

Whether you've never been to San Diego or your last visit was more than a few years ago, this relaxed and scenic city will hold some surprises for you. It's growing up. San Diego is no longer just a laid-back beach-and-navy town: Avant-garde architecture, sophisticated dining options, and a booming tourism industry all point to its coming-of-age.

Although San Diegans generally prefer to keep things as they are -- eagerly passing "no growth" legislation and vocalizing fears about the "Los Angeles-ization" of our metropolis -- we are also quick to brag about our latest hot eateries and up-to-date attractions. Here is a sampling of recent changes and additions.

JetBlue Airways (tel. 800/JET-BLUE; www.jetblue.com) debuted two daily nonstop flights between its JFK hub and San Diego in June 2003. For underserved San Diego, the added service is a boon -- particularly since it reinstates a red-eye flight to the East Coast that both United and American dropped in the cutbacks following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Hot on the heels of the expansion of downtown's Manchester Grand Hyatt and the debut of the trendy W Hotel, the once-dowdy Westgate Hotel (tel. 619/238-1818; www.westgatehotel.com) received a $5.5 million facelift that brings those 18th-century style furnishings to life again. $25,000 was spent gutting and primping each room, and the hotel's Fontainebleau dining room continues to earn local accolades.

A new Omni San Diego Hotel, 675 L St. (tel. 619/231-6664; www.omnihotels.com), arrives in spring 2004 and will be connected via skybridge to the San Diego Padres' new ballpark. The 511-room hotel is located directly across from the recently expanded Convention Center and a few blocks from the Gaslamp Quarter, and the rooftop terrace and many rooms will offer ballpark views.

The turn of the century saw a revitalized dining scene and new attention being devoted to San Diego's restaurants. This year there are a few big-name arrivals, as well as a couple of makeovers that are drawing attention. La Jolla never quite got the point of the nuevo latino Tamarindo, so its owners went back to the drawing board and created Fresh, 1044 Wall St. (tel. 858/551-7575). Chef Matthew Zappoli oversees a seafood-festooned menu with delicate coriander-crusted mahimahi and a mouthwatering lobster Napoleon. The prices are surprisingly moderate (particularly for La Jolla) and the room got an eye-catching redesign as well.

Meanwhile, downtown culture vultures and urban hipsters that never quite latched on to Royale Brasserie have taken a shine to Lou & Mickey's, 224 Fifth Ave., across the street from the Convention Center (tel. 619/237-4900). The good news: The owners kept the gorgeous room as is -- it's still filled with exquisite hard woods and mosaic tiles to create a 1940s brasserie ambience. The better news: The chophouse menu is more successful and varied than you might expect, ranging from bone-in steaks and prime seafood to an oyster bar and scrumptiously good gulf shrimp served curry-like "Manales" style. Throw in unpretentious ambience and service that isn't predatory (like some steakhouses in the Gaslamp) and you have all the makings of a winner.

Opening its doors just as we go to press, the Yard House -- part of a mini-chain of beer joints spreading across America -- has arrived in San Diego. Located across the street from Horton Plaza, at Fourth Avenue and Broadway (tel. 619/233-YARD), the bar doesn't brew its own suds but has a bar lined with tap after tap, 130 in all. You'll find everything from little-known Hollywood Blonde to Hemp Ale and other oddities -- just don't you dare order a Coors Light! There's also a full menu.

Exploring San Diego

San Diego's biggest debut for 2004 is surely the new Padres ballpark called -- wait for it -- Petco Park. Located across the street from the Convention Center downtown, the ballpark's construction has been mired in political squabbles and legal delays, but don't expect city denizens not to rally around in support when it opens in April (see www.padres.com for more details). It is also pushing the redevelopment of downtown a few blocks eastward, a side effect that pleases everyone. The venue is said to combine great sight lines and downtown skyline views, and will be most easily accessed via the San Diego Trolley.

In summer 2004, the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park (www.sdmart.org) will host the touring exhibit St. Peter and the Vatican: The Legacy of the Popes. The collection features a number of works that have never been seen outside Vatican City. Highlights of the show include pieces by Michelangelo, Giotto, and Bernini, as well as more contemporary works such as a Buddhist Thangka created by the Dalai Lama as a gift to Pope John Paul II. Call 619/232-7931 for more details.

San Diego Trolley system is set for an important extension, when a 6-mile section of the Blue Line track heads east from Qualcomm Stadium to San Diego State University, connecting with the Orange Line in La Mesa. The project won't be finished until 2005, but if you head east on I-8 you'll surely note the impressive spans crossing and paralleling the freeway. More info is available at www.sandiegotrolley.com.

No one visits San Diego without experiencing one of the city's fantastic animal parks, and the news this year is at Balboa Park's San Diego Zoo, 2920 Zoo Dr. (tel. 619/234-3153; www.sandiegozoo.org), where a $26 million Heart of the Zoo project is designed to transform the outdated "monkey yard," one of the zoo's original enclosures, into the bioclimatically correct (and multispecies) exhibits. New homes for the flamingoes, and a shared domicile for the Borneo and Sumatran orangutans opened in 2003, and other improvements by 2005 should improve traffic flow in the busiest part of the zoo.

Families planning a Disneyland excursion will find the charming Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh replacing the hoary Country Bear Jamboree in Critter Country. If you're headed to Disney's California Adventure theme park, watch for the arrival of the terrific Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (a spinoff from Disney's Orlando parks), scheduled to open in mid-2004. If you're headed to Anaheim, make sure to budget 2 days to see the two parks and other new features of the renamed Disneyland Resort (tel. 714/781-4565; www.disneyland.com).