Best Dining Bets

Is San Diego ready for a $95 entree? Ready or not, here it comes at Blanca, 437 S. Highway 101 (tel. 858/792-0072). This Solana Beach restaurant flies its foodie flag high and may arguably be the best upscale establishment in San Diego.

If you want to know what San Diego tastes like, you can find out at Market, 3702 Via de la Valle (tel. 858/523-0007). Native son Carl Schroeder finds the best ingredients from local ranches, farms, and seafood purveyors, creates his menu daily, and serves it all in a casually elegant space in Del Mar.

When you combine a world-class chef with a romantic seaside location in La Jolla, you're guaranteed a memorable meal. At the Marine Room, 2000 Spindrift Dr. (tel. 858/459-7222), executive chef Bernard Guillas' creative, modern French cuisine provides ample evidence of how far the city's invigorated dining scene has come.

Jack's La Jolla, 7863 Girard Ave. (tel. 858/456-8111), is a three-story epicurean funhouse. It features a casual sidewalk cafe, a raw bar, and a swank fine-dining component sandwiched in between. Chef/owner Tony DiSalvo, a veteran of Jean-Georges in New York City, offers a cutting-edge modern American cuisine; there's a lively bar scene too.

Georges California Modern/Ocean Terrace Bistro, 1250 Prospect St. (tel. 858/454-4244): These two longtime favorites in La Jolla share an aah-inspiring ocean view. Georges recently went through a $2.5-million renovation and re-imagining (and a slight name change), but powerhouse chef Trey Foshee is thankfully still working his magic here.

You can't visit San Diego without trying a fish taco. If the city has an official food, this is it.

Best Spot for a Business Lunch: Dobson's Bar & Restaurant, 956 Broadway Circle, downtown San Diego (tel. 619/231-6771), has been mixing business and pleasure for more than 20 years. You'll literally rub shoulders (thanks to the restaurant's cozy set-up) with power brokers and politicos from both sides of the border.

Best View: Many restaurants overlook the ocean, but only from Brockton Villa, 1235 Coast Blvd., La Jolla (tel. 858/454-7393), can you see sublime La Jolla Cove. Diners with a window seat will feel as if they're looking out on a gigantic picture postcard.

Best Value: The word "huge" barely begins to describe the portions at Filippi's Pizza Grotto, 1747 India St. (tel. 619/232-5095), where a salad for one is enough for three, and an order of lasagna must weigh a pound. There's a kids' menu as well. Filippi's has locations all over, including Pacific Beach, Mission Valley, and Escondido.

Best Seafood: Matt Rimel, owner of Zenbu, 7660 Fay Ave., La Jolla (tel. 858/454-4540), loved fishing so much he bought a commercial fishing boat. Then he opened a restaurant so he could do something with the catch. Zenbu is also an excellent spot for sushi.

Best Contemporary American Cuisine: With Market, 3702 Via de la Valle, Del Mar (tel. 858/523-0007), the category should be best contemporary San Diego cuisine. Native son Carl Schroeder scours local farms and ranches for the best possible products, prints his menu daily, and serves regional cuisine in a comfortably elegant setting.

Best Mexican Cuisine: Rather than the typical "combination plate" fare, El Agave Tequileria, 2304 San Diego Ave., Old Town (tel. 619/220-0692), offers memorable recipes from Veracruz, Chiapas, Puebla, and Mexico City -- along with a massive selection of boutique and artisan tequilas and mescals.

Best Pizza: You just might mistake San Diego for New York at Bronx Pizza, 111 Washington St., Hillcrest (tel. 619/291-3341). Don't even think about asking for a salad -- this tiny pizzeria makes nothing but thin-crust pizzas and calzones.

Best Desserts: You'll forget your diet at Extraordinary Desserts, 2929 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest (tel. 619/294-2132), and 1430 Union St., Little Italy (tel. 619/294-7001). Heck, it's so good you might forget your name. Proprietor Karen Krasne has a Certificat de Patisserie from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and makes everything fresh on the premises daily.

Best Late-Night Dining: Open later than just about anyplace else downtown, Café Lulu, 419 F St. (tel. 619/238-0114), serves eclectic sandwiches and inventive espresso drinks until 1am during the week, 3am on weekends.

Best Fast Food: A fish taco may sound strange to the uninitiated, but once you taste one, you'll know why locals line up for them.

Best People Watching: The food is nothing to write home about, but The Green Flash, 701 Thomas Ave. (tel. 858/270-7715), is the place to take in the Pacific Beach scene, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Skaters, surfers, joggers, bikers, suntanners, dog-walkers, spring breakers -- you name 'em, they're all here. The boardwalk is just inches from the tables.

Best Picnic Fare: Pack a superb sandwich from the Bread & Cie., 350 University Ave., Hillcrest (tel. 619/683-9322), where the hearty breads are the toast of the city. Or head to one of several locations of Whole Foods, where the deli houses a smashing selection of delicious hot and cold items, a great cheese collection, and a crisp salad bar; you'll find one outpost in Hillcrest at 711 University Ave. (tel. 619/294-2800) and another in La Jolla at 8825 Villa La Jolla Dr. (tel. 858/642-6700).