Isabel Cantina in Pacific Beach (Cass & Feldspar) does a great breakfast.
Great Maple and Snooze in Hillcrest also do a nice breakfast
Patio on Goldfinch is a decent breakfast option, tho’ I’m not sure they do it during the week.
The Original Pancake House on Convoy in Kearny Mesa is old school (i.e. not upscale) breakfast
Cafe 222 downtown has great waffles
You’ll be close to Pomegranate, then.
Both el pescador and German are good.
Oh wow, thanks for the recommendations! Anything unique or must try at each particular restaurant?
I’ll be honest, I’m not really familiar with Russian/Georgian cuisine. Is there anything that I should try?
Ah, glad to hear. I was searching around and trying to figure out if they were an off-shoot from each other or something like that. Probably go to el pescador since its a little more north and likely closer to where I’ll be wandering.
Actually, El Pescador is much further south - almost to the border - than the Mariscos German truck.
If you’re interested in Mexican comida corrida (homestyle cooking) do lunch at Super Cocina. University and Cherokee in the City Heights neighborhood. Steamtable service - but don’t let that put you off - and they’ll give you a little taste of anything on offer before you make your final selections.
1 Like
My reports on Pomegranate and Kafe Sobaka (same owners, substantial overlap between the menus) are here:
Beef borscht, lamb shank, and the salad sampler were my favorites.
Expect DD has forgotten more than I’ll ever know about Mexican food but I found food at super cocina to be just okay and terrible tortillas. But DD knows her stuff so take my two cents accordingly.
I just want to double check on this.
Marisco’s German is at 3269 Beyer Blvd, San Diego, CA 92173 per google maps
and Mariscos El Pescador is at 1008 Industrial Blvd, Chula Vista, CA 91911
Isn’t El Pescador closer towards Downtown?
Ha! I do recall trying this place a while back. I enjoyed it, though I honestly had no idea what half the stews were nor the best way of eating said stew. Fun experience, might go there again if I’m close by. Thanks for the recommendation!
Wow, sounds good to me, thanks!
No, you’re right Super Cocina has horrible tortillas and they microwave them which makes them worse 
I like Ranas but I don’t think they are nearly as good as they used to be and I’m not a fan of their current menu. You used to be able to find some more interesting and less commonly served dishes at Ranas but not any more. It’s basically tacos, burritos, enchiladas and their version of fajitas. They didn’t need to dumb down their menu, and frankly some of their food is starting to taste an awful look like the Del Real product line. They do offer some specials and the Mexican breakfasts are still pretty good. I miss their carnitas, tho’, they were very good.
Haven’t tried Emily’s. I do like the El Comal in NP
Ah…I thought you were referring to the Marisco’s German on Grape St in South Park, which is much closer than El Pescador. And, brain fart, that truck has changed it’s name to Marisco’s 7 Seas. It is still very good.
Yes, El Pescador would be closer to downtown than the Marisco’s German on Beyer. The added bonus with El Pescador is that El Gallito, the torta ahogada truck, is in the same parking lot. So have a fish taco as an appetizer, then walk across the parking lot to El Gallito and get a torta ahogada. It comes two ways, regular or spicy, get the spicy. Messy, filling and delicious.
We’ve stopped going to and recommending El Comal after a trio of lackluster, frankly bad, visits. Service was worse than usual and the entrees were just so uninteresting and poorly executed and plated that we’ve written it off permanently. Too bad, we used to enjoy the place.
Maybe, Cantina Mayahuel for the OP.
Birria at Birrieria Don Rafa. A really different birria that is less chile-oriented than usual. They also serve a pretty good Pozole Rojo that features a nice hunk of pata de puerco within. Another National City birrieria that served a highly satisfying, chile-soaked version was bought out and although they claimed to have kept the birria cook, what was served to us was one dimensional, flat and completely disappointing. Place is out of business now.
I’m sorry to hear that about El Comal. It’s probably been about 8 months since I was last at the NP location. Both service and food were good (not extraordinary) at that time
Night07 shouldn’t be stuck on “Mariscos German”. There are a lot of trucks that have come and gone by that name, and it really is more of a generic term for that type of taco truck.
Mariscos El Pescador is always a safe bet, and as you say, El Gallito is there for a nice change up.
Ah gotcha! Thanks, just was wondering if Google maps was outdated. I had that happen when I was in HK. Said restaurant moved across the island -_-.
Got it, just was hoping for a good place that has fish tacos. I’m personally not a huge fan of taco trucks since I like to sit down and eat but since people were recommending it, thought it was the defacto place to go try it.
If you like lamb and haven’t tried Aqui es Texcoco it would be a good option. It’s in a strip mall in Chula Vista. Pretty good, order at the counter, sit down kinda place.
1 Like
Yep, it’s a shame that we’ve run out of patience with El Comal. Indicative
of a good trend, though, in that it’s gotten much, much easier to find
better Mexican food in SD than it was not so long ago. It takes some
driving to get to the good stuff for the most part but just knowing that
you can satisfy a craving is fantastic. As time passes we get more places
that are willing to offer more interesting regional cuisines and that’s an
encouraging trend.
I enjoy your insight on the boards, especially your knowledge of Mexican
food, and envy your opportunity to have learned from Diana Kennedy.
I’ve worked in restaurants and bars around SD for decades, tending bar at
places like the Bratskellar, Alfonso’s, and Dobson’s in the early days.
I’ve no doubt we’ve chanced across each other a some point over the years.
Glad to have had the chance to chat with you.
Jens Herberg
Hi Deckape…thanks so much for the very kind words.
No doubt our paths have crossed at some point:-). I say your knowledge of Mexican food is also pretty well developed and I’ve always, always enjoyed your posts about what you’ve eaten and where, especially the smaller mom & pop places.
1 Like
Mmm… I have like a 20% liking of lamb lol. I was never too fond of that gamey taste (worst with goats), but on occasion I do like lamb shanks