Easy and quick eats in the Carlsbad/Oceanside area

We’re traveling to Oceanside/Carlsbad this weekend for a soccer tournament. The kids are playing in Oceanside, but we’re staying in Carlsbad. Any ideas on where we can drop in for quick and easy eating? Need lunch and dinner ideas for Saturday. I don’t think I’ll have the energy to head further south to San Diego proper…these things are exhausting. I think breakfast is covered by our hotel Sunday morning…no time to eat afterwards because we’re going to try to rush home to catch the Super Bowl.
Thanks!

There is a Pizza Port in Carlsbad. It gets very crowded but a decent place to catch to a beer and some good pizza.

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In O’side for dinner is Wrench and Rodent for fab sushi…don’t let the name throw you off, like it did me…

The Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen in O’side for lunch…

www.flyingpig.pub

Carlsbad

Pizza Port
Paon but not really quick eats but very good.
Tip Top Meats
Karl Strauss Brewery
Pellys Fish Market

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Thanks for this! We’ll be a week behind you down there for my stepdaughter’s State Cup soccer tournament, though we’ll be a bit further down in Del Mar. And you’re right. Those weekends are grueling! Good luck!

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Del Mar you have my fave, Red Tracton’s across from the track…sit in the bar and enjoy the old school vibe.

Flower Child, Roberto’s on PCH in Solana Beach or Carmel Valley Rd, Bully’s or Brigantine for happy hour for the fab fish tacos and kids are welcome!

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Wow. Bully’s is a blast from the past. I remember celebrating my brother’s first engagement at the La Jolla (?) location back in, like, 1995. That wasn’t really over 20 years ago, was it?

Campfire in Carlsbad looks interesting but don’t know if it’s easy and it’s on my list but haven’t been yet.

Vamos a Texcoco in Vista for lamb barbacoa.

Pizza port is great for beer and probably better for kids but URBN has much better pizza

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There’s a new branch of Oscar’s (Mexican seafood and tacos) in Encinitas.

Cheap, fast and decent places like Fish district, urban plates and Luna grill are all around that area though those are all in OC as well and not exactly noteworthy.

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Panca

The Chicharron sandwich and the anticuchos (or beef hearts) are very good.

Right off the 5 fwy, and situated nicely (for you) between Oceanside and Carlsbad.

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That sandwich looks amazing, ispe. I know where lunch will be on Saturday before we check into the hotel. Thanks!

@Plumeria Thanks! I do fancy the names of the first two places. These options are great. I’ve been curious about Tip Top Meats for quite sometime…what’s the draw to that place?
Pizza Port and Urban also look like potential dinner winners…you know kids and pizza.

Nothing like a beef hearts sandwich. . .:fearful:

It’s more a throwback to days gone by with the Germanesque Euro deli/resto…

Way mo bettah is da pizza at URBN…but the beer at Pizza Port kicks ass!
:pizza:

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I will give a +1 on Flying Pig with the caveat that service was incredibly slow/bad when I went. In all fairness, it was a Saturday night, and the food was fantastic.

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Love Oscar’s…didn’t know there was one up in Encinitas…

don’t know how fancy/casual you want to go but… Teri’s up in Vista and Oceanside is a casual Japanese/Hawaiian noodle house. Tip Top is also pretty casual but stick with the German dishes or the burger, the deli sandwiches are pretty so-so. La Especial Norte up in Lecuedia is a casual Mexican place with good soups. Blue Ribbon Pizza down in Encinitas proper has really good pizzas and a decent beer selection. Better pizza than Pizza Port but it is kinda tiny in there.

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@littlestevie Thanks! Very casual. Soccer tournaments are busy enough on their own without all the additional effort of traveling. I’m packing only athleisure wear only.

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Thanks, @ipsedixit! Panca was a perfect lunch after our sole game on Saturday before checking into our hotel. That sandwich was super good. It was easy to pop in and out without any fuss. I only wish I had remembered to take a photo of it, but I had been up since 6AM prepping for the drive down and then the game itself.
We met some friends for an early dinner at Cucina Enoteca in Del Mar. After a walk around Torrey Pines to enjoy the sweeping ocean views, it was on the way back to Carlsbad. They had family-style house salads for $20, which I thought was a bit much, but it was nice to have salad before digging into a a great housemade pasta with a wild boar ragu. The pizzas here were great as the crust was very crisp. It was rather dark, so the photos didn’t turn out well. The bar makes solid cocktails and they have an interesting wine list, too. @OCSteve, this might be worthwhile for you to check out this coming weekend.
Sunday was a whirlwind with two matches and then running back home for the Super Bowl. I feel like I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. I’ll definitely use this list when we find ourselves down in this area next. Thanks, all!

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We had our State Cup games at the Del Mar Polo Grounds over the weekend. Wanting to escape and get some alone time, we had my step daughter go with her dad to the team lunch on Saturday and ate lunch at the bar at Enoteca. The crust on our pepperoni, sausage, and white anchovy pizza had a nice char, and the charcuterie and cheese plate was very good. I’d recommend their house-made lamb mortadella.

We also opted out of the mass chaos at CPK for dinner on Saturday night in favor of Manna KBBQ in Mira Mesa. A bit of a drive, but worth it. Pretty solid option if you’re in that area.

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