Heading down for a few days, staying just north of Carmel Valley. Any place doing especially good takeout/delivery these days?
I don’t frequent the area around CV much so take my recommendations with a grain of salt. Also I have not visited any of these spots since COVID-19, so you’d have to call about take out/delivery/CV precautions. One Paseo is a newish shopping center in CV that has lots of restaurants, many of them chains, but some good ones like Salt and Straw, Mendocino farms, etc. Might be a good place to explore.
The Butchery Quality Meats - One Paseo
Campfire Carlsbad
jeune et jolie Carlsbad
Vamos a Texcoco Vista
Dona Elena Pozoleria Vista
Spirito’s Carlsbad
URBN Vista/Encinitas
When pigs fly bbq Vista
Belching beaver Vista
One Love Oceanside
Pepper tree frosty Vista
El Pescador- La Jolla
Puesto - LJ
The taco stand LJ/Encinitas
City tacos Encinitas
Fish house Solana beach
Prager brothers Encinitas
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I am very partial to the smoked fish burrito at Oscar’s Mexican Seafood. I also recommend anything there involving octopus. They have a few locations - I always go to the one in La Jolla.
Also have to give Don Carlos Taco Shop a shout. The pollo asado fries are a really nice change of pace, and the potato taquitos are also excellent.
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So the airbnb canceled and we replaced with one in Rancho Santa Fe. Beyond the obligatory visit(s) to Chino Farm, anything else we should be checking out? At least we’re probably even closer to RedDevil’s Encinitas recs
We did a day trip to SD a couple of weeks ago. Oscar’s octopus taco was glorious…how do they get that octopus to be so tender and meaty at the same time?! A squeeze of lime and drizzle of their sauce over it made it perfect. It was also huge…it’s been a while since I’ve had a taco that large.
They ran out of smoked fish…I really wanted to try their taco especial.
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Rancho Santa Fe is a beautiful area but food wise I’m struggling…here’s a few more sort of nearby.
Lobster west Encinitas
Herb & Sea Encinitas (Disclaimer: Malarkey)
Original sab e lee Rancho Penasquitos
Mille Fleurs Rancho Santa Fe
Kaito sushi Encinitas
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I was happy to see in Eater today that four of my five favorite Thai restaurants in town are still doing takeout. It’s more than a bit of a drive from Carmel Valley, but the LV and KM areas really are still the best in town for Asian.
I already knew that Sab-E-Lee in LV was open, but I’ve been “casting a blow of the eye” (as the French would say, except in French) to its sister, when driving by, Thai Papaya Pok Pok, owned by and in the original Sab-E-Lee location diagonally across the street at Ulric. It’s looked closed when I’ve driven by – for months – but that just shows that you really have to check more closely these days.
Also J&T Thai on LV Rd. (near USD), and Koon Thai in the southern-most part of Convoy District are still functioning according to Eater. J&T was always set up for take-out (counter service, dine-in option), but will lose a lot of business from USD (across the street) in the absence of on-campus classes.
If you’re willing to drive down into Linda Vista and want to try just one, don’t miss Thai Papaya, which is truly unique in SD. Might not be the same by the time you get the salad (or whatever) home as served fresh from the kitchen, but worth a shot. (There’s a grassy park across the street – not sure if it’s legal to picnic there.)
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I think Kaito may still only be doing take-out, but even that way it’s still some of the best sushi in SD county.
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@attran99 we changed our plans and going to SD next week instead of Paso. Did you hit up any other good places?
We hit up the Cotixon branches for quick and easy rolled tacos. It’s a good on-the-go snack if you need it.
Point Loma Seafoods has lobsters for about $20/lb and fresh soft shell crabs. Have them serve your sandwich on their sourdough instead of a roll…too much bread. My oldest loved the CA roll with real crab instead of the imitation. Super impressed with their social distancing and sanitizing.
Extraordinary Desserts remains open in Little Italy, but for takeout only. Their guava sorbet is superb. My husband enjoyed the passionfruit creme brûlée. There was an orange cake with berries that was was out of this world good. You can order online and pick up.
FYI - India Street/Little Italy is barricaded and closed for out door seating, but it is crazy crowded. I wasn’t impressed.
Bare Back Grill in Pacific Beach was good. Cocktails and an outdoor patio close to the beach that made for a great family dinner. Menu is simple grass-fed burgers, fries, salads and CA-style entrees. I had one of their salads with a delightful orange-mint dressing…they actually make all their sauces and dressings.
Safi Mediterranean (also Pacific Beach) made for a great takeout dinner. Phone in your order as it’s a very tiny shop. The saffron-essence basmati rice is all fluffy, and the family devoured the super combo plates…I only got to try a piece the Koobideh…and it was quite good.
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Thanks for the heads up. We usually hit up Little Italy for coffee at Bird Rock and ice cream at Salt n Straw. We might avoid that area since parking was already annoying before they shut down India St.
Have a few Mexican places in Barrio Logan we’ve been meaning to try.
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Also in the vicinity of Point Loma Seafood, is Mitch’s. Similar menu and very good food. B.L.D
Little Italy is overcrowded even with street dining. A decent alternative might be a very short stretch in Mission Hills on Washington and the 2 cross streets, Falcon and Goldfinch. All of these are within walking distance of each other. In no particular order you’ve got The Red Door (modern Italian, chef is from Italy, uses local produce), Jo’s Diner (probbly the best French Onion soup in the city, great meatloaf, salads, etc), Farmer’s Bottega (farm to table), Harley Gray (burgers, salads, sandwiches), Lefty’s (chicago style pizza), Cardellino (everyday Italian), Fort Oak (upscale, terrific food). All of these are doing socially distancing dining, or take out. The food is, I think, better than much of what you find in Little Italy.
At the foot of Washington, near the I-5 is Karina’s, Gelato Vero and Rubicon Deli. You can’t go wrong at any of them. 1 block from these 3 are Shakespeare Pub, El Indio and Blue Water Grill. Of the 3 Blue Water is by far the best for fresh seafood sandwiches, tacos, salads and plates. Pre-covid there was always, always a line out the door. Not sure how what they’re doing right now. Next door to Blue Water is a tiny business complex. The Regal Beagle is located in it and does interesting sausages and dogs with a lot of local beers on tap.
In Hillcrest the 2 main breakfast places - Snooze and Great Maple - have moved their dining outside. I’d give the nod to Great Maple, but you can’t go wrong at either. They haven’t been overly crowded during the week, but are very busy on weekends.
On Monday, Aug 31st, restaurants in SD will be allowed to reopen inside dining at 25% capacity.
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We’ve been hitting up Snooze for breakfast almost every trip to SD. It’s our favorite breakfast place and we love their coffee. Weird bc they opened up a branch in OC a few years ago and we’ve never been to the OC location. It’s more of a vacation thing I guess.
I don’t think we’ve ventured much into Mission Hills but it’s basically in the same area as North Park which we venture to often. Red Door and Fort Oak both look great but a little on the pricey side with the kids. I booked Cardellino’s. This looks like a perfect spot for us. Going to hit up Stella Jean which is pretty close by. They opened in the OC and very interested in their flavors.
Taking a day trip to Coronado. The kids love the beach.
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Mission HIlls and North Park aren’t really that close, totally different vibe 
Mission Hills is kind of like North Park but with old money.
I like Cardellino, it’s owned by the same people that own Fort Oak and Trust.
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Haha it doesn’t look that far on the map. Driving 10-15 minutes in the OC for food is nothing. I don’t really know all the SD neighborhoods all that well but I created a map in Google that helps.
I know of the Trust group so expecting a nice meal at Cardellinos. Menu seems similar to Buona Forchetta which we enjoyed.
I love Trust, it’s probably my favorite restaurant in San Diego. I’ve only been to Fort Oak once, but it was really good, definitely justified the price points. They have a small, intimate counter that acts something like a chef’s table. They do private wine dinners there about every 4-6 weeks, or at least they did pre-Covid. I have friends that have gone to these dinners pretty regularly and have been completely smitten each time. If you include the wine pairings, the dinners work out to about $200/person. Probably a very good value, but a little rich for my blood.
Cardellino and Buona Forchetta do have some similarities, but Cardellino is less pizza focused and very much into sharing plates and encouraging diners to try, share and interact. One end of the dining room is a series of 3 long high tops, which definitely encourages you to get to know your dining neighbors 
Depending upon time of day, traffic and traffic lights, it takes about 15-20 minutes to drive from North Park to Mission Hills. Parking sucks in Mission Hills, but there is an underground parking garage on Falcon, very close to Washington, West side of the street. It’s not well marked, but it’s about 20-25 feet in from the stoplight on Washington. There is also parking, if you’re discrete at the Von’s on Dove and Washington.
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I’m also a big fan of Trust, and outdoor dining was the way to go (on their spacious patio) well before the covid. For me and my DH, it was just way too noisy inside when packed. On the other hand, if for now they’re going to be only 25% occupied indoors, it might be another story.
Thanks for the recommendation @DiningDiva. Cardellino was fantastic. The best Italian we’ve had in SD and one of the best meals we’ve had in recent memory. Way better than Buona Forchetta, Bencotto, Cucina Urbana and whatever else we’ve tried in the past 8 years on trips down here. Found a great parking spot around the corner. Probably got lucky. Forgot to take pictures of the apps and halfway through the pizza.
I mean look at those chalices.
Who serves up ranch sauce as a condiment for dipping their crust? Ranch was so good.
Sweet corn agnolotti with peas and fried garlic chips. Rich and sweet.
Fantastic pasta. Reminded us of the pasta at Delfina in SF which is our favorite version.
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The chef/owner grew up in New Jersey. Cardellino is his homage to everything he remembers from his youth…including ranch dressing into which to dip pizza 
The ice cream place next door is actually part of Cardellino. Since it’s going to be an awfully hot weekend, you might like this ice cream joint as well.