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Best food in San Diego and North County

🌱 This post is in the growth phase. It may still be useful as it grows up.

I’ve lived in North County San Diego my entire aware life.
If you’re visiting, welcome! These are my favorite places to eat and their best dishes.

This is — by no means — an exhaustive list of San Diego’s greatest food. But it’s good fucking list.

Contents

Dija Mara

Dija is about as far away from Oceanside as you can get in Oceanside. You walk thrue the door onto a different continent. We go here when we want to escape to a place where folks aren’t afraid of heat and fish heads.

Favorite dishes

Favorite drinks

The Friendly

This is the best burger in San Diego, full stop.

One reviewer on Yelp said “this burger looks like it was run over by a truck”. That’s right. The burger looks like shit. But holy balls it’s a bite of pure soul.

Instagram

Favorite dishes

Tribute Pizza

I love the Costo Combo. It’s non-ironically one of my favirote pizzas. Hit me with an artisinal, wood-fired, classic combo tribute — in an abandoned postal service building and I’m so in I can’t find my way out.

Everything about this place is perfect.

Favorite dishes

Underbelly Ramen

This is “white people asian food” my grandmother warned me about — I won’t dance around that. But shit, if it’s not the best “white people” ramen out there. And if you like lots of tastes and cocktails, they crush it.

Favorite dishes

East Village

Tajima

Between the Mexico border and an Asian college town, carnitas ramen is a unique cultural mish-mash that is odd and delicious.

Favorite dishes

Tasty Noodle House

My brothers discovered this place after my dad passed. But if we’d discovered it while he was still living, he would have wanted to die eating there. This is the hole-in-the-wall, pot-sticker-slinging, bun-filling, cash-discounting, noodle shop of his dreams.

My grandma likes it; `nough said.

Favorite dishes

Prager Brothers Artizan Bread

The Prager Brothers make the best bread on planet earth. By brother moved to NYC this last year and said the only thing he misses is Prager Brother bread.

Favorite dishes

Lofty Coffee

Lofty Coffeee Roasting Works in Encinitas is the most special places to enjoy a hot drink in North County.

They roast really wonderful coffees but this seems to be the only one of their locations where they know how to brew it. But

…others I love