San Diego trip: itinerary & restaurants

[onvacation]

I will be in San Diego with DH for a few days this week to celebrate our anniversary, and spent last night combing through the San Diego related threads to come up with this rough plan. There were so many great recommendations that I''m having trouble fitting them all in! Could some of the locals proof it for me, please?

Wednesday: Arriving at the airport a little past 6pm. Bummed I can''t do the dinner cruise this day, cuz I''m short on dinner nights! Thinking about dinner @ Island Prime, since it''s close to the airport and I think it will have a nice view of the harbor and downtown.
Q1) Will the view from Island Prime be similar to the one from Chez Loma? (I don''t even know if Chez Loma has windows..)
Q2) Will the view from IP be enough to compensate for no dinner cruise? I would really like to see downtown from the ocean.
Q3) Island Prime, or JRDN for dinner? I could skip Island Prime if it''s similar to Oceanaire.. We will probably meet up with some friends @ Mission Beach before going to dinner (just us two).

Thursday: Lunch w/ friends.
Dinner @ Chez Loma
cocktails @ Del Coronado
walk on the beach at night

Q) Is it dangerous to walk around Coronado beach, say, 9 or 10pm after sunset?

Friday: 10am - Head up to La Jolla. Parasailing @ Torrey Pines.
1pm - Phil''s BBQ for lunch
5pm - Sea World
10:30pm - JRDN @ Tower 23 to snack and relax, if we aren''t too tired. (probably will be. Does their kitchen close @ 10pm or does it stay open a little longer for the bar?)

Saturday: 10am - drive down along Silverstrand Beach
noon-ish - brunch @ Cafe Chloe (Steak frites)
2pm - zoo (3pm sea lion show, polar bears, pandas, koalas) Skip sea lion show if out of time.
5:30pm - Oceanaire happy hour (oysters, clam chowder, El Diablo squid, ahi tuna, crab cakes, scallops?, baked Alaska)
night - city fireworks

Sunday: noon-ish flight, so not planning much at all. I''d appreciate recommendations for a good breakfast/brunch place on the way to the airport. I''m planning to return the rental car by 11am, which will leave me with an hour before boarding for my domestic flight. Is that enough time for the San Diego airport?

P.S. - Does anyone know a good ramen place?
P.P.S. - Anyone been to My Place in La Jolla? I heard good things about their Chez Caesar, Lobster Bisque, Onion soup, Duck, Chez Ginger Bread, and Creme Caramel. Is it worth going? Or is Chez Loma better?

 

[waxing lyrical]

I want to go. I miss it. It''s home. I love The Mission restaurant. It serves delicious breakfast and lunch. There''s one where we used to live near Petco Park located downtown on J street. It''s not very far from the air port.

 

[Hera]

I don't know much about the other restaurants, but I love tower 23(I lived at tower 21 on the boardwalk). It has a very trendy, cool vibe to it's decor. A highlight are the cocktails as they are pretty unique and yummy. They have good sushi, but I haven't tried anything else.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I will answer a few of the questions I know about

Coronado is a pretty safe place. I would feel comfortable walking on the beach with another person. Just take the same precautions as anywhere else when you are walking at night. I would avoid Mission beach on a Sunday night. That is the one place I know stuff happens.

I know Island Prime has a great view assuming you get outdoor seating. I was there for NYE one year and got to see a great view of the fireworks over the city skyline. I have never been to Chez Loma.

Give your self at least 3 hours for the Zoo. You will probably want to do the guided tour bus, but you won''t get to see the Pandas via the bus. You have to wait in line for that. One of the Pandas just gave birth, but the baby won''t be out for 4 months.

Breakfast places that I know if. Hob Nob Hill in Mission Hills (not a bad line if you get there early enough). Hash House in Hillcrest (very long wait).

I would arrive at the airport 1.5 hours before take off just in case

Also, Balboa Park has a ton of old buildings and museums right next to the zoo, it is worth taking 20 minutes to walk through there just to look at the buildings, it is really amazing.

 

[onvacation]

Date: 8/10/2009 5:27:41 PM
Author: waxing lyrical
I want to go. I miss it. It''s home. I love The Mission restaurant. It serves delicious breakfast and lunch. There''s one where we used to live near Petco Park located downtown on J street. It''s not very far from the air port.

Oh no, WL, didn''t mean to make you homesick! Mmm, is this the right place? http://www.missionsoma.signonsandiego.com/3.html Those pancakes look amaaazing!

 

[onvacation]

Date: 8/10/2009 5:50:48 PM
Author: heraanderson
I don''t know much about the other restaurants, but I love tower 23(I lived at tower 21 on the boardwalk). It has a very trendy, cool vibe to it''s decor. A highlight are the cocktails as they are pretty unique and yummy. They have good sushi, but I haven''t tried anything else.

Thanks, heranderson! The place looks so neat in the pictures that I''ve seen so far, and people recommended them all around. I called them just now to see what time the kitchen closes, and they close at 10pm. Wah. Maybe we should consider getting dinner there the first night. The bar stays open till around midnight or 1 on weekends, so cocktails are on for sure! Do you have any favorite cocktails from there?

 

[waxing lyrical]

Date: 8/10/2009 6:02:16 PM
Author: onvacation

Date: 8/10/2009 5:27:41 PM

Author: waxing lyrical

I want to go. I miss it. It''s home. I love The Mission restaurant. It serves delicious breakfast and lunch. There''s one where we used to live near Petco Park located downtown on J street. It''s not very far from the air port.

Oh no, WL, didn''t mean to make you homesick! Mmm, is this the right place? http://www.missionsoma.signonsandiego.com/3.html Those pancakes look amaaazing!

We''re hoping we get stationed back that way next summer. Yep, that''s the restaurant. The pancakes are delicious. I''m a big fan of the Mexican breakfast plates.

 

[miraclesrule]

Ditto SDL!! Coronado Island is a beautiful choice. Island Prime is one of my favs. Make sure to eat on the deck over the water. It's best at sundown.

And Phil's BBQ....:::::swooons::::: You'll be dreaming of leftovers for days.