Having the good fortune to be the restaurant critic for the San Diego Union-Tribune in recent years has been good for my taste buds, if not my waistline. But I did have some great meals and some delicious, memorable bites in 2023. Here are my top 10.
Caviar and rice — Addison
After earning its third Michelin star in December 2022, I returned to this Carmel Valley restaurant last January to try some of chef William Bradley’s dishes that earned it the level of status shared by just 12 other U.S. restaurants. Everything was exquisite. But the dish that Michelin inspectors singled out in awarding star No. 3 was this stunning, melt-in-your mouth plate. Regiis Ova Reserve caviar is served over warm, porridge-like koshihikari rice stirred with sesame oil that’s layered with smoked buttery sabayon sauce, toasted sesame seeds and crunchy bits of puffed rice. Bradley said it took two years of experimentation to get it just right. “It’s been the most well-received thing I’ve ever cooked in my life. I’ve seen people cry eating it,” he said. “There’s an old saying by Daniel Boulud that you want to be known for the fifth dish you made, not the 500th. This will be that dish for me.” 5200 Grand Del Mar Way, San Diego. addisondelmar.com
The Brisket burger — Heritage BBQ & Beer
A chopped brisket sando at Heritage Barbecue & Beer Co. in Oceanside, which opens Jan. 15.
(Courtesy of Ron De Angelis)
After moving his family to Oceanside a few years ago, chef-restaurateur Daniel Castillo decided to open a local outlet of his Michelin Bib Gourmand-honored, Texas-style barbecue restaurant in San Juan Capistrano. The menu superstar at this 1-year-old restaurant is the smoked Prime beef brisket, which is cooked to fork-tender perfection with a crispy burnt ends crust. The brisket is great on its own, but I like it best in Castillo’s half-pound Famous Smoked Burger, which has a half-pound ground brisket patty served on a hefty bun with pickles, onions, American cheese and house BBQ sauce. It’s a big sandwich and it’s good to the last finger-licking bite. 2002 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. oceanside.heritagecraftbbq.com
Coconut shrimp skewers — Paradisaea
Coconut shrimp at Paradisaea restaurant in the Bird Rock area of La Jolla.
(Courtesy of John Dole)
Earlier this month, La Jolla residents Eric and Zoe Kleinbub earned a Michelin recommendation for their 1-year-old restaurant Paradisaea, a tropically themed American restaurant in La Jolla’s Bird Rock community. The dish that Michelin inspector praised most was the coconut shrimp skewers, which I also found to be the menu standout during my dining review visit last June. When you hear the words “coconut shrimp,” you imagine the pupu platter variety that’s pounded flat, battered and deep-fried. Not so at Paradisaea (which is named for a species of tropical birds in Southeast Asia). This flavor-packed dish features head-on prawns skewered on a stick, basted with harissa-lemon marinade and grilled, then served with a side of creamy coconut-harissa sauce and lime. It’s delicate, different and packs a wealth of flavor. The dish was created by Paradisaea’s opening chef Mark Welker, who left several months ago, and the menus now less tropical and more American. But the shrimp dish is still there and definitely worth a try. 5680 La Jolla Blvd, San Diego. paradisaea.com
House-smoked mackerel on sourdough bread — Mabel’s Gone Fishing
House-smoked mackerel on sourdough bread at Mabel’s Gone Fishing in North Park
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Since opening 15 months ago, Mabel’s Gone Fishing in North Park has collected a Michelin Bib Gourmand award and was recently named one of the Esquire magazine’s 50 best new restaurants in America. I checked it out last March and was absolutely charmed by the friendly (though noisy) neighborhood restaurant with an eclectic Iberian-inspired menu and gin-based cocktails. My favorite dish was the house-smoked mackerel served on an olive-oil-sprinkled, thick-cut slice of house-baked sourdough bread. The generous slabs of fish had a pleasing salty and buttery flavor and firm texture and the warm, crusty bread was delicious. 3770 30th St., San Diego. mabelsgonefishing.com
Pappardelle pasta — Marisi
The pappardelle pasta on Marisi’s opening menu.
(Courtesy of Jim Sullivan)
Before I wax too rhapsodic on this deliciously different pasta dish at the 1-year-old family-owned trattoria Marisi, a few caveats: It’s no longer on the menu, and Chad Huff, the famed pasta chef who created it, no longer works at Marisi. However, Marisi is still dedicated to making all of its pasta in-house and elevating classic dishes with fresh interpretations. The pappardelle dish, which I enjoyed last winter, is a good example of this philosophy. Inspired by a traditional ragu Genovese, Huff used duck instead of beef and white wine instead of red. He used rye grain from Tehachapi Grain Project for the nutty-flavored pasta and brightened the dish with preserved lemons before topping it all off with a splash of fruity Piave Vecchio oil. It was perfection. 1044 Wall St., La Jolla. marisilajolla.com
Elote Especial — Petco Park
Elote Especial at the Mexican Street Corn stand at Petco Park. It’s one of several new food items available for the 2023 San Diego Padres season.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Before the San Diego Padres’ opening day at Petco Park last spring, I sampled most of the new food items being introduced for the season. Some were good, some … not so much. But this simple Baja street food of fresh grilled corn slathered with mayo, cotija cheese, Tajín chile pepper and lime seasoning scored a home run. The Mexican Street Corn cart on the ballpark’s main concourse serves elote on the cob (Elote Classico) or off the cob (Especial). Definitely order the Especial variety, which has a creamy house “Fuego” sauce and the delightful surprise of spicy Tajín “pop pocks” that fizz on the tongue. Petco Park, 100 Park Blvd., San Diego. mlb.com/padres
Peri peri pheasant — Trust
Peri Peri pheasant at Trust Restaurant in Hillcrest in April 2023.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
When friends or strangers visit San Diego and ask me for restaurant suggestions, I often recommend Trust, Fort Oak, Cardellino and any other restaurants in chef Brad Wise’s Trust Restaurant Group. Last April I returned to Trust in Hillcrest for the first time since the pandemic shutdown and was excited by the international flair in the menu and the lighter, healthier preparations of the food. My favorite dish was the peri peri pheasant, a flavor-packed dish with African and Middle Eastern influences. The pepper-infused peri-peri sauce rubbed on the skin gave it a lovely, crispy texture, and the heat of the sauce was nicely balanced with harissa tahini, herb salad, sweet snap peas and pomegranate seeds, pickled onions and dabs of toum, a Lebanese creamy garlic sauce. This dish isn’t on the menu right now, but trust me — it’s hard to have a bad meal at Trust or any other of Wise’s restaurants. 3752 Park Blvd., San Diego. trustrestaurantsd.com
Hoecake & Caviar — Herb & Sea
Hoecake and caviar at Herb & Sea restaurant in Encinitas.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Puffer Malarkey Collective’s Herb & Sea in Encinitas opened just four months before the pandemic arrived, but it survived and thrived despite some chef shuffles over the past three years. The seafood-centric restaurant, now under the culinary leadership of Australian chef Aidan Owens, does things different than most of the other hundred or so other seafood eateries around town. Case in point, this Southern-inspired appetizer that’s a first for me. A dinner plate-size brown butter corn cake is cooked to order, then topped with a rillette of smoked striped sea bass, a dollop of caviar and a drizzle of warm honey butter. It’s sweet, savory, salty, sticky and satisfying. 131 West D St., Encinitas. herbandsea.com
Steak tartare — Hitokuchi
Elements to be assembled tableside for the steak tartare dish at Hitokuchi restaurant on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa.
(Courtesy of Arlene Ibarra)
Last January, chef-owner John Hong opened this casual, a la carte sister restaurant next door to his Hidden Fish omakase sushi spot in the Convoy District. Last month, Hitokuchi was named one of Esquire magazine’s 50 best new restaurants in America. I dined at Hitokuchi last August and was wowed by the high quality of the imported Japanese seafood, Wagyu and other ingredients, as well as the attention to detail in Hong’s dishes. My favorite dish was the steak tartare, where all of the elements of the dish — raw steak, quail egg yolk, pickled scallion, shallots, fresh garlic and grated pear — arrived in a wood bowl that was topped table-side by a pour-over of honey-soy sauce, then briskly stirred together by the server. Diners could then create their own toasts with crisped bread and spoonfuls of warm marrow from a side dish of roasted beef bones. 4764 Convoy St., Suite B, San Diego. hitokuchisd.com
Sticky toffee & date cake — California English
Sticky toffee pudding and date cake with Earl Grey tea ice cream at California English restaurant in Sorrento Mesa.
(Pam Kragen/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Celebrity chef Richard Blais designed the menu for this unique hybrid restaurant in Sorrento Valley, which mixes light, fresh California cuisine with classic British dishes. I dined there twice last summer and found the restaurant beautiful but the mash-up menu a mixed bag. But one of the dishes I loved was the sticky toffee pudding dessert, an English-style warm date cake topped with toffee sauce and a scoop of Earl Grey tea-infused ice cream. The portion was large enough for two and I could not stop eating it, even after a large lunch. The current version of the dessert comes with salted caramel ice cream, which sounds just as yummy. 9276 Scranton Road, San Diego. californiaenglishsd.com