SAN DIEGO – With nearly 20 miles of public shoreline within the city of San Diego, we hardly need a cue for plopping down a towel or chair on our beaches with a cooler of food.
But since National Beach Day is looming on the near horizon, the unofficial Aug. 30 “holiday” got us thinking about best and easiest sustenance for toting onto the sands.
Below are some favorite beach bites from nearby eateries that are worth defending from observant seagulls.
Breakfast burritos and fruit cups from Kono’s Cafe
704 Garnet Ave., Pacific Beach
Morning beach goers will find five different types of neatly wrapped breakfast burritos at this long-established cafe, which sits a stone’s throw from the water. Fillings include sausage with avocado; bacon with potatoes and cheese; and vegetarian-friendly green chilies with cheese. Handy fruit cups containing melon, pineapple and banana are also available as perfect sustenance after a swim.
Roast beef sandies from Big Jim’s Roast Beef
4508 Cass St., Pacific Beach
Yes, roast beef is doable for sand-side dining. Leave it to Big Jim’s to send customers to the beach with a variety of sandwich choices that require a few extra napkins. The “super duper beef” sandwich is a doozy that boasts 16 ounces of meat, barbecue sauce, and white American cheese on a grilled onion bun. The menu offers a five-ounce version to keep the kids sated. Also, the steak-and-cheese sandwich using top round comes on a manageable hoagie roll and beckons to a Philly cheesesteak.
Smoothies and acai bowls from Blue Palm Mission Beach
2912 Mission Blvd., Mission Beach
Some of the tastiest and healthiest takeaways from this humble coffeehouse are the fresh-fruit smoothies made with berries and tropical fruits. The acai bowls are also beach-worthy. They’re extra hearty if opting for additions such as cocoa nibs, bee pollen and almond butter.
Chicken fajita tacos at Don Tommy’s Mexican Food
4145 Voltaire St., Ocean Beach
Who says you can only enjoy fajitas when they’re served from hot plates at full-service restaurants? At Don Tommy’s, where the flour tortillas are made to order, a fajita medley of grilled chicken, onions and peppers are tucked into the fresh tortillas with cilantro-based salsa for extra zip. The wrapped tacos travel intact to the spirited shores of Ocean Beach, located five minutes away by car or bike. A paper plate and a plastic fork to catch the droppings are the only tools you’ll need.
No-mess, no-fuss smashburgers: Jeff’s Beach Burgers and Hodad’s
2134 Avenida De La Playa, La Jolla (Jeff’s); and
5010 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach (Hodad’s),
Located a short block from La Jolla Shores beach, Jeff’s quarter-pound beef burgers (and their veggie counterparts) are adorned with a secret sauce that is used judiciously along with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and pickles. Despite multiple garnishments, the burgers behave kindly when eaten at the beach.
The third-pounders at Hodad’s are stacked more heavily because the lettuce, tomatoes and pickles crowning the patties are thickly cut. But the staff mindfully wraps burgers destined for the beach in heavy-duty parchment paper, forming it into what they call a “burger diaper.”
Artisan sandwiches and pastries from Sourdough & Moore
4853 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach
The “Paris classic” sandwich with dry-cured ham, Emmental cheese and butter on sourdough baguette stays deliciously obedient with a gentle grip of a hand. The bakery is located only a few blocks from the beach. It sells other crafty sandwiches as well as European-style baked goods—all tailor-made for lazing on the sand while watching surfers maneuver some of San Diego’s best waves.
Pizza shout-outs
Isola Pizza Bar, 7734 Girard Ave., La Jolla;
Pizzeria Luigi, 5001 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach;
Pizza Cassette, 1459 Garnet, Pacific Beach; and
Prince Street Pizza, 4505 Mission Blvd., Pacific Beach
San Diego’s beach communities are loaded with pizzerias. Our favorites listed above cover several styles such as wood-fired Neapolitan pies made at Isola and Pizza Cassette; thin and crispy New York pizzas slung from Luigi’s; and hefty Detroit-style sheet pizzas found at Prince Street. Except for Isola, each offers the option of pizza by the slice, although whole, boxed pizzas work very well for keeping pesky sand from interfering.
