ROCK!
I am really stoked now!
If your in the gas lamp district, that is basically downtown, IIRC…
LOl!
The Gaslamp! It’s the Gaslamp! lol!
No, Chuck, we do not plan to drive you crazy, but who knows?
:eek:
Take a look at this link for some dining ideas in the Gaslamp Quarter.
It’s a popular area for Comicon and other convention goers.
Little Italy can be reached by Trolley, too.
A plethora of choices!
You guys might like Dirty Dicks, it’s a great place to relax, and if you like to talk **** no one will care, you can say what ever you want there, even to the staff.
-Robert
p.s. sorry can’t make it. the navy is sending us out again.
I live near downtown, and would love to hang with you crazy kats; is there any confirmation of days, times, or locales? I work 'til 10 Friday night (if you wanted I could get you two in to the IMAX theater where I work in Balboa Park), but I have all of Saturday off. Isn’t Galactica new that Friday night? I’m all for bars, but they’re all so packed on the weekends that I rarely bother. The Waterfront in Little Italy has awesome food (fish&chips and burgers to die for) and isn’t far from my house. Anyway, hope I can make it, I’ll check back for details.
The Hub & I are researching in earnest, now. He’s concentrating on a view for Audra since she said she’d like to see the water. We’re in Clairemont Mesa, but though we get around quite a bit, you locals to the Little Italy/Downtown scene may know a place with good brew, food, and not so loud we can’t converse.
Also, let’s get a head count- I have a definite 3 and a possible 2 more coming. I’m seeing a possible 10 on this thread alone, if you can all still make it?
And it’s Spring Break season, so we may need to put in a reservation or a hold for a Friday night.
Let’s throw it over to Chuck & Audra, who are in town on business, to give us a time to meet.
love, me! b!
A few thoughts:
It’s generally been my experience that most restaurants don’t take reservations for 10 or more on Friday night without a deposit. (Hell, I wouldn’t, either. If they don’t show, you lose a grand or more for the table/time.) Well, sometimes they’ll take the reservation – but YMMV as to whether it works or not.
Audra should probably jump in here, since she’s better at this kind of thing than me. I love the cool places, but the most important thing for me is that we get to relax and hang out. So maybe the trick is to meet somewhere we can relax and have some dinner, then head out to the more hip place afterwards as we’ll know how many of us there are, etc.
Then again, maybe it’s not too hard to figure out. I tend to worry too much. Ask Audra. Or Sean.
I could name a dozen great places for this in Dallas. 
Maybe early evening for dinner, then off to some place fun to hang out? Or if we’re doing both in the same place, whatever time after 5p that’s going to work best for everyone.
How about you name a couple of places in Dallas, especially if they happen to have a web site, then we can get a feel for what you like and go from there … 
I happen to be in San Diego right now on business–staying in the Gaslamp district. If there’s bar or restaurant you want me to test drive, let me know.
-Thot
Just got back from drinks and appetizers at the “Mister Tiki” Mai Tai Lounge in San Diego 801 Fifth St in San Diego. Good stuff. Naturally they specialize in umbrella drinks, but me, I was in the mood for a beer so I had a couple Stone IPAs, which is brewed locally in Sen Diego. Good good. Pot stickers and fried calamari are good there too.
Thanks for the info, Thot-
Bkitty, thanks for thinking of me with a place to see the water!
Let’s see if I can give a better idea of the kinds of places we like. We’re pretty open-minded about food - we like just about every type. I’m not the world’s biggest seafood fan, but I make do just fine at seafood places. Our favorite stuff is probably steak, Mediterranean (Greek, Turkish, Persian, etc.), Italian, and Middle Eastern. We also like Japanese hibachi restaurants, pizza places with creative toppings, and German places, especially with a big variety of beers on tap.
Atmosphere - we like a place where we can relax and will be treated well and welcomed by the staff but don’t have to dress up to the extreme. Crowds are fine as long as they’re not meat markets. Hip atmospheres are good as long as you don’t get eye-balled up and down by a snooty line of skeletal models when you walk in (a couple of places in Dallas are like this - yuk). So basically, we want to be able to relax, eat food and drink beer, hang out with as many GWCers as want to come, and not be hustled out too quickly. A non-smoking place is best (I’m pretty sure they’re more common there than here). And preferably in a place disinclined to be overrun with hollering, unattended children (a downside of some Dallas hangouts).
Wow, I sound really picky. Just know that we’re very easygoing about this kind of thing -I just mentioned our ideal stuff. I’m really looking forward to just meeting everyone and having a good talk/laugh!
Oh, oh! I almost forgot - outdoor seating. We would LOVE to sit outside if possible. You don’t get to do that very often here since it’s usually too hot and sometimes too cold.
Edit: If I could put in order of importance my ideal criteria, they’d be:
- Good service - Friendly, attentive, good attitude, not snobby
- Good atmosphere - Beautiful, nice view, welcoming, inclusive, relaxed
- Good food/beer - 'nuff said.
Mr. Tiki rocks! It’s a Cohn Family restaurant in one of the links I dropped in on post #13 on this thread. We haven’t had a bad dish there, ever. Click on any of the particular restaurant links and you can access the menus in pdf form.
Too many choices! ack!
I see you have Dick’s in Dallas, and we do have some other places with patio dining, the Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cantina which I don’t think is open in Texas, yet, and a kind of celtic Hooters called The Tilted Kilt, but I don’t know yet if they have patio dining.
The hub & I will do more recon this afternoon- he loves a ‘field trip’!
more later…
guess I should rsvp–I’m a definite yes
Hey Guys-
Had some fun doing a little recon:
Mimmo’s is a cool place in Little Italy, a few blocks from the trolley with a great little garden patio.
Right near the Little Italy sign
looks like this
with a lovely garden patio
and an authentic british pub just a crawl away
They serve wine & beer, and the food is italian, deli, pizza, pasta, etc.
Click here for a look at the dinner menu.
And here for the trolley trip planner if you don’t want to drive. Otherwise, there is nearby paid parking and some street parking.
If there is anywhere else you all want to meet up, We’re in- the hub and I just had fun doing the recon. We like to be ‘tourists’ in San Diego when we can. If anyone has a place they want me to look into, I’m off this week for spring break. I like to help.
For now, I am out. I’ll still be in Las Vegas that weekend. I have big travel about two weeks following the potential meet-up. I need flexibility to deal with that in terms of work craziness.
I was in San Diego last week, and my hotel was right in the Gaslamp district.
Speaking as an out-of-towner, I’m predicting that there’s just SUCH a huge variety of restaurant and bars in San Diego that the problem will be making a choice.
So here’s a humble suggestion: Have everyone meet at the big two-story Borders bookstore at the corner of Sixth and G Street. Then when everyone’s gathered, send out a couple scouts to check around for place that has a outside seating and enough seats available for you. And most importantly: MAKE A DECISION. Last week I ended up walking around the Gaslamp district with a couple friends and the problem is there are SO MANY great looking places that it’s hard to make a decsiion. What I’m saying is you want to avoid the proverbial cluster-frak.
Now, keep in mind that I’m no authority on San Diego—just someone who was there on business last week. So take my advice with grain of salt. I would advise you defer to the wisdom of local folks like bkitty,
Anyway, too bad I can’t be there for the meet up. Hopefully if Chuck, Audra and Sean are up in the Boston area, I can meet y’all (along with the rest of the New England GWC gang).
Yep, Thot, you’re right about starving in the midst of plenty. There are way too many choices. That’s why I suggested Little Italy. It’s another cool part of San Diego, a trolley hop or two from the Gaslamp, and acceptable parking options.
I have gotten so many other suggestions, I’ve only posted the filtered stuff here. Honestly, we can avoid the Gaslamp altogether, and do Hillcrest-many awesome places, Old Town, O.B., P.B., the list goes on…
I was trying to suggest non-chain places, but there are some good ones of those, too.
I’m going to run by Casa de Reyes- suggested by Darthweef- today, and check out some more of Oldtown. Any more suggests? I’ll check the thread when I can get some wifi.
Having fun just cruisin’ around San Diego.
love, me! b!
I’m RSVP-ing with a definite YES!
If anyone’s in the Clairemont area, maybe we could carpool?
I vote that we let bkitty pick a spot, and we all be there…
It is obvious that she knows the area better then most, and has already a TON of footwork - you ROCK! - and if we don’t put the decision into the hands of someone we will all be wondering where to go this Friday…
SO bkitty – tell us where to meet up.
lol! Yeah, I’m a dork! I’ve been at a loose end, and I drag my kid with me. This way we don’t kill each other. She rocks at close quarter combat. No joke. That 5 year old metabolism will kick anybody’s butt!
I really liked the setup at Mimmo’s (did the pictorial give it away?), and it’s a nice San Diego spot. It’s accessible by trolley, which runs till about midnite, and there is parking, though about the same challenge as the Gaslamp. There is a pay lot right by the trolley stop, and a bit of on street. Depends when you get there, and how your luck runs.
If you want to stay in the Gaslamp, Dublin Square is a good bet. It has a tiny bit of patio seating, but the big windows are usually open to the street. There is often live Irish music, and cozy seating.
Many of the restaurants in the Gaslamp have that tiny patio seating, though few really big enough for a group larger than 4. Dick’s has the only patio that can really accommodate that.
Seaport Village is also close to the Gaslamp and the Harbor House, the Edgewater, and Buster’s Beach House, all have waterfront views.
Yeah, just makes things more difficult. I’ll get together with the hub and discuss.
Any thoughts?
love, me! b!