72 Hours in San Diego

We were long overdue for a San Diego trip. There was a point we were heading there a few times a year but due to having grown up things to do and spend money on, we’ve haven’t been there in a few years. So we were super excited to head there last month for the wedding of one of our good friends. Due to our anniversary trip we had to cut this one a bit short, but it was still great to be on the West Coast.

We could easily spend at least a week in San Diego seeing friends and family and doing all of our favorite things. You can read about one of our last trips here. We decided that for this post, we just wanted to recap some of the favorite things we did, instead of a detailed itinerary.

In-N-Out
We landed at 11:45 pm and after waiting to get our rental car we drove straight to In-N-Out. This is our absolute favorite fast food burger (Broad will fight you if you disagree). We don’t have go-tos that we order because everything on the menu is tasty AF. But Broad will always get her burger animal style and we will always get fries and a shake. Oh and an iced tea because their tea is freakishly delicious.

Cafe Vahik
We stayed at Ben’s Aunt and Uncle’s house in La Jolla and started the morning at our favorite breakfast spot, Cafe Vahik. This little family owned cafe serves amazing breakfasts, salads and paninis. Broad’s favorite is the bruschetta sandwich and Beard’s is the yellowtail on sourdough. They also have the best coffee drinks.

Farmer’s Table
We planned on spending the day in Ocean Beach eating and drinking, but Broad insisted we find this place called Farmer’s Table in La Mesa for Bloody Marys. They have a Bloody Mary called “The Barn Yard” which contains a whole roasted chicken, roasted veggies, bacon wrapped shrimp, pickled veggies and fresh mozzarella and tomato skewers. Obviously this is something that needs to be shared. We decided on not ordering that one because we planned on eating more of our favorite San Diego things later. After all, we only had 72 hours this trip so we had to strategize.

Broad opted for the “Butcher’s Block” bloody which contained sage fennel sausage, braised short rib, BBQ drizzle topped with bacon and stuffed blue cheese olives and finished with a BBQ and bacon rim. It was delicious but also quite filling. Beard went for something more light, the “Farm Fresh” which had gin, cucumber, basil, lemon, soda, elderflower and fresh cracked pepper.

Pizza Port Brewing Company
We then made our way to Ocean Beach to one of our favorite breweries, Pizza Port. It’s a small (but award winning) brewery with lots of tasty beer options and delicious pizza. We tried a whole bunch of their beers before making our way to burgers.

Hodad’s
Hodad’s has amazing burgers. It’s easily one of our favorite burger joints ever. There’s usually a line, but it’s totally worth the wait. They have different size burgers, so definitely go for the mini one unless you’re starving. It is not mini at all.  Also always pick Frings as a side which are onion rings and fries together.

South Beach Bar and Grille
We got wind that a place down the street had octopus as a snack in their Bloody Mary, so we went there and ordered two. Turns out they were out of octopus, but the Bloody Mary was still delicious. We did however leave a little disappointed.

Culture Brewing Co. & Belching Beaver 
We then walked down the street to a new-to-us brewery, Culture Brewing, and tried some of what they had to offer. It was a cool little space with lots of local art on the walls. The beer was good and we’d go back if we were in the neighborhood. We walked across the street for a few at Belching Beaver which we’ve been to before. They never disappoint.

Herringbone
We made our way back to La Jolla and headed to one of our favorite spots, Herringbone. It’s a swanky lounge/restaurant that’s also quite homey. It has trees growing out of it and they usually have great live music as well. We just happened to pick the right night to visit as it was their Bubbles & Pearls event. On Thursdays in the bar and lounge, they offer $1 oysters, $5 cava and 1/2 off all bottles of champagne. We ate lots of oysters, drank cava and ordered a bottle. It’s also an amazing spot for people watching.

We Olive
We probably should have made our way home after all the champs but Broad insisted we walk down to one of our absolute favorite La Jolla spots, We Olive. We’ve written about them before so we won’t go into too much detail about the place, but it’s amazing and we love it. We stopped there for a causal rosé flight and for more people watching.

Trujilo’s Taco Shop
The next day we drove to our favorite burrito spot, Trujilio’s. Beard ate here all the time while in college at SDSU. He’s been taking Broad here every single SD trip and they really do have the best burritos EVER. You have to get the Phi Psi with carne asada.

Great Maple
We still had octopus Bloody Mary’s on the brain so we took a trip to Great Maple. It was insanely crowded for brunch but we lucky found seats at the bar. We ordered the “One-Armed Mary” which had vodka, house mix, spices, fresh lemon and a spicy fresh grilled octopus tentacle. The tentacle was super tasty and the cocktail was amazing.

Modern Times Flavordome
One of our favorite San Diego breweries is Modern Times. We stopped at the Flavordome location in North Park since we were in the area. It’s a small tasting room with 16 taps and in addition to the beer, they also offer their own coffee. They have a few core beers, but also have smaller pilot batches and “mysterious experiments.” We enjoyed a whole bunch of beers here. We always do. The sours were amazing we could have drank them all day. The decor in the place was also quirky and fabulous.

Bottlecraft
Another place we always stop at while in SD is Bottlecraft. It’s a beer shop and tasting room. They carry a wide variety of local beers and they have a great selection of wine as well. We tried some beers including a Modern Times and Shacksbury collaboration which was out of this world. This location also had a little cheese shop where we purchased delicious sandwiches.

LJ Crafted Wines
We had spotted  LJ Crafted Wines early in our stay while out for coffee one morning, so we decided to stumbled in there after the wedding rehearsal. It’s a really unique place. The wines are served directly from the barrel for tastings. The menu is ever-changing as they produce wine in small batches. They are environmentally conscious and were inspired to use bottles and growlers seen in the San Diego craft beer industry. They also offer growlettes which serve two glasses, so perfect when you don’t want leftovers or just want to try the wine. We did one of their tastings and tried six different wines and they were all really good.

Luce Bar & Kitchen
The next day we met up with friends and their puppy Rue before heading out to brunch at Luce Bar & Kitchen. We ordered the chilaquiles and carmelized banana french toast. It was a delicious meal and the drinks were good too.

Coronado Brewing
Before Beard had to head to the wedding, we stopped at Coronado Brewing for a beer with our friends. It’s a fun little brewery and they always have delicious beer. This wasn’t our first time here but it was our first time trying the Peach Cruiser, which was fantastic.

That’s it for our quick trip to San Diego. We hope to get out there again soon. In the meantime we’ll just be daydreaming about burgers, burritos and delicious craft beers.

SaveSave