Lick the Plate
It’s a breakfast thing: Solid options to start the day
The breakfast options in North County are as plentiful and diverse as our continually expanding dinner choices.
What’s new on the North County dining scene?
New restaurants and food events are happening and showing no signs of slowing down in North County.
Do you know the way to St. Tropez?
In case you did not get the song association, it’s a play on “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” the song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick.Ben Folds does a killer live version of it also. Anyway, I can’t seem to drive by St. Tropez without that song popping [...]
Holy baba ghanoush! Bird House Grill serves up a great time
First off, yes, I know that baba ghanoush is more of a Middle Eastern term for an eggplant-like dip, but it is also eaten in Turkey where it is more commonly called patl›can salatas›. It’s just a fun word that I love to say and one that was brought up recently at dinner at the [...]
The Breakfast Club Diner serves breakfast with Greek influence
There are a lot of options when it comes to breakfast in North County, so it’s nice to see when someone does something a little different. The Breakfast Club Diner in Oceanside is owned and operated by Perry Roumbos, who is 100 percent Greek and that heritage shows on the menu with many Greek influences.
St. Germain’s young chef launches new French menu
There is a show on the Food Network called “Restaurant Makeover” that takes tired or underperforming restaurants and breathes new life into them in quick fashion. Something similar has been happening over the past year or so at St. Germain’s in Encinitas, which has been around since 1976.
Fresh, homemade Italian food at Zardo Organic Pasta
When I heard there was another Italian restaurant opening in Encinitas, I thought wow; they must have something different to offer, as there is no shortage of Italian food in this area.Sure enough, the folks at Zardo have brought fresh, homemade and organic to the fast casual Italian segment and as far as I’ve seen, [...]
Take a trip back in time at old school Captain Keno’s
As I was looking at the specials and the menu at Captain Keno’s, I was kicking myself for not including them in my value column a few weeks back. This place should win the value gold medal for its crazy low prices and hearty portions.Before I get into that though, I’d like to go into [...]
Businesses helping businesses: Where the local workforce likes to eat
I’m starting a new monthly feature with “Lick the Plate” where I round up folks from North County businesses and have them share their favorite places to eat and drink before, during or after work. Nixon in downtown Encinitas is my first profile.
The best places to get affordable, quality eats
Value is not easily defined, but when it comes to eating out, I think it is a simple ratio of quality to cost. Easy enough, but the notion of quality varies from diner to diner. How we find value in something is personal, subjective and often changes from night to night. There are places I [...]
