Weidner’s is my favorite place to shop for plants in North County and is one of the last locally owned and operated nurseries in Encinitas that has not sold out to developers.
Original owner Evelyn Weidner started the business in 1973 and when she did sell, it was to current owners Kalim Owens and Oliver Storm.
Evelyn can still be found at the nursery on a regular basis. Weidner’s is a retail and wholesale nursery that grows 90 percent of what they sell and that’s what makes their plants such high quality and such a great value.
They are known for being the nursery where you will find the newest and best plants … where honest and knowledgeable information is happily shared.
Weidner’s is a gem worth supporting! I wanted to find out where the team there likes to eat around North County. Below are their responses.
I’ll start with the matriarch Evelyn Weidner, who likes to keep it local whenever possible. Evelyn likes places where she knows the owners and knows that the food is fresh.
One of her favorites is Tony’s Jacal in Solana Beach where she gets the Cheese Enchilada and Chili Relleno.
Encinitas Café is also on her list for a quick lunch and a place where, “You are sure to see someone you know.” I share her enthusiasm for the French Café in Leucadia for crepes and a visit with Isabelle the owner.
For seafood, “Fish 101 is a surefire winner, but if I have overseas company we’ll go up to Carlsbad for Fish House Vera Cruz, no place else in the world does fish over mesquite wood complete with live fish swimming all around you.” Evelyn added, “There are so many great places to eat around here. Everyone should embark on a once a week food journey. Fifty-two weeks, 52 wonderful restaurants, a Gastronomic Adventure.” I like that idea Evelyn, nicely put!
Owner Kalim Owens lives in Vista and works at Weidner’s in Leucadia, so his favorites are in those areas. For breakfast he frequents Allen’s Alley Café. “The veggie omelet is terrific with some fresh fruit but sometimes I can’t resist the sausage gravy ladled over a big, fat, fluffy biscuit with a couple over-easy eggs. For lunch it’s wide open. Thai Society has a great Pad Thai with your choice of meat or tofu. For a healthy fast choice I go Jimbo’s … Naturally for the salad and soup bar. I hit Pelly’s for anything that swims. In Vista we like Chili Coast Burgers. They have a great burger and seasoned fries. For dinner we often go to La Paloma in Vista for the Carnitas Rellenos. We recently went to Q’ero in Encinitas for a special occasion dinner and it was fantastic. The rib eye steak was so flavorful and cooked perfectly. On Friday night after a long week my wife and I go to King’s Fish House for the oysters, but I will go pretty much anywhere she wants to as long Jack Daniels is served.” A nice mix Kalim, I’ll have to check some of those places in Vista.
Co-Owner Oliver Storm, who hails from Germany originally, works long hours and weekends, likes to take time daily for a big lunch and seems to have a routine down that reads like a trip around the world. I’ll let Oliver walk you through his week of lunches. “I start the week at A Little Moore Café for a late breakfast. Tuesday we hit up The Bird House Grill. This is a Turkish family owned business. Chances are the owner is making your meal. I usually have the gyro plate with a ‘Visne,’ a great drink made out of sour cherry juice. If you like dessert, finish your lunch with a Baklava. Wednesday is Thai Society, where they have a lunch plate menu and my favorite is the chicken Pat Tai. A great soup is served with every lunch plate. Thursday we hit the islands at Kealani’s, the perfect place to get your Hawaiian fix. The Kailua Pig, teriyaki chicken and many others are great choices. Top it off with a Hawaiian sun drink und you feel a little closer to the real deal. We wrap up the week at La Especial Norte. They have a great inexpensive lunch menu. The chicken mole is excellent and they have the best soups in town.” I’ve heard good things about Tai Society, must get there soon and I just wrote about A Little Moore and am a big fan as well.
Terra DeLeo is the bookkeeper extraordinaire at Weidner’s and is a big seafood fan. “Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub in Oceanside has the freshest, most original sushi. Quite often, when I visit, Chef Davin is behind the bar making his delicious creations. His creativity with sushi is off-the-wall yummy. When it comes to scallops, I head down to 3rd Corner in Encinitas. It’s my absolute favorite dish in San Diego County. When it comes to the bar scene, I recommend Mr. Peabody’s in Encinitas. They actually serve my favorite buffalo chicken salad. I was quite surprised the first time I had food Mr. P’s. For dive bar food, it’s the best. And one more mention: Blaze Pizza. I call it the Subway of pizzas. You get to pick all of your own toppings then they flash fire it for three minutes and you get delicious pizza made just the way you want it.” Nice to find a fellow Mr. Peabody’s fan. Killer list Terra!
That’s it from the team at your go-to source for all your garden needs. Check them out at 695 Normandy Road in Encinitas or weidners.com.
Lick the Plate can now be heard on KPRi, 102.1 FM Monday – Friday during at 4:10 and 7:10 p.m. David Boylan is founder of Artichoke Creative and Artichoke Apparel, an Encinitas based marketing firm and clothing line. Reach him at [email protected] or ( 858) 395-6905.
