San Diego's Secret Burger Place

The other day I was at a Happy Hour and saw Kobe Beef sliders on their bar menu.  They were pretty good, but at $9 for two bites I wouldn't exactly call them a steal, unless stealing from me qualifies.  A few days later I went to The Counter, a good burger but damn if it wasn't $9 ..... without fries!  It was good, but should a burger with fries really cost $13?  I think not.  And a cupcake shouldn't cost ten bucks either, but that's another blog.

My quest for the best San Diego burger continued at a most unlikely place, Tobey's 19th Hole at Balboa Park's municipal golf course.  What?  Seriously?  Let's check it out.

Man, this is old school.  I'm guessing it was last remodeled when Jerry Mathers (as "the Beav") was still cute, before his head got so big.  Looking back there is no way he was Ward's son, no possible way. But that's also another blog.

This isn't Mr. A's, but the view is really good.  The waitresses aren't hotties from state but are friendly enough and the other patrons seem like regulars.  SPEAK INTO MY GOOD EAR!!  LOUDER!!!  Sorry for shouting, that was the table next to me having a conversation.  But don't get me wrong, lots of young people have discovered this place too so the mix is eclectic and diverse.  Let's see that view from the patio.

Holy cow, that's the view?  Fantastic, isn't it?  Balboa Park Muni is the sister course to Torrey Pines and a hidden gem.  If you golf you're going to want to check this out.  But I'm here for the burger so let's eat.

The menu has lots of classics like Chicken Fried Steak with eggs, the sort of thing you might see in one of those trendy "comfort food goes upscale" places but this isn't upscale, this is the real deal.  The burger and fries was $5 bucks!  Total. And the fries were fantastic!  Sorry to get so excited but look, see that pitcher of beer?  It was $8.50.  Not per glass, for the pitcher!  I spent $9 the other night for one beer at some fancy pants pizza joint so I was pretty happy.  Ready for the money shot?

There you go, a perfect burger!  So it's not kobe beef, it's not a fancy restaurant, but it is one of the best burgers in town.  Stand in line at Hodad's?  Fight for a table at Rocky's?  No way, I'm going to Tobey's with my friends and I'm watching the sun set over the San Diego skyline while dining on the BEST $5 burger in town. 

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TACO TUESDAYS: Old Town is Getting Old

THE PLACE:  La Pinata 

San Diego Old Town

LOCAL WALLY REPORT CARD: 

Atmosphere:  A-

Food:  B-

Teachers Comments:  Good place to take tourist friends, bad place to take Mexican friends

You guys owe me big time.  I'm getting sick of Old Town.  I know there has to be some good Mexican food somewhere in Old Town.  I mean, there's a ton of restaurants there selling tacos and margaritas, isn't there one that isn't taking lessons from El Torito?  I went looking for it at La Pinata.  With their funky cool interior and nice Summery patio, I had high hopes.   Wait!  What's that noise?

Damn, the mariachi band!  Quick, stop drop and roll under the table or they'll be singing Besame Mucho at jet plane decibels in front of your table and asking to be paid to to stop tormenting you!  Shoo, shoo, go away, no speak English.

On to the food.  You can tell a lot about a Mexican restaurant by their margaritas and let me just say that my heart sunk with the first sip.  It wasn't that it was bad, it just wasn't good - it tasted like the gallon jug of mix with a splash of tequilla.  Chips and salsa were OK, also not great.  

Carnitas burrito.  Well, not bad.  Funny think is I like burritos from my taco shops just fine "dry", but in a restaurant I sort of like them "wet" with sauce. 

And here's why - the carnitas was a bit dry, not fatty goodness but stringy nonsense.  Augghhhh, why do I do this??? Why did I say I would find the best Mexican food in San Diego????  Luckily the beans were pretty good but the burrito was average.

The final verdict - good enough for tourists (maybe even great for tourists), not bad for locals looking for a fun setting with friends, not so good for those looking for authentic Mexican food. 

WALLY WALLY WHERE ART THOU?
Local Wally's Guide to San Diego
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Coming Soon!  Local Wally's Guide to Sonoma and San Diego Homegrown Music to Save the Seals

Local Wally's Rocky Start to 2011

I'm pretty superstitious about starting a year off on the right foot. 2010 was a pretty good year and I have high hopes for 2011.  Really, I'm actually optimistic! 

Going out on New Years Eve is for chumps.  Get a DUI - bad way to end the year, really bad way to start.  So I like to cook an extravagant meal at home and dine in front of the fireplace.  The meal started with oysters.  I got this cool "safe" oyster shucker thing that helps, but so help me I can never get through a dozen oysters without some bloodshed. See the diagram?  Notice some blood on the guys hand?  Well, that was MY blood!  Damn! 

Luckily I wasn't fired and was able to complete my quickfire challenge without any other mishaps.  Looking good!

Want to know why most nice restaurants don't allow dogs? This is a very bad dog.

If the recession has taught me anything, it's how to cook really good food for cheap.  I found these ribeye steaks mismarked as T-bones at Ralphs and got them for about $5 apiece.  Some dry rub and lots of pepper and onto the Weber charcoal grill.

Tell me that doesn't look good!  Let's plate it up for full foodie impact.

Some au gratin potatoes, spring salad with homemade dressing, and a fat juicy steak.  Like the herb butter on top of the steak?  See, I know what I'm doing.  Steak was so big that I couldn't even finish it.

On New Years Day we decided to go to Rocky's in PB.  What?  Didn't the doctor say No Red Meat?  I know, bad me, but I promise to eat really good this week.

Packed as usual, fight for a table, but $5.75 gets you a 1/2 pound burgers and $15 gets you a pitcher of beer. Want to see the burger?  Of course you do.

Is it the best in San Diego?  Well, hmmmm, no.  I think the kobe beef burger at C-Level is better, but it's also $16 or something obscene like that so I'm a liking this burger.

The scenic drive home along the coast took us along Windandsea. What are those guys doing down there?

Look, it's the friendly Game Warden checking out the catch of the day.  Note to self - make sure you measure abalone before you put them in the bag and come ashore. Not saying these guys did anything wrong, just glad I'm not them.

And so starts a new year with Local Wally.  Hope you stick with me and watch as I grow my little empire.  It's going to be a great year!

MORE WALLY, MORE WALLY!
Local Wally's Guide to San Diego
Local Wally's Guide to Napa
Local Wally's Guide to Sonoma (coming soon!)