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Leap into Frog's for a varied workout.
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Fitness Club: Frog's
Frog's is for fitness and looking for princes in spandex. This expansive workout estate has a 25-yard lap pool, tennis and racquetball courts surrounding a vast 20,000-square-foot building with state-of-the-art equipment, including a Reebok Elliptical Glider. It also spoils members with saunas, steam rooms, washers, dryers, child care, salon, massage and physical therapy. What really distinguishes Frog's, aside from its sheer enormity, is service. Frog's staff is always on hand to cater to members. Try its aerobic, yoga or "Revolution" spinning classes. Learn to leap. 901 Hotel Circle South, 291-3500.
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Bagel: Einstein Bros. Bagel
Einstein Bros. Bagel was smart enough to buy the former Baltimore Bagel in Mission Valley, change its name, but keep the recipes intact. To the bagel lover, arriving anytime after 5:30 a.m. on weekdays or 7 a.m. on weekends, this means classic bagels, made the old-fashioned way. They are boiled and baked, not steamed and baked like the turbo bagel served elsewhere. Top sellers are sesame seed and cranberry. 5638 Mission Center Road, 688-0670.
Power Lunch: Trophy's
Trophy's proves that there's no better place to strong arm one's business opponent than at a sports bar, surrounded by the memorabilia of victors. Power lunches at Trophy's aren’t about maitre d's who know your name or private booths. This is about "the game of business" with clearly established rules. Everybody's comfortable. Menu offerings are familiar and delicious. Servers emphasize "teamwork and a positive attitude." Could a new kind of deal emerge here, not about clobbering but about collaborating? Probably. No sore losers. Hazard Center, 296-9600.
Microbrewery: San Diego Brewing Co.
San Diego Brewing Co. is a one-stop for beer nuts. Brewing the best English-style ales in the county, the establishment also has the largest draft beer selection around. This affordable, friendly neighborhood watering hole offers 50 beers on tap, and five or six of its own, concocted by new brewmaster Justin Grey. "San Diego Amber" remains its most popular quaff. The light good introductory beer, "Grantville Gold," is named after the brewery's location. San Diego Brewing also has a full liquor bar to complement an uncomplicated and very approachable menu. 10540 Friars Road, 284-2739.
Martini: Seau's
Seau's proves that even the most bizarre cultural crossovers can occur in malls. This year the martini — erstwhile elixir of the elite — achieved hallmark status in an atmosphere regaling the "everyman" — a sports bar. Eyeing Seau's inventive martini list, one finds curious combinations such as the "Black Nail" (recipe includes the 10-year-old Loch Dhu single malt scotch and Drambuie liqueur). Seau's well vodka and gin are premium labels — Fris vodka and Bombay Sapphire gin — which makes every martini a triumph. 2445 Hotel Circle Place, 291-7328.
Steak House: Bully's East
Bully's East, very dark, very toothsome, and serving until 12:15 a.m. What better place to sneak away from the madding vegans to eat a big slab of meat? Bully's always serves top USDA choice aged beef, not from Mexico, not from Arizona, but from the Midwest where cattle eat corn. You'll get more beef for your buck with hand-selected steaks from filet to sirloin to porterhouse to New York, ranging right up to 24 ounces. The restaurant serves more prime rib than any other restaurant in town, including a 32-oz. cut of prime rib at $25.95 that looks like a mountain. 2401 Camino del Rio South, 291-2665.
Chinese Food: Szechuan Mandarin
Szechuan Mandarin carries forward the elegant culinary traditions of ancient inland China in otherwise Chinese fast-food times. Mao and his heirs desecrated classic Chinese cooking, at its apogee during the Ching Dynasty (1644-1912). Piquant Szechuan Mandarin cuisine, with herbs such as the fiery Szechuan pepper, "fagara," survived in Hong Kong. There, Szechuan Mandarin chef Mark Sun trained with the best chefs. Try Szechuan Mandarin's specialty items and fresh fish with a selection from its ample wine cellar. 5855 Mission Gorge Road, 280-4600.
Barbecue: Love's
Love's, which settled into the valley with the first car dealerships in the '60s when BBQ was king, is still cookin' after 34 years. This messy, happy food evokes nothing so much as a good hoedown. Racks of pork and beef ribs, heaps of chicken, glistening with yummy sauce. Knock back sodas and chow down with potatoes, slaws and baked beans. These vittles'll remind you of a hot day in Texas. 967 Camino del Rio South, 297-0196.
Taco: Rubio's
With four locales, Rubio's owns Mission Valley. The homegrown culinary empire turns out those reliable healthful
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Mexican fish tacos that have become a San Diego tradition. Soft tacos bulge with fish that is either crispy fried (but not dripping with oil), or grilled. The sauces are colorful, low in calories and zingy. 2075 Camino de la Reina, Fashion Valley Food Court, Qualcomm Stadium and 10460 Friars Road.
Sandwich: Canyon Café
Canyon Café bested a host of tasty competitors, including Oscar's and Wolfgang Puck's with a far cry from the PB&J - its outrageous "Southwest Chicken Sandwich." This No. 1 selling menu item is a flame-grilled marinated chicken breast with adobo sauce, Monterey jack cheese and a portabello mushroom on a jalapeño cheddar bun. These sandwiches leave the Canyon's kitchen by the dozens every day. The Canyon Café is located next to Robinsons-May at the Mission Valley Center. 1640 Camino del Rio North, 296-2600.
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Dozens of outrageous sandwiches leave
the Canyon Café kitchen daily.
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Hamburger: In-N-Out
Opened for just a few months, In-N-Out already has infected Mission Valley hamburger hankerers with "the urge." Not everyone knows that In-N-Out was the very first drive-through burger stand in California 50 years ago. Still family-run, In-N-Out now has close to 100 restaurants, each using absolutely fresh ingredients to produce better-than-homemade, flavor-slathered food. Unlike competitors, In-N-Out makes each item to order. No freezers. No microwaves. Find it on the east end of Mission Valley near Taco Bell. Bully's and Kooky's tied for second. 2005 Camino del Este, Mission Valley.
Pizza: Sammy's California Woodfired Pizza
Serving the lip-smackin'est slices in the valley to those who want pizza California-style is Sammy's California Woodfired Pizza. Sammy pioneered this renegade cucina in San Diego more than a decade ago. When you tip the continent sideways, all the loose ingredients roll into woodfired pizza and the results are scrumptious — a medley of flavors from a medley of cultures. The woodfired aspect gives each pizza a subtle smoky spontaneity. Big portions, stupendous salads and an atmosphere that encourages sharing, at Park Valley Center. You won’t go away hungry. 1620 Camino de la Reina, 298-8222.
Italian Lunch: Prego
Prego is a good place to perfect your midday "ciao." Chef Jeff Burt leads Prego to prizes year after year. Young, deft, with an encyclopedic knowledge of Italian cuisine, Burt infuses everything that leaves the kitchen with his own estro (Latin for "personal flourish"). Behind the iron gates, customers can re-enact "Under the Tuscan Sun," lunching along the villa-like colonnade in the Prego giardino. Try a light "Soncino con Anitra" composed of duck breast and goat cheese on leeks and mâche, or an "Agnolotti d'Aragosta" with lobster and prosciutto-filled half-moons in lobster lemon sauce. Sublime. 1370 Frazee Road, 294-4700.
Italian Dinner: Prego
Prego always prego, but this is not about meatballs, signors. So soothing. So civilized. Start with the signature "Pane Aglio e Rosmarino" baked to order focaccia. Then find the grand fare of "Carré d'Agnello," a rack of lamb in garlic, mustard, chilies and thyme, or a "Carni dal Giroarrosto" of rotisseried game, meat and poultry or the superb fish specials. Try an uplifting "Pinot Grigio," or for important occasions, explore its reserve wine list. This is why Prego, a bastion of gracious dining, always offers a cultivated escape from strip malls and tightly squeezed parking lots. 1370 Frazee Road, 294-4700.
Mud Pie: T.G.I. Friday's
The mud pie at T.G.I. Friday's is in a category of its own, supplanting other contenders in the sinful dessert realm. The reason? No mere generic coffee ice cream, but Dreyer's itself. Mounded over a crumbled chocolate cookie crumb crust, paved with chocolate sauce, topped with whipped cream and studded with roasted pecans, it’s a top selling dessert at a restaurant that attracts outgoing eaters. A portion of this high calorie, high cholesterol he-dessert has invincible written all over it. 403 Camino del Rio South, 297-8443.
Sports Bar: Trophy's
Trophy's beat out Seau's, but just barely, with Padre's Pub coming in a respectable third. At all three have the bonhomie of a stadium with much better fare. From its arcade of champions to its bouncy music and 18 television screens, Trophy's provides just the opposite of intimate dining. It’s a great place for men and women to touch down with friends and strangers. Pizzas, burgers, salads and Trophy's "White Chili" are all winners. Hazard Center, 296-9600.
Smoothie: Jamba Juice
Drink your breakfast. Drink your lunch. Refortify yourself between meals under its perky purple umbrellas. At Jamba Juice you'll feel healthier just standing at that counter lined in wheatgrass, listening to growling blenders buzzing away at carrots and fruit. While all the choices are satisfying, determining just the smoothie combination of juices, fruits and "boosts" is a personal challenge. Boosts are free additives that blast you with an ingredient to improve everything from immunity to digestion. 5638 Mission Center Road, Friars Mission Center, 785-5800.
Coffee House: Starbucks
Starbucks, Starbucks, Starbucks means we can always be "on." Dedicated to the proposition that the zombified need travel no farther than 300 yards without mainlining at an espresso machine, Starbucks must be the reason Americans now consume more coffee than any other nationality. It won’t be Internet dependency that turns us into drones; it'll be Starbucks' great cappuccinos, lattés and double doubles. 5694 Mission Center Road, 298-8367.
Delivered Lunch: Gourmet Bagger
Gourmet Bagger is a pleasant alternative for the brown bagger. Of the 300 to 500 sandwiches it yields daily, Gourmet delivers most its "San Diego Chicken" (grilled chicken and onions, sweet pepper, provolone, tomato on French roll). Also popular are the "Bagger Cheese Steak," "Killer Clubs," and two vegetarian offerings, the "Down to Earth" and "Harvest Bagger." Order up to 20. Each bag comes with a cookie and hard candy. Don't want delivery? Drop by behind the Mission Valley mall, right on the river next to Park Valley Center. 1400 Camino de la Reina, 299-1246.
Happy Hour: T.G.I. Friday's
By definition, T.G.I. Friday's is the next stop after clocking out. And since Friday's happy hour starts at 2 p.m., you can leave work early to take advantage of its magnanimous dollar-off-any-drink discount. Any beer, any glass of wine, any fancy drink is a dollar less. The huge appetizer menu has rock-bottom prices ranging from $1.99 to $3.99. Favorites are Buffalo wings, potato skins and spinach-artichoke dip. Friday's Thai-chicken appetizer is a lower-calorie form of near-dinner. Although happy hour fizzles at 7pm, it revives from 10 p.m. until 1:30 a.m., but only on food. 403 Camino del Rio South, 297-8443.
Movie Theater: Mission Valley 21
Having introduced stadium seating to San Diego’s indoor cine-arena in the now-distant recent past, Mission Valley 21 still holds its own because it has all the buoyant vibrancy and crowds of a carnival, but it’s still clean and convenient. Consistently showing a broad smattering of pop movies, it is family-friendly, friend-friendly, date-friendly, and a fun place to go on one's own. 1640 Camino del Rio North, 296-6400.
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