Happy Hour: Red Fish
731 Fifth Ave.
Although this competition is based on Downtown San Diego, our readers crave a little New Orleans during happy hour. And with its pink walls, feather masks, Satchmo sculpture and outdoor Cajun Courtyard, Red Fish takes you nonstop to Louisiana. “Let the Good Times Roll” is inscribed across the second-story bar’s north wall, and during happy hour $2 draft pints, $3 hurricanes, $1 off other cocktails and low-cost appetizers set the wheels in motion. Pool tables, a golf-themed video arcade game, vintage movie posters, TV sets and good music add to the fun.
Bagel: Bruegger’s
326 Broadway
A chewy center surrounded by a crisp crust is what keeps Metropolitan readers flocking to Bruegger’s for their a.m. carbohydrate fix. In fact, Bruegger’s has consistently secured the top slot the last several years. Visitors to Bruegger’s Downtown location in the historic U.S. Grant Hotel can choose from 17 kinds of bagels topped with a choice of 14 flavors of cream cheese; plus deli meats, vegetables, a private coffee blend and daily specials.
Power Lunch: Dobson’s
956 Broadway Circle
The Downtown power lunch crowd seeks elegance and charm, and year after year they find it at Paul Dobson’s clubby restaurant across from Horton Plaza. City Hall workers, lawyers, bankers, reporters and other professionals are found Monday through Friday lunching on Dobson’s must-try mussel bisque and fresh veal sweetbreads, not to mention the other choice selections on Dobson’s power menu. Rainwater’s, the Napa Valley Grille, The Grant Grill and “wherever the Downtown Partnership is Lunching” receive Power Lunch honorable mentions.
Cheap Lunch: Sushi Deli One
828 Broadway
Variety is the name of the game when it comes to the, ahem, cost-efficient lunch, and readers came up with no less than 23 suggestions in this category. If the winner has a problem, it is perhaps that too many people like it. Savvy diners arrive at 11:45 a.m. to grab a table rather than sit elbow-to-elbow at the sushi bar. Customers can choose from around 80 combos, plates, salads, fried items, noodle meals and more, not to mention a variety of sushi. The generous portions and leafy romaine salads give Sushi Deli an edge over similarly priced Japanese establishments.
Martini: Martini Ranch
528 F St.
Beginning mid-month, cocktail fans will have twice as much room to enjoy their favorite martini. The Ranch is expanding eastward with the purchase of the Parrot Grill at the corner at Sixth Avenue and F Street, reports David Shapiro, manager. The former grill is being converted into a dance room connected to the Martini Ranch.
“It’s two bars in one, basically,” says Shapiro. Christened “The Shaker Room at Martini Ranch,” the new area will feature a DJ and dance music at least four nights a week; live music is featured once a week in the existing bar. The martinis are cold, tasty and of ample size.
Beer: Karl Strauss
1157 Columbia St.
Early in the tallying process Karl Strauss and The Field were neck-and-neck for best beer honors, but once again it’s the German brewmeister that taps the final prize. Maybe it’s because of the Columbia Street brewery’s warm atmosphere or late night Thursday happy hour with $2 pints and shots. And you can’t beat those cute sampler trays which provide a teasing taste of Karl Strauss’ 35 varieties.
Steak House: Ruth’s Chris
1355 North Harbor Drive
To the cheers of proud meat-eatin’, big-fire barbecuin’ manly men all over the county, steak remains a sizzling entrée. And Downtown, our readers have given their annual thumbs-up to the confusingly named Ruth’s Chris Steak House. As in past years, Morton’s and Rainwater’s tied for a close second, but overall, Ruth’s your man, er, woman, when it comes to the best slab o’ meat.
Barbecue: Kansas City Barbeque
601 W. Market
While the restaurant’s fare may be messy, KC cleans up our best barbecue category every time. Wichita, Kenny B’s Memphis Style Barbeque and Hang Ten Brewery were left in the dust.
Taco: Rubio’s
901 Fourth Ave.
Out of 13 eateries, Rubio’s took away top taco honors in a landslide victory. Perhaps it’s because Rubio’s is one of the few fast-food chains that’s considered healthy. You can even catch my organic-only die-hard Whole Fooder roommate, who otherwise wouldn’t be caught dead in a fast-food joint, occasionally munching on a fish taco from what he has nicknamed “Rubinoid’s.” Now if we could just figure out how they make that white sauce ....
Hamburger: Fatburger
810 Fourth Ave.
Downtowners take their burgers phat, and in this case the unhealthfully named Fatburger takes the cake. Fatburger claims these “Three Steps to Inner Joy: 1) You order a Fatburger, 2) We cook it, 3) You eat it.” Our readers seem to find joy in a visit to the location outside Horton Plaza where the good burgers are served in a ’50s atmosphere consisting of a red, yellow, black and white color scheme, a juke box, and black-and-white photographs of jazz legends. Two personal tips: Ask for extra napkins, and the Baby Fatburger really is small.
Sandwich and Delivered Lunch: The Cheese Shop
627 Fourth Ave.
Wow, readers have been busy during the Downtown lunch hour. They ran around to 25 establishments to sample sandwiches for this contest, and voted the aptly named Cheese Shop No. 1 sandwich maker. They also had lunch brought to their offices, and it turns out the Cheese Shop is the favorite delivery as well. Maybe it’s because the Fourth Avenue shop provides free Downtown delivery with a minimum $5 order six days a week, or maybe it’s the wide variety of sandwiches, burgers, salads, sides, drinks and desserts to choose from. Or maybe it’s because it’s impossible to find a decent braunschweiger sandwich anywhere else these days.
Pizza: Sammy’s Woodfired
770 Fourth Ave.
For a while it seemed as though Sammy’s could lose this year to frequent Metropolitan Best-Of rival, Filippi’s, or even the newcomer to our contest, Caparell’s. However, a few votes and several slices down the road, Sami Ladeki’s shop outside Horton Plaza crossed the finish line just ahead of the competition. Wood-fired cooking, gourmet ingredients and the fresh variety of side salads give Sammy’s a winning wedge when it comes to the classic Italian pies.
Coffee: Starbucks
No matter how many critics complain about the corporate caffeination of the American masses, no matter how many protesters line the streets of O.B. with anti-Starbucks picket signs, no matter how many of their cookie cutter stores pop up all over the urban, and suburban, landscape, readers still love this coffee, and who could blame them? Starbucks has perfectly mastered the art of the chocolate-and-coffee blend, our readers say. Not to mention all the other flavors available. And if you hate Starbucks now, get ready: along with four locations Downtown and five in the airport, a new Starbucks just opened at Fourth Avenue and Market Street. What’s more, an additional location (that will make 11 Downtown) is slated for opening within six months at Fifth Avenue and F Street.
Dive Bar: The Waterfront
2044 Kettner Blvd.
The Waterfront has become a dive bar institution in San Diego. Our readers seem to prefer the simplicity of their top dive: cold beer, tasty food, smooth cocktails, a game of pool, and a good seat at the bar or benches near the windows. The Star Bar scores second-place dive bar honors, a designation that’s pretty divey in and of itself.
Fitness Club: YMCA
500 W. Broadway
An indoor pool, basketball court, full range of services and bargain prices have made this 1924 building the favorite place to work out for several years in a row. Oak-framed windows in front of the treadmills look out to the street, plus fitness fans enjoy the plenitude of free weights, exercise equipment, and cardiovascular, aerobics and self-defense classes.
Art Gallery: The Lyceum Underground Gallery
79 Horton Plaza
An art gallery in a theater? That’s probably become a FAQ for the folks at the San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum these days. The Underground Gallery consists of photographs, paintings and other works by local and national artists hanging on the walls of the Lyceum’s split-level lobby. The art is for sale, with most artists giving a percentage back to the theater. An exhibition of the rock ’n’ roll photography of Henry Diltz and the lithographs of John Lennon, coinciding with the Rep’s production of “Love, Janis,” is displayed through Nov. 4. Still questioning? Head down to the Lyceum and check it out for yourself.
Museum: Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños
200 W. Island Ave.
This old warehouse, which years ago was a rock club for the under-21 crowd, now caters to an even younger demo, the under-12 crowd. The binational kiddie museum features local and international artists in interactive exhibits, in addition to offering a charter school and art workshops for children of all ages. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Downtown and Balboa Park’s Mingei tied for second place.
Movie Theater: Pacific Gaslamp
701 Fifth Ave.
Horton Plaza’s UA theater gave the Gaslamp 15 some stiff competition, but overall the newer movie palace was the favorite for catching a flick Downtown. A three-story lobby, grand staircases and large windows providing views of the Fifth Avenue nightlife add to the Gaslamp theater’s appeal — not to mention the amenities in front of the screens, like comfy stadium seating, cup holders and ample leg room. One vote was cast for the Reuben H. Fleet Center’s IMAX theater in Balboa Park, an overlooked choice when it comes to rating Downtown movie theaters.
Play: “I Love You,You’re Perfect, Now Change”
At the Lyceum Theatre,
79 Horton Plaza
“‘Seinfeld’ set to music” was what one Star-Ledger critic (let’s hope he or she was a real person) rated this musical revue, which ended the San Diego Rep’s 25th season. Trouble is, when “I Love You ...” opened May 11 of this year, the Rep people had no idea that season would be so long. Originally set to close June 10, the comedy addressing the ups and downs of romantic love was extended twice this summer thanks to its popularity.
Elevator: Emerald Plaza
400 W. Broadway
Whisking riders through 26 floors of a prominent San Diego skyscraper, Emerald Plaza’s two glass elevators are at the top of your electric-powered ascent list. These elevators are reminiscent of the parachute ride at Knott’s Berry Farm, except they don’t drop riders for a free fall once the car hits the top. The green glow of the lobby’s huge crystals accompanies the first part of the ride, then the lift rises above the building’s atrium, providing sparkling high-rise views of Downtown.
Men’s Room and Women’s Room: Nordstrom
103 Horton Plaza
With a comfortable lounge and diaper change station, at least in the ladies’ room (guys, you’re on your own), it’s no surprise that Nordy’s bathrooms were rated the best Downtown. What was surprising was the reaction to this highly sought-after honor from the honorees themselves: “We won what?” Other responses evoked by this category were, “Who the hell came up with that one?” and “You’re joking, right?” No.
Politician: Pam Slater
“I jumped up in the air and clicked my heels,” says Supervisor Pam Slater on discovering she’d been named Metropolitan readers’ top politician. “I am honored and quite humbled by the fact that people made that judgment.” Now in her third term as third district supervisor, Slater has helped create a balanced budget, an A+ bond rating and a reserve fund of more than $275 million. She helped form Downtown’s North Embarcadero Alliance, which seeks to revitalize the area with open space, parks, walking and biking paths, and additional amenities. Through a partnership with the city of San Diego and the public she designated $2 million from the board of supervisors to build a new Central Animal Shelter serving Downtown and Mid-city.
“I’ve always put the quality of life of the citizens first, and I think that readers are saying they know that and they approve,” Slater says. “This is a spontaneous vote that’s not the result of a campaign or election. A vote of confidence and an affirmation that I’m doing a good job. It actually really made my day.”
