China Inn Restaurant, 877 Hornblend St (between Mission Blvd & Bayard St) San Diego, CA 92109

Hands down the best smelling, worst tasting Asian cuisine I've ever had!  The aroma drew us in only to let us down completely upon reaching our palates.
We are in town for a week and I guess I'm glad we got this waste of time out of our way.
Aroma-driven folks BEWARE.

We ordered the basics and all were pretty terribly bland:  Fried chicken wings, beef and broccoli, shrimp and broccoli, sesame chicken, vegetable fried rice.

Basics are usually the safest, but these dishes were dangerously disappointing to a group of people used to the best Mandarin (American) cuisine up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

Glad this isn't my neighborhood Chinese restaurant, though Boston has yet to wow me either.

Website:
www.chinainnpb.com

Heaven Sent Desserts, 3001 University Ave (between 30th St & Ray St) San Diego, CA 92104

This swanky little coffee shop boasted a number of beautiful cakes, cookies, and cupcakes on display.
This is the type of place I would hang out in if I lived in the neighborhood.
The tiramisu cup was delish! The cup was actually edible and beautiful (made of chocolate and decorated with gold leaf).  I wasn't a fan of the pistachio and chocolate cupcake.  My mother and grandmother both loved their luau and german chocolate cake, respectively.
I couldn't help but take home one of the ginormous chocolate chip cookies and it did not disappoint.

Heaven Sent Desserts Website:
www.heavensentdesserts.com

World Famous, 711 Pacific Beach Dr (between Ocean Blvd & Ocean Front Walk) San Diego, CA 92109

The chicken guadalajara was great! Cilantro and panko crusted moist, tender chicken stuffed with flavorful chorizo and creamy spinach, atop perfectly cooked white rice with grilled summer squash and zucchini. Loved it!  The lobster bisque was way too salty, but otherwise had a good flavor and richness. All of this washed down with Thomas Kemper ginger ale makes for a meal worth returning for. One dining companion had a beautifully crusted jumbo shrimp dish breaded in panko and toasted sesame seeds over a bright hoisin sauce. The other a fish and chips of which I did not partake.

The service was good and the atmosphere generally comfortable.

Tip:  Get here early for Sunday brunch!  This place was packed!  The 'outdoor seating' was closed in completely by glass, but the view of the ocean and the people watching is great!  We were thoroughly entertained by a man on a unicyle riding the sea wall...

World Famous Website:
www.worldfamous.signonsandiego.com/

Lou & Mickey's, 224 5th Ave San Diego, CA 92101

The view upon walking in the front door was great!...a lovely raw bar greets you!

It was late afternoon, so I kept my order pretty light.  I started will a half pound order of chilled mussels.  They were very fresh (even after the black out experienced the night before).

For my entree, I ordered the ahi tuna salad.  The chef really over-killed on the cracked peppercorn coating, but the fish was fresh and tasty.  The white anchovies were a nice touch as was the potato and green beans.

My companions had the chicken piccata and the fried chicken sandwich.  The piccata was cooked nicely and the lemon-caper sauce was light and flavorful.

The decor was lovely..beautiful hard wood was EVERYWHERE as a real steakhouse should be!  I wish were were there for dinner so I could try one of their steaks with a nice scotch (assuming they had a presentable list).  One gentleman at the next table seemed to really enjoy his steak and I was a bit jealous as I was totally distracted by the crazy awesome aroma!  :0)

Urban Solace, 3823 30th St, San Diego, CA (North Park), Souther/Comfort Food

I started with the lovely, rave-worthy cheese biscuits!  The orange-honey butter was a nice touch.  I enjoyed the fried green tomatoes, especially the little kick added with the drizzle of herb puree/pesto on the plate!  The coating was wonderfully crunchy and the portion was just enough.

THE DUCKARONI:  what an interesting twist on mac n' cheese!  I absolutely loved it.  My mother had the regular mac n' cheese sans bacon (a mortal sin!), but it was quite tasty as well.

Everything went nicely with my Elderflower spritzer!

For my entree, I enjoyed the lamb meat loaf. The pine nuts were an interesting addition, but the figs and their au jus was a bit too much on the sweet side for my liking...though it sounds miraculous on paper.  I enjoyed the rest of the meal.

My mother and grandmother both ordered the burger.  I thought the cracked black pepper was a nice touch as was the smoked tomato jam!

All-in-all, I'd visit again next time I'm in town.

Urban Solace Restaurant Website:

www.urbansolace.net