Gary’s Deli (New York Style)
Corona del Mar, CA
OK, prepare to stand in line at lunch time. Great sandwiches, good menu, nice selection of bread and always a satisfying taste treat. Great food and not just sandwiches! My favorite is their pastrami on rye with Thousand Island dressing and cold slaw- Soooo good! You just can’t lose no matter what you order. Nice folks, casual, clean atmosphere and YUMMY!

Dell’z California Grille (International)
Vista, CA
Nice menu with interesting selections. We chose the Thai Chicken sandwich with Sweet Potato fries for lunch and found it delicious! If you’re looking for something new and different to try- this is the place! You won’t find the usual, run of the mill choices, but a cut above the ordinary! I recommend you give it a try!

Gulfstream (American)
Newport Beach, CA
Pleasant atmosphere and good service along with very tasty selections make this restaurant one of my favorites. The Mustard Barbeque Beef Ribs are delectable – wonderful flavor and soooo tender. The cold slaw proved to be a wonderful surprise, and the thin cut French fries were the perfect choice to round out this tasty trio. I can’t wait to go back!

Paradise Grille (American)
Del Mar, CA
Going to the Paradise Grille makes you feel special…like a mini vacation. Service is excellent, the menu diverse, and the food scrumptious! Whether you choose to dine inside or in the wonderful, “fire pit” patio you won’t regret your choice of restaurant. Excellent!

Aqua Terra Restaurant at Pala Mesa Golf Resort (American)
Fallbrook, CA
We recently were privileged to be guests at the Aqua Terra Restaurant via a gift card from a neighbor. We expected an ordinary evening out for dinner. Quite the contrary, we felt as if we were away on a mini vacation! From the minute we arrived and were seated, the staff made us feel special by attending to our every need, from suggestions on the menu to friendly faces and excellent service throughout our meal. Our gift card covered two visits to the restaurant and each time was a treat! The menu has varied choices with some delightful extras!

On our first visit, we selected the Sea Bass with a baked potato and asparagus. The extras I mentioned are the flavored butters that add “something special” to the meal. While we waited, we watched a plate of “sliders”, those new mini-burgers with a pile of fries head for the bar. It looked mighty good!!!!

A couple of weeks later, we tried the lamb and grilled shrimp with baked butternut squash preceded by a dinner salad. It couldn’t have been better. We overlooked the golf course as we ate our absolutely scrumptious dinner while the sun set!

Maybe on our next visit, we’ll try the sliders in the bar with an icy cold beer!

Garcia’s (Mexican)
State Street, Carlsbad, CA
We discovered Garcia’s Restaurant one day when we were in Carlsbad and felt a little snacky. We stopped on State Street and sat outside in the sun at a little table with an umbrella. We only ordered chips and salsa and then added guacamole’ to the order. As we were munching, we noticed the waiter bringing tostadas to the table beside us. They looked so good we added an order of tostadas too! Then, they brought out the food to the table behind us …WOW! It smelled and looked wonderful. As we continued to munch on our snack, we heard the oooh’s and awe’s as they all tasted their orders. Needless to say we’ve been back. It’s now our favorite Mexican restaurant. It has both outdoor and indoor seating. Not only is the food good, but the employees deserve a gold star for service with a smile.

Chin Schezwan - Vista (Chinese)
Corner of East Vista Way and Escondido Blvd.
We feel like family when we eat at Chin’s. They are extremely gracious and eager to serve you. They have so many selections to choose from and will answer all of your questions. When you arrive you will be seated at a table with a white table cloth and given both water and tea cups with a pot of hot tea. After ordering, you’ll be surprised at how quickly your meal will arrive. Our very favorite choice is the three flavored Kung Pao; however, we make it two flavors, omitting the scallops. That’s just a quirk of ours. I’m sure the three flavors are wonderful too! I’ve also enjoyed their lo mien with chicken and shrimp. It’s just that when we find a favorite, we look forward to it and tend to stick with it! Hope you enjoy it as much as we have over the years.

California Pizza Kitchen (Californian)
Anywhere
If you like Chinese Chicken Salad, this is the place to go! I prefer to get the dressing on the side and add it as I go, but it’s great regardless of how you do it! For me, it’s the perfect lunch or dinner!

Jake’s Del Mar (American/Seafood)
Del Mar beach
It’s been years since I’ve been to Jake’s, but last Sunday we headed for the beach at dinner time and gave it a try. The basket of bread they brought us to start with was scrumptious! Both the food and the view were wonderful! We tried a dinner salad with cranberry vinaigrette dressing, seafood chowder, and split the rack of lamb dinner. We’re light eaters, so keep that in mind, but we were stuffed! The lamb came with assorted veggies, garlic mashed potatoes and eight lamb ribs. I was concerned that the garlic might be too strong in the potatoes, but it was pure perfection. Both the food and the view were wonderful. We passed up their delicious looking desert choices for a walk on the beach. I can’t wait to return this fall for a nice big bowl of that seafood chowder and bread for lunch.

Harbor House Café (Seafood)
On the bluffs in Carlsbad Beach
This casual outdoor café overlooking the beach is a real treat! If you like fish, you can’t go wrong here! They have the best deep fried shrimp and flaky white fish I’ve ever eaten. I haven’t tried their fish taco yet, but I’ve watched many patrons devour it with smiles and groans. They have tasty cocktail sauce and the tarter sauce is to die for! Their cold slaw is great and they have wonderful seafood salads for when “deep fried” is not on your diet. There is even a delicious garden burger – Yes, I’ve tried it, if you are not in the mood for fish, or veggies sound good for the day. They have ice cold beer, great lemonade, soft drinks and wine for your pleasure. Did I mention the clam chowder?...You have to try it!