Since meeting my half brother 4 years ago,we have had the chance to travel together a few times. Nashville, Mexico City, Detroit... he's never turned down an opportunity to explore. We are definitely related.
I have never spent any real time in San Diego except for a colleague DECA trip when we walked over into Tijuana for underage drinking of shitty tequila. But I digress...
My brother went to college in San Diego. He also periodically hangs out there for a month or two at a time. So in June of last year, I invited myself to meet up with him for a weekend during one of his visits. I wrote about all of our super fun cocktailing for the World's Best Bars website; I'll let you read about that here if you are looking for cocktail suggestions. But I realize I never wrote about all the other fun stuff we did.
I booked in at the Kimpton Palomar which is located right between Little Italy and the Gaslamp district. A great location and the hotel is super cute. I didn't get to take advantage of the rooftop pool but it looked very nice!
After I dropped my bags we went out for a little walk around the waterfront; my brother and I both love to walk cities so this is kindof our thing. It was great to see the massive Naval ships and the parks that line the area.
After a good stroll around we got cleaned up and headed to drinks and dinner at Top Chef winner Richard Blias' restaurant Juniper & Ivy. And he was in the house! And everything was fantastic!
We rolled up to the modern speakeasy Nobel Experiment for nightcaps after. It took us a bit, but once we found it I absolutely loved this spot! (See WBB article for full notes).
I started the next morning with brunch at Saltbox which is connected to the Kimpton. The food was just ok, but I'm a fan of the $5 mimosas!
My brother picked me up and we headed to San Diego Sailing Tours for a great harbor sail. The boat we were on had comfy beanbag chairs on the bow, which we grabbed. The tour included one glass of wine with additionally pours for $5. As our night would wrap with $5 daiquiris, that was the lucky number for the day!
Afterward, we headed to Ironside for a fantastic late lunch of stone crab claws, oysters, and low abv cocktails Really this place is beautiful and delicious. Go there.
Our evening started at Polite Provisions and ended at Rare Form, both must drink at spots IMHO (full notes in the article). In between, we had absolutely delicious tacos and mezcal at Cantina Mayahuel. It may not have been Mexico City, but it was a good runner up!
The next morning Mark treated me to brunch at the famed Del Coronado. Wow, this place is so beautiful and has so much history! Sunday brunch is held in the Crown Room, and it is massive! Tables and tables of carving stations, shellfish bars, traditional breakfast items from around the world, dessert bar, candy station, seemingly bottom-less mimosas. It is over-the-top!
After all that food we headed out to the beach for a long walk in the sunny, warm weather! Then we drove a short way and Mark showed me around The Cliffs. Really cool cliffs and caves, complete with crazy kids jumping into the surf!
One quick drink at Ocean Beach to check out the people watching and then it was time for my flight home. Great weekend in San Diego and an even better time with my brother! Thanks Mark!
World's Best Bars article here.
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