Welcome back to Leftovers, a periodic series highlighting memorable dishes and restaurants sampled during reportage that didn’t make the final article. [Previously: Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup Edition.]
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Earlier this summer, I reported on the white-hot dining scene happening in San Diego’s North County for LAist. Following months of travel and dining, I whittled the research down to a quick-hit list highlighting “seven dining destinations defining North County’s culinary scene right now.” With too many tasty bites left on the cutting room floor, below are the dishes that deserve your attention.
I loathe standing in line for food, but the crowds at Tanner’s Prime Burgers in Oceanside were unavoidable. The queue moved quickly, but we still ended up waiting about 30 minutes on a Sunday afternoon to place our order and receive our food.
Just one bite of Tanner’s Prime Hot Dog — an all-beef frank from Brandt tucked inside a brioche bun topped with Tanner’s sauce, diced onions, tomato, and chopped chiles — and I declared the hassle completely worth it. It was a damn good dog: savory, rich, punchy, and satisfying.
Tanner’s Prime Dirty Double burger — Brandt beef smashed with caramelized onions, pickles, and double New School American Cheese on a Brioche Bun with Tanner’s sauce and a Cascabella pepper — was equally delicious.
Los Angeles is chock-full of incredible smash burgers (I’m partial to the ones served at Goldburger), so I can’t recommend making the North County trek just to try Tanner’s. But if you’re in the area and craving a well-constructed burger or hot dog, absolutely swing by and get your fill.
Across the street from Tanner’s lies Little Fox Cups and Cones. This small ice cream shop serves unique flavors, including carrot-and-cardamom, with a surprising and delightfully chewy texture.
With its Old-World-meets-California-cool aesthetic, the vibes inside Merenda Wine Bar are so, so good. My favorite dish on the small plates menu was the roasted Yukon Gold potatoes served with an espelette aioli. I also quite liked the Levant Spritz, made with sumac, allspice, lemon, lavender, mint, pomegranate, and Prosecco.
I’m all about the accompaniments when it comes to steakhouses, and Ember & Rye didn’t let me down. I nearly gasped when the server set down warm, garlicky croissants as the complimentary bread.
The side dish that had the table talking was the corn crème brûlée, the restaurant’s riff on classic creamed corn. It was served chilled and as smooth as its dessert counterpart, with a requisite caramelized sugar topper.
The highlight of a morning bread and pastry run to Prager Brothers Artisan Breads (multiple locations) was the rhubarb crostata. The flaky, buttery crust complemented the balanced, not-too-sweet filling just right.
My cousin Brian, who lives in North County, sent me to The Wise Ox in La Costa for a seriously decadent smoked bologna sandwich. The house-made bologna was thickly sliced and piled high, along with American cheese, plenty of mayonnaise, and mustard on a well-buttered bun.
Chef Eric Bost’s fine dining gems, Jeune et Jolie and Lilo, are two of North County’s brightest stars, so it’s no surprise that his more casual concepts, Wildland and Campfire, are noteworthy too. Popping into Wildland for morning pastries and a loaf of sourdough to bring home is the move.
And if time and stomach capacity allow, the tableside s’mores service at Campfire hits so hard, especially the plush, house-made marshmallows.
Growing up in La Mesa, about an hour south of North County, I rarely ventured into the region except for the occasional holiday shopping trip with my aunt to Escondido’s North County Fair mall (now Mershops North County). Exploring this less familiar stretch of San Diego gave me a deeper appreciation for my hometown and its evolving culinary scene. It is America’s Finest City, after all.