Hungry In San Diego!

[JillianLindsay]

Hello! I am at a conference in Mission Valley San Diego and am starving! The hotel restaurant is awful and all I can eat there is a salad or an omelet and I'm here for 9 days so that just won't suffice. I am staying in the hotel circle and don't have a car, so places within walking distance are preferred.

So far by online search, I have found one that might be good: Open Original Shared Link - anyone in Cali ever eaten there? Anyone have suggestions for me?? Any help would be so greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Jillian

[Skylark]

If you can get to Fashion Valley Mall, which should be a short cab ride at the worst, there is a Chicago Uno's with gluten-free pizza, California Pizza Kitchen where you can get gluten-free pizza and some really nice salads, and P.F. Chang's. I haven't tried the pizza at CPK because there is a place closer to home I really like. Across the freeway in Hazard Center there is Joe's Crab Shack, which is a local favorite and has a gluten-free menu. In Mission Valley Mall, there is Outback and Tora seafood buffet, which isn't specifically gluten-free but they have cocktail shrimp, crab legs, and decent (not great) sushi. Hope this helps!

Here are the other San Diego gluten-free listings.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[JillianLindsay]

Wow, thanks for the great info!

Much appreciated. I'm trying to find out if there are any other Celiacs here and getting a friend or two to join me in finding the best safe restaurants around.

Cheers

[Mango04]

www.glutenfreeinsd.com

San Diego isn't really walkable from where you are. You might be best off taking a cab to Whole Foods in HIllcrest (you at least won't starve it you can make it there), and check out the website above for restaurant recommendations.

Wine Encounter in Hillcrest (across from Whole Foods) has great gluten-free pizza. There's another pizza place on 5th ave (maybe two, actually) that have gluten-free options. In that area you should find many, many options. It's only a few minutes away from where you are.

[JillianLindsay]

Thanks so much, I think I will do that!

Cheers

[JillianLindsay]

So I took a cab down to Hillcrest... what a great idea! I had a delicious, gourmet pizza at the Wine Encounter and then bought a few things at Whole Foods to bring back to the hotel. Whole Foods has a ton of gluten-free foods, I wish we had one at home! Thanks again

[Darissa]

We ate at a wonderful Mexican Resturant in Old Town this week. Close to Hotel Circle. Not within walking distance, but could take a cab. And boy, the food is worth it. They have a menu, front and back, of their gluten free food. The chips are fried seperate for gluten free. Tell them when you talk to the hostess that you need a gluten free menu and chips. They will take good care of you. Go early if possible, they get really busy. The steak fajitas were my favorite, but the chicken enchiladas were great too. Everything my family ordered we all liked. I couldn't find the gluten free menu on the website so I called and talked to a manager before going.

Here is the site

Open Original Shared Link

Hope you can make it! BTW, we are very sensitive to cc, and we didn't get sick! Which is a plus when traveling!

[Skylark]

Huh. Casa del Pico in that spot used to be fabulous but the the chef that was running it went with Casa del Pico to Grossmont. I went to Casa Guadalajara twice a couple years ago since the change and the food was just miserable. Overcooked tortillas, greasy taco filling, nondescript refried beans, and tasteless, dry rice. Has it improved at all?

Have you been to Old Town Mexican Cafe with the fresh, soft corn tortillas? They don't have a gluten-free menu, but enough Mexican food is naturally gluten-free that I can find plenty to eat there finding someone who speaks English well and asking about wheat. Probably not a spot for the super-sensitive. They're up and down as far as quality. I've had great ceviche and tortillas and guacamole are always good. Carnitas are pretty variable, sometimes good, sometimes dry.

[JillianLindsay]

So, I found another Celiac delegate at my conference! I tried to take her to Wine Encounter yesterday, but it was so busy that we couldn't even get a glass of wine let alone order pizza. We ended up leaving and just buying food at Whole Foods. So I think we're going to walk to the mall and try some of the gluten-free pizza in the food court. We've both been living off salads and are looking forward to something of more substance!

Thanks

[Skylark]

Yeah, Hillcrest on a Friday or Saturday night is usually a madhouse. There are always lots of buff, handsome gay guys to appreciate while you're waiting for a table though. Try again on a weeknight. As far as the mall, I don't think Uno's is in the food court but it is attached to the mall. I'm not sure about CPK as I haven't eaten there. I love P.F. Chang's so that's my go-to when I'm in Fashion Valley. If you haven't been to P.F. Chang's before, you MUST get the gluten-free lettuce wraps. Good luck!

[JillianLindsay]

The bad news: California pizza at the mall is not currently serving gluten-free pizza, and there is no Uno's there anymore.

Good news: P.F. Chang's has a gluten-free menu, it is even available online, and we have reservations for dinner there tonight!

[Skylark]

Uno's is gone? Wow. Shows you how often I shop at Fashion Valley. I live in a completely different part of town. Bummer that the mall CPK is not serving gluten-free.

I hope you enjoy P.F. Chang's.

[JillianLindsay]

P.F. Chang's was amazing! So glad you recommended the lettuce wraps, they were absolutely delicious. The woman I met was only dx'd 2 months ago and this was her first time travelling gluten-free. She almost cried when she saw she could have dessert! Thanks so much for the info everyone

[Darissa]

Outback also has a gluten free brownie served with ice cream that is really good. We ate at the Outback twice last week while we were there off the I-5 in Mission Valley. I hope you are enjoying your stay. The PFChangs there is great. We ordered a head of time and picked it up to go since that area was so busy all the time while we were there.

[JillianLindsay]

Oh my goodness, was it ever busy!! Luckily, I planned ahead and make a reservation, so we waited for less than 10 minutes and the service was great.