Texans coming to Oceanside for a week in March (insert joke here). Looking for good restaurant suggestions in Oceanside or nearby. Nothing too fancy as the kids will be with us. I would appreciate any recommendations - b/l/d. We are staying in a house so I would also appreciate shopping recommendations (grocery stores, farmers' markets, sea food). Thank you.
For Asian/Japanese inspired seafood It's hard to beat the food at Wrench & Rodent from Chef Davin Waite. He calls it a "Seabasstropub" though it may not be the best dining with kids in tow. So just next door Chef Waite has opened a more casual Izakaya (Japanese pub) called The Whet Noodle that features different ramens and a few appetizers.
http://www.seabasstropub.com/#eat-tog...
http://www.thewhetnoodle.com/
There is also a new Baja inspired seafood place called Hello Betty Fish House. I have yet to go but hear the views are great and the food is fresh and creative with godd fish Tacos as well.
http://hellobettyoceanside.com/
Lots of great breweries and pubs around Oceanside as well. Bagby Beer Brewery has some great beers and good simple pub grub.
Theres also a great tap room called Legacy Brewing
I know I'm missing more especially if you venture a little south to Carlsbad. I suggest you check out some of the thread topics on CH for Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Cardiff
Oceanside has really upped its game as of late. Recommend Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen, Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub and Harney Sushi.
For breakfast, Don's Country Kitchen
Panca for Peruvian Chicken
Tip Top Meats for a value burger, like $6.00 for half pound loaded beef burger with fries and a bottomless soft drink. Great for hungry children
Carnita's Snack Shack in Del Mar
Encinita's Ale House Don't think is an over 21 place
Vamos es Texcoco in Vista for lamb barbacoa, excellent
Primo Foods for Carne Asada Tacos and more
Farmers Markets in Oceanside, Carlsbad and a big market in Vista
Alas, in Carlsbad, Costco.
Here's a good list of farmers markets:
http://sdfarmbureau.org/BuyLocal/Farm...
The ones closet to you will be Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Vista
Good call on Tip Top meats. So much more than burgers. Great German Deli and one of the best butcher shops as well. Nice affordable and casual place for Breakfast Lunch or Dinner.
http://www.tiptopmeats.com/restaurant...
And lets not forget perhaps the best Pizza in the county at Blue Ribbon in Encinitas.
http://www.blueribbonpizzeria.com/
And for great fish tacos (and other seafood) head down the coast to Fish 101 in Luecadia for a nice casual spot great for the family.
http://fish101restaurant.com/
Not too far down from there is an old landmark casual Mexican cantina, La Especial Norte, that has fantastic Mexican soups.
http://www.allmenus.com/ca/san-diego/...
Local Tap House, really good.
http://localtaphouse.com/
Breakfast at Beachbreak Cafe, locals love it.
http://beachbreakcafe.menutoeat.com/
I would add...Petite Madeline bakery and bistro for breakfast and brunch
Davin of Seabastropub that was mentioned recently opened a non traditional ramen shop next store in the old bull taco spot...more kid friendly plus you can order over from Wrench and rodent for sushi if you want.
if you can not make it down to Blue Ribbon Pizza try The Privateer coal fired pizza in Oceanside.
Also TBG "That boy Good BBQ" in Oceanside for BBQ. Everything smoked including the wings.
Banana Dang! for pour over coffee and organic smoothies. ...good source of Oceanside and anything north of del Mar.
northcountyfood.com
Rather late, but thought I'd provide a follow up. Really good food and beer options in Oceanside area. Wench and the Rodent - A+. Great quality and inventive sushi plus amazing Japanese dishes from their sister restaurant next door (Whet Noodle). The Flying Pig was a solid A. Well prepared food, casual atmosphere, good beer and wine options. Tip Top Meats is an A+ just because it's such a unique offering. Cheap, hardy breakfasts inside a German grocery store and meat market. Wish I would have known about the meat market thing in more detail as I would have bought steaks there to grill. Bagby Beer has a good bar food menu plus excellent beer. I've never seen a brewery with so many different options on tap at one time. Tip -- make sure to go upstairs to eat. Food=B, Beer=A. Local Tap House had an inventive menu and good beer selection. More of an adult place than family. B+. Hello Betty has a cool setup (wide open space downstair and rooftop patio). Food was a B. I'm a hard grader so this should be an indication of how great the recommendations were for this area.
I looked at the menu .
Tip Top Meats, where have you been all my life?!
What is quality like , both the meat and everything else on the plate?
In addition to the standard fare of meat selections, they offer exotic meats, ex; wild boar, Elk etc.
Tip Top is a value play. Nothing fancy, casual dining, pretty solid.
Their menu in the restaurant section offers excellent value. Half pound Burger/Bacon Cheese Burger) loaded with a bottomless soft drink and fries for $6.98. An 8 oz fillet dinner, or other steak options, (after 4pm) with a draft beer (Steak & Stein) for $14.98. Lots of other options, check it out. Most dinners are aprox. $10.00.
Is it the best, no, but it's short money for a family.
The cooked dishes are not really good but the butcher is good (and very helpful if you want to order more unusual cuts, e.g. veal cheeks). I Only wish the would care more anout the sources of the meat, e.g. no organic or grass fed
Look at the bright side. Tip top doesn't lie about how the cattle were raised.
What are the vegetable sides like?
The menu is huge. Is the restaurant a big place? What's the guess on how many it seats?
Disclaimer; I know the owners.
I'd say the restaurant sits about 100 +/-. There are a few different sections of tables. During busy times the lines go fast.
The veggies are mostly items like steamed broccoli, sauerkraut, red cabbage, German Potato salad, slaw, baked pots, fries etc. Salad offering is a common ice berg mix with tomatoes, cukes, packaged dressing. House baked roll.
As I said in my pervious post about the restaurant, it's an honest value play, nothing fancy, gourmet, grass fed etc. Keeping in context the price point for their menu, the food is fresh and good.
The butcher shop is very good with fresh quality offerings and house made brats etc., they'll cut meats to your liking.
Give them a try, there's virtually no down side to Tip Top.
now know how they can manage such a big menu with only approx. 100 seats. There is however the catering division, but stiil.
Are the veggies done well and in an interesting way?
What's the burger like?
Yes they cater. Check out their website.
I take it you've never been, if you're in the area give it a try, not much to loose. The restaurant is not high-end dining, it's a family place. The butcher shop and market area have excellent offerings.
The veggies are basic, for example; lightly steamed broccoli, not mushy, to some boring, I like it that way. Their baked potato is fairly large. I'm not a fan of the German prepped items, so I'm not able to give a first hand opinion. It does look good.
The burger is a classic 8 ounce American burger. It comes loaded (tomato, grilled onions, lettuce, cheese, bacon, mustard ketchup etc.). You tell the person, when ordering, how you like it cooked and what you do NOT want to have for toppings or placed on the side. The fries are standard medium cut, it comes with pickles.
The meat is always fresh, it's a butcher shop, what else! with good beefy flavor and is the bun fresh. For $6.98 it's good, you'd probably pay more than double at most other places. I have never finished a whole burger.
Their breakfast is very popular as well.
Tip Top is one of the major purchasers at the FFA 4H auction of livestock from the San Diego County Fair. They are also one of the few local processors for livestock. The walls have photos and ribbons of the most recent animals purchased. That's buying local.
There are such tight (and expensive) rules to label livestock as organic (for example, if there is an oil drip from a vehicle in the driveway of the farm, then the livestock being raised on that farm cannot be considered to be 'organic') that the local High Schools just can't afford to support that particular label.
Great point Cathy, nice to see you posting again.
That's not whst they told me - they buy some non-organic local meat but the large majority of their meat isn't local snd mainly CAFO meat
Cathy stated, "Tip Top is one of the major purchasers at the FFA 4H auction of livestock from the San Diego County Fair. They are also one of the few local processors for livestock."
That's 'some local meat', right.
Tip Top never purports to be a grass-fed, organic place. Their nitch, is just being a good butcher shop with good product and good prices.
So CAFO this!
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