All the beach communities surrounding Solana's an easy drive away - you don't even need to hit the freeway if you want an easy and relaxed drive. So with that being said, right there in Solana is Claire's on Cedros, a very nice place to breakfast/brunch/lunch. Also right in Solana Beach is Rudy's for their incredible Carne Asada.

If you want a blowout choice for Sushi, our best in the county is in the next town north in Encinitas, Kaito Sushi.

Coastal North County folks love to love Del Mar's Brigatine's unusual take on fish tacos, complete with an elevated view of the Del Mar racetrack.

There's a couple of other odd and ends such as Elizabethan Desserts in Encinitas, which is very good if you don't mind a take-out-only shop. I don't think they're very good but a huge hit up here is also Yumeya, a tiny Izakaya situated in a roadhouse off the coast highway, also in Encinitas.

Sakura used to be consistently good a very long time ago, (I'm talking late 80's early 90's), but has been nothing but unimpressive for the longest time now. Unfortunately there's not much in terms of alternatives right now for a good Izakaya with a broad menu. Perhaps safer would be to explore the narrower offerings of Yakyudori (Yakitori & Ramen) or Okan (kind of a Kappo, billed as an Oozara Ryori).

Among the available options, for the NYC visitor I'd suggest Okan. For Okan I'd suggest concentrating on the cold apps (the Oozara on the counter) - order as many as you can given the size of your group, then supplement it with perhaps one entre per from the kitchen. In my book their colds apps is the star of this restaurant - they do have excellent apps, I still continue to dream of some of them, though there's a tendency to stray from tradition, not necessarily a bad thing depending on what you are looking for. So select well from the entres, and do indulge in the cold apps.

...just to your coffee quest, if Espresso or a tight milk drink (Macchiato) is what you favor, then Zumbar in Sorrento Valley's the place to go. Still the most dependable shop in execution, with typically some really nice special offerings (@ 55 pennies extra) rotating through.

However to explore single origin brews, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters in La Jolla is the place to be. (And if you're there on a Friday morning, make sure to attend their free coffee cuppings, expertly conducted by Bird Rock's owner Chuck.) (FWIW, last year BRCR won Roast Magazine's roaster of the year award, and is consistently scoring high on Kenneth David's Coffee Review.)

I've found very little that I didn't like on their menu, so perhaps it's mostly a matter of different tastes for different folks, or perhaps different expectations. I classify this place as VN-style Chinese, FWIW, and for me it was mainly a lunch destination for when I was working in the area...

I'm particularly hooked on their garlic-chili pork chop, (read "crack"), though it tends to be on the over-salted side, though not enough to spoil "the hook".

But I also enjoy their egg noodle soups (dry style), especially with their roasted fowl (of which they feature a surprisingly diverse selection of fowl).

Note, however, that their Char-Siu is forgettable, and their Won Tons or dumplings are usually serviceable and sometimes even good. But I really like their alkaline noodles as well as their broth, and their roasted birds are, well, spectacular, and this is what puts it on the list for me. (They really do a good job with their roasted fowl and one would be missing out for not trying it at least once...)

When their noodle soups are ordered dry it's almost like getting three dishes in one - a bowl of soup, a separately plated "noodle salad", and a separately plated protein item, in this case a piece of roasted fowl.

In S.D. I find many times we have to be happy with what we can find, less we miss out entirely wanting more. SGV we certainly are not... Perhaps LHK (in MM) is my "Super Sergio"... :)

Hatsu, Teba & Horamon @ Yakyudori
Shio Ramen @ Yakyudori
Shio Ramen @ Santouka
Carne Asada @ Rudy's
Menudo & Carnitas @ Las Brisas Tacqueria
Cherry mini-lattice pie @ Elizabethan Desserts
Matcha cream-pan and Yuzu cream-pan @ SunFlour Bagel
Crabcake @ Oceanaire
Dinner @ Okan
As much Pho as I can eat @ Pho Cow Cali and Pho Saigon
Com Tam & Bun Bo Hue @ Pho Cow Cali
Several lunches @ Luong Hai Ky (Mira Mesa only)
Olive oil pizza @ Bruno's (yeah, "checkerboard Italian", but will still miss it)
A dry-processed single-origin Ethiopian as a Ristretto and a Macchiato @ Zumbar Coffee
Cheeseburger @ Burger Lounge
Omakase @ ıɥsns oʇıɐʞ
Double Double @ In-N-Out
Pozole w/home made Tortillas @ Menuderia Don Vincente
Mixto & Pulpo Tacos @ Mariscos German/Alex
Smoked Albacore @ Fish House Vera Cruz
Choix Cream @ Nijiya Market

Hmmmmm, though I've only stepped in there once, I thought that that Boba shop had a separate cordoned-off area for their Manga lounge, though I might be confusing it with another shop.

The main point of my post, however, was not for any restaurant that happens to have Manga, as many of our Japanese-run Japanese restaurants will, but more specifically on the rare place that actually runs as a Manga reading room/cafe. The emphasis at these venues is more on the Manga element rather than the food, with a huge browsing library of titles. (Imagine more like the Manga section of Book-Off (in the Mitsuwa plaza), then add plenty of upholstered furniture with light food service and drink...)

We're clearly talking about something of interest to a geeked-out segment of a particular sub-culture here, (and definitely not mine), but the OP did mention Anime, which essentially grew out of Japan's Manga sub-culture.

Can't believe I'm commenting on Hello Kitty, but Sanrio has opened up their branded store within the Marukai/Daiso store...

Also to the suggestion above, keep in mind that the concession, and that's all it is, at the Japanese Friendship Garden is far, far from being a proper restaurant with no full kitchen.

I take it, though, that being able to carry out the theme trumps food quality? (Personally can't imagine any self-respecting Japanese restaurant allowing their premises to be taken over by "Kitty-chan", but my imagination's a bit limited on these matters...)

One possibility might be to broaden the scope to one of the Manga reading-room/cafes. I don't know if San Diego has any, but it occurs to me that one of the Taiwanese Tea/Boba shops on Clairemont Mesa might be setup that way. They'd likely be more in tune with allowing for an event such as this, though that's just a guess.

One other thought would be the Japanese Garden at Karl Strauss, Sorrento Valley as an alternative to the Japanese Friendship Garden. Not much for food, but they'd likely be more open to a themed party... Though it has picked up way too many awkward/faux accents to ring true since its creation, their extensive grounds started off as a very authentic Japanese garden and still provides for a very nice, faux Japanese garden setting.

Barrio Logan
* El Porvenir (Carnitas Taco)
Little Italy
* Lounge Burger
Uptown
* Mariscos German/Alex (South Park & City Heights - Mixto, Pulpo, and Marlyn Tacos)
* Caffe Calabria (light sandwiches/Paninis)
Kearny Mesa
* Yakitori Yakyudori (Shio Ramen)
* Okan (Bento lunch)
* Santouka (Tonkotsu Ramen)
Mira Mesa
* Luong Hai Ky (VN-style Chinese - everything)
* Pho Cow Cali (everything)
Solana Beach
* Rudy's (Carne Asada plate or Torta)
Fallbrook
* Las Brisas Taqueria (Menudo & Carnitas)

...still need a viable replacement to the now defunct Umenoya (Miramar)

I highly recommend their Yakitori, they specialize in Shio-aji, but for that you'd have to go during dinner hours. At lunch time it's primarily Ramen (and a selection of sides).

If Don Vincente's too out of the way, a few on these boards vouch for Las Cuatro Milpas' white Menudo in Barrio Logan, though nothing there seems to float my boat. You'll also be waiting in one of San Diego's more perplexing food lines, where the reputation seems to far outpace the actual quality of the food. (Still love making the crazy far pilgrimage out to Fallbrook for Las Brisas Tacqueria's Menudo [and carnitas too!].)

I haven't noticed a difference, though honestly the Carlsbad location is not all that close to the Flower Fields even for being in the same city, and its location is further removed from the I-5 than the original SB shop.

For all of its charm and "ambiance" (or lack of it), I'd recommend the original location in Solana Beach. That location still retains all of its ethnic charm as a real operational Latin market, whereas the Carlsbad location is your typical cookie-cutter strip mall-esque retail suite sans Latin market.

BTW how about two lunches and some dessert? Just off of the I-5 in Encinitas is Elizabethan Desserts, a local favorite for take-out desserts. My fave is their mini-lattice cherry pie.

I didn't think Izakaya Masa's Ramen was any good, but I can highly recommend Yakitori Yakyudori's Shio Ramen. But if you must have a Tonkotsu Ramen, then Santouka's Tonkotsu Ramen is a very competent rendition that I've found to be much better than Masa's.

When you mentioned fresh tortillas, it reminds me that I've enjoyed none better than the wonderful fresh tortillas at Menuderia Don Vincente, worth a try if a bowl of Menudo interests you. (Though my top choice for Menudo goes to Las Brisas Taqueria in Fallbrook, a crazy far drive for most but still [barely] within the county.)

BTW I do believe that both the South Park and the University Ave. MG's have changed hands. Outside of my usual preference for the South Park location, I hadn't really noticed any difference due to the change of ownership.