So it looks like another weekend of heavy rain in Boston.

This is, what, the 7th or 8th weekend in a row with rain? I

love Boston, but this is ridiculous.

With the rain, my daydreams of San Diego, CA, seem to

keep popping up more and more (call it California

dreaming). The other night, I was listening to a great rock

station from Encinitas on Internet radio. It got me to thinking

about Encinitas, where my cousins used to live before they

moved up the coast to La Costa.

One of my favorite restaurants in Encinitas is the 101 Diner.

Located about 4 blocks from my favorite beach in the world

(Moonlight Beach), the 101 Diner has everything, from great

breakfast and lunch entrees to outdoor seating to a friendly,

all-around nice guy of an owner. Almost as good, and just

down the street, is Kim's Restaurant, which has terrific

Vietnamese food. Better yet, neither of these restaurants is

well-known (if you have looked at the site I founded,

Boston's Hidden Restaurants, you would know I have a

thing for great restaurants that haven't been discovered).

Heading south toward San Diego, another memorable, but

little-known, restaurant can be found in beautiful

Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Pipes Cafe is a breakfast spot that is

mainly frequented by surfers and Cardiff residents looking

to show up late to work (word is, Trevor Hoffman, the great

reliever for the San Diego Padres, is also a regular here).

Pipes has fantastic breakfast plates, and the dining

outdoors on the patio is a must.

As you continue down the coast, you come to artsy Solana

Beach, home to Fidel's, which is fairly well-known, and for

good reason; Fidel's may be the best Mexican restaurant

north of San Diego (though I have my personal favorite,

which I'll mention in a minute). Fidel's is tough to find, since

it's hidden in a neighborhood away from the ocean, but

worth seeking out.

Just before you reach San Diego, you hit La Jolla, a tony

community that seems to have more investment places

than restaurants. I like La Jolla, though, with its spectacular

downtown park above the ocean cliffs, and its narrow,

crooked lanes. Just south of the center of La Jolla is a little

restaurant called Bahia Don Bravo. The owners of this

authentic Mexican restaurant have a few branches in San

Diego, but this one is special, since you can order the food

to go and walk a few blocks down a side street to one of the

most spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean that you will

ever see. And there is even a bench where the view is, so

you can eat in relative comfort. Bahia Don Bravo has the type

of Mexican food that you just can't find in Boston. I always go

there when traveling to San Diego, and always miss it when

I'm back in Boston.

Finally, you reach the wonderful city of San Diego. Where to

go for food? Well, there are too many great places to

mention here. A couple of standouts are Point Loma

Seafood, with its memorable view of the city across the

harbor, and the Coyote Cafe in Old Town. But my favorite is

a little hamburger joint in Ocean Beach called Hodad's,

which is where I had the best cheeseburger I have had

anywhere in the country (and I've had a lot of

cheeseburgers!). Juicy, thick, hearty, and smothered in

cheese, the burgers here are impossibly good. Hodad's is

truly amazing.

Well, I guess my daydream of eating my way through San

Diego is about done. As I look out my window and see the

skyline of Boston, I realize that I do live in a great city. I just

wish it wouldn't rain so much.

Copyright © 2005, Boston's Hidden Restaurants. All Rights

Reserved.

Boston's Hidden

Restaurants is a restaurant guide that

features top little-known dining spots in Boston and New

England.