San Diego Cafe Guide

In just four days and with a full agenda at the conference I was attending, I was able to check out six cafes in San Diego and report on my findings:

Hawthorne Coffee 

The house-made vanilla latte was a pleasant surprise to me. I guess I expected too little of SD cafes and assumed they would't have house-made syrups. 

Communal Coffee

One of the most aesthetically lavish cafes I have visited. This one gets all the Instagram views. Being a flower shop, I ordered one of the signature floral lattes - rose -  and had an avocado toast with egg to go with it.  

Holsem Coffee

Very basic and standard place for a solid latte. Wish I had more time to spend here because it seems like a decent atmosphere to get some work done. 

James Coffee 

This cafe is housed in a giant warehouse that shares a space with retails shops and other businesses. I ordered an original honey cinnamon latte and took it to go. 

Coava

Because I live in Portland, where we have not one but three Coavas, I wasn't going to visit this one in San Diego because it did't feel unique to me. However, when I was passing through downtown and saw this beautiful location, I could not resist. It's kind of disappointing that Coava in San Diego is more beautiful that the locations in their home city of Portland. 

Coffee & Tea Collective

This very hip and trendy shop delivered on a solid vanilla latte. This is somewhere I would return to time and time again if I lived in San Diego. 

What I ate in San Diego

Is San Diego known as a foodie city? I'm not sure. But given it's proximity to a place as delicious as Tijuana its only natural that a few good things would find their way into the restaurants here. Here's the list of San Diego eats:

1.    Food I wished I had but didn't:  Puesto tacos in La Jolla, recommended by a friend but way too far

2.    Food I had but wished I didn't: fried tacos at Las Cuatro Milpas, greasy and really out of the way from where I was staying

3.    What should have been on the list:  Cantina Mayahuel - a great place!

4.    Biggest surprise:  truffle pizza from Napizza

5.    Most delicious meal:  the goat taco at City Taco

Mexican

Mezcal Margaritas, Chips and Guacamole from Cantina Mayahuel

all the tacos at City Tacos

Las Cuatro Milpas fried tacos

Pizza

Florencia's pepperoni pizza and Greek salad delivery

Napizza's truffle pizza

San Diego Public Library

I always try to make a visit to at least one cool library in every city, and San Diego's Central Library downtown did not disappoint. Many people were surprised when I said I had it on my schedule to visit, but I honestly don't know why. The library is so cool and offers such stunning views of the city that I can't understand why it is not a tourist attraction itself.

Doesn't this look like a theme park attraction? And on the inside, it certainly doesn't disappoint...

This library only opened in 2013 at the measly cost of $185 million. 

The ground floor has a lot some beautiful seating with lots of window light.

I took the photo below because you can see the gas lamps just outside the window, since the library is located in the Gaslamp Quarter. 

I visited this library just around the start of the #metoo movement, and was surprised to see how quickly librarians had pulled books on that theme for the Young Adult section. 

This room was on the top floor and is one of the most beautiful in the entire library. I was especially impressed with the paintings. 

Another study area on the upper level with gorgeous natural light. I usually don't get to spend too much time in libraries on my travels, but on this trip I was able to spend an hour in the library getting some work done before my flight, and this is the room I chose to be in.

The very top floor of the library is open air and has some stunning views of the city. 

Letters from San Diego

To me, this photo captures the essence of San Diego, though I am not the one who took it. This was sent to me by my friend Albert William, who lives across the border in Tijuana. He was enamored by the beauty of this sign, and took a photo to show me its vivid color. Everything about this image, the strip club, the neon, the palm trees, the clear sky speak San Diego to me. 

I first went there for a conference in October of 2017. I had no interest in the city itself, and truthfully my real interest lay on the other side of the border, in Tijuana. Nevertheless, the four days I spent in a Hawaiian-themed hotel in San Diego were memorable to me. The following excerpt from my diary was written on my first night in the city, hours after my plane landed. 

"Sitting outside on the balcony of my hotel room. Listening to the sound of the freeway. Smelling like the mosquito spray I bought in Athens. Funny how Greece is all smells to me. First, the Queen of the Night flower, my Aunt’s kitchen, jasmine body lotion, and now this mosquito spray. 

I’m grateful for an outdoor space when the weather is this nice. I think the thermostat is set to 74 degrees inside and outside I notice no difference. It’s October and I’m sitting on a balcony in San Diego at midnight waiting for a pizza to be delivered. This was either the best idea or the worst idea. I can’t tell yet. I guess in 15 minutes I will know. Something feels exciting though about ordering delivery from a hotel room. I can’t seem to recall that I’ve done it before in my entire life. There is something thrilling about the first time. I only have to life up the phone and food will come to me. And at midnight on a Tuesday no less. Outside there is only the noise of the freeway and a faux waterfall in the courtyard. I wonder why this hotel is Hawaiian themed when San Diego has its owns beaches and culture. Maybe it was too bland to be San Diego-themed in San Diego. But still, Hawaii feels a strange suit of this place."

- 12:07am October 17, 2017