Another week, another delicious downtown neighborhood food-tasting extravaganza to sample.
The 27th annual Taste of Gaslamp will be served up from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 9. Two dozen Gaslamp Quarter restaurants (on Fourth, Fifth and Sixth avenues) are banding together to offer bites and samples in downtown San Diego’s historic, 16-block entertainment district.
Take note: The Gaslamp’s main drag–Fifth Avenue from Broadway to K Street–has been re-imagined as the Gaslamp Promenade. Bollards block north-south street traffic for most of the day. That designates Fifth Avenue as a pedestrian-friendly “Slow Street.”
Participating venues include: American Junkie, Baja Rick’s Cantina, Café Sevilla, Cali Cream Ice Cream, Cerveza Jack’s, Chiefy Café, Chocolat Cremerie, Gaslamp BBQ, Gaslamp Lumpia Factory, Havana 1920, Il Sogno Italiano, Johnny WAHOO! Golf Bar, Las Hadas Bar & Grill, Lavo Italian Restaurant, Madam Bonnie’s, Mezé Greek Fusion, Pizza on 5th, Rockin’ Baja Lobster, Royal India, Smokin J’s BBQ, STK, The Field Irish Pub, Whiskey Girl and the brand new Margaritaville restaurants.
An official After Party will be in swing at Johnny WAHOO! Golf Bar from 5 to 7 p.m. The After Party is free to all Taste of Gaslamp attendees (who’ll receive a free drink + extra bite ticket and free play on game simulators).
Tickets to the Taste of Gaslamp are $45 in advance and $55 the day of the event. Get more info here.
☀️Click here & vote now in The Sun’s Downtown Dining Readers’ Poll. Win an SD Bay cruise!☀️
DOUBLE-DECKER FUN: The San Diego Sun was in the clouds about participating in the open-air fun of the Hidden San Diego Gems Tour that cruised downtown on August 30.
Marc and Darynne Menkin’s Out of The Ordinary Group & Team Adventures partnered with the double-decker Wonderbus to host a fun-and-fact-filled excursion that would pass through The Marina District, Gaslamp Quarter and Little Italy.
Bus riders got to stay refreshed and hydrated with samples of up-and-coming, craft-brewed cocktails in a can from Kove (personal preference: the 5% ABV Desert Rose Paloma).
The Hidden Gems tours began and ended at the InterContinental San Diego. Post-ride drinks and bites were courtesy of the hotel’s standout ground-floor eatery Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse (serving as good a crab cake as you’ll find outside of Baltimore).
CITY EATS: In its inaugural offering this past week, the Taste of East Village held two days of food-and-bev sampling. Highlights included:
- Notable noshes: A pair of wings at Wicked Chicken. Smoked Turkey with Mac Salad at Knotty Barrel.
- Best extracurricular activity: Getting a shot on a lane to roll a strike and win a prize at Tavern + Bowl East Village. (Sigh. I didn’t warm up properly.)
- Best view: From atop the new Radian apartments, the event’s Day 1 sign-in location. Stunning panoramic views include the Coronado Bridge and Petco Park. (Coming in the first quarter of 2024 to the ground floor of Radian: Target.)
YOU GOTTA POLL TO WIN: The latest random winner in The San Diego Sun’s “Downtown Dining Readers’ Poll” is Sarah Flocken. Each week, anyone who participates in our polling of the best restaurants in the 92101 ZIP Code is eligible to win two tickets for a San Diego bay cruise aboard Triton Charters’ 75-foot catamaran. SDSun
