While the menu options are the exact same, even the trademark Buenos Dias burrito with potatoes, beans and eggs, the prices have risen as much as a dollar per item. You can even see the old prices shining through the menu board, mocking you for having spent more than you really should have.

For me though, the real disappointment was the food. While the restaurant was once one of the rare taco shops that wasn’t too greasy and cooked everything to perfection, the food has taken a nosedive. The carne asada was chewy; the beans, flavorless and greasy; the tortillas, stale; and, worst of all the potatoes in my once-beloved Buenos Dias burrito were crunchy and undercooked.

If you had once enjoyed the restaurant, it’s best to leave your memories the way they were and simply avoid the location at all costs.

Fortunately for you, the fan’s not on, the oils and vinegars remain capped and you are not the child of a yuppie. Enjoy a meatball sub, a turkey cappicola, a tuna melt or an Italian sub, whatever you get, you’re sure to enjoy the fresh meat that’s piled high atop a delightfully soft roll. Best of all, the subs here are dirt cheap. Get stuffed to the gills on less than $5 and you’ll be thrilled to start filling your lunch bag exclusively with Lunch Bag Deli subs.

For more info: Just stop by 4085 Pacific Hwy., San Diego, CA 92110, or call (619) 295-3484

The day of:

-Onami: This is a great, all you can eat sushi and Japanese food restaurant, meaning it is a little pricey usually. On the bright side, if you eat there on your actual birthday, you get a coupon to come back again for free.

-Ihop: While participation varies by location, many Ihop’s will give you a free meal just for coming in on your birthday. Call ahead for details.

-Disneyland: So it’s not in San Diego and it’s not a restaurant, but you can save yourself a $70 admission fee for visiting on your birthday. It’s a great deal that can leave you with fantastic memories. Also note, the registration is not mandatory, it merely makes admission faster.

On a set day of the month:

-The Boathouse: This upscale restaurant selects one day of the month to offer a free prime rib meal with the purchase of another meal for all people born on a particular month.

Emails for near-birthday coupons:

-Rubios: When you sign up for their Beach Club, you get a free taco automatically. When your birthday rolls around, they give you a free meal worth up to $7. No other purchase is necessary.

-Mimi’s Cafe: Sign up for Mimi’s eclub and you’ll receive a coupon for a free breakfast worth up to $10. For your birthday, they’ll send you a coupon for $10 off you next meal over $20.

-Black Angus: If you want a steak for your birthday, sign up for their Prime Club and receive a buy one get one free meal coupon for your birthday.  Your meal can be worth up to $19.99.

-Red Robin: Get a free birthday burger when you register at their website…best of all, there’s no other purchase necessary.

-HomeTown Buffet: When you sign up here, you can get one free buffet dinner when you purchase another buffet dinner. You’ll recieve another coupon like this for your birthday.

-Coldstone: Get a free like-it size ice cream for your birthday when you register at their site.

Know any other freebies? Let me know in the comments!

Photo Via Aloha Orangeneko [Flickr]

I believe that for portions, specials and atmosphere, the best of the three Janet’s Café’s is the one located in Alpine. Conveniently, it’s also right on the way to the far East of San Diego County, so you’ll pass it on your way to Julian, Borrego Springs, Palm Springs, Arizona, etc. Hooray for it being on the way.

Business: Janet’s Café
2506 Alpine Blvd
San Diego, CA 92101
PDF of their menu -it’s the same at all locations.
619-569-3874
Price: $$ (Each $ represents a $5 increment)
Rating: 5 out of 5

The décor in here is fantastic, deer antler chandeliers and wooden everything –it’s like an 1800’s hunting lodge. The lovely patio provides you a view of the tourist center of Alpine, filled with more wooden buildings, a peaceful creek bed and stunning oak trees. If I had to live the rest of my life looking at only one restaurant…don’t ask me why I would….I would totally choose this place.

Janet’s is one of those places where the whole menu could easily be recommended. It ends up actually being hard to create just one favorite dish for a review. If you get breakfast here, feel free to order whatever you’re in the mood for. I can almost assure it will be fantastic, and that you’ll have leftovers. Personally, my two favorite breakfasts are chicken fried steak and eggs benedict. They are both amazing here. The eggs benedict come with fruit or hashbrowns. When you order the chicken fried steak though, you’ll be pleased to discover that it comes with eggs, potatoes or fruit and a grain.

The potatoes come in hash browns or country potatoes, and here I would recommend their country potatoes –and an order of salsa on the side. Their homemade salsa is just blissful –rich in tomato-ey goodness and just the right kick. The potatoes are crispy on the outside and perfectly soft in the middle.

As for your choice of grain, that covers toast, pancakes, a monstrous muffin or a bafflingly big biscuit. For chicken fried steak, I always recommend the biscuit –standing between 3 and 4 inches tall and 4 to 5 inches wide. The rich country gravy is just fantastic and butter and honey certainly go well on it too.

For anything beside the chicken fried steak, the humongous muffins are also huge in flavor and the pancakes are quite good as well.

If you’re seeking something a touch lighter, may I recommend the fresh fruit and yogurt with granola. No doubt when you see the price, you’ll think, “that much just for fruit and yogurt?” But I assure you, the $8 plate is well worth every penny when they bring you a full platter of the freshest fruits available and a huge cup of vanilla yogurt loaded to the brim with homemade granola. Can you say yum?

Now, in case you’re asking about their lunch or dinners, never you mind, they have those as well. Lunch is always served in big portions of fantastic sandwiches and burgers. Dinner is only served on certain days, but if you happen to be lucky enough to drop by on one of these nights, you’ll be glad you did.

With this in mind, you should most definitely visit the lovely Japanese Friendship Garden and stop by the Tea Pavilion Cafe for lunch.

Business: Tea Pavilion Cafe At the Japanese Friendship Garden
2215 Pan American Plz
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 231-0048
Price: $$ (Each $ represents a $5 increment)
Rating: 3 out of 5

This food is by no means the best or most authentic food in San Diego, but it isn’t bad. More importantly, it’s the best food you can get for these prices in all of the park. The sushi is ok, the sandwiches and soup are the best things to eat here though. Try the California roll sandwich, with crab, wasabi mayo and avocado.

The beverages here are definitely the best part. They have quite a great selection of teas and they are superb. The tea bags are so big and full that you may even want to order an extra cup of hot water and make two teas. If you leave the bag in one cup too long, it will get way too strong, which is definitely a good thing.

After you eat, be sure to take a trip through the lovely Japanese garden next door. It is serene, beautiful and just plain wonderful. Being in the park, you probably already have something else planned for the day, but take a few minutes to calm your mind in this soothing garden.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS!

Business: P.G. King Chinese Cuisine
55575 Baltimore Dr., Ste. 105 A
La Mesa, CA 91942
(619) 668-1268
Price: $$ (Each $ represents a $5 increment)
Rating: 4.5

I highly recommend ordering one of their dinner specials, which includes soup, fried or steamed rice, an egg roll and a cream cheese wonton. This massive combination will end up costing you under $7.50 per person. The egg roll will, unfortunately, be the low point of the meal, as they have not quite perfected the filling yet.

On the upside, the rest of your meal will be excellent. The hot & sour soup is quite good and all of the main courses are superb. Some of my personal favorites are the spicy honey chicken, the imperial shrimp and the tangerine beef, however, don’t limit your order to one of those three on my account.

The highlight of the meal is definitely their unique cream cheese wonton. These little pockets of heaven have a slight touch of pineapple, giving them the most exquisite and delightful taste of any wonton I have ever had. It’s a great idea to order an extra plate of these to go after your meal, so you have little pieces of dessert for the rest of the night. Six of these beauties will only run you $4.25, so it is well worth it.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS!

Let’s just say, this is a good place to train yourself to fight extreme torture techniques if you’d like to join the mafia or CIA, as they love to preform oral surgery without anesthesia or even enough Novocaine. Both my sister, my step brother and myself have had TERRIBLE experiences here at the hands of a completely mental “dentist” -think Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors.

I was one of those freaks that LIKED going to the dentist. That is, until I had a wisdom tooth removed here. In the midst of me turning into a ball, wailing, shaking and screaming from the excruciating pain I was put in from not being under sedation of even remotely numb, the crazy wench kept saying “you don’t feel pain, just pressure.” I had to beg for her to even give me more Novocaine. If you are not a complete f-ing mental patient, avoid this dentist at all cost, and their sister shop in El Cajon with the same rotating staff.

They initiated me to a whole new realm of pain I had never before, or since, experienced and ruined me for dentistry for the rest of my life.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS!