Funbelievable

A seventh birthday party at the playground is all fun and games until the slide gets backed up, there’s a line for the swings, and everybody’s crying. Move the festivities to FUNbelievable, an action-packed play zone in Lakeside providing massive slides and multiple rooms to explore (including one where kids load balls into suction tubes, an apparently mesmerizing activity that seems to occupy them for hours—or at least 15 minutes). The business’s party package comes with a private room, plus pizza, salad, snacks, and drinks. The other parents will thank you when they take their wiped-out kiddos home.

Best Jurassic Plastic

Dino Valley at Legoland

Legoland California celebrates its 25th anniversary with the new Dino Valley, a pint-sized, fright-free version of Jurassic Park. Get prehistoric with three new rides: Coastersaurus, Little Dino Trail, and Explorer River Quest (the latter two lack height requirements, so the smallest of tykes can still join the fun). There’s also a build-and-play area with Duplo dinosaur bricks and fossils to uncover.

Best Puppy Passport Service

MexiVet Express

Affordable veterinary options in San Diego feel more limited by the day, so MexiVet Express drives your canine, feline, or rodent across the border to get them the care they need in Tijuana, potentially saving you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This courier service also helps you find the right provider, book an appointment, translate, organize important documents, and, most importantly, give your pet all the love and adoration they deserve.

Best Fest for Young Pagemasters

TwainFest

For one Saturday every August, Old Town becomes a 19th-century-literature-themed playground, complete with free books. Take tea with the Mad Hatter and Alice, paint a fence with Tom Sawyer, test your nimble tongue at the liar’s contest, play arcade-style games, or visit the author’s salon. The park bustles with hoop skirts, bowler hats, unicycles, and wandering giant puppets like a charmingly creepy Edgar Allan Poe. Let the kids sprint around with the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest while you grab tacos and watch from a bench.

Best Day in the Dirt

Coastal Roots Farm

Everyone needs to get their hands dirty sometimes. Thursday, Friday, and Sunday mornings, parents cart their little ones to Coastal Roots nonprofit Jewish community farm in Encinitas for Nature Play. Designed for kids ages zero to 10 and their families, the program is run by farm staff, who oversee interactive storytime, animal encounters like feeding chickens, and other sensory activities, including play in the outdoor “kitchens.” Afterward, stop by their pay-what-you-can farm stand (those in need can get up to $30 of produce free) to take home organic veggies and herbs.

Best Way to Adjust to Tiny Humans

Post Pamper

The delicate period after a baby arrives can be isolating, exacerbated by the fact that postpartum care is often an afterthought in the US. But SD’s first postpartum retreat is looking to shift that narrative during the so-called fourth trimester with postnatal assistance in a luxury setting. Trained doulas help parents and little ones adjust to their new lives with round-the-clock feeding support, meals, and education. Happier parents mean happier babies. Next step? Convincing American insurance to cover postpartum care for everyone.

Best Live-Action Toy Story

Human Claw Machine

Most kids know those claw machines in arcades are usually a dark lesson in deep disappointment. Blow enough quarters trying to capture a stuffed Pikachu, and your sheer rage is almost enough to send you crawling into the machine to grab it yourself. Escondido’s North County Mall understands that impulse—which is why they offer a human claw machine that lowers kids into a pile of plushies so they can scoop stuff up. The experience starts at $10.

Best Place to Douse Your Kids in Sunscreen

SDSU Mission Valley River Park

Toddlers are like greyhounds— they’re born to run. Toddlers are also like monkeys: born to climb, jump, and wreak havoc. For parents looking for an all-purpose place their kids can wear themselves out, the newly opened, 34-acre River Park offers room to run. With miles of (tricycle) trails, a children’s play area, and seemingly endless grass, this is where to go to exhaust your little animals. Enjoy that early bedtime.

Best Agility Contest with No Winners

San Diego Cat Fanciers Food & Water Bowl

Every January, the finest fur babies (some with no hair at all) gather in Del Mar for the largest cat show in the Western US. Cat people can ogle regal Persians and skinny Sphinxes, buy gear for their own pets, and adopt a new four-legged overlord… we mean, companion. Depending on whether you actually care if an animal goes through the weave poles instead of licking its paw, unbothered, in front of them, it’s also home to either the best or the worst agility contest on the planet.

Best Place to Feel Small

The Sky Tonight

Are aliens real? How far can the Webb Space Telescope see into the universe? What do space volcanoes look like? Get answers at The Sky Tonight, a recurring astronomy presentation and lecture series on the first Wednesday of every month in the Fleet Science Center’s IMAX theater. Afterwards, members of the San Diego Astronomy Association set up telescopes outside for close-up looks at the moon, Saturn, and other celestial bodies.

See our complete list of the Best of San Diego here

The post The Best of San Diego 2024: Kids & Family appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Ocean Beach Pier San Diego

Finance, Education, & Legal

Accounting Firm

Considine & Considine

Bankruptcy Law

Thomas B. Gorrill

Charity

Helen Woodward Animal Center

Family Law

Beatrice L. Snider

Financial Planning

Canter Wealth

Home Insurance Provider

AAA San Diego Insurance and Member Services

Litigation Law

Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers

Loan Provider

Jason E. Gordon – (Gordon Mortgage Group)

Local Bank

North Island Credit Union

Local Credit Union

North Island Credit Union

Personal Injury Law

Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers

Private School

University Of San Diego

Public School

Westview High School

University

San Diego State University

Four Moons Spa San Diego

Photo Credit: Shawn Kallio

Health, Wellness & Cosmetics

Acupuncturist

Be Well Acupuncture Collective

Animal Welfare Organization

San Diego Humane Society

Barber

The Little Italy Barbery

Beauty Services

Honest Skin

Chiropractor

Acru Health

Cosmetic Dentistry

Dr. Brian Davey

Cosmetic Dermatology

Beauty Lounge Medical Spa

Cosmetic Surgeon

Sirius K. Yoo, Md (Sky Facial Plastic Surgery)

Cosmetic Surgery Group

Changes Plastic Surgery & Spa

Dance Studio

Activate House

Day Spa

Four Moons Spa

Dental Office

Blue Wave Dental Care

Eyeglass Store

Urban Optiks Optometry

Fertility Center

San Diego Fertility Center

Fitness Studio

Verve Studios Del Mar

Gym

Activate House

Hair Salon

Scisters Salon & Apothecary

Hair Stylist

Hair By Rachel Sd

Health Insurance

Sharp Health Plan

Hiking Trail

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

Hospital

Sharp Memorial Hospital

Martial Arts Studio

Ka’imi Kuoha – Othentik Gym

Massage

Four Moons Spa

Nail Salon

Sunny’s Spa & Beauty Lounge

Orthodontist

Dr. Kurt Stormberg

Personal Trainer

Wellness With Lele

Physical Therapy Spa

Proactive Physical Therapy And Sports Medicine

Veterinarian

Banfield Pet Hospital

Weight Loss Clinic

Katalyst Wellness

Yoga Studio

Wolf & Lion

Moniker Commons San Diego Coworking Space

Courtesy of Moniker Commons

Home & Living

Apartment Community

The Jewel At Lux

Artificial Turf & Lawn

Elanit Abrams

Auto Dealer

Mossy Toyota

Auto Parts Store (Tie)

Autozone Auto Parts + O’Reilly Auto Parts

Auto Repair

Smitty’s Service

Building Contractor (Tie)

Dreamstyle Remodeling + Kaminskiy Design & Remodeling

Carpet Cleaner

J&C Carpet Company

Child Day Care (Tie)

Warren-Walker School Early Learning Center + World Of Wonders Preschool

Commercial Real Estate Company

Next Wave Commercial

Coworking Space

Moniker Commons

Dog Beach

Ocean Beach Dog Beach

Door & Window (Tie)

American Vision Windows + Dreamstyle Remodeling

Escrow Company

Chartwell Escrow

Estate Planner (Tie)

Alspaugh & Alspaugh Law + Henderson, Caverly & Pum Llp

Family Beach

Coronado Beach

Flooring & Carpet

Select Carpets Inc

Furniture Store

D3 Home Modern Furniture

Garden & Nursery

Armstrong Garden Centers

Heating & Air Conditioning

Anderson Plumbing, Heating & Air

Home Builder (Tie)

Kaminskiy Design & Remodeling + National Black Contractor Association

Home Loan Provider

Origin Point Mortgage

Home Organizer

Elanit Abrams

Independent Living Community

The Remington Club

Interior Designer

The True House

Kitchen & Bath

Kaminskiy Design & Remodeling

Landscaper

Ramos Landscape San Diego

Local Nonprofit

Helen Woodward Animal Center

Mattress Store

D3 Home Modern Furniture

Moving Company

Ace Relocation Systems

Neighborhood

Little Italy

Patio Furniture

D3 Home Modern Furniture

Pest Control

Dewey Pest Control

Picnic Spot

Kate Sessions Park

Plumber

Anderson Plumbing, Heating & Air

Pool Cleaning

Padre Pools

Property Management Company

Garden Communities

Real Estate Agent

Bree Arellano

Real Estate Agent Team

Greg Cummings Group | San Diego Real Estate | Compass

Real Estate Brokerage Company

Compass Real Estate

Solar Power Company

Baker Electric Home Energy

Sunset Viewing Spot

Sunset Cliffs

Surf Spot

It’s A Secret…

Tile & Masonry

Daltile

Tire Store

Discount Tire

Wedding Venue

Bali Hai Restaurant

Desiree Steve Wedding Venue San Diego

Travel, Entertainment & Shopping

Airline

Alaska Airlines

Antique Store

Sea Hive Station

Appliance Store

Costco Wholesale

Art Gallery

Bread & Salt

Artist – Jewelry

Ember&Onyx

Artist – Muralist

Josue Baltezar

Artist – Painter

Stefanie Bales

Artist – Photographer

Angela Garzon

Bookstore

Verbatim Books

Boutique Clothing Store

Stroll

Boutique Hotel

Inn at Moonlight Beach

Camera Store

George’s Camera

Canabis Dispensary

March and Ash

Concert Venue

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park

Doggy Day Care

Platinum Pet Sitting Co.

Engagement Rings

Marrow Fine

Evening News Broadcast

NBC 7

Event Venue

The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park

Florist

Native Poppy

Golf Course

Torrey Pines Golf Course

Golf Store

Land & Sea Golf

Grocery Store

The Mighty Bin

Groom & Bridal Wear

The Bustle Bridal Boutique

Jewelry Store

Gorjana

Karaoke Bar

The Lamplighter

Local Casino

Sycuan Casino Resort

Local Theme Park Or Attraction

San Diego Zoo

Mall

Westfield UTC

Morning News Broadcast

FOX 5 KSWB TV

Movie Theater

The Lot Liberty Station

Museum

Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Music Nightclub

Belly Up Tavern

Musician – Cover/Tribute

Yächtly Crëw

Musician – Indie Rock

Shane Hall

Musician – Jazz

Nick Caldwell

Musician – Pop

Jason Mraz

Musician – Singer/ Songwriter

Jason Mraz

Nightclub

Belly Up Tavern

Outdoors & Bicycle Store

REI

Pet Store

Dexter’s Deli

Radio DJ

Rick Morten

Radio Morning Show

KPBS Radio (89.5 FM)

Hotel

Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina

Sports Team

San Diego Padres

Scenic Spot

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park

Shoe Shop

Road Runner Sports

Shopping Center

Westfield UTC

Social Media Personality

Jodie Alonso

Staycation Hotel

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

Surf Shop

Clairemont Surf Shop

Theater Group

Lamb’s Players Theatre

Thrift Shop

Buffalo Exchange

Wedding & Event Planner

Joseph Harmes

Weekend Road Trip

Palm Springs

The post Best of San Diego 2023: Reader’s Picks appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Ambrogio by Acquerello

Best Sit-Down Spot With a Playplace

Del’s Hideout

Say it’s a Friday night, the kids are bouncing off the walls, and cooking dinner in that chaos feels like a very difficult form of astrophysics. Enter Del’s Hideout in Del Cerro, a Cohn Restaurant Group spot. It’s got tasty barbeque, sandwiches, and salads, plus a good kid’s menu with their favorites: burgers, mac ’n cheese, grilled cheeses. But elementary schoolers don’t sit for food no matter how much fromage is present. Del’s knows this, so they turned a shipping container into a play area with foam blocks, push carts to ride around in, and a small climbing structure. So you can sink down at a table, grab a craft beer, and send the little ones to get their zoomies out. Bonus: Every Wednesday you get a free kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult entrée. –CT

Best Gamifying of Fine Dining

Ambrogio by Acquerello

The new modern Italian tasting-menu restaurant is a partnership between the owners of Ambrogio15 and the chefs behind Milan’s Michelin-starred Acquerello. One of those chefs, Silvio Salmoiraghi, got his first star at vegetarian restaurant Joia, which explains the choice to offer two menus: omnivore (wow, the Alaskan cod) and vegetarian (featuring his signature dish, Acquerello Rossini). A knockout linguine and the “omelette surprise” appear on both lineups. The omelette is presented with four mystery fillings under each quadrant that the server asks you to taste and identify, gamifying a gourmet meal. –KO

Best New Addition to the Stadium Food Trend

Snapdragon Stadium

Snapdragon Stadium promised a lot from the get-go. So far they’ve done a damn good job delivering with Major League Rugby, one of the most electric women’s sports teams in the country (Wave FC), concerts, and concessions. That final bit is especially key, because why bother watching a game in real time unless the food is as exciting—if not more—as the spectacle? Snapdragon’s curated selections run the gamut. Petco Park started this star local-food game, and Snapdragon carries the torch well with Crack Shack, Cali BBQ, Hodad’s, and more. –BD

Juniper & Ivy Restaurant Kimberly Motos

Photo Credit: Kimberly Motos

Best Way to Sabbath

Juniper & Ivy

J&I was one of the restaurants that put Little Italy on the serious-food map. It opened with Richard Blais holding the reins. Now, for nearly 10 years, it’s been Anthony Wells (protégé of Thomas Keller and Jonathan Benno) who keeps it flying high. While they’re usually a nice-shirt kinda place, they’ve introduced a Sunday Supper, a more casual, family-style, three-course meal using the best of hyper- local farms, fish, and ferments. It’s set to return in September. Wipe great food on your jeans. –TJ

Best Bar to Cheer At

Majorette

When beloved College Area dive The Ugly Dog Pub closed and became Majorette, the transition breathed new life into a neighborhood thirsty for more upscale options. Yes, there are still billiards (now free, in fact), a cozy patio, and big screens showing sports. But owner Will Remsbottom is serving seasonal plates, low-ABV cocktails, and plenty of smashburgers paired with natty wine. Rah rah, indeed. –BD

Best Drive-Thru Experience for Introverted Caffeine Junkies

happyfastdelicious

If the line of SUVs at Starbucks seems a little long and life-draining, happyfastdelicious in Hillcrest is an introverted nine-to-fiver’s dream. Opened in 2022, the grape-and-yellow, A-framed coffee drive-thru offers indie-shop creativity with the speed and convenience of mobile ordering. Grab espresso, energy drinks, seltzers, and sodas in 30-plus flavors to get a customizable fix for that uber-specific craving. From banana-bread lattes to cocoa marshmallow cold brew, it’s fast done well. –MK

First Look: Ciccia Osteria

Photo Credit: James Tran

Best Not-Dessert Dessert

Ciccia Osteria

Mario Cassineri and Francesca Penoncelli had been angling toward this little house for a long time. The married Italian transplants started a decade-plus ago as the food engine at Bice in Downtown (he was the chef; she, the cheese expert). In 2019, they threw everything into this cottage of their own. They can make pasta from scratch in their sleep, but it’s the mushroom flan that snatches breaths: a little truffle, a little cream sauce, and a pecorino crust. –TJ

Best New Microgreens Dealer

Cardiff Farmers Market

How did Cardiff not have a farmers market til recently? The beach burg is so rustic that parts of it don’t even have sidewalks. Well, that’s fixed now. Saturdays bring the Cardiff Farmers Market to Mira Costa College’s San Elijo Campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Located just off the 5, the market has close, ample parking and 70 vendors, including Cardiff Tiny Farm and Seas Greens Microgreens. –KO

Best Place to Rock an Elastic Waistband

Shabumi

Devouring all-you-can-eat Asian hot pot at Shabumi with friends and family is best done in stretchy pants. Choose your steamy soup base before selecting three meats, such Angus brisket, pork belly, and lamb leg. Top it off with bok choy, bean sprouts, onions, broccoli, and other veggies. Korean barbecue is also bottomless, which means you’ll probably be back—real soon. —MK

A collection of colorful doughnuts from Broad Street Dough Co. in Encinitas 

Best Donut Shop Without a Pastry Case

Broad Street Dough Co.

Like a dating app for donuts. Patrons select their sugary soulmate from a roundup of photos pinned to the wall, then the lovely folks at Encinitas’ Broad Street drop dough in the fryer; glaze it, stuff it, and spackle it with Fruity Pebbles; and serve it still warm. Most of the menu can be made vegan and/or gluten-free and is 99 percent less likely to disappoint than your latest Hinge match. –AR

Sandpiper Restaurant La Jolla

Best Cake That’s Not a Cake

Sandpiper

Sandpiper is the offshoot of George’s at the Cove, which means one of the most respected chefs in the country (Trey Foshee) is on the QC. If you blink when driving into La Jolla Shores (by the beach we all go to, not up top at the Cove with the fancy galleries), you’ll miss it. Stop missing it. There are oysters and good beer and oak-smoked, fire charred dishes (the Niman Ranch pork chop is life), but that blue-corn cake with spicy macha agave steals all shows. –TJ

Best Form of Choking

Amalfi Cucina Italiana

It’s no surprise that Amalfi is a runaway hit in San Marcos, since chef-partner Marcello Avitabile is a six-time World Pizza Champion. The tiles on his woodfired cauldron are gold because that’s what his oven makes. However, the best menu item comes crust-free: The pan-fried Roman artichokes with arugula and Grana Padano Parmesan prove why they import most of their ingredients directly from Italy. –TJ

Best Surprisingly Hearty Coffee Shop Meal

Mujer Divina

Bedecked with bright murals and faux flowers, Mujer Divina is a beacon of coffee and community in National City. You can order online to grab a café de olla and slim chorizo burrito on the fly. But if you can nab a table, it’s worth lingering over a big plate of green chilaquiles, a veritable feast in comparison to other quick-service cafés’ dainty pastries and toasts. Add machaca or birria to power a full afternoon of errands. –AR

Best Symphonic Salad

Little Frenchie

Little Frenchie’s roasted beet salad is a microcosm of the Coronado bistro’s knack for balance. The petrichor sweetness of the beets and subtle salt of goat cheese cut the bitterness of the dish’s radicchio base and temper its bright citrus. Also melodic: its entreés, including two takes on mussels, the sexy butter of the sea. –AR

Best Reason to Wear a Bib

Crab Hut

Crab Hut is owned by the local family behind the breakout restaurant Kingfisher. Tidiness and polite, methodical eating happen at some other, more boring place. Here, they hand you a bib and gloves and bring your seafood feast in a giant bag. Just put your whole you into the experience. In that bag—as long as you did this right and ordered the “full house sauce”—is one of the best seafood-boil sauces in the city, plus snow-crab clusters, lobster, crawfish, sausage, corn, and potatoes. Regulars beat the crowd at their four-hour happy hour (3 to 7 p.m.). Also, they have pretty fantastic cocktails. –TJ

Best Place to Get Dessert On Tap

The Craft Creamery

You know how you can go into a bar in SD and order a kolsch from Colorado or a pilsner from Pennsylvania? At The Craft Creamery near Shelter Island, the idea is the same, but with ice cream. Here you can find rotating flavors from the best ice cream makers in the country, such as Fat Elvis (banana ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate chips) from Wisconsin’s Chocolate Shoppe and Marionberry Pie from Tillamook in Oregon. Grab a four-flavor flight for $12. –MH

Best Jewish-Korean Handheld

Homestead Solana Beach

This is a husband-and-wife-owned little casual-bites and gourmet-goods store in the design district. Work up a hunger buying vintage lamps, then regain life here. The roast beef dip is a winner. Tuna salad is one of those things you don’t realize you require in your life until you see it on a menu and it feels like a religious need, and their tuna toastie is excellent. The star, however, is the Korean twist on a reuben: pastrami with kimchi and swiss on toasted rye. –TJ

Best Place to Strip

Cowboy Star

Making it as a steakhouse these days usually requires coast-to-coast financial backing, so this one’s special. It’s San Diego’s indie steakhouse, started by a trio of industry vets, little butcher shop attached. The’ve got all of the fancy meats, all aged in-house–Wagyu skirt, bone-in ribeyes, the works–but it’s the relatively homely New York strip that slays after 21 days of dry aging. Also, the bread pudding will roll your eyes back into your personal sweet spot. –TJ

Valentina Restaurant Kimberly Motos

Courtesy of Valentina Restaurant

Best Celebrity Ham On Toast

Valentina

Every neighborhood needs one of these pheromone-boosting little spots, a minimalist charmer with mussels and wine and a couple well-placed lamps. Valentina is owned by Mario and Morgan Jean Guerra, whose Leucadia Co. restaurant group (Moto Deli, Corner Pizza, Hamburger Hut) has thrived up here. They named this Spanish tapas bistro after their daughter. Get the tomato toast with the famed jamon Iberico, a garlicky, salty, lightly sweet piece of bread art. –TJ

Best Boneyard

Ranch 45

The secret’s out about dry-aging. Won’t be long before we get the dry-aged Whopper. And bone marrow is the activated charcoal of the beef world, a silky collagen bomb people on the internet claim reverses the aging process and brings the Chargers back to San Diego. But the only folks I know that are dry-aging bone marrow are husband-and-wife duo Aron and Pam Schwartz in their Solana Beach restaurant-slash-butcher-shop. Spread it on toast, on steak, on your life. –TJ

Best Meat on a Tree

Tribute Pizza

A midcentury post office turned into a pizza haven with a farmer-focused ethos (get the kale salad with aleppo pepper), Tribute has knockout focaccia, soft-serve ice cream with olive oil and sea salt (sounds weird, is glorious), and world-class pies (order the mushroom whitestone). Lots of yes here, especially the “handsome board”—specifically, the “Big One”— with all kinds of cured meat snacks and fancy cheeses and housemade sauces beside in-season farm fruits and nuts and such, served on a fallen tree ring. –TJ

Golden Mushroom

The post Best of San Diego 2023: Food & Drink appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Best of San Diego Magazine 2023 Ocean Beach

Food + Drink | Arts + Culture

Health + Wellness | For The Kids | Retail | Reader’s Picks

Think we’ve run out of stuff to wax poetic about after seven-and-a-half decades of celebrating San Diego? Think again. Ever-evolving and always awesome, the city’s got a nonstop supply of cool places to eat, shop, and play. From a Michelin-starred chef’s game of “Guess Who” to zero-gravity camping, bioluminescent boozing, and one legendary goose, here are 70 of our current local favorites. (Plus more than 100 of your picks, too!)

Click on the links above to see our full list in each category.

Food + Drink

Best Way to Sabbath

Juniper & Ivy

Juniper & Ivy was one of the restaurants that put Little Italy on the serious-food map. It opened with Richard Blais holding the reins. Now, for nearly 10 years, it’s been Anthony Wells (protégé of Thomas Keller and Jonathan Benno) who keeps it flying high. While they’re usually a nice-shirt kinda place, they’ve introduced a Sunday Supper, a more casual, family-style, three-course meal using the best of hyper-local farms, fish, and ferments. It’s set to return in September. Wipe great food on your jeans. –TJ

Arts + Culture

Best New North County Noise

The Sound

Nearly 50 years after local institution Belly Up Tavern opened in Solana Beach, it finally got a sibling—one three times as large. The Sound, a new 1,900-person-capacity concert hall operated by the Belly Up and housed on the San Diego County Fairgrounds, brings a much-needed mid-size venue to North County. With a state-of-the-art sound system and the space to accommodate headliners such as M83 and The Flaming Lips, it’s a thrilling addition to the live music landscape. –JT

Health + Wellness

Best Place to Sleep in a Tree

Alter Experiences at Mt. Laguna

Husband-wife hosts Rami Abdel and Shantel Seoane created Alter Experiences as a haven away from city hustle. They thought of everything to make tent camping accessible and hassle-free (including luxurious linens and outdoor kitchens), but what makes this place extra special are the tree hammocks. Equipped with super cozy, warm sleeping bags and lights that make them glow like fireflies or aliens (depending on your imagination), they offer a unique, weightless outdoor sleeping experience.

For The Kids

Best Childcare with Chaturangas

If I Was A Bird Yoga

Sure, there are plenty of so-called “Mommy & Me” yoga classes, where you’re trying to manage your kindergartener and somehow downward dog at the same time. Then there’s If I Was A Bird Yoga studio, which has locations throughout the county (Liberty Station, Mission Hills, Del Mar) and offers drop-off kids’ yoga classes. You can send in your little to learn cat-cow with a very patient instructor, and then head to your own workout class. They even offer an art and yoga class for children as young as two, where you have the option of bidding your baby adieu or staying for the class.

Retail

Best Spot For, Well, A Meet-Cute

Meet Cute Bookshop

Not a single Dan Brown thriller in sight. Queer-owned North Park bookshop Meet Cute exclusively stocks romance novels, with particular focus on LGBTQ and BIPOC authors (and an allowance for the occasional queer memoir or nonfiction writing guide). And if you happen to reach for a book at the same time as a fellow hopeless romantic… Well, we know how this story goes.

Reader’s Picks

You voted! And here’s what you had to say. All the city’s best things to do, places to eat, and hidden gems to explore as voted on by our readers. 

The post Best of San Diego 2023 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Soccer Shot camps

Sure, the weather right now is freezing, but that means little to the many parents across the San Diego region who are planning their summers. Camp registrations are opening soon, if they haven’t opened already, and spots fill up fast.

Many parents (myself included) map out the summer of no school with complex spreadsheets of different camp options, prices, locations, and times. Here to make your search a little easier is a list of 10 summer camps in San Diego for you to choose from.

San Diego Unified Extended School Year

San Diego Unified offers free summer school for all enrolled students at a selection of local schools. You can see the list of schools here. Most programs go until 1 p.m., but you can also apply for free PrimeTime aftercare. Summer school goes from June 20 to July 21, and then you can apply for free full-day care at PrimeTime from July 24 to August 2. PrimeTime spaces are limited, so if you need a full day of care, you may need to look into other options.

Price: Free

Time: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Dates: June 20-July 21

Location: Schools across the city

Camp CaHito at Balboa Park

Campers at Camp CaHito ages 5 to 13 can go to day camp with a range of activities including games, hikes, STEM activities, archery, hiking, art and crafts, and scavenger hunts. Older kids can also attend specialty camps with themes like junior ranger, archery, wizardry of chemistry, art, and jewelry making.

Price: $360 a week

Time: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. or 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Dates: Weekly all summer

Location: Balboa Park

Soccer Shots

The popular Soccer Shots program offers full-day camps over where children practice their soccer skills alongside traditional camp activities. Themes include nature, space, and the arctic, which means kids make crafts and play games that go along with the theme.

Price: $300 a week

Time: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Dates: Weekly all summer

Location: Lake Murray

Say Summer Camp

SAY San Diego

Kids enrolled in SAY San Diego aftercare can also sign-up for full day summer camp at Birney and Marvin elementary schools. Kids will do games, art projects and have outside play time.

Price: $320 a week

Time: 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Dates: Weekly all summer

Location: Birney and Marvin elementary schools

Zoo Camp

Kids can go to summer camp at the San Diego Zoo, where they learn about the variety of wildlife and do animal-themed crafts and activities. Older kids can also sign up for art camp, where they create projects inspired by wildlife in a variety of media, and will have special opportunities for wildlife experiences.

Price: $363 a week and up

Time: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Dates: Weekly all summer

Location: San Diego Zoo

YMCA

The YMCA has a wide variety of camps from the basic arts and crafts projects to sports, swim, gymnastics and the specialized Star Wars/Harry Potter/Bugs and Slugs camps. Camps are hosted at YMCA branches across the region, plus there are surf camps at the beach and overnights at Camp Marston.

Price: $334 a week and up for members

Time: 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Dates: Weekly, all summer

Location: YMCA branches across the county

New Children’s Museum Camp

The New Children’s Museum offers camps for four-year-olds and up, and summer studios for older children that are taught by professional artists. Kids work on art projects and do other fun games and activities.

Price: $360 a week for members

Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Dates: Weekly all summer

Location: New Children’s Museum

Little Explorers Camp at San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum

The discovery museum in Escondido offers summer camp programs for elementary school aged kids at the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum. There are a variety of themes all summer, with chances to explore the museum and do Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) activities.

Price: $300 a week for members

Time: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dates: Weekly all summer

Location: San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum

SeaWorld camp

SeaWorld Camp

Children can spend all day at SeaWorld Camp paying visits to animal attractions, seeing shows and doing typical camp activities like games, crafts, songs and participating in hands-on learning activities. Different weeks specialize in various sea animals, from orcas to sharks and sea lions.

Price: $379 a week

Time: 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m.

Dates: Select weeks in July and August

Location: SeaWorld

Fleet Science Center Camp

The Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park offers science camps for kids all summer. Each week centers on a different theme, from fairy tale engineering, survivalist adventure to robot coder. Kids can join in fun games and activities that also teach them about science.

Price: $285 a week for members

Time: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with extended day to 5 pm available at an extra cost

Dates: Weekly all summer

Location: Fleet Science Center

The post 10 Summer Camps in San Diego For Kids appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Seneca Trattoria

Food + Drink | Arts + Culture | Style + Design 

Great Outdoors | For The Kids | Retail

Ideas on what to eat, drink, do, see, lose a day or month of your life to—from mezcal dens and lowrider art to a romance canoe where you can live out any Ryan Gosling-related fantasies. Compiled by 20 writers who kick the tires on what’s new and good in this city every single day. Go, do. 

Click on the links above to see our full list in each category.

Herb & Wood

James Tran

Food + Drink

New Source of Nuclear Energy

Herb & Wood

Herb & Wood was where chef Brian Malarkey and co-owner Chris Puffer started their prolific run. Animae and Herb & Sea now share the shine, but the flagship’s young gun Carlos Anthony came out of the pandemic strong. Like Malarkey, he’s a frequent flier on Food Network because he’s got a clinical amount of personality—and he can really, really cook.

The Rady Shell

Jenna Selby

Arts + Culture

Church of Sound

Rady Shell

Rookie of the year, for sure. The city’s $98 million al fresco answer to the Hollywood Bowl or Sydney Opera House is one of the planet’s premier outdoor music experiences. A view of the downtown skyline. Gentle, bay breeze. Even better is the inclusiveness: public park by day and pay-nothing seats along the edges. Anyone else think it also kinda looks like a Dyson fan? (A compliment.)

Louis Vuitton Sunset Catwalk at the Salk Institute

Giovanni Gianonni

Style + Design

Style Moment

Louis Vuitton

San Diego made fashion history when Louis Vuitton conducted a sunset catwalk at the Salk Institute. Glitterati (Vogue editor Anna Wintour, starlet Gemma Chan) descended upon the brutalist icon for the 2023 Cruise collection. “The architecture, with the sea as a horizon, the raw cliffs, it’s searing,” exclaimed artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière. Shimmy in the collection; it’s available at the new Westfield UTC boutique in November.

South Mission Beach Courts

Patrick Davis for Life’s a Beach

Great Outdoors

Beach Volleyball Where Everyone Knows Your Name

South Mission

Each weekend on the courts of South Mission Beach, the sand is taken over by 2v2 players—many of which are ESL speakers from various countries. They’ve made this plot of sand their sacred community, where the universal language is bump, set, and spike.

Lions, Tigers & Bears

Kathleen Reeder

For the Kids

Have Kids Feed Dangerous Animals

Lions, Tigers & Bears

When it comes to big cat (and bear) rescues, Lions, Tigers & Bears is legit—accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and the American Sanctuary Association. It’s home to more than 60 animals, including Louie the lion and Meatball, a California grizzly. Visitors who win the drawing that kicks off each tour get to feed an animal (with a really big skewer).

Revival Vintage Eyewear

Gail Owens

Retail

Specs Refresh

Revival Vintage Eyewear

This North Park eyewear gallery is functional and fashionable. Each frame is never-worn, deadstock vintage, which means sustainable shopping. Sourced from Germany, Japan, and France, glasses date from the 1960s-1990s, boasting designs by Dior and Lanvin. In-house opticians process your Rx, so all you have to worry about is which looks best in the tiny mirror.

Contributors: Cherie Gough, Danielle Allaire, Jordan Ligons, Beth Demmon, Kelly Davis, Kai Oliver-Kurtin, James Stout, Brent Crane, Mary Beth Abate, Anissa Durham, Helen Hwang, Elena Gomez, Matt Eisenberg, Ligaya Malones, Collin Spink, Brain Ulery, and Ann Wycoff

The post Best of San Diego 2022 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Rooftop Cinema Club’s screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of our top events this weekend in San Diego

March 24

Rooftop Cinema Club Embarcadero

The Rooftop Cinema Club Embarcadero is back with new chairs, new films, and the same killer views atop the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Come celebrate the club’s reopening with a showing of the ’80s classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off at 5 p.m., followed by Best Picture contender King Richard at 8 p.m. Arrive at least 30 minutes early to claim your seats and enjoy the food, drinks, and table games. Tickets are on sale now for all films through May 1. 

1 Market Place, Embarcadero

The Shout! House 18th Anniversary Celebration

The Shout! House, San Diego’s beloved dueling piano bar, is celebrating 18 years. Their roster of musicians plays audience requests all night long, ranging from karaoke classics to modern hits, and interactive participation is a must. The anniversary party will include guest musicians, photo booths, goodie bags, and most likely a cover of “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

655 Fourth Avenue, Gaslamp Quarter

March 24–26

Justice Film Festival

With a geographically diverse team of filmmakers, the Justice Film Festival hopes to spark discussion on civil rights topics and social issues. This will be the first time the festival visits the West Coast (this year’s event began earlier this month in New York). Films that focus on racial and environmental justice, poverty, and immigration will take center stage at Makers Church in North Park. Tickets are on sale here.

3810 Bancroft Street, North Park

March 26

Cannabis Farmers Market

Local dispensary chain March and Ash is hosting a Cannabis Farmers Market at their Vista location. Local cannabis vendors from Rove to Flav will be attending and supplying, and expect to see several women-owned brands in celebration of Women’s History Month. Come with any cannabis questions and spend your early afternoon browsing the selections and enjoying food, drinks, and music.

2465 Dogwood Way, Vista

Sesame Place San Diego

San Diego’s newest theme park is opening this Saturday with fun rides, slides, and good times for kids of all ages. Sesame Place San Diego will be the second amusement park in the country to celebrate Elmo and friends and will feature 18 Sesame Street–themed rides and water attractions, including a 500,000-gallon wave pool. Stroll through the iconic Sesame Street Neighborhood and the interactive musical play area, and have fun with all your favorite characters. 

2052 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista

The post Things to Do in San Diego This Weekend: March 24-26 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

I don’t mind the germs. The world is a dirty place. The government says it’s acceptable to have a certain amount of ground-up bugs in our wine. I’ll drink bugs.

I don’t mind the noise. The bloops. The bleeps. The banging and clattering and laughing and screaming and crying. It sounds like kids are doing hand-to-hand combat with joy itself.

It’s the beer I’m not so fond of. My current choices are Natural Light and some similar contribution to humanity.

It’s the pizza that makes me sad. Tastes like the parents of someone in the corporate office died in a terrible accident involving flavor, and this pizza is their revenge.

It’s the salads that make me realize I don’t care who becomes president because we’re all screwed. The produce looks and tastes like it was grown in the finest Astroturf.

Would you like a soda? Oh, sorry, you don’t drink soda? Here’s your soda.

Chuck E. Cheese is the bane of my parental existence. And yet, here I am. Because I have a five-year-old daughter, and the dime store rides and 1980s technology video games make her jittery with glee. She runs from one semi-entertaining gizmo to the next, as if they are rainbows. This place is magical to her. It’s how I might feel if given a free shopping spree at a cheese shop or Amsterdam.

Chuck E. Cheese is the only game in town for a parent. It’s Disneyland-lite, an everyday amusement park that you don’t have to refinance the house to visit. It’s right down the street. It’s easy. Before we used iPads to raise our children for us, we used Chuck.

I wasn’t the first to bring my daughter here. Her mom broke the seal. And then my daughter started begging to go with alarming regularity. You can tell a child, “No, we only support local, organic, non-GMO restaurants with more educational games, sweetie.” Or you can stop being an ***hole and take her to see a teenager in a mouse costume who looks terrified of being sued if a kid hugs him.

And so you do.

I’m not alone. Some of the most progressive parents I know—people who yell at construction workers building Rite-Aids, and sneeze at the thought of contracting a Starbucks—take their kids to CEC. We all do this cute thing when we see each other in there. We shrug our shoulders and make a gesture that apologizes for our existence.

I understand that the low food quality and 1980s college beer make Chuck E. affordable for families of all socioeconomic woe. I’m a writer. Woe and I go way back. So I’m not going to be too elitist about Chuck’s product. Except to say that it lacks a certain quality called quality.

But why hasn’t some restaurant entrepreneur taken over an abandoned warehouse and built a kid-topia for parents who enjoy real food and drink? There is Station Tavern in South Park, a great place with a modest playground for kiddos. There is Waypoint Public in North Park, with a small, awesome, creative area for the ADHD of your loins. Corvette Diner makes kids smile.

But those are small. They aren’t nearly the sensory assault and smorgasbord of cheap fun that Chuck throws down.

I envision a San Diego in which someone takes Chuck E.’s idea and modernizes it. Make one of those giant jungle mazes where kids crawl through tunnels and slides and stuff. A place where I can eat organic chicken, drink craft beer, and watch my child fun herself into a state of sleep. Have toys that challenge their young brains and creativity, but not too much because math sucks as a toy. Or make it a purely physical place, where kids run and jump and exercise while I exercise my right to an Imperial Stout and pork belly.

Give out prizes that don’t make me wonder about the environmental affects of plastics and the working conditions in far-off toy factories. Give me brown rice and farro. Give me a vegetable that doesn’t have the shelf life of Keith Richards. Give me menu options that don’t make me think, “Well, everyone dies.”

Make a Chuck E. Cheese for craft culture. A Chuck E. Manchego.

The first person to do this will make millions—from me and my daughter alone. There are legions of 30- and 40-somethings who grew up in the food revolution. And now we have kids. We are literally begging for more creative, authentic places to entertain and exhaust those kids.

Gotta go now. Gonna pickpocket this other person’s child. My daughter’s a few tickets short of a plastic spider.

Game On

The post Game On appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

No Talent for Truth

Our son was a newborn when American Idol became a craze more than a decade ago. Greg and I watched the auditions and gawked at the hopefuls who waited hours in line for their chance to hit it big, only to learn from the merciless Simon Cowell that they have not one iota of vocal talent.

We were mesmerized by these poor souls who had no idea they couldn’t even carry a tune. “Don’t these people have friends?” we wondered. I found it especially curious when parents were there. Did these parents knowingly set up the kids for

humiliation, or did their love for their children blind them to what’s so obvious to the rest of us?

Greg and I vowed to be clear-eyed and objective with our kids. We’d never give phony praise or engage in the hyperprotective parenting that creates tender egos, raising kids who can’t function in the workplace without Mommy there to cheer them on.

But eight years later, Ben started baseball and became an aspiring Major League player. Georgia, meanwhile, decided she wants to be a pop star.

Neither displayed a natural gift for their chosen profession, but both were eager for reassurance that they had the right stuff. How do you tell kids with big dreams that, well… they kinda suck?

It seemed crucial to check Ben’s fantasies when he explained he didn’t need to concern himself with schoolwork, since he wanted to be a MLB player. We suggested he get a backup plan.

Then Georgia signed up to perform an Adele song (ADELE!) for the school “Talent” Show. (Yes, I put quotes around talent. Don’t judge. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’VE SEEN!)

Me: “Um, honey, shouldn’t you choose a song that’s a little less… well… challenging?”

The diversionary tactic did not work. So we told them that all they needed to achieve their dreams was to work really, really hard! Nothing makes our kids drop the subject quicker than the suggestion there’s work involved.

“You think great singers just walk up onto the stage and belt it out?” I asked Georgia. “No! They practice for hours a day. They train.”

And for the first time ever, our kids decided to listen to us. The World’s Laziest Children got to work.

Ben got picked for a Little League team with a tough, serious coach and practiced like a champ. Georgia spent hours in front of the mirror, practicing and taking my constructive feedback to heart.

And then: They got better. A lot better.

The kid with poor eye-hand coordination has made some great plays at second. Georgia’s performance in the “Talent” Show made me envision a day when, with enough training, she could be Auto-Tuned into pop semi-stardom.

My kids finally learned that the only defense against the world’s dream-crushing forces is hard work. Because sometimes, hard work looks a lot like talent.

The post No Talent for Truth appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

No Talent for Truth

Our son was a newborn when American Idol became a craze more than a decade ago. Greg and I watched the auditions and gawked at the hopefuls who waited hours in line for their chance to hit it big, only to learn from the merciless Simon Cowell that they have not one iota of vocal talent.

We were mesmerized by these poor souls who had no idea they couldn’t even carry a tune. “Don’t these people have friends?” we wondered. I found it especially curious when parents were there. Did these parents knowingly set up the kids for

humiliation, or did their love for their children blind them to what’s so obvious to the rest of us?

Greg and I vowed to be clear-eyed and objective with our kids. We’d never give phony praise or engage in the hyperprotective parenting that creates tender egos, raising kids who can’t function in the workplace without Mommy there to cheer them on.

But eight years later, Ben started baseball and became an aspiring Major League player. Georgia, meanwhile, decided she wants to be a pop star.

Neither displayed a natural gift for their chosen profession, but both were eager for reassurance that they had the right stuff. How do you tell kids with big dreams that, well… they kinda suck?

It seemed crucial to check Ben’s fantasies when he explained he didn’t need to concern himself with schoolwork, since he wanted to be a MLB player. We suggested he get a backup plan.

Then Georgia signed up to perform an Adele song (ADELE!) for the school “Talent” Show. (Yes, I put quotes around talent. Don’t judge. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’VE SEEN!)

Me: “Um, honey, shouldn’t you choose a song that’s a little less… well… challenging?”

The diversionary tactic did not work. So we told them that all they needed to achieve their dreams was to work really, really hard! Nothing makes our kids drop the subject quicker than the suggestion there’s work involved.

“You think great singers just walk up onto the stage and belt it out?” I asked Georgia. “No! They practice for hours a day. They train.”

And for the first time ever, our kids decided to listen to us. The World’s Laziest Children got to work.

Ben got picked for a Little League team with a tough, serious coach and practiced like a champ. Georgia spent hours in front of the mirror, practicing and taking my constructive feedback to heart.

And then: They got better. A lot better.

The kid with poor eye-hand coordination has made some great plays at second. Georgia’s performance in the “Talent” Show made me envision a day when, with enough training, she could be Auto-Tuned into pop semi-stardom.

My kids finally learned that the only defense against the world’s dream-crushing forces is hard work. Because sometimes, hard work looks a lot like talent.

The post No Talent for Truth appeared first on San Diego Magazine.