A Lot of Eating to Do in San Diego

The Lot

2620 Truxtun Road

San Diego, CA 92106

People often ask me when we will visit San Diego for restaurant reviews. If you click on the interactive dining map link at the top left of this page, you'll see that it's a valid question. In the fifteen-plus years I've been writing this blog, I've only reviewed one restaurant in our nation's eighth-most populous city, which is just an hour and a half away from Orange County. It's a bit embarrassing. 

I know I would love San Diego's restaurant scene. They have all my favorites: California burritos, fish tacos, carne asada fries, excellent Italian food, breakfast burritos, and plenty of great burger options. That just scratches the surface, and I can't explain why we haven't visited America's Finest City to explore their culinary offerings. I can only promise that we will correct this oversight. Let's start with this review now. 

Like my other San Diego restaurant review, we met up with Katie's cousins in the area. After far too much back and forth via text messages, the difficult Yvette finally agreed to a restaurant I suggested. Although she initially said any restaurant would be fine, she began to impose parameters on my suggestions: the place needed to accept reservations, she changed the area where we had to eat, and then the number of people changed. I really feel for her husband Steve, who has the patience of a saint to put up with her. 

We finally settled on The Lot, located at Liberty Station. This former naval training center has been transformed into a commercial development featuring retail shops, hotels, art galleries, and restaurants. Liberty Public Market has been on my list of places to try since it opened nine years ago, but a food hall isn't suitable for dining with a party of eight. 

Honestly, the rest of Liberty Station's restaurant options did not really impress me. They have some chains we have back home, like Slater's 50/50, Oggi's, Luna Grill, and Tender Greens, and other establishments didn't seem like they would suit a group of eight with different tastes. The Lot took our reservation for eight people at 6:30 on a Friday night without any issues, and surprisingly, the rest of our group arrived right on time. 

The Lot combines a movie theater, bar, and full-service restaurant. They have four locations, including this one, with another at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. From what I understand, they rebranded all their restaurants late last year. They are now known as Zentrl Kitchen and Bar, a California-Asian fusion restaurant with a Mexican twist. I’m unsure if the food we tried is still available at their restaurant, but the menu we ordered from is available at the movie theater, so it all may come from the same kitchen. I've rambled longer than one of Yvette's lengthy stories, so let's check out the food. 

We were excited to meet Gabi's new man, Brennan, and he could not have been nicer when I shoved my phone in front of him to take a picture before his first bite of the Fried Chicken Sandwich ($23) he ordered. The menu states that this sandwich was dressed with cilantro mango coleslaw and roasted habanero BBQ sauce, all in a brioche bun. Since I had just met Brennan, it may have been too much too soon if I had asked him for a bite. He had no complaints I could hear, but he was primarily focused on Gabi as it should be. 

Yvette was very proud to show off her Tuna Poke Bowl ($23) and we were all excited when it got to the table as well, because that would mean that she would be busy eating it, and it would give one of the other seven of us a chance to speak. This good-looking bowl came with a big mound of sticky rice in the center, then cubed tuna, cucumbers, sliced avocado, seaweed salad, and cherry tomatoes surrounding the rice. This did not seem like it would be served at a movie theater. The poke was dressed well and the ingredients were all very fresh. Two thumbs up from Yvette. 

I'm unsure who got these Ahi Poke Nachos ($23), as I hurried around the table snapping pictures before eating my meal. A bed of wonton chips was topped with yellowfin tuna, green onions, avocado, pickled red onions, and furikake seasoning then drizzled with a cilantro sriracha aioli. This looked good in the picture, but upon closer inspection, they appeared stingy with the amount of tuna on here. I zoomed in and could only see twelve small pieces, unless they hid underneath the wonton chips. The tuna poke bowl might be the better value, as they cost the same.  

The night's least impressive-looking item was The Lot Chicken Tenders ($20). These came five to an order and were served with french fries. They were straight from the freezer but were good sized and served their purpose. The fries were okay, but could have been crisper. 

Katie is always a wildcard regarding what she will order when we are out to eat. I've been with her for 16 years, and this might be the first time I've seen her get a Chopped Turkey Cobb ($22). This take on a Cobb salad had just what you'd expect: blue cheese crumbles, avocado, cubed turkey, crumbled bacon, hard-boiled egg, cucumber, lettuce mix, and a champagne vinaigrette to tie everything together. This was also supposed to have tomatoes, but Katie opted to have them removed. She felt this salad looked better than it actually was. She questioned the freshness of the lettuce, and was not too thrilled with the bland vinaigrette dressing. She'd get something else next time. 

My dining partners were all over the place with what they chose for dinner this evening. These Pretzel Bites ($16) were a hit on the other side of the table. The pretzel balls were salted and served with a jalapeno nacho cheese dip. 

A salad or appetizer would not quell my hunger after our drive down here, so I selected the Lot Burger to satisfy my hunger. This good-looking burger included lettuce, tomato, onion, secret sauce, and cheese on a glossy brioche bun. The menu called for American cheese to be included here, but I chose cheddar instead. The burger was good, but not in the upper echelon of burgers I've had. They need more seasoning and secret sauce included here. The produce was relatively fresh, and I was happy they used leaf lettuce, instead of the usual humdrum iceberg most places use. This burger would have also been better if I had gotten some bacon, it would have woken up my taste buds. 

Okay, so this is not a great representation of the food scene in San Diego, but it was good for movie theater food. Not that I've ever eaten anything other than popcorn or candy at the movies before this. It was way more appetizing than those hot dogs that rotated around at the concession stand when I was growing up. The food was restaurant quality, but what we had this evening would never be described as craveable. We did experience some outstanding hospitality, as our server was right on top of everything we needed during our visit. I promise we will return to San Diego in the future, as I know I have a lot of eating to do in this scenic city to our south. 

Out of five roller coasters (because San Diego is home to the Giant Dipper, a 100-year-old wooden roller coaster at Belmont Park in Mission Beach), five being best to zero being worst, gets 2.5 roller coasters. 

For more information about The Lot, check out their website by clicking here: https://www.thelotent.com/movie-theater/libertystation