Carnitas' Snack Shack in Eater San Diego's Essential 38 Restaurants
January 8, 2013
“An instant classic…”
The 38 Essential San Diego Restaurants
Tuesday, January 8, 2013, by Candice Woo
Introducing the Eater 38, your answer and ours to any question that begins, “Can you recommend a restaurant…?” This specially selected group covers much of the city, spans myriad cuisines, and aims to collectively satisfy all of your restaurant needs. Every couple of months, we’ll be adding worthy restaurants that were omitted, have newly become eligible (restaurants must be open at least six months), or have stepped up their game.
The first installment in this survey of the San Diego food landscape runs the gamut from the farm-to-table icon, A. R. Valentien in La Jolla to Mariscos El Pescador, a fish taco truck in a Chula Vista parking lot. There’s a good number of Japanese and Mexican entries (two cuisines that San Diego does pretty well), some standby’s (Tender Greens, Cafe Chloe), a new instant classic (Carnitas’ Snack Shack) and a few gems that you may not have tried yet (Wine Vault & Bistro, Aqui es Texcoco).
CARNITAS’ SNACK SHACK
2012’s biggest success story, this pork-centric spot from Chef Hanis Cavin is bound to multiply this year, and inspire other chefs to venture out on their own.