The Great Food Race on Food Network is drawing attention to the gourmet food truck phenomenon. And there are several making a name for themselves here in San Diego.

One of our favorites is a bright orange roving coffee truck known as Joes On The Nose. Head to the biggest farmers market in San Diego on any given day and look for the lines of people by the giant orange truck. That’s Joes on the Nose.

Daily Specials

We had the pleasure of visiting Joes On the Nose at our favorite farmers market, the Little Italy Mercato. The first thing that you will notice is that Joes on the Nose is not a crappy lunch wagon. It is very clean, has a coffee menu that rivals Krakatoa in depth and creativity. No doubt this roving coffee wonderland would do just fine if they landed on any block in my neighborhood. They just happen to take their show on the road!

The team that runs the truck is equal in quality to the trucks outward appearance. They wear matching gear, huge smiles, and are full of personality. When theyasked my 7 year old sons name for his drink order the guy at the counter proceeded to engage my son in conversation about the meaning of his name. You won’t get that at your average Starbucks.

Now, onto the main course– the drinks. All together we ordered 5 drinks. All of them were excellent. I had the horchata latte and it was amazing from the first sip to the last. My son ordered a mango smoothie. While the small was too large for him to drink, he was gave up and said, “It is really good but my stomach is just too full.” (Daddy obliged by finishing the drink. For the review, of course.) My wife ordered a horchata flavored frappe called, The Jorge.  (Caffeine free since she is pregnant) My daughter ordered something with coconut in it. And our friend got the Green Flash… some sort of green tea slushy drink, which she loved. For those keeping track at home that is five 5-star drinks in one trip! This track record leads me to believe that everything on their menu is of equal quality.

If this place had tables and free wifi it just might have become my new mobile office.

Next time you are out at a farmers market or a local festival, keep an eye out for the orange truck. If you are on Twitter, make sure to follow @joesonthenose to find their daily location.

Visitors to San Diego are likely unaware of the burger war going on in our fine city.

We’ve already reviewed Hodad’s and Crazee Burger, two of my personal favorite burger joints. And yet the word on the street is that Burger Lounge may indeed have the best burger in town. What makes Burger Lounge unique is that all of their beef is grass feed. Essentially, this means that the meat isn’t fatten on grain nor pumped full of hormones to get them to market faster and fatter. This makes for a unique flavored burger that is both lean and flavorful.

A visit to Burger Lounge is a minimalistic experience. From decor to food offerings the look and feel is quite different from your typical busy burger joint. They have a shallow menu, few tables, and only a few beverage offerings. What they lack in depth they attempt to make up for in quality. The burgers are good, the seating is unique, and the beverage options are great.

I have to disclose, this review took two trips. With much anticipation we visited a few weeks back and it didn’t go well. While the flavor of our food was fine and the quality of the experience was great… we were all disappointed with messy burgers. The burgers simply fell all over the plate and we ended up with a tasty mess that left us disappointed. At the urging on some friends we went back and gave it another shot.

The second trip was great. Our burgers were tasty and our experience was much more relaxed and enjoyable. During both trips we took our kids and the staff was very happy to make it a fun experience for the kids.

I will continue the debate like this. For the one of the best burgers we’ve had in San Diego, head to Burger Lounge. It’s not our favorite overall burger joint experience, but the burgers themselves are tasty and lean. (About the only burger our picky daughter will actually eat.) Fries and onion rings are lacking… like they should take them off the menu! Get a salad to complete the SoCal vibe.

Photo from searocketbistro.com

Located in the hip North Park neighborhood Sea Rocket Bistro stands apart as a truly unique concept. While North Park is full of great places to eat, no other establishment embraces the aesthetic of serving sustainable, locally grown and harvested foods quite like this place. Sea Rocket not only embraces that concept theoretically, they prove that you can do it well!

On a recent Wednesday night we strolled in at 6 and were very pleased to be greeted with a window table and a comfortable server. Knowing that Sea Rocket specialized in locally harvested fish, we were heavily dependent on our server to act as a guide through the simple, yet ample menu. Likewise, we continued this dependency through a local beer and wine list of San Diego area beverages.

For our starter we enjoyed mussels and clams as well as some fantastic bread and flavored butter. (We chose to skip the house special of raw sea urchin. We were in the mood for adventure, but that was a smidgen beyond our comfort level.) The following two courses, we played it safe and enjoyed the recommendations of our server. We loved that the entrees weren’t so abundant that we had to shy away from dessert. We topped off our meal with a kumquat bread pudding that was both tasty and light. While our meal was full of fresh seafood it is notable that Sea Rocket Bistro offers a full array of vegetarian dishes.

When visiting Sea Rocket you really need to accept that part of the fun is that everything is local. The food is local. The drink is local. The clientele is local. The staff is local. I don’t think their goal is to please your inner food critic. I think their goal is to prove that to prove that you can have a vibrant, great bistro fully supplied and supporting by the local economy. And that is a goal I think they achieve with flying colors.

Geeky side notes: As a social media junkie I was pleased to see that Sea Rocket actively maintains both their website and a blog. Additionally, you can follow them on Twitter. (We actually heard about Sea Rocket on Twitter!) I’ve been especially impressed at how active they are in the community and how well their blog documents involvement. Oh, and you don’t want to miss this little detail. You can go to their food map and see exactly where everything they serve comes from! Transparency in a restaurant? Imagine if that concept took off!

Mama’s Bakery and Lebanese Deli is an unassuming neighborhood gem tucked away in the North Park community of San Diego.  Just off El Cajon Boulevard, Mama’s is easily missed unless you know that it is actually a house converted into a restaurant.  The casual dining room is best described as a walled-in patio but that doesn’t keep customers from flocking to Mama’s. Mama’s home cooking has a way of doing that to you.

What’s not to love about warm homemade flatbread straight from the oven?  The portion sizes at Mama’s are generous and you won’t find a single menu item over $10.00.  For a small restaurant you might be surprised by the extensive menu.  The menu is traditional (hummus, Shawarma and wraps) and includes many vegetarian items.  I ordered the Spinach and Cheese Pie for $4.99 (homemade flatbread stuffed with spinach, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, diced onions, sumac and olive oil).  Though simple, my meal was flavorful and filling.

Based on other people’s reviews, I had high expectations for Mama’s Bakery and Deli.  The food is satisfying (I’ve been spoiled by amazing Lebanese food in Detroit, MI) and the combination of good food and excellent value is impossible to beat.