We first visited Kitima Extraordinary Thai because my SO had to do a report on a concert of sorts for a music class, and Kitima had a live jazz performance that night. I’m quite glad she found it.

It’s not the cheapest of places, but for a Saturday night out with live music the price is great. We had a couple of appetizer platters to start with; my favorites of those are the Thai Stick (flattened chicken breast grilled and drizzled in a curry peanutty sauce) and the Ka-Tong, partly because it’s good and partly because I like the name. (Sounds like: El Kabong!!)

I had a Thai Iced Coffee to start; I love the milky sweet blend of coffee in that drink. The iced coffee here was perfect; not too sweet, but not too bitter, either.

I had the Mas-Mun Curry, which was a yummy rice-chicken-and-veggies dish in a sauce that reminded me of the Thai Panang from World Curry; the meat was definitely better in this dish, though.

My SO had the Power Rice, which is like a fried rice dish, but really well done. I tried a few bites; it had a really nice blend of flavors.

I ended the meal with the fried bananas and ice cream; quite a good dish, garnished with raspberry jam.

Ambience was nice; it’s a thin shop that stretches way back, with loft seating, which is where the jazz ensemble played. They also were very good, and made the atmosphere quite nice.

All in all it was good; we’ll definitely be back at some point.

Extraordinary Desserts makes a perfect after-dinner or late-evening destination to satisfy one’s sweet tooth. Typically about $10-$15 per person for a pastry or piece of cake and a drink, it’s not necessarily for every day, but every dessert there we’ve tried has been wonderful, so it’s definitely worth the money.

Extraordinary Desserts has an amazing selection of teas that are all mixed by hand, and an excellent selection of coffee drinks. My favorite is the Valrohna chocolate mocha; Kristin likes the “Chocolate Mint” and “Lover Girl” teas.

Desserts come in a wide range of styles and flavors; they always have something chocolatey, something fruity, something pastry, and sometimes a mix of each. Every night finds a different menu of special items, often served with their flavorful ice cream/gelatos on the side.

Whenever one goes, there’s always a line and both inside and out are usually crowded, but it’s not too difficult to find a table, and the line usually doesn’t last more than ten minutes.

The restaurant does an excellent job of packing orders to go; they even include cups of the various dessert sauces that would come with one’s order to garnish the plate.

Atmospherically, it’s a great place to sit and chat over food and a drink; during the summer, the outside seating is wonderful, and the inside is decorated with owner Karen Krasne’s collected object d’art, some of which are also offered for sale.

Overall, Extraordinary Desserts provides a tasty treat that, while not something one can do every night for just dessert, provides a tasty treat that’s worth the amount paid.

(Note, not 100% sure if the website is official, but it does have most of the menu on it.)

Pomegranate is an absolutely amazing Russian/Georgian restaurant. A small, unassuming place on El Cajon Boulevard a block west of Texas Street, you will never walk out of there hungry or disappointed.

They do prefer if you make reservations, but you can walk in unannounced if necessary.

One of the owners, Marko, sits at a table in the corner, watching over the diners like a godfather, and he’s always up for a chat if you’re in the mood. The other owner, Jon, runs the kitchen and produces finer food than comes out of the more expensive restaurants in the gaslamp.

If it’s your first time there, try the 7-salad sampler of appetizers that’s not on the menu; that will give you a good taste of the food finery one can expect. For an entree, try the Georgian Eagle (half chicken stewed in spices), the Golubtsi (meat wrapped up in cabbage leaves and cooked), or any of the other delicious items. If you’re not feeling as adventurous, there’s always the beef stroganoff, which is also impeccably cooked.

For dessert, I like the Babushka’s Surprise — baked apple filled with nuts and fruits and served next to ice cream. If you’re looking for something to double your pulse rate and kick your inevitable food coma, try the Toad Sweat ice cream along with the Turkish Coffee — both excellent items.

My S.O. likes the samovar tea (but don’t ask for it to be iced!); I like the Georgian wheat beer and the medium-strength ginger ale (they have a strong spicy ginger ale that I haven’t dared try yet).

All of the staff want to make sure that your entree is to your liking; once when I ordered the falling-apart barbecue beef, the chef noticed that I was cutting away the fat (I’m that kind of person) and brought me a new cut of meat without the fat.

Pomegranate is one place where we’re never disappointed by what’s served, and we always feel like we get more than our money’s worth.

Studio Diner is more of an upscale joint than a Denny’s. It has a diner feel but without the unhappy kitsch that most 50’s diner replicas have. Their food is pretty good, though a bit pricey.

Located on the premises of the Stu Segall studios in San Diego (where they shoot actual TV shows), they’re open 24 hours and definitely a decent place for late night eats.

Hash House a Go Go is a great restaurant for any meal. We primarily go for breakfast — my favorite is the Sage Fried Chicken Benedict, a tower of food with mashed potatoes, Andy’s famous biscuits, mozzarella cheese, fried chicken, and eggs all stacked and held together by the Hash House trademark spike of rosemary. That, along with a S’mores Mocha (an espresso mocha with a graham cracker soaking in it, topped by brulee’d marshmallow creme) makes it a complete breakfast.

They’re quite good for dinner, too — we’ve never been disappointed by any meal. Always go expecting to take half your entree home with you, though — the platters are two and a half feet wide and filled with food. Our dogs love when we go to this restaurant, too.

Invariably there will be a line of people out the door, but the food is worth the wait (sometimes 1+ hour in the morning, less in the evening).

Lamont Street Grill is a great sit-down restaurant that fits the bill for when you want a nice restaurant with good food but down-to-earth staff and prices.

We’ve been going to Lamont Street Grill for at least 7 or 8 years now; we’ll go on a whim, to celebrate something, and we’ve even had business dinners there. Hidden in a former house between Grand and Garnet in Pacific Beach, it can be full, but doesn’t always get crowded.

The chef at Lamont Street designed all the dishes, and while everything is good, he’s best known for his soups. Every night the soup is different; even if the combination of items in the soup sounds odd, try it anyway, as chances are it’ll be good.

In addition to the food, there’s a full bar, in which they serve an excellent variety of martinis. I had my first chocolate martini at Lamont Street — the bartender was experimenting and gave me something new.

We’ll usually start with at least a couple of the appetizers. Lately we’ve been ordering the bleu-cheese mushroom caps — mushrooms served in a cast-iron skillet filled with sizzling butter and melted bleu cheese. A friend of ours’ favorite is the won-ton-like spinach and roasted garlic cream cheese pillows. The sauces that come with the appetizers are as amazing as the soups, and we’ll often sop up the remainder with the fresh-baked bread that comes with the meal.

You also really can’t go wrong with the entrees. They’ll always have two different specials for the day, but the standbys are great too. We’ve had the filet mignon with roasted garlic whole grain mustard butter, the baby back ribs, baked chicken in a puff pastry, and the sauteed shrimp and scallops with gorgonzola over pasta.

One of our favorites that cycles on and off the menu is a spicy chicken on grilled romaine salad; even if this (or another dish) isn’t on the menu, though, ask your waiter — if they have the ingredients in the kitchen, chances are they’ll make the dish for you.

Last, you must make sure to save room for dessert. There’s a lovely variety, my favorite of which is the kahlua and cream cheese crepes, drizzled in caramel.

Lamont Street Grill is a great restaurant for pretty much any occasion, or no occasion at all, when you want decent food in a nice atmosphere.