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3753 India Street, Mission Hills San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 295-9269
I just rediscovered Gelato Vero after about ten years — a bit scary, but I’ve not done much exploring in Mission Hills.
Located at the corner of Washington and India streets (past the 5-north on-ramp if you’re driving up India St.), Gelato Vero is a tiny cafe that serves coffee drinks, twelve flavors of gelato at any one time, and combinations thereof.
I’m not exactly a gelato connoisseur, but what I had was good — a small cup of Caramel with Brownies gelato, along with a medium mocha, for about 6 bucks. Definitely good for a dessert.
The cafe has a small inside seating area, seating along the street for the smokers, and (possibly? check this) a second floor patio where you can take your food.
Best part (aside from the yummy gelato)? Free wi-fi! I’m actually typing this in the cafe, waiting for some friends to finish with their evening classes.
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2929 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 294-2132 Map
1430 Union St., Little Italy San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 294-7001 Map
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.
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3343 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA 92116 (619) 282-0437
Lestat’s is a decent coffee house — they serve good coffee, espresso drinks, sandwiches, and pastries. They’re also open 24 hours a day, have free wi-fi, and located on Adams Avenue near several used bookstores and antique stores. Many nights they also have a performer or two — check the calendar.
The decor is semi-gothic, but I haven’t actually been there at night to see what sort of clientele it attracts — during the day it appear to be “the normal people”.
350 University Ave. (at the corner of University and Fourth)
Hillcrest San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 683-9322 Map
Hours:
Mon-Sun
Bread & Cie is the storefront for what’s become one of the premier sources of bread for many upscale restaurants and grocery stores in San Diego.
The most obvious and best of their items is, of course, the bread. They have all sorts of types, including 3-raisin, black olive, jalapeno-cheese, rosemary, and multigrain, among others. There’s also a daily bread selecting, including goat cheese and garlic (Sunday), challah (Friday), and red pepper and corn(?) (Saturday).
We like it as a destination for breakfast or lunch. Our favorite is the bread plate, which gets you three huge (1 to 1.5 inches thick) slices of any of their breads (mix and match), and your choice of butter, cream cheese, and preserves. Or, you can grab one of their sandwiches — favorites are roast beef and horseradish cream, mozarella and mushroom, or peanut butter, mascarpone cheese, and jelly.
Being a bakery, they also have all sorts of lovely and interesting cakes, tarts, rolls, and pastries. We usually don’t stray too far from the bread, but all the pastries and such we’ve tried have always been wonderful.
As well, they provide a range of breakfasty beverages — coffee, tea, and espresso drinks, as well as orange juice, lemonade, and the standard sodas.
Bread & Cie also sells loaves and rolls of their bread; sometimes if we’re feeling the need, we’ll head down to Bread & Cie to have breakfast before work, and grab a couple of loaves to bring back to the office.
In terms of a wait, more often than not there is a line, and both the parking lot and seating are crowded — but people finish and leave fairly quickly, so the wait usually isn’t that bad. The food is definitely worth it. They also will make their items to go, and it appears that they’ll also do catering.
Bread & Cie is an excellent place for a small (but not light!), inexpensive breakfast, or an excellent lunch sandwich.
