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Saturday, June 30, 2012

ARCHIVE / IS SAN DIEGO'S 30TH THE BEST CRAFT BEER STREET IN AMERICA?






YOU BET—Men’s Journal magazine a couple of years ago called 30th Street, a three mile run from the North Park to South Park neighborhoods in mid-San Diego the top beer town in the U.S. Mens Journal mag writer Christian DeBenedetti says the “variety of beers across 30th Street is the most eclectic in the country.”

To celebrate all things beer and tasty bites of food, bars, restaurants, and coffee houses along 30th Street have formed a marketing consortium called www.30thstreet.org, which also posts a popular 30th Street blog: http://the2line.blogspot.com/

Jay Porter, owner of The Linkery and El Take IT Easy (both on 30th St.) is one of the driving forces behind the loose confederation of saloon, bistro and coffee owners. He’s on record saying “The 30th Street Corridor, I propose, is the best culinary street in the nation. If I'm wrong about that (and I'm open to hearing about other streets), at the very least it's really fun and delicious and has hundreds of taps of local craft beer.”

One of the group’s most successful promotions to date is the monthly happy hour event each 30th of the month.

Called 30th on 30th, Porter points out, “Here's the program in general: on the 30th of each month, a bunch of restaurants and bars on and near 30th Street offer specials, such as a feature appetizer for $3. This makes it easy for you to go on a restaurant crawl and check out all the amazing places on the 30th Street Corridor. Most places start their specials between 5 and 6pm. So come on out and join us!"

30th on 30th falls on a Saturday, which will make for a lively weekend in North and South Parks tomorrow night.

But don’t just take Jay’s word for it. The Portland Oregonian put it nicely: "The chorus of the San Diego area's dynamic food and beer scene sings most sweetly along the city's 30th Street Corridor"
Three miles can be long trek, especially during short happy hours, but San Diego Transit has a bus line that travels the length of the 30th Street Corridor. It’s called the No. 2 Line or as Westcoastersd.com, a beer centric monthly magazine and web/blog dubs it, “The Deuce is the best public bus line in the U.S.”

Jay Porter readily agrees.

Here’s a list of 30th Street establishments listed on http://the2line.blogspot.com/
• (--Suncrest Dr--)
• Cantina Mayahuel
• (--Adams Ave--)
• Kadan Club
• Jayne's Gastropub
• Air Conditioned
• (--El Cajon Blvd--)
• Crazee Burger
• Ritual Tavern
• Sicilian Thing
• Toronado
• Red Wing Bar & Grill
• Caffe Calabria
• The Office
• Riki Sushi
• El Take It Easy
• Sipz
• Rancho's
• (--University Ave--)
• Heaven Sent Desserts
• Bar Pink
• Urban Solace
• True North
• The Linkery
• 30th Street Cafe
• Paesano
• Eddie's Place
• Lefty's Pizzeria
• Veg-N-Out
• Mosaic Wine Bar
• North Park Fish Market
• The Smoking Goat
• Bluefoot Bar
• (--Upas St--)
• Cardamom Cafe
• Zensei Sushi
• Alexander's
• Sea Rocket Bistro
• (--Switzer Canyon--)
• Vagabond
• Daily Scoop
• Rebecca's Coffeehouse
• Cafe Madeleine
• Whistle Stop
• The Station
• (--Grape St--)
• The Big Kitchen
• Hamilton's
• Alchemy
• (--Beech St--)
NEAR 30TH
• Tiger! Tiger! (El Cajon Blvd)
• Carnitas Snack Shack (University Ave)
• Splash Wine Lounge (University Ave)
• Urbn Pizza (University Ave)

PS: Just to see if you’re paying attention one tasty 30th Street restaurant in North Park is missing from the list above. Post a comment. If no, I’ll post an answer in a couple of days.

UPDATE: The only restaurant missing from above list is the tasty Italian/American eatery Il Postino on 30th near University.

Images from respective restaurant websites.

Captions: Top to bottom

--The Linkery, 3794 30th Street at North Park Way. Tip: Late Nite Happy Hour: After 10 pm, all Linkery draft beers are 4 bucks. They’re open late every night, except Sunday. Probably has one of the most complete web site of any restaurant this blog has viewed: www.thelinery.com

--Jaynes Gastropub, 4677 30th Street, near Adams Avenue, 619-563-1011, www.jaynesgastropub.com. Tip: Intimate place, especially the patio. Quality cuisine. Inventive. Well worth venturing beyond the plain Jayne exterior.

--Alchemy Restaurant, 1503 30th Street at Beech, 619-225-0616, www.alchemysandiego.com. Tip: You’ll never go wrong with the quality cuisine or atmosphere and street parking is always available.

--Google Map of North and South Park neighborhoods showing the 30th Street corridor.

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