If you haven’t heard already, North Park, has the best stuff. I know I’m being vague with “stuff” but I intend it to be that way. North Park has amazing food, art, drinks, nightlife and performances. If Balboa is the heart of San Diego, North Park is the brain and liver of the city. All creative concoctions and cocktails hail from this quarter of SD. Anyways, I wanted to dedicate this post to explaining why North Park is sick.
The Bars/ Drinks/ Fun Stuff
OOOH the nightlife. My favorite part of San Diego. If you want a killer cocktail or to see your favorite band in an incredible concert venue, North Park is the place to be. There’s a wide variety of overpriced drinks, cheap pitchers, fun games, and good people. Take a stroll down 30th street and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. I’ll start with my personal favorite, The Coin-Op. The best way to describe this magical location is an arcade for grown ups. Pac-Man, Street Fighter, Basketball, Pinball, they’ve got it. If you want to get down and put your money on your joystick skills, you’ve found home.
Okay the next one might actually be my favorite bar. Soda and Swine. If you ever want to take a date out and pretend you’re mildly sophisticated but love to eat french fries, Soda and Swine is the place to be. The olde style interior, well dressed bartenders, and dim oil lights on the tables creates a deep romantic experience. The interior is ridden with particular paintings and bookshelfs that really make you feel like you’re sitting in the library of Roosevelt Franklin or railroad tycoon’s personal library. Anyways, chat it up, the crowd is there to pocket their smartphones and have some real facetime over a frothy whisky sour. Best part is, the restaurant next door will drop food off at your bar table. Be aware that they have world renowned craft soda floats.
Last but not least, there is the Observatory. The only thing better than the venue is the wide array of performers this incredible hall continues to pick up. This is one of my few bookmarked pages on my computer and a bookmark I have yet to regret. I don’t even really think I can do this place the justice with just words so I’ll just let this be a call to action to click the link.
The Food
I travel for a wide variety of reasons: to see things, meet people, escape my terrible life, and eat food. Food tourism is a key part of my existance and I have found my soul continuously returning to North Park. The massive variety of food styles and price ranges keeps restaurant hoppers on the move. Whether it’s sweet ceviche from Tostadas or a the perfect gyro from Olympic Cafe, get in there.
The Art/ other weird stuff
North Park hosts an eccentric crowd. The demographic includes older San Diego lifetime citizens, young professionals, and the arts fartsy people/ trendy kids who have Jazz/Metal punk bands and an edgy lawn chair in their front yard. The diverse population have realistically created some amazing things however. Every street corner is occupied by eccentric and interesting painting or installation. Keep your eyes open, they’re everywhere…
Get a DD, walk into the first restaurant you walk by, grab a beer and annihilate your friend in a game of Mario Kart at the Coin-Op, hit the Observatory and watch Miike Snow or Rae Sremmurd kill a performance. Just go to North Park.
San Diego Secrets 