Loading…

We couldn't find that.
Let's go back home and try again.

Best Of 2010 Guest Favorites

Published

Jenny Craig, Co-founder of Jenny Craig

 

Favorite Restaurant: Pamplemousse Grille for the variety of delicious meals that they will always prepare with healthful ingredients.

 

Best Fine Dining: Mille Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe for its ambiance. I get the feeling I’m dining in Paris whenever I go there. It’s nice to have the piano bar for an after-dinner cocktail while enjoying the music, and the patio during summer months with soft jazz is tops!

 

Best Casual Dining: Pasta Pronto across from Flower Hill. The food is always healthy and they have gluten-free meals. Being a single woman it’s so convenient to take home foods already cooked and displayed in the case in mouth-watering fashion.

 

Best Family Restaurant: My family loves Red Traction’s in Del Mar. The boys most often order hamburgers, their favorite food, and they tell me that Tracton’s has the best hamburgers in town. The little ones like to order pasta, which they prepare just the way you want it.

 

Best Quick Bite: Milton’s in Flower Hill. Often I just have a bowl of soup for lunch and Milton’s has the best variety and most delicious daily. The service is quick so I can zoom in and out in very little time.

 

Best Restaurant Service: I think Pamplemousse has the best service in the county. They seem to anticipate your every need and react quickly. And there’s always a friendly greeting awaiting as you enter.

 

Best Restaurant Décor: Bertrand at Mister A’s is hard to beat. Imagine dining on the top floor of a beautiful building while enjoying the many lights in Downtown San Diego. An occasional plane will seem so close on its approach to the airport that you imagine that you could reach out and touch it — a very romantic setting indeed!

 

 

 

 

Best Men’s Clothing Store: I like Matti D in Del Mar when I shop for my sons. The clothing is contemporary and chic. I think it’s important for the store to know the body type you’re buying garments for so that they can suggest proper-fitting garments. They know my sons and what they like so shopping there is easy for me.

 

Best Women’s Clothing Store: I like La Donna in La Jolla. She has a wide variety of European fashions that none of the department stores carry. She knows what I like and invariably will pull out just the item I’m looking for. The clothes must fit right or she won’t sell them to you.

 

Best Children’s Clothing Store: Sweetpea in Flower Hill. I lived in New York this past year and I can tell you that no store there or here in San Diego has a greater or more beautiful selection, or is more affordable than Sweetpea. It is the first place I go when I need a gift for an infant on up to pre-teen. 

 

Best Women’s Shoes: For inventory it’s hard to beat Nordstrom. They carry a wide selection of designer shoes in all widths and sizes. Small boutiques will sometimes have lovely shoes but many have such small inventories that I rarely find my size in the style I like. That has never happened to me at Nordstrom.

 

Best Formal Wear: For women I like La Donna in La Jolla. She doesn’t have a huge inventory but what’s there is outstanding and you’re not likely to see someone else wearing the same thing at an event.

 

Best Jewelry: H. Moradi Jewelers located at 1230 Prospect Street in La Jolla with valet parking. Pauline and her husband are delightful to do business with. I can guarantee you will not find fairer pricing of their very beautiful and unique adornments. They are jewelers you can trust! Each time I visit there I always leave with something wonderful to wear or a gift at birthdays or holidays. 

 

Best Accessories: I like Saks Fifth Avenue located in Fashion Valley Mall. They carry designer handbags, costume jewelry, and a wide selection of designer shoes, hats, gloves, and scarves.

 

Best Lingerie: I usually buy my lingerie at Neiman Marcus. They dedicate a large area of the store to intimate apparel so I can always find just the thing I’m looking for.

 

 

 

           

 

Best Private School: Frances Parker is my choice. Several of my grandchildren have graduated from FP and some are attending or have been accepted at very prestigious universities. So in my opinion it is the best college preparatory school in San Diego.

 

Best Public School: Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School was chosen by their parents when my grandchildren were younger. The classes were smaller, which allowed for individual attention to students who needed it. Since my grandchildren are all grown now and at the university level I can only go by what I hear from parents of attending students. The word is still that the school is tops!

 

Best Children’s Activity Center/Place: Nothing beats taking kids to a ball game. Memories are created when parents and children share the experience of cheering their home team to victory. 

 

Best Toy Store: I like Thinker Things because it has great teaching toys and the owner John will assist you in selecting just the right toy or book that is age appropriate. Of course Toys R Us is always good if you’re looking for a wide variety of toys for all ages.

 

Best Domestic Staffing: Still looking for it!

 

Best Veterinary Clinic: Helen Woodward has the latest and most advanced equipment for treating pets. They are also a wonderful source for pet adoptions.

 

 

Best Local Spa: The Spa at Rancho Valencia. Fabulous massages, facials, and body scrubs. You can sit by the pool after a relaxing massage and have a healthy lunch served to you while lounging in your bathrobe.

 

 

 

 

Favorite Destination Hotel: Hotel Ritz Paris. Whenever I go to Paris it’s where I stay. It’s conveniently within walking distance to museums, fine restaurants, great churches, and the finest shopping anywhere throughout the world.

 

Favorite Destination Spa: Spa Ojai. I have never had better spa treatments anywhere in the world. The campus is lush and inviting to stroll around. The quaint town of Ojai is within walking distance from the spa, which makes for fun and easy shopping as you get a little exercise. There are many unique items one cannot find anywhere else.

 

Favorite Domestic Destination: Manhattan, New York. I leased an apartment and spent most of last year in NYC. It was a wonderful experience and I look forward to doing it again.

 

 

Best Local Theater Company: North Coast Rep in Solana Beach. The theatre is relatively small, which gives the feeling that you’re part of the play. The play selection is varied and most entertaining. 

 

Favorite Radio Personality: Glenn Beck on Fox News. Glenn has done a lot of research and delivers information that most of us would miss with our busy schedules. As a conservative I am thrilled that he has helped to awaken the Conservative movement in this country. We need to get back to the values and principles that this country was founded on with strict adherence to the Constitution and its laws. Our future depends on it!

 

Favorite Athlete: Donnie Edwards. Donnie and his lovely wife Kathryn are so delightful and have contributed much to our community.

 

Best Chef: Jeffrey Strauss. Jeffrey has a wonderful knack for catering — whether it’s a party of five or 500 he will have the same delicious food and good service for any event. So he is really a full-service chef. Martin Woesle at Mille Fleurs is the best French chef in San Diego but he does not cater in private homes. However I can tell you that Martin’s wife Elizabeth is fabulous at home catering. I have had her do so on a number of occasions and each one has been supremely special.

 

Favorite Philanthropist: Pam and Marty Wygod. They have contributed much to our community. When we look for support, Pam is always there to lead the charge.

 

Best Up & Comer: Meg Whitman. With her years of experience at eBay and her history of success in that company, she is the best qualified to take California out of the red and into the black. She will encourage companies to come to California instead of the exodus we have seen happen in the past few years.

 

Best Nonprofit: MOM (Military Outreach Ministries) at Camp Pendleton. They furnish food, diapers, and household needs to young families who have a parent deployed overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan. These kids live on very little pay and desperately need our help.

 

 

Kiptyn Locke, Entrepreneur & The Bachelorette alumnus

 

Most Romantic Date Spot: San Diego Airport, Lindberg Field. Show up, spontaneously pick a flight and go. Romance (to me) is not caring about the details, just knowing who you want to share it with and enjoying the adventure together.

 

Best Real Estate Company/Realtor: Brian Kwasny, Retrospect Properties. I had a great experience working with Brian and I know a dozen other people who will tell you the same thing. Personal, knowledgeable, committed. One of life’s bigger decisions, choose your wingman accordingly.

 

Favorite Radio Personality: AJ from “AJ In The Morning.” Hilarious, fun, positive. They’ve been very supportive to me as well. That Super Bowl factor where you don’t know if you’re there for the game/music or the commercials/talking. Plus, any guy who puts himself in a crane and demands toys for kids is all right with me.

 

Best Live Music Venue: Belly Up Tavern! Great venue, great people, big enough for a good show but small enough to keep it intimate. Great for events too. Big fan of the B.U.T.

 

Best Surf Spot: George’s in Cardiff. I love beach breaks and with so many other good spots close by, George’s is never too crowded. I’ve been going there for two decades and my love and loyalty hasn’t changed. Post-surf lunch and dinner spots around it are great, too.

 

Best Place For A First Date: I like the Gaslamp District. Keep it fun and not too formal — a glass of wine at Syrah, a tequila at La Puerta. Dinner cuisines of all types. Plenty of options and a great setting to get to know someone.

 

More Best Of 2010:

Home & Garden

Fashion

Dining

Health & Beauty

Family

Education

Pets

Travel

Transportation

Arts

Events & Entertaining

People

Comments

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *