Restaurants

Carolyn Howard
PassPort to San Diego

Food lovers enjoyed a beautiful day along with delicious bites at the annual Taste of Hillcrest, which took place Saturday, April 13.

There were 30 purveyors of food, drink and many times both. Getting to all in four hours would have been daunting, but I did enjoy the offerings of 18 of them. I also walked the event, rather than taking the provided shuttles. Vendors often provided extremely generous samples, so I had to pace myself so as to not fill up after the first few stops.

The dishes were diverse and delicious. Some of my favorites included bites from Amarin Thai Cuisine, with their full buffet of choices including chicken satay, fried shrimp, sweet potato won ton, tofu wrap, mango with sticky rice and Thai ice tea. The servers wore colorful and gorgeous native Thai dress, adding to the authentic experience.

I also enjoyed Hillcrest newcomer Ad Libitum, a contemporary cocktail bar and globally-inspired restaurant, which was serving up shrimp toast and vodka, infused with fresh pineapple and jalapeño. BO-Beau kitchen + caché, known for its California-French cuisine, featured crab claws along with cajon shrimp. Everbowl, a SoCal superfood chain, let you customize acai with an arrangement of fruits and granola. Some desserts I sampled included Edible Arrangement’s chocolate-dipped apple and pineapple smoothie. Also, Lestat’s, the area’s favorite neighborhood cafe, served cold-brewed coffee and lemon bars that were delicious! Those are just a few of the amazing vendors who participated.

As always, the Taste of Hillcrest offered plenty of people watching and a party spirit. I also saw several families enjoying the food scene and atmosphere. As for me, my fourth year at the event did not disappoint, and I can’t wait to return!

For other notable Hillcrest events, such as the Pride of Hillcrest Block Party, Nightmare on Normal Street (the area’s signature Halloween festival), weekly farmers market, monthly car show and more, visit Fabulous Hillcrest.