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The Best of Coronado

Who wants mediocre when you can have The Best? That’s why we ask you, Coronado residents, to point us in the right direction, year after year.

Here are the BEST Ways to Start Your Day!

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• Bagels: Find them warm, lovin’ and from the oven at Bruegger’s Bagels.

• Bread: What’s the Italian name for “the baker?” It’s Il Fornaio, of course!

• Breakfast: For the third year in a row, you’ve tipped us off to tiny but mighty tasty Crown Bistro.

• Coffee: For a whale of a great brew, head to Starbucks.

• Donuts: The good news: Village Donuts wins! The bad news? Village Donuts closed! No more Coronado Bakery either, and we hear that Krispy Kreme Donuts hasn’t had the best year either. Time to switch
to scones, muffins or bagels, don’t you think?

• Muffin: They’re big, they’re flavorful, and they’re at Villa Nueva!

• Pastries: Barbara Massey is the Le Cordon Bleu-trained baker working her magic in the back of
the European-style café, Tartine; stop here for rich and moist petite, crunchy raspberry turnovers and flavorful and flaky lemon tarts.

Lunch Bunch BESTs

• Deli: Did someone say pastrami? Potato pancakes? Miracle Mile wins by a mile.

• Fastest Service: You bet there’s fast food in Nado…You’ll find it fast and delicious at Miracle Mile, Spiro’s Gyros and Stretch’s. (They all tied!)

• Hamburger: Danny’s Slamburger slams it home again.

• Lunch Deal for CHS Students: The teens make their way to Crown City Grille and More (Hamburgers and chili fries are among their raves) and Alexander’s where they can get pizza by the slice.

• Ice Cream: If it’s high time for ice cream, move on in to Mootime on the avenue or at the Hotel del!

• Outside Dining: You all just love watching the people walk on by along Orange Avenue from the wide patio at Costa Azul.

• Salad: My favorite is the Golden State with candied walnuts, dried apricots and bleu cheese; you can
find yours, too. Lettuce head to Tent City!

• Soup: In the home stretch for best soup, it’s …. Stretch’s! Try the minestrone!

• Take-out: We really can’t resist that little Mexican joint squeezed out of the back of Clayton’s Café: Clayton’s Mexican Take-out. Yes, you can have three out of three: good, cheap and fast!

• Overall Value: When reasonable prices, delightful ambiance and fine fare come together, that equals value. You found them all at Tartine and Spiro’s Gyros.

Diversity Rules! Here’s Our BEST Ethnic Eateries:

• Asian: Bistro D’Asia

• French: Chez Loma

• Greek: Spiro’s Gyros

• Italian: Il Fornaio

• Mexican: Miguel’s Cocina

• Pizza: Alexander’s

• Sushi: Peohe’s Ricardo Rios is the master behind the rolls.

• Thai: Swaddee

Put Your BEST Foot (and Face) Forward:

• Barber: Beth Abare at Bow Ties

• Facialist: Penny King at Domani

• Colorist: Christopher Ryan at Total Experience

• Hairstylist: Christopher Ryan at Total Experience

• Manicurist: Trish McHenry at Island Beauty

• Massage Therapist: Cheri Paquin, Bamboo Yoga Studio & Bodywork Center

• Overall Workout: Jazzercise

• Personal Trainer: SueEllen Rowe

• Workout Instructor: Lois Hughes, Jazzercise

•Workout Studio: Island Fitness

• Salon: Roses The Salon

• Spa: Sea Spa at Loews Coronado Bay Resort

• Yoga teacher: Cathy Rogers Evans, BambooYoga Studio & Bodywork Center

Here’s Your Guide to the BEST Shops & Services:

• Antique Store: The Attic

• Accountant/CPA: Charles Hayes

• Accountancy Firm: Hayes & Associates

• Architect: Kevin Rugee

• Art Gallery: Art & Frames by Wood Gallery

• Auto Mechanic: John Price

• Auto Repair Facility: El Cordova Garage

• Builder: The Jackman Group

• Caterer: Southern Hospitality

• Craft Shop: Fabrications

• Financial Institution: Washington Mutual

• Financial Planner: Mark Andrews

• Friendliest Merchant: Pat Hornbeek

• Furniture Store: Seaside Home

• Gift Shop: Tesoro Mio

• Hotel (over 100 rooms): Hotel del Coronado

• Insurance Representative: Jack Purdum

• Insurance Company: Crown Island Insurance

• In-town escape: Loews Coronado Bay Resort

• Interior Designer: Linda Kaufman

• Investment Advisor: Charles Hayes, Hayes & Associates and Travis Harrington, Washington Mutual

• Hotel (100 rooms or under): Glorietta Bay Inn

• Jewelry Designer: Houman

• Jewelry Store: Del Coronado Jewels

• Kids Wear: Island Girls

• Men’s Shop: Andy Montana’s

• Mortgage Broker: Stuart Stall, Old Rock Mortgage

• Plumber: Mike Kephart at Kephart Plumbing

• Overall Hotel Value: Crown City Inn

• Real estate firm: Napolitano/GMAC Realty

• Real estate agent: Kathy Koop, Prudential California Realty

• Teen Boutique: Emerald City

• Tailor: Yoon’s Tailor Shop

Night in the City BESTs:

• After-Theatre Dining: Bistro D’ Asia serves till 10 p.m. and The Brigantine offers mini-meals in the bar past the midnight hour. Show up after the show!

• Bar Scene: With its new center-stage bar, The Brigantine captured your votes for Best Bar Scene. Ahoy, there, mateys, belly up!

• Best Dining: Overall, you found Peohe’s (owned by Landry’s Restaurants which also owns all the Chart House restaurants) to offer the best dining experience on the island. “We devote immense time to our food, both quality and presentation,” says GM Michael Richardson. “Chart House’s West Coast regional chef Rich
Penny is based at our restaurant.” Dining Directory

• Entertainment: Lamb’s Players Theatre; it’s San Diego’s only year-round repertory theatre and it’s right in our front yard!

• Maitre D: Marco Marchetti, Il Fornaio (Oh, those Italian boys are so marvelous, dahling!)

• Best Restaurant: (outside of a resort hotel) Peohe’s is your favorite restaurant destination.

• Best Resort Restaurant: Prince of Wales, Hotel del Coronado.

• Best Martini: Peohe’s. Chad Hutton, the bartender for the past 15 years at Peohe’s prides himself on his martinis. They’re big and potent, with three-ounce pours of vodka or gin (have your designated driver handy!) Specialties include the Belvedere “Presidential” martini, the Tanqueray Ten, also known as “the Perfect Ten,” the tropical-flavored Bird of Paradise and the Cosmo.

• Best Music: McP’s Irish Pub is where you’ll find bands playing every night of the week.

• Romantic: Want to rev up your relationship? Plan a romantic rendezvous to Peohe’s. Maybe it’s the view, maybe it’s the sound of a waterfall in the background, or perhaps it’s the lighting that gets you in the mood… for love.

• Seafood: We’ll “sea” you at Peohe’s.

• Best Steaks: Boathouse 1887. You can go for the Jack Daniels 14-ounce New York steak marinated in Jack Daniels whiskey. Or try the 6-ounce prime filet mignon. Pair it with coconut shrimp. Or king crab. Or lobster. You can’t miss.

• View: Peohe’s. Families hopping off the ferry, sailboats skirting the bay waves and a front-and-center view
of downtown and the convention center: see it all at Peohe’s.

• Overall value: Rhinoceros. Just try walking past Rhinoceros any evening; you’ll see a pretty packed house; locals know this is a spot where they can get delicious and well-priced dinner fare. And, oh those dinner rolls!

• Women’s Boutique: The Armoire

• Business That People Don’t Even Know Exist: Reflexology by Trish McHenry

Plus...

• Freebie: Concerts in the Park

• Bargains: VFW Fish Fry (also lunches and dinners)

• Secret Thing: View at Bay Park


Learn more about these businesses by visiting the eCoronado.com Business Directory.


Archive of Coronado Lifestyle Articles

Reprinted with permission from Coronado Lifestyle, "the little magazine with the BIG impact."
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