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Eating Out During San Diego Comic Con

Published Thu, 04 Jul 2013 11:00:35 -0500

Alex Wilson writes;

Oh, yes. The most magical time of the year is upon us once again. Right now there is an optometrists convention at the San Diego convention center but San Diego Comic Con will be kicking off July 17^th with preview night. So much crazy confusion accompanies attending this event every year attendees sometimes have to be reminded to take care of basic needs. Sleep, water, and my favorite, FOOD!

This will be my forth year attending Comic Con in San Diego and in the three past years, I've eaten at many of the local dining establishments, some unique to San Diego, some chains.

This isn't a complete dining list to downtown San Diego. There are many fine restaurants but these are some I have encountered, good and bad.

Breakfast

Mary Jane's

One of my favorite Comic Con traditions is my friends and I head to a restaurant attached to the Hard Rock Hotel, normally know as Mary Jane's but during Comic Con SyFy channel comes in and makes the place over. Two years ago the theme was based off the show Eureka and as such the restaurant was embroidered with the name "Café Diem." Last year the restaurant was simply the SyFy café and I've been told the broad SyFy channel theme will continue this year as well. The theme this year will be based of the show Defiance and will have the video game of the show around the restaurant so patrons can play video games while eating.

I won't lie to you. The food isn't the best you can get in the area. Compared to the rest of the convention area, though, the food isn't badly priced. What makes this eatery enticing is the wait staff. They are just a fun bunch of people who make the meal and experience. Like I said, you aren't going to be blown away by the food. They have fairly quality breakfast items, though. If you're looking for a geek themed dinner with a fun staff and care more about simply eating than the quality of the food, you'll have a good time.

(I also heard a Man Of Steel party will be taking place in the Hard Rock hotel and the cast of the movie will be attending.)

Richard Walker's Pancake House

This is one of my favorite places to eat breakfast. The problem is it is also everyone else's. You will not be able to get a table quickly at Richard Walker's so if you had aspirations of Hall H or even Ballroom 20 then discard Richard Walker's Pancake House immediately. If you have time to wait and sit down then make sure you do. The food is amazing and the portions are HUGE. If you tend to not eat much for breakfast then you will wish to share a dish with another person or two other people.

Lunch

The Old Spaghetti Factory

This is another chain restaurant, which fills the San Diego convention area. It's right down the street from Mary Jane's. You can guess by the name it's an Italian eatery. They have two levels of seating and out of most of the restaurants in the area; it's the easiest to get into since they seem to have so much seating. The most I've waited here is about 45 minutes for dinner. Most other places I've gotten to about 1-½ hours to 2 hours during the Comic Con dinner rush.

The food isn't amazing but it isn't bad by any means. The portions are filling and the prices aren't outrageous. I recommend this place for lunch because the times I've eaten here, they have been quick on the turn around of service. I ordered quickly and received my food quickly. If you're tired of eating pretzel hot dogs and cookies at the San Diego Convention Center and need a minute to sit down and collect your thoughts from the busy convention.

Create your own

For the majority of the conventions I attend now I bring my own food, mostly making peanut butter sandwiches or getting Nature Valley bars. This can significantly help cut down on the amount of money you spend on food. During the day I'm always moving so if I need to eat and walk or there is a panel I have to cover I can catch a quick snack and have something to hold me over until later.

Pro Tip: If you make sandwiches, hang the bread on a hanger in the closet of your hotel so if there are bugs, they can't get to it.

Dinner

Lou and Mickey's

I've eaten here twice, once during Comic Con and once after a Comic Con. The prices are high and the quality of the food matches it. If you get soup and an entrée you will easily spend $25-40 depends on what you get and that's per person. The food is amazing. The seafood is fresh and for being right next the ocean, the steaks are great too. On the menu, the cheapest dinner would be about $16 (Lou & Mickey's Grilled ½ LB. Cheeseburger) and the most expensive comes out to $49 (prime rid-eye "cowboy" steak- 20 oz) with a $49 14 oz filet mignon a close second. The lunch menu is a bit more reasonable but not much.

Lou and Mickey's don't cater to the Comic Con crowd at all like Mary Jane's does. Some restaurants might give their staff superhero t-shirts the wear or something similar but Lou and Mickey's is straight fine dining.

If you are in the mood for seafood you will love this place. Prices are high but everything during San Diego during Comic Con is ridiculously priced. If you want a night to celebrate with your friends you'll have fun at Lou and Mickey's.

Toscana

This little Italian café and wine bar is just down the street from Lou and Mickey's. The portions here are just right. I ate here right after preview night and while our food took about an hour from when we ordered to when we started eating, the wait was worth it. The wait staff was pleasant, making conversation with us as we waiting and occasionally apologizing for the tardiness of our food. The prices here are a bit less than Lou and Mickey's but not much. It still has the fine dining atmosphere and this means no Comic Con theme for the wait staff.

I had the lasagna and my friend had the filet mignon. We both enjoyed them very much, enough to bring our friends there for lunch a few days later. If you're looking for an Italian fine dining, you won't be disappointed.

Avoid!

Dick's Last Resort

Dick's Last Resort is a national chain and has a location near the San Diego Convention center. Dick's isn't the most conventional of restaurant ideas, themes, or décors. The premise of the restaurant (yes, this restaurant has a premise) is the servers treat you like shit. They throw the straws and silverware on the table in front of you. When they take your order the wait staff says things like "Figured out what you want?" with attitude. If you yell at them, they'll throw it right back in your face.

The food isn't very good. I had the ribs and they were very dry with not much meat on the bones. The prices were higher than I wanted to pay as well. Comic Con is stressful enough without having your lunch or dinner waiter or waitress giving you a hard time. The food isn't worth it but they have a huge patio so if you're a big group looking for an outdoor place to drink, then you might find Dick's Last Resort to be palatable but for the general population I would say avoid.

Advice from your server

I talked with Jillian Lenney, a server over at Mary Jane's (The restaurant that turns into the SyFy café.) She gave a little insight and some advice for those looking to catch a bite.

Comic Con is one of, if not THE busiest week of the year. It's like our Christmas, the best time of the year! We extend our hours. No one is allowed to request off time during Comic Con and everyone is expected to work at least 8 hours. The Hotel is fully booked, usually months in advance.

Our specials are truly "underground" during Comic Con. For instance, every year you can buy a can of whipped cream and have it delivered to your table for a special surprise! Most people also don't know that we're open until 3am on Friday/Saturday.

SyFy totally takes over the restaurant; their design team starts coming in to plan months before Comic Con. The theme is always super top secret, so much so, that they come in the night before and completely revamp the entire restaurant, from ceiling to windows, chairs to tables, the outside of the restaurant, you name it, and someone from SyFy has dreamed up a way to reinvent it. The first few years we were, Cafe Diem from the SyFy show Eureka. One year we had a photo booth manned by the Ghost Busters that ran a loop of everyone's photo on a big screen in the restaurant. Last year they created a jungle in the bar area with vines and lush green leaves and vibrant flowers hanging from the ceiling to promote their new show, Defiance. Rumor has it that the restaurant will be Defiance themed again this year with a new twist. You'll have to come first thing to check it out!

[Rich adds: I first met Frank Miller at Dick's, nothing is going to ruin that moment. Alex may not like it, but it is certainly popular. My best networking moment was buying food at Ralph's, in the line with Mike Richardson. By the time we got to the checkout, he had bought The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne for Dark Horse Presents…]

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