In an attempt to satisfy those on the hunt for more authentic and aromatic Thai dishes, Street Side Thai Kitchen opened in late 2010 among the hip bars of North Park to serve dishes that reflect owner Kanwee “Jack” Kiatnikorn’s trips back to Thailand, his homeland.

Upon entering La Jolla’s Puesto, it’s immediately clear that the restaurant’s self-imposed “Mexican Street Food” label is a stretch. Though many of the items on the menu are listed in Spanish (with their English translations), the restaurant itself is decorated with sleek hardwood and ultra-bougie furnishings. Tacos include condiments like corn truffle and pistachio-jalepeno salsa, and a plasma screen on the wall gleefully beckons diners to share photos of their meals on Instagram (with the #eatpuesto hashtag, of course).

With a giant hog ornament on its roof representing co-owners Hanis Cavin and Sara Stroud’s pet mini-pig, Carnitas Speck, North Park’s Carnitas’ Snack Shack is all things pork from the get-go. 

Cash strapped foodies, rejoice. San Diego Restaurant Week is back — it’s time to dust off that blazer, ditch the dining hall and take full advantage of this twice annual, prix fix extravaganza. With 180 participating restaurants stretching from Chula Vista to Oceanside, from classic steakhouses to well, Nobu, it won’t be too difficult to persuade your persnickety suitemates to finally go on that oft-promised suite dinner.

Executive Chef Vaughn Vargus shares the inspiration behind the menu of the new all-vegan dining hall, Roots.
UCSD Housing and Dining, happy to shoot for the obvious puns, has planted Roots right below Pines dining hall. 

People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Through Education, a student organization founded in December 2009, is petitioning for more vegan dining options at UCSD dining facilities.

Paul Motenko, co-founder of the BJ’s chain and, more recently, co-CEO of Stacked Restaurants, clearly loves college students. Look at the BJ’s next to campus in La Jolla Village Square. The eatery is always buzzing with UCSD students — thanks, no doubt, to a menu that satisfies the...