The Daily Think

Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa CA 92111, is a 2.2 mile stretch of road in the middle of the county stretching from Aero Drive to the 52 Freeway. Slammed in the middle of Kearny Mesa, the road itself is quite busy, messy and unspectacular. But as with many of America’s roads, it’s not the road itself, it’s the roadside attractions that make a road (I used “road” 4x in that sentence.)

What are the roadside attractions of CONVOY?
First, foremost, and last the roadside attraction here is food. You will find an overwhelming majority of Asiatic cuisine, but among those you will find one of America’s top beer bars in the country according to USA Today (hi-five O’Briens.) And of course you will have you staple fast foods, but shame on you if you head to Convoy to eat a Carl’s Jr. Famous Star, or get a sloppy Wienerschnitzel corndog, when you have incredible hot pots and bbq options to choose from.

This was our food Trip to Convoy What is yours?
Recently I took a walk with my girlfriend along the 2.2-mile road making sure we pass by and scrutinize every single food plaza in the area. I believe it was a chance for her to pick out future dates for us, so I was very agreeable to a nice long walk in the waning days of winter in San Diego (winter in San Diego ha!) We breezed past fish places, Korean chicken, soups and dessert places that would require us to come back again and again. We enjoyed a delicious tea from Yun Tea House where we ordered the “Duck Shit” and enjoyed a smash burger from The Friendly @thefriendlysd and egg tarts and BBQ bun from Jasmine Seafood Express. We strategically picked those spots to keep us on the move so we could execute our plan to hit all the spots and locations along Convoy and manage a quick last-minute grocery run to Ranch 99 as well (not on Convoy.) But again, there are almost 100+ restaurants/eateries/options in this 2 mile stretch that you have to make multiple trips back to the area simply because it’s just too good not to! So make the food trip your own.

Well give me some names of where i should go??
Well fine, there is MNGO Cafe, Steamy Piggy, Flama Llama, Pelicana Chicken, SongHak Korean BBQ, Tofu House, Tap X (IYKYK) Formoosa, China Max and the very mysterious and exclusive Matoi Sushi (prepayment only.) Multiple nation’s are represented, and all kinds of options are available. You didn’t come to this article to hear me slam together a dozen Yelp reviews, so throw a dart at the Convoy map and dine away, you won’t go wrong!

What else can I do on Convoy besides consume calories?
Glad you asked, there are multiple pool halls, and billiards (the pool game without holes) axe throwing, and Karaoke bars. I guess beers and cocktails count as calorie consumption, but hey you can sit around and watch a game or have a happy hour at the multiple bar options in the area. There’s a shooting range way at the beginning of Convoy as well from the 52 Fwy. You can lounge about and study at the many tea houses and coffee houses like Cafe Hue. Or you can do what me and my lady friend do and wander grocery stores like Nijiya Market.

Multiple future visits, but do Drive Carefully
Convoy Street is packed with options that will most likely fulfill you and you can turn around and share that experience with your friends. There is something mystical about a 2 mile stretch of land surrounded by business parks, car repair shops and comic bookstores (shoutout Comicaze Comic Store) that also nestles the many amazing food places. So many people, so many walks of life, so different, so unique, so lucky to congregate and meet up in the heart of San Diego and enjoy a dining experience that will spread like the wildfires that always threaten us. But please drive carefully, as we walked along the 4-lane two-way there an accident occurred between two drivers who most likely just came down to get a good damn meal!