Laguna Beach, San Diego, Anaheim?
 

Husband and I are headed to Anaheim for business next month, will be spending a couple days in Laguna Beach before and San Diego after (we fly in to SNA and return from SAN, so I'm posting in the general California forum instead of LA due to movement...hope that's ok!)

I have some food ideas and some tourism ideas for San Diego. No ideas (beyond a couple thai massage places?) in Laguna Beach. My biggest problem right now is we're flying on Valentine's Day. We'll have jet lag and likely be hungry by the time we get to our hotel. What kinds of dinner options will we have? I joked with my husband we should just buy a bottle of wine and pick up a pizza and eat in our room - I hate dealing with crowds and reservations - we don't celebrate Valentine's Day, so pizza & a bottle of wine sounds good to me. Husband might prefer going out. Thoughts? Is there anything we MUST do in Laguna Beach, other than walk the beach & town window shopping?

I welcome any San Diego thoughts as well, though there's a ton online for options there so I don't feel quite as clueless.....

Thanks!

San Diego
 

Do you like Asian food? If so, there must be 100 plus restaurants on Convoy and surrounds. We like Jasmine for dim sum. China Max is also good. And we love Tasty Noodle House for soup dumplings and more. If you like Chinese massage there are a plethora of places. We go to Happy Feet, where it costs $25 for a one hour fully clothed massage focused on feet and legs but also including a few minutes on the back. Yum.

If you are into superb dining, the area called Little Italy is hustling and bustling. Celeb chefs Richard Blais at Juniper and Ivy and Brian Malarkey at Herb and Wood are immediately adjacent to each other. Blais has his fast growing chicken empire Crack Shack's first outlet immediately adjacent to Juniper and Ivy.

San Diego Magazine has a excellent food critic, Troy Johnson. Check out the magazine for lots of solid information about area restaurants.

I don't know restaurants in the area where you are staying but there is no way I'd go out on Valentine's Day. I've made that mistake and hope to never make it again. Order from UberEats and have it delivered.

I always forget about food delivery (we live rurally - no delivery options for us ;-) Guess that works even in a hotel?

Thanks for the San Diego ideas! Esp loving that massage idea (I do research but every year take vacation from my desk job and work a trade show with my husband for his small manufacturing firm - standing & selling on concrete for 3 days straight is really hard for me! And a foot/leg massage after that sounds ideal)

Nick's is a very popular place at Laguna Beach for brunch and dinner. I wouldn't try it on Valentine's Day, but maybe sometime during your 2 days stay. I went there a few times and they are always busy. I actually like the Wahoo's Fish Taco at Laguna. I know they are everywhere in SoCal, but I like the one at Laguna the most and you don't need a reservation ever LOL.

As for other places at Laguna Beach, we usually only go to the beach there in the summer or go to the Pageant of the Masters which is also in the summer. My brother lives near there and they go to something called the 1000 steps beach every week or 2. I have never been there, but according to him and his wife it is pretty there and they like to walk up and down the steps for exercise. For me, I would rather have a foot massage than walking up and down the steps....