PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Restaurateur Tracy Borkum brought upscale, minimalist chic to the Gaslamp Quarter when she opened Chive in 1999. Five years later she took ownership of, and completely reinvented, Laurel, one of the city's premier dining destinations. Laurel offers a wonderful cassoulet; a main-course vegetable sampler; a seven-course chef's tasting meal; and a daily three-course, prix-fixe meal from 5-6:30pm for $35. Many bottles of wine are half-price on Sundays. Laurel's quirky interior design features bold black-and-white patterns, punctuated by highlights of chartreuse, Kelly green, and lipstick red. Mirrored walls with arabesque and Joan Miro-inspired patterns reflect Swarovski crystal chandeliers, and bouquets of roses are suspended in large cylindrical vases like lab experiments. Located adjacent to Balboa Park, Laurel offers complimentary shuttles to the nearby Old Globe Theatre.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's San Diego 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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