Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tenacity with a side of couscous

Eating a tiny bit healthier by the beach

I have zero idea what pesto hummus has remotely to do with the concept of tenacity. Tenacity Chicken Sandwich. Shade's Oceanfront Bistro.
I have zero idea what pesto hummus has remotely to do with the concept of tenacity. Tenacity Chicken Sandwich. Shade's Oceanfront Bistro.
Place

Shades Oceanfront Bistro

5083 Santa Monica Avenue, San Diego

After running around Ocean Beach's dog beach for awhile, I brought Loki over to Shades Oceanfront Bistro to grab some lunch. I mean, why give up on the idea some bikini-clad girl is going to walk up and strike up a conversation about how cute my dog is? If we just hang around OB long enough….

We hit the dog-friendly patio and grabbed a seat as near to the water as we could. Which wasn't really close enough — they're not all great seats — but I could still see the water and Loki could smell the ocean, so it was good enough.

The sunny patio on the right is not the dog-friendly side. That's okay, my dog prefers the shade.

That make a decent slogan for Shades: good enough.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I'm not slagging the place. It does what it does with relative success, serving a lengthy menu of sandwiches and burgers and, yawn, et cetera. Nobody's ever said, "Have you tried the so-and-so from Shades? It's awesome!" It's doubtful anyone will.

But a day like this, on the lookout for girls at the beach, well — let's just say a guy can't eat fish tacos every day and rely on the ridiculous, enduring cuteness of a fluffy terrier for everything. I wanted something a little lighter, a little less heavy on the fried food and maybe — dare I dream? — nutritious.

That, Shades can do. While the place offers plenty of fried fish and whatnot, it actually serves a lot of salads and generously veggied sandwiches. Better still, you may opt for a side of couscous instead of the ubiquitous some-kind-of-potato.

I did so, adding it to the so-called Tenacity Chicken Sandwich, which tops grilled breast meat with smoked gouda and pesto hummus along with lettuce, onions and roma tomatoes for seven bucks.

Is this sandwich gonna save my life? No. Will the couscous inspire me to traipse into the kitchen demanding someone, anyone give me that recipe? Of course not.

But with my trusty pet by my side, I had an inoffensive meal at an inoffensive beachside restaurant in the middle of the afternoon, and (almost) didn't miss the crunchy allure of fried cod or pollock on a corn tortilla. (Or halibut, if I'm just dreaming here.)

If Shades washed away in big surf, I wouldn't hold a fundraiser to bring it back. But I will stop in every now and again and make a show to the healthy girls who work hard and eat little all spring so they can gather sun all summer. I too, can eat healthy sometimes. Or maybe just a little healthier. But not too much.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Next Article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
I have zero idea what pesto hummus has remotely to do with the concept of tenacity. Tenacity Chicken Sandwich. Shade's Oceanfront Bistro.
I have zero idea what pesto hummus has remotely to do with the concept of tenacity. Tenacity Chicken Sandwich. Shade's Oceanfront Bistro.
Place

Shades Oceanfront Bistro

5083 Santa Monica Avenue, San Diego

After running around Ocean Beach's dog beach for awhile, I brought Loki over to Shades Oceanfront Bistro to grab some lunch. I mean, why give up on the idea some bikini-clad girl is going to walk up and strike up a conversation about how cute my dog is? If we just hang around OB long enough….

We hit the dog-friendly patio and grabbed a seat as near to the water as we could. Which wasn't really close enough — they're not all great seats — but I could still see the water and Loki could smell the ocean, so it was good enough.

The sunny patio on the right is not the dog-friendly side. That's okay, my dog prefers the shade.

That make a decent slogan for Shades: good enough.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I'm not slagging the place. It does what it does with relative success, serving a lengthy menu of sandwiches and burgers and, yawn, et cetera. Nobody's ever said, "Have you tried the so-and-so from Shades? It's awesome!" It's doubtful anyone will.

But a day like this, on the lookout for girls at the beach, well — let's just say a guy can't eat fish tacos every day and rely on the ridiculous, enduring cuteness of a fluffy terrier for everything. I wanted something a little lighter, a little less heavy on the fried food and maybe — dare I dream? — nutritious.

That, Shades can do. While the place offers plenty of fried fish and whatnot, it actually serves a lot of salads and generously veggied sandwiches. Better still, you may opt for a side of couscous instead of the ubiquitous some-kind-of-potato.

I did so, adding it to the so-called Tenacity Chicken Sandwich, which tops grilled breast meat with smoked gouda and pesto hummus along with lettuce, onions and roma tomatoes for seven bucks.

Is this sandwich gonna save my life? No. Will the couscous inspire me to traipse into the kitchen demanding someone, anyone give me that recipe? Of course not.

But with my trusty pet by my side, I had an inoffensive meal at an inoffensive beachside restaurant in the middle of the afternoon, and (almost) didn't miss the crunchy allure of fried cod or pollock on a corn tortilla. (Or halibut, if I'm just dreaming here.)

If Shades washed away in big surf, I wouldn't hold a fundraiser to bring it back. But I will stop in every now and again and make a show to the healthy girls who work hard and eat little all spring so they can gather sun all summer. I too, can eat healthy sometimes. Or maybe just a little healthier. But not too much.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?
Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.