While you’re waiting for a take out at Supannee, drop in next door to The Wine Pub for a glass of red, white or micro brew.

Here’s a place Buzz would take anyone looking  for interesting sandwiches, omelettes, crepes, pancakes, French toast, and more.  Cafe 21 recently opened a second location in the Gaslamp and the menu reflects a refreshing take on breakfast dishes that are  served all day.  The terrific version of eggs Benedict involves no bread or typical English muffin.  Instead a thick pancake of potato mixed with sweet corn and shrimp or another with grilled wild salmon and potato, rice and zucchini or chicken curry.  The cakes are topped with poached eggs and the various combos are satisfying and delicious ($13).  Ingredients are locally sourced, breads and pastas made from scratch, and the dishes reflect the Azerbaiijan roots of Layla and Alex, the husband and wife owners. Service is gracious but can be a bit slower than expected. 750 Fifth Ave. 619.795.0721 Open daily 8am to 3pm, (dinner when their liquor license arrives) and 2736 Adams Ave., 619.640.2121, Open daily 8am to 3pm, 5pm to 9pm.

Mary believes that cheese is an affordable luxury and she can work with any budget to introduce newcomers to the charms of fresh cheese. She suggests a picnic at home, good bread, wine, and of course a nice cheese selection. You can taste everything before you buy and your sales receipt keeps track of what you buy for future trips. Join their email list at 1243-1/2 University Avenue, Hillcrest, 619-683-2306, closed Monday

Here you’ll find a sofa-lined lounge, bar stools worth sitting on for drinks as you munch on a bowl of Wisconsin heirloom black popcorn dusted with Parmesan, toasted black pepper and a hint of truffle oil. Now, before you flip over the idea of anything over and above Orville Redenbacher’s microwavable popcorn, you really have to try this unassuming yet addictive dish. The black kernels pop white and work well with a glass of bubbly.

A sensational Oregon morel soup comes richly finished with leeks, slow cooked until they melt, and crème fraiche (a French version of sour cream). For the more adventurous, wild king salmon tartare (raw and finely chopped) comes topped with a tiny quail egg you mix in with dill oil and eat with brioche toast points. Lounge food prices from $6 to $22, and appetizer prices $11 to $25. Open at 5 p.m., 437 S. Highway 101, Solana Beach, 858-792-0072. First noted in San Diego City Beat, June 2006.

From the pathway to the entrance you’ll find an outdoor fireplace and tables for drinks, then the heated patio where I like to sit to watch the sunset and hear the surf. Inside, the restaurant occupies the redone space of the former very formal Prince of Wales Room. And redone it is, in contemporary, simple beige and brown with wood accents, seating with a good mix of tables, booths and banquettes and a bar area at the back of the room with a lit sunset on the wall. Gone are the days of coat and tie for men, as anything goes. On my visits most men were casually dressed in sport shirts.

I confess that I came to know the cooking of Chef de Cuisine Jason Shaeffer when he was at the original Laurel Restaurant & Bar. After a few years cooking in New York, he returned to San Diego and I was delighted to see him at 1500 Ocean. Local purveyors and farmers from Santa Barbara to Mexico supply the seasonal ingredients for Shaeffer’s classic–with a twist–menu. A couple of my favorites: Gnudi (fresh ricotta dumplings) with fresh peas and morels, barely sauced with the mushroom juices, together make an outstanding appetizer. Yellowtail, cured with lime and honey, comes with avocado mousse, shaved jicama and radish and a sweet jalapeno jelly all melding into mouthfuls of subtle flavors and textures; the fish not overpowered by the other flavors. A childhood favorite, toad in the hole, comes to life with an organic egg cooked with its yolk still runny, in the hole of a slice of rich, buttery brioche (bread), surrounded by mushrooms and asparagus tips and some unfortunately soggy hash browns under the bread. It’s a fabulous dish (without the potatoes).

Picky kids (adults, too) will appreciate the classic side dish of mac-n-cheese with spiral pasta and aged cheddar, nothing frou frou here. Finish the evening with a stroll nearby on the ocean boardwalk—it’s spectacular. Appetizers from $12 to $20, Entrees from TK to TK. Dinner only from 5:30 p.m., 1500 Ocean Avenue, Coronado, 619-522-8490, www.hoteldel.com.First noted, June 2006.