San Diego

Bankers Hill sits just north of Balboa Park - a neighborhood of Victorian houses and regulars who know exactly where they eat on a weeknight. The Balboa fits right in: all the visual language of a dive bar (vintage decor, low lighting, zero pretension) but with a burger that punches well above its station. The garlic fries are loaded enough to require social forewarning, and the back room - a speakeasy with arcade games - means nobody is ever in a rush to leave.

Since 2005, this family-owned spot has specialized in Argentinian-Italian fusion, grilling beef with the precision of Buenos Aires and the hospitality of the old neighborhood. On weekends, live Latin music drifts through the dining room while plates of perfectly charred steaks and house-made chimichurri arrive at your table.