Culture of San Diego

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The culture of San Diego, California is influenced heavily by

Tourism

San Diego has been a military town for more than 100 years. Present-day reflections of that tradition include tributes to military history such as the USS Midway Museum and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, as well as numerous smaller memorials throughout the city. Annual events celebrating the military include Fleet Week and the Miramar Air Show.

Cuisine

Food

Because of its ethnic and cultural mix, San Diego has a wide range of cuisines. One can find Mexican, Italian, French, Spanish, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Greek, Latin, German, Indian, Central and East Asian, Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander food throughout the city.^[1] In addition, there are numerous seafood restaurants and steakhouses. The city's long history and close proximity to Mexico has endowed the area with an extensive variety of authentic Mexican restaurants. Regional homemade specialties, border fare and haute cuisine are all readily available.

San Diego's warm, dry climate and access to the ocean have also made it a center for fishing and for growing fruits and vegetables. Long a center of the tuna industry, San Diego benefits from an abundant supply of seafood.

Many of the most popular restaurants can be found in the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, La Jolla, Hillcrest and Old Town.

Local specialties include:

• Mexican (carne asada, street tacos,
  California burritos,^[2] fish tacos, enchiladas, carne asada fries
  , and ceviche)
• Indian (
  Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan, Tandoori, Biryani)^[3]
• Wood-fired, California-style pizza
• Southeast Asian specialties of all kinds
• Seafood of all kinds
• Local wines (San Pasqual Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Julian)
• Locally produced (from the mountains near Julian) hard and sweet apple cider and Julian apple pie
• Various fruits and vegetables (including avocados, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, eggplant, oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries, grapefruit, grapes, apples, pomegranates, persimmons, and melons)

Several chain restaurants made their start in San Diego. These include

San Diego County has a vibrant craft brewing community featuring more than 100 active local

None of San Diego's original 20th century breweries (such as Aztec Brewing Company which was closed in 1953) survived the spread of big national brewing companies, although the eponymous beer brewed in the neighboring Mexican city of Tecate dates from this era and is still widely available. The first of the new wave of local breweries and brewpubs was the Karl Strauss Brewing Company which opened in 1989. A second wave of microbrew companies was led by Port, Stone (now the largest local brewer) and Alesmith.^[9] Annual events celebrating San Diego's beer culture include San Diego Beer Week in November^[10] and numerous local craft beer festivals.

Arts

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Visual art

Several art

The Institute of Contemporary Arts, San Diego (ICA), focuses on experimental and contemporary art. Its headquarters is located at 1439 El Prado, known as ICA Central, and there is a branch in

Many novels, films and television shows take place in San Diego.^[13] Almost Famous, Bring It On, Citizen Kane, Some Like It Hot, Top Gun and its sequel were set in and filmed there.^[14] Hotel del Coronado, Balboa Park and Downtown San Diego have been the filming location for multiple films and television shows.^[15]

Music

The

San Diego boasts one of the most eclectic local music scenes in California. Once dubbed the "Next Seattle" during the independent rock craze of the early to mid-1990s, San Diego's clubs and cafes have produced such pioneering rock acts as

Artists from other genres have emerged and found success. Frank Zappa briefly operated in San Diego with progressive band The Mothers of Invention. Renowned singer-songwriter Tom Waits also spent a long period of his life in Southern California at the start of his career, including San Diego.^[16]

Hip-Hop has also had a scene in San Diego, drawing influences from styles across the country, with artists like Rob Stone citing both west coast gangster rap and Atlanta styles as influences.^[17] Figures in the culture like DJ Artistic have held influence within the San Diego region, whereas rappers like Nick Cannon went on to experience wider success as mainstream entertainers.^[18]

Theater

The

Sites of interest

• Balboa Park
• Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• La Jolla
• Point Loma
• Casa de Estudillo, in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park *
• Hotel del Coronado in nearby Coronado *
• Legoland in nearby Carlsbad
• Miramar Airshow
  )
• Mission Beach
• Mission San Diego de Alcalá *
• Mission Trails Regional Park
• Mount Soledad at La Jolla
• Balboa Park
• Old Mission Dam in Mission Trails Regional Park *
• Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
• Presidio of San Diego *
• San Diego Wild Animal Park in nearby Escondido
• Balboa Park
• Marina District downtown
• Mission Bay
• Sesame Place in Chula Vista
• Columbia district downtown
  *
• Columbia district downtown