I had never heard of this place before a month and a half ago. For the latter half of 2009, I walked around in Downtown quite a bit, and so probably walked by this place a fair share of times. Not only did I not really think to go there, I just plain didn’t even know it was there. I think it might be new-ish? It’s not a particularly hidden place… In any case, a friend and I decided to give it a try, after discovering that it had some pretty kickass happy hour specials.
Turns out that the place does indeed have some pretty kickass HH specials. I can’t actually recall most of them, but there’s pretty much one for every night of the week and I remember them being damn good deals. The actual establishment is not terribly large, with several tall bar tables parallel to a rather large and impressive bar, then a couple of standard tables towards the rear. There are a couple of TVs hung up on each end of the bar as well. Aaron and I grabbed a couple of spots at the bar. The girl behind the bar was friendly, greeting us and grabbing us a couple of drinks to kick things off. The drink special for that night was 2-for-1, which basically equates to 50% off individual drinks. Not a bad start.
Apparently, this place is known for their burgers and T-bone steaks. So I figured, “Hey, why the fuck not?” I ordered a standard cheeseburger, drank some beer and watched the basketball game. About 15 minutes later, our good arrives. This is not a hamburger. No. This is a meatloaf, placed between the confines of two buns, adorned with vegetation. This thing is fucking massive. It was one of those scenarios where I had to sit there and contemplate my attack strategy. I cut it in half and went to work. I was defeated at half. The french fries were pretty good too, though nothing really special. The second visit was a bit different. I ordered their philly cheesesteak sandwhich and tater tots. I was no impressed with the sandwhich. The meat came in larger chunks, instead of the usually finer, shaved form I’m accustomed to. The veggies were fine for the most part. The whole meal was just largely underwhelming for me. I definitely wouldn’t order it again. Unfortunate.
The moniker feels appropriate. ‘Taste and Thirst’ most certainly conveys both ‘food’ and ‘beverage’ and the place delivered on both counts. The menu is a bit limited and the place is kind of small, but the bar is impressive and the specials are awesome. Bring a friend or two, and you’ve got some good eats and drinks to dive into.
Overall Score (out of 10): 7.6
Ambiance: This place is more of a bar than anything else. There aren’t too many tables to use but the bar is nice and big. It’s also clean and inviting.
Service: Both times the service has been friendly and talkative. Food comes quickly enough.
Food: The burgers truly are awesome. The philly sandwhich I ordered the 2nd time through was the opposite. So it’s a mixed bag.
Price/Value: They have really good specials almost every night of the week and sometimes even during the day on the weekends. Outside of that, their prices are generally pretty reasonable and on par with most bar food.
Website: http://tasteandthirst.com/wp/
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/taste-and-thirst-on-fourth-san-diego
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