Monsoon

An escape from the Third Street Promenade and right across the street from the Barnes and Nobel, this restaurant has a happy hour that rocks! So much so that I went twice during the 4th of July weekend.

During happy hour, glasses of house wine are $2.50 (decent wine, but then again I'm not all that picky) and beers are $3. You can get an odd assortment of rolls and other sushi-ish goods for$3-4. You must try baked scallop dynamite dish--so not healthy, but very rich. The tuna/salmon/albacore roll is good and I actually enjoyed the California roll. In an odd turn of events the cucumber tastes good here (not usually a fan) -- it's really fresh just like the endame, which has some interesting spices on top of the salt, making it very tasty!

My one gripe, tables outside are to be had by first-come, first-serve--meaning you have to hover around people eating to grab a table. But if you're as lucky as I was on Monday, they'll be some wonderful guy playing Simon and Garfunkel and Jack Johnson songs while you soak in the good food and spirits. Or grab a seat at the tiki-looking bar.