As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been getting a noteworthy increase in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at San Diego businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra hot this summer.
North Italia
Open since May, this Italian spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but North Italia saw a massive 125% increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 3715 Caminito Court, Suite 680 in Carmel Valley, North Italia offers small plates like crispy calamari, black Mediterranean mussels and white truffle garlic bread. Pizzas, sandwiches, pasta and cocktails like the Bella Fiore (with house ginger-infused vodka, vanilla, Giffard framboise, lemon and prosecco) are also available.
The Modern Vegan
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about North Park's The Modern Vegan, the breakfast/brunch and vegan spot, which offers comfort food and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, The Modern Vegan bagged an impressive 127.5% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a strong four-star rating.
Open at 4332 30th St. (between El Cajon Boulevard and Meade Avenue) since April, The Modern Vegan's popular items include vegetable skillets, eggplant parmesan sandwiches and acai bowls with fruit toppings. Smoothies, coffee and tea are also on offer.
The Florence
Sabre Springs's The Florence is also making waves. Open since March at 13480 Evening Creek Drive North, Suite 150, the New American spot has seen a 43.2% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.4% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp.
The restaurant, which pays homage to San Diego swimming legend Florence Chadwick, serves cedar paper salmon, shrimp Louis salad, double hamburgers and falafel bowls. (Check out the full menu.)
Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from four stars to 3.5 stars.
Parakeet Cafe
Carmel Valley's Parakeet Cafe is the city's buzziest cafe by the numbers.
The cafe and breakfast/brunch spot opened at 3745 Paseo Place, Suite 820, in April. It increased its new review count by 28% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.9% for the Yelp category "Cafes."
The health food-orientated eatery offers entrees like the raw kale salad, the roasted greens bowl and the grilled chicken sandwich. Or stop by for a turmeric latte or magic mushroom matcha elixir with ashwagandha, Four Sigmatic 10 mushroom blend, lavender honey and a choice of milk or water.
Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill
Ocean Beach's Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill - Ocean Beach is currently on the upswing in the seafood category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, this seafood spot increased its new reviews by 19.8%—and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 140% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 5083 Santa Monica Ave., Suite 1B (between Bacon and Abbott streets) since February, the restaurant offers fish tacos, ahi sashimi and white sea bass, as well as homemade soups and chilled seafood cocktails.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
