CULINARY PLEASURES MANY, VARIED IN UPTOWN EATERIES.

Byline: - Eric Noland

SAN DIEGO - A visitor to Uptown San Diego isn't likely to depart it with a growling stomach. The neighborhood has an abundance of eateries - from breakfast cafes to casual lunch counters to dinnertime bistros. Most are independent establishments that work hard to be distinctive.

The best place to start the day is Hash House A Go Go (3628 Fifth Ave.), where the offerings are imaginative and the portions enormous. A waiter said they go through 200 takeout boxes a day and that the locals plan their orders around what they'll be carrying home.

I barely put a dent in a three-egg scramble with meat and cheese and pesto, served with a heap of mashed potatoes and a fresh biscuit the size of a softball.

The Crest Cafe (425 Robinson Ave.) also serves up a delectable breakfast, notably its griddle items - three-raisin French toast or lemon ricotta buttermilk pancakes, for example.

For a casual lunch, you can't miss with El Cuervo (110 W. Washington St.), where you might spend 10 minutes or so just perusing the menu (16 different burritos?!). We feasted on succulent and spicy fish tacos, washed down with cold Pacifico beer.

For dinner, our best experience was had at Crush (530 University Ave.), a wine bar renowned for its wide selection of tapas starter courses. The best way to approach this menu is to share everything, then ask a server for suitable by-the-glass wine pairings.

Our waitress, Sarah, guided us from a New Zealand sauvignon blanc (for vegetable spring rolls) to a California pinot noir (for warm goat cheese salad) to an Australian cabernet-syrah blend (for a Gorgonzola and duck confit pizza with mint pesto and roasted red peppers). And here was a pleasant surprise: She didn't recommend the most expensive wines when we asked for suggestions; in fact, most of her picks were value choices, at $7.50 or so a glass.

Another nice dinner option is the year-old Region (3671 Fifth Ave.), which subscribes to the current trend of tailoring menu offerings to whatever's freshest in the produce markets. Accordingly, on our autumn visit a flat iron steak was served with cauliflower puree, rapini, garlic and leeks.

My steak arrived much, much rarer than ordered, but the waiter cheerfully whisked it back to the kitchen for more fire.