Restaurants in Camp Pendleton South

Today's Groupon dresses you like a crabber and puts a stick of butter in each hand. For $20, you get $50 worth of Cajun food and drink at Auggie’s House of Crab, a restaurant unrelated to Auggie’s Crab Inn, Auggie’s Hostel for Crabs, and Auggie's Crab and Cabin Builders. Follow @Groupon_Says on Twitter.

Under the Southern French tutelage of head chef and owner Philippe Verpiand, risottos dance around seared duck, roasted fish, and veal on the menu. Inaugurate a gourmet dinner with savory pommes frites in truffle oil and Parmesan ($6) or seared duck foie gras with pineapple and red-bell-pepper chutney ($19). (Verpiand's foie gras, a cold variety made by poaching, won a prestigious cooking competition in 2005.) The San Diego Union-Tribune recommends Cavaillon's risotto ($21 for English peas, beech mushrooms, and asparagus; $26 for seared scallops, red beet, and pickled butternut squash), which is "quite rich, but then those amazing flavors entice you to take another taste." Other tastes include pan-roasted beef tenderloin in a red-wine demi-glace with crisp potatoes fondant ($29) and roasted Atlantic salmon served with peppers confit, gnocchi, and a broth of herbs ($22). Afterward, douse taste buds in decadent desserts, such as a $7 trio de crème brûlée.

The sandwiches, seafood, and meaty combo plates on Jamroc 101's menu are suffused with the tongue-twistingly complex island-nation's flavors, which came from African, European, Indian, and Chinese influences. Preheat your appetite with The Wicked Jamaican Patties, a signature Jamaican dish of flaky empanadas filled with either beef, curry chicken, or vegetarian callaloo and steamed vegetables ($2.75). Jerk combo-platter options ($12.99 for a big serving) include pork, barbeque pork, and quarter chicken served with fried plantains, festival bread (similar to hush puppies), and choice of two sides, such as sweet potato fries. The Oxtail combo plate ($14.99) is an exotically-tender meat cooked in a flavorful brown sauce with butter beans and spinners. Vegetarians pull steamed-veggie coils from the Dreads Rap ($6.99), a tortilla filled with rice and beans, steamed veggies, and plantains.

After graduating from high school, Reza Karkouti dreamed of opening his own teriyaki restaurant. He garnered support from family and friends, and he and his father, Ahad, opened a tiny eatery called Tokyo's Teriyaki in Encinitas in 1992. Through hard work and an attention to detail, the restaurant's reputation grew, and the demand for juicy, teriyaki-glazed chicken and beef quickly spread to other cities. This led Reza’s younger brother, Amir, to help open a second location. Now a seven-location, family-owned chain, Surf Brothers Teriyaki still sees its two siblings focusing on customer service and quality products.

The duo chooses natural meats that are minimally processed, hand trimmed, and grilled, avoiding shortcuts such as microwaves, frozen foods, and laser-based slicing. Their Hawaiian-themed restaurants and catering business have been featured in numerous television spots, radio shows, and newspaper articles. Michelle Murphy Zive of SanDiegoFamily.com says the restaurant offers "a taste of Hawaii" and "healthy food served fast." The brothers give back to the community that helped them grow by donating to charitable organizations such as the Wounded Warrior Homes project.

Vista’s Icebox Deli’s expansive menu contains more than 30 sandwiches, each assigned to one of four taste-oriented rankings. Beneath the “really good” status, customers find classics, such as tuna on wheat and egg salad, while the next level up—“better sandwiches”—offers BLTs and shrimp pitas. The shop’s “best sandwiches” list includes a club stacked with bacon, turkey, and ham, and at the top lies Vista’s “finest sandwiches”: Reubens, heros, and BLTs dressed up with avocado and crowned in laurel leaves.

A whiteboard relays the day’s handwritten specials, beneath which reads a list of hearty sides, such as coleslaw, potato salad, and tortellini pesto. The kitchen also churns out daily-made soups, breakfast burritos, egg sandwiches, and frozen yogurt.

At Sushi Yama, versatile chefs impart a modern flair to traditional Japanese cooking, serving satisfying noodle and katsu dishes alongside succulent sashimi plates and meticulously crafted rolls of sushi. Like a replica of a Rodin sculpture made from mochi, each meal is a blend of delicious cuisine and fine art, entrancing diners with crispy strips of tempura or crimson slivers of tuna and beef accented by colorful sliced vegetables and creamy, paper-thin crescents of avocado. A mouthwatering litany of more than 20 specialty rolls unite morsels of yellowtail, salmon, and blackened grilled shrimp with crispy panko, sweet plum essence, and zesty lime, and meals of udon and grilled salmon deliver rich notes of umami flavor. Diners garnish feasts with inventive appetizers of chili-kissed oysters and wasabi-laced fish tacos while clinking glasses of frosty beer and potent sake.