About SD Foodie

Meet Roger.

A lifelong eater, longtime San Diegan, twelve-year Yelp Elite (2007–2023) and Level 9 Google Local Guide, with a food trail that stretches around the world.

Roger holding a tray of hot chicken and crinkle-cut fries from Main Chick

Roger Ma

San Diego first.
Curiosity everywhere.

Food notes · original photographs · a long memory

The person behind the guide

Built from actual meals.

SD Foodie brings Roger Ma’s restaurant visits, reviews, photos and check-ins together in one place. San Diego is the starting point; Southern California, Baja and travel finds are part of the wider story.

The aim is practical: help you decide where to eat, what to order and which kind of meal a place suits. The guide’s personality comes from the details in the record, not a race to cover every opening.

Alongside the recommendations is a photographic archive. The published selection runs from 2012 to 2014: Little Italy ramen and cannoli, Convoy boba, Hodad’s, a California burrito, a long run of San Diego brewery flights, trips to New York, the Pacific Northwest, San Francisco and Las Vegas, and a second half of 2013 spent eating through Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tokyo and Siem Reap.

Follow the food history →

Candids

At the table.

Roger with a tray of Main Chick hot chicken, pickles and crinkle-cut fries — Hot chicken and crinkle-cut fries, tray and all, at Main Chick.

Roger on a sunny patio holding a whole fried fish topped with basil, chilies and onions — A whole fried fish under basil and chilies, on a sunny patio.

Roger at a hotpot table offering a bowl of sliced beef over a spicy divided broth — Sliced beef, a chili-oil broth and a table full of fixings: hotpot night.

2014-06-27A new vegan spot at Native Foods CaféView photo & source →

2014-03-12Vegetarian ramen at UnderbellyView photo & source →

2014-03-12Crème brûlée, tiramisu and cannoli at Caffè ItaliaView photo & source →

How to read the guide

Roger’s Pick means Roger would confidently send a friend. Worth Trying means there is a clear reason to visit. A historical rating alone does not earn a place on the short list.

Visit dates retain the precision of the available record. Approximate months are labeled. Historical photo dates remain attached to their source posts and are not presented as new visits.

A record that can change

Menus, locations and opinions evolve. A new visit can change the current recommendation without erasing the older note. Historical entries stay visible, including closed places when a closure is documented.

The archive is still being cataloged. Only published records appear in the guide; an incomplete import is not treated as a recommendation.