Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I have a friend who is, what I'll call, "lactose-sensitive." In her adult years she has come to the point where she's unable to eat most dairy products. That is, until she went to Italy and tried some over there. No reactions. According to her, based on ethnicity (Caucasian - European ancestry) she should have the genetics to handle the dairy, so she thought it was weird that the Euro varieties didn't produce any adverse effects, but the American types did. Her idea was that it could have something to do with the amount of processing in the American foods (hormones, antibiotics, chemicals, pasteurization, etc) that might contribute to her ills.

She is a doctor, but doesn't have the training to be able to diagnose these issues w/o seeing a specialist on her own. As we've seen with a lot of people here - it depends a lot on the individual. I know a few people who can enjoy milk, cheese, and yogurt all day, but cream will do them in. No ice cream, whipped cream, half and half, etc. THAT, I find, is unexpected.

I'm disappointed to hear you thought mmm-yoso! was your saving grace for San Diego! All I found on that site was mostly a bunch of fast food Hawaiian and "Asian" restaurants that make Panda Express look good. There are plenty of good places in the mid-city area, like the Linkery, Parkhouse Eatery, The Mission, Hash House, Urban Solace, Ponce's, etc... I can go on. Give San Diego another try!

Tri-tip roast strips with caramelized onions, blue cheese and all the fixins

The Linkery is by far my fav. restaurant in San Diego. The owner, Jay, is one of the least snobby/stuck-up creative foodies around, and it shows in the menus and the atmosphere of the restaurant. The menu changes daily to reflect the freshest ingredients they can get their hands on - and only from sustainable farms and ranches. Their sausages are amazing (don't taste fatty/greasy), as is just about everything else they serve. For a first-time diner I would suggest the "picnic plate" : choice of sausages, apple slaw, potato salad, a slice of gouda cheese, and bread. They also have a lot of good beers, wines, and ales available.

Another burger place I recommend is the quirky Tiolis Crazy Burger on 30th: http://www.tioliscrazeeburger.com/ Besides having just about every style burger you could ask for, they also have more exotic meats such as ostrich, alligator, kangaroo, venison, and antelope.