Category: San Diego County

San Diego County, Mary, La Mesa

the trails neighborhood eatery / la mesa – san diego, ca

I used to watch Food Network almost non-stop. I loved all of the cooking shows – Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis. I picked up so many great hints and tips just by watching their shows on a Saturday morning. While I don’t really watch those shows too much anymore, I still enjoy some of the other, newer shows. One of them is Restaurant Impossible with Robert Irvine, sort of knock off on Kitchen Nightmares. I’ve gotten Jake to watch it a few times and he’s actually into the show now. When I told him that they had done an episode at a restaurant here in town, he was totally game for going and checking it out.

The restaurant in question is The Trails Neighborhood Eatery in La Mesa. I had never heard of the place before I saw it on the show. It’s in a pretty nondescript part of town, within an old strip mall in San Carlos/La Mesa. Driving by the strip mall, it really doesn’t look like much. There’s a CVS and a Keils food store which looks like one of the oldest stores ever.

Once you step inside though, you immediately see the homey, updated version of the restaurant. It has a really cozy feel with lovely colors and the images of the family throughout the restaurant give it a very welcoming feel.

We just happened to go the first time on a Sunday morning. When we watched in, they had the Food Network channel on which just happened to be playing their episode! We mused if it was a recording that the restaurant played, but the owner, Stacey, pipped up. “No, it just happens to be on right now,” she explained, with an embarrassed grin.

We ended up waiting over an hour for a table, no doubt because of that recent airing of the episode. I was determined to try it though even though maybe I hadn’t picked the best day/time to go.

[Cinnamon Roll Pancakes – Swirls of cinnamon roll filling and topped with cream cheese frosting – $6.99 / with bacon & eggs – $8.99]

On our first visit, Jake and T. shared an order of the Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. It’s covered in a rich cream cheese frosting which doesn’t require anything else to go on it – it’s quite sweet enough with that frosting!

The impressive cinnamon swirl is done right into the pancakes, giving it the classic cinnamon roll look and all of that cinnamon taste right in the pancake. The few bites I snagged from Jake were quite delicious. The pancakes were light and fluffy with a nice bit of cinnamon goo in them. This would have to be something to share in my opinion since it is rich and sweet – but very good.

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San Diego County, Mary, Hillcrest

urban eats / hillcrest – san diego, ca

Urban Eats is a new little restaurant in Hillcrest that’s been open for about three months now under the helm of Chef Christopher B. Sayre. The spot started out earlier this year as Taco Banh before Sayre decided to switch gears and instead open up Urban Eats, a locally sourced restaurant serving up a mix of American dishes. My cohorts and I had noticed on the bottom of our bill it has said “Taco Banh” and curiosity got me to Google searching. It seems Taco Banh didn’t quite work out and Urban Eats was able to rise up out of that. Jake and I are certainly glad that it came to this as we dined here twice within one week – once as a guest and another time on our own with our friend, Laura.

The space is small, but cozy. The bar is the first thing to catch your eye with its colorful Asian lanterns. The simple seats are all set up with place settings and menus and your greeted in a most friendly manner to “sit anywhere you’d like!”

Kyle, our host, server, and waiter extraordinaire, was there to take care of us on both visits. His warm and friendly personalities just exudes charm. I loved him immediately, especially when he recognized us on our second visit and already knew we were going to order the macaroni and cheese again.

More on that later.

At Urban Eats you get cucumber water, which I love. Jake puts his cucumbers into my glass because he’s weird and doesn’t like cucumbers.

*eye roll*

[cheesy baguette slices with honey butter]

All customers get this complimentary appetizer to start. It’s a little more doled up than just “bread and butter” so I call it an appetizer. Baguette slices with cheese and a little cup of honey butter greet you shortly after you take a seat, luring you in. The butter has drizzles of honey on it, so the honey is still distinct as you slather it onto a slice and devour it. It’s a yummy way to start any meal.

[mini grilled cheese – swiss + cheddar + brie + tomato bisque – $6]

On our first visit, I decided I had to try the Mini Grilled Cheese. The grooves on this appetizer are serious. Super panini pressing was going on to create this sandwich. The size reminded me of those weird French Toast sticks. I could tell it was basically a sandwich cut into fours, but I didn’t really care. Oozing cheese on grilled bread makes me happy and these were pretty tasty dunked in the cup of tomato bisque that accompanied them. My only complaint would be that I thought it was cooked a little too long and I tasted more bread than cheese.

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North Park, San Diego County, Mary

mashed potato pizza & meatballs at urbn coal fired pizza / north park – san diego, ca

Awhile ago I saw that CC of Pink Candles at Ridgemont High went to URBN in North Park and had some Mashed Potato Pizza.

I remember being terribly intrigued by it – pizza… with mashed potatoes on it? Sounds totally crazy and weird, but I just had to try it.

Fast forward to a few months later and Jake and I finally made our way around to URBN.

URBN is a much larger space than I first thought. We sat in one of the booths on a Saturday afternoon. Both of the garage doors were open creating a nice cross breeze. It almost felt like we were sitting outdoors.

I kinda dug that our waitress brought us our own little carafe of water and little glasses. I like things like that.

After we placed our order, we also got this little condiment tray of extra spices. From left to right, salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes and shredded Parmesan cheese.

[Housemade Meatballs – $9]

Jake and I shared this order of Housemade Meatballs. I usually like to get meatballs on my pizza, so I felt I had to make up for it another way by getting meatballs on the side. It comes served in a little cast iron pan with marinara sauce, a big dollop of sweet ricotta, Parmesan on top and a baguette on the side.

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San Diego County, Mary, Downtown

dinner at cremolose / downtown – san diego, ca

Near the beginning of May I made a return visit to Cremolose on another invitation, this time to try out their restaurant and receive the full “dining experience”. I took Heather with me this time around and it also doubled as a birthday dinner for Heather, who was celebrating another year older that weekend.

There wasn’t anyone really in the restaurant, so the hostess pretty much ignored me when I told her we had reservations for dinner that evening… which led to an uncomfortable conversation at the end of our meal in which I’m pretty sure I freaked out our poor, shy, and somewhat awkward waiter.

Cremolose is located where the old San Diego Hardware store used to be Downtown. The old sign is still there, with the new restaurant and storefront appearing the old signage. I think it’s a nice homage to what it used to be. We were seated in the spacious upper level which looks out over the rest of the place.

Here’s the semi-lofty view, which looks down on the bar, their very large wine cabinet, and the dessert bar (which houses all of the gelato and desserts).

Since I was with Wine Girl (aka Heather), we both got glasses of wine. Hers, red; Mine, white. I cannot for the life of me remember what my wine was.

[Burrata – Fresh “butter milk” mozzarella served with grilled eggplant, zucchini, roasted pepper and heirloom tomato, drizzled basil olive oil and fresh herbs]

We started off with the Burrata since there’s nothing I love more than cheese. And burrata is definitely one of my favorites.

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San Diego County, Mary, Clairemont, Linda Vista

homestyle hawaiian and rockie’s frozen yogurt / clairemont – san diego, ca

Homestyle Hawaiian is a tiny little place near Mesa College serving up some grand Hawaiian food. It’s not in the strip mall where K Sandwiches is, but in another strip mall behind that one. The first time Jake and I went here we passed it a few times before we actually found it. It’s totally tucked away in the corner and there don’t seem to really be any other businesses operating on that side. But, this tiny little joint does put out some tasty food.

I originally came here with a Groupon and then forgot to do a post about the food there. Since my hard drive crash, I lost a lot of data (*silent weeping*) and no longer have those photos to share. But I do remember that Jake and I both got lemonades and some of the Kalua Pig. The Kalua Pig is very tender and moist from what I remember.

On our next visit, we had yet another Groupon and Jake, S. and I shared a couple of plate lunches and some more of their fine lemonade.

[Peach Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade]

These are big 32oz suckers. They’re made by hand right when you order them. They squeeze the lemons fresh and then add the flavoring and some kind of sugar syrup and mix the drink up in a big container they just shake, shake and shake some more.

Jake got the peach and I got the strawberry. Mine was a little too sweet this time (versus the last time we had it) but it was still delicious. I like it to have a little more tartness, just so you know you’re actually drinking lemonade. I love that they put the lemon rinds into your drink as well.

[Lava Chicken plate – $7]

Jake ordered the Lava Chicken plate, which comes with a scoop of macaroni salad and a scoop of rice (you can also get a little salad of greens if you don’t want one of those). The lava chicken is the katsu but with a “lava” sauce on it, a spicy sauce that’s tossed over the chicken katsu.

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Hillcrest, San Diego County, Mary, Multiple Locations

lotus cafe and juice bar / hillcrest – san diego, ca

Lotus Cafe and Juice Bar is a local restaurant with two locations in Hillcrest and Encinitas. They serve fresh, healthy, natural food and have a lot of dietary options for people who have gluten restrictions, are vegetarian or vegan. Many items can be made vegan and there are a few meaty dishes for those who prefer a bit more protein with their meal.

[Lotus Cafe and Juice Bar Menu]

[Menu Key – The menu is marked with various symbols indicating what the different options are. ]

When I found out I was being invited here and looked at the menu, I decided that I would bring Stacey along with me on this outing as she’s the closest to a vegetarian friend that I have, without actually being vegetarian. What can I say? The girl really likes her salads but can’t bear to give up bacon (bacon smells really good, you must admit).

[Hummus & Pita Bread – spread made of ground garbanzo, sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon & garlic, served with wedges of whole wheat pita bread]

We started off with an appetizer of hummus after we spent an obscenely long amount of time trying to figure out exactly what we wanted. The hummus comes in a big scoop. It’s very solid so not as creamy as other hummus that I’ve had, but the flavor of garlic and lemon shines through and gives this a nice texture and flavor. It comes with a mess of carrots and sprouts along with whole wheat pita bread for spreading and eating.

[Lotus Caesar Salad – Mixed organic greens with tomato, avocado, croutons, Parmesan cheese and vegetarian Caesar dressing]

We also shared this very large Lotus Caesar Salad between the two of us (half salad is also available). This comes with a vegetarian Caesar dressing on the side. The Caesar still has all of the flavor and kick of a regular Caesar so you’re not missing out when you get this. The tomatoes were so fresh and bright and the Parmesan shavings added a nice salty flavor to the salad. Half of a perfectly ripe avocado is placed on top for you to devour (which we did). So refreshing and crisp – the addition of the avocado here really made this shine for me.

[Stuffed Veggie Quesadilla – Whole wheat chapati stuffed with sauteed veggies and cheese, topped with guacamole, salsa and sour cream]

Stacey was between two items for quite some time but finally decided on this Stuffed Veggie Quesadilla. This one can be made vegan, if you so desire. It’s stuffed with with sauteed veggies – including big chunks of broccoli (something we both found really weird at first but it tasted so good that we decided it was a brilliant idea). The veggies are still a bit crisp with a little bite for extra texture. Covered in delicious cheese and topped with a spot of guacamole and sour cream, this is a very delicious and healthy version of a quesadilla.

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Mary, Clairemont, San Diego County

mr. steve’s famous bbq at the hungry stick / clairemont – san diego, ca

Okay, now that I have my trusty laptop again, let’s play catch up!

Last month Jake and I were out and about in Clairemont and I was hungry. I thought it might be a good time to finally try Little Sheep and we headed over there. Jake looked less than enthusiastic about the place, especially after we saw the prices. I yielded and decided I’d try it on another day and instead we walked over to another restaurant in the parking lot – The Hungry Stick.

I’ve driven by the Hungry Stick a few times before. It’s always look like a dive to me but the name has always amused me. Is it a stick that’s hungry? Do you hold the stick to indicate you are hungry? I have no idea. These are the kinds of things I think about.

We walked in and noticed about half of the place was in renovation. The upper part, the bar area, was open with a few pool tables, booths and long, dark bar. There was a menu and a sign talked about “Mr. Steve’s Famous BBQ”. I thought we were at the Hungry Stick?

No matter. We braved it and I’m sure glad we did.

[The Menu]

We found out from our super friendly waitress that The Hungry Stick had very recently abandoned their old menu in favor of doing BBQ with Mr. Steve. He’s even won a few trophies and awards (that you can see as soon as you walk in) for his BBQ. Our waitress told us that they had tried so many different types of food at that place and were trying to do so many different things that she was glad to see them do something a little simpler – and something that’s really tasty.

[Pulled Pork Dinner – $11.99, plus extra side]

We had originally ordered the beef ribs, but Mr. Steve wasn’t happy with the way the ribs came out and told our waitress he couldn’t serve them. Instead of selling us product he wasn’t happy with, we were kindly asked to choose another dish. Our waitress had raved about the pulled pork so we gave it a shot.

We got 2 sides with it – fries and corn bread – and added on potato salad as an extra side ($2.50).

[Close up of the pulled pork]

Jake and I shared the plate… I’m pretty sure we had plans later that day and sharing made the most sense. The pork was so tender and delicious though, we almost didn’t want to share anymore.

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San Diego County, Mary, Banker's Hill

ave 5 / banker’s hill – san diego, ca

I had been hanging onto a LivingSocial deal for Ave 5 for quite awhile and I figured out that it was about to expire on me. I tried to find someone to join me for dinner that night, but it just didn’t work out and I ended up taking myself out to dinner. I’ve dined alone many times for lunch so it didn’t feel too different to me to end up doing it for dinner as well. I had my Kindle at hand to entertain me in between courses and had a lovely night out by myself. I like to think that I’m pretty good company, even if it’s just myself.

View from the back of the restaurant.

I sat in the back up against one of their cushy bench seats. It was very cozy back there.

Since I had $45 dollars to spend, I decided to start off with a drink. This was a blueberry infused drink with (I believe) vodka. There were also a few blueberries bobbing around in my drink. It had a nice, sweet taste of the blueberry and the alcohol was hard to detect – which is how I like my drinks. I had to drink this very slowly since but it was delicious and a nice way to start off my meal.

I got a little basket of sliced french bread to start with a cup of pretty swirled butter. I used this bread along with my appetizer below.

[Ravioli with Grapes – corn, mushrooms, arugula, Madeira cream – $9]

My waiter recommended this appetizer to me. I got to say, it sounded really weird to me at first. Ravioli… with grapes?

I asked if the grapes were inside the ravioli but he explained that they were on sprinkled on top of the dish and that the ravioli were filled with mushrooms. Well, damn. You had me at “mushroom”.

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San Diego County, Mary, Hillcrest

kona coffee company / hillcrest – san diego, ca

I’ve had kind of a love and hate relationship with coffee the past few months. I like to have coffee, but for awhile, I was unable to have it at all. It really tended to tie my stomach up in knots and drinking a cup of coffee made my stomach unhappy for a whole day. I laid off the stuff for awhile until I started taking probotics on a regular basis to help ease my stomach woes. I’m happy to say and coffee and I are friends again.

It was fortuitous then that I was invited to come to Kona Coffee Company in Hillcrest to try out what they had to offer. I was still a little wary of coffee at this point, but I had slowly started to partake of the fragrant beverage again and was hoping my stomach would be amieable enough for the ride. Jake and T were with me for this particular adventure. Jake isn’t a fan of coffee really and neither are most teenagers (T included). But I was hoping there would be enough here for them as well and happily there was.

We had a small snafu in the beginning as the manager gave me a blank look when I told her why we were there. But, after everything got cleared up, we were well taken care of. I let the manager make us whatever she wanted us to try.

[Outside of Kona Coffee Company from across the street]

The Kona Coffee Company in Hillcrest is one of the few shops in town that will offer you a 100% Kona coffee (french pressed for you, no less). They also offer 35% Kona blend at a lower price. I started off the day with the blend.

[35% Kona Coffee Blend]

I kept it simple and added milk and Splenda to my coffee. I’m not good at describing coffee flavors, but this had a bold and somewhat rich flavor. It wasn’t too bitter tasting with just one package of Splenda in this large mix of coffee which I liked.

[Hawaiian Mocha – espresso, milk, Ghirardelli chocolate, banana, coconut flavor, ground cinnamon and topped with whipped cream, coconut flakes and a sprinkle of cinnamon]

I’ve never had a mocha quite like this one – this one goes beyond just a dash of chocolate in your coffee drink! This is filled with intense flavors, giving the mocha a very tropical taste and feeling with the coconut and banana flavors in the mix. It’s also quite sweet – the mix of flavors and chocolate made this a rich, chocolately drink – enough to make you forget that it even has any espresso in the mix. The cinnamon rounds out the flavor nicely giving it a nice heat and spice that I really enjoyed. Jake and T also enjoyed this one, so it was winner for the coffee and non-coffee drinkers alike.

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Hillcrest, San Diego County, Mary

recap of taste of hillcrest

I got some last minute tickets to go to Taste of Hillcrest courtesy of McFarlane Promotions a couple of weeks ago. It was my first time going to a “Taste of…” anything and I’m happy that Hillcrest was one of our first “Tastes”! With over 50 restaurants available to visit it seemed pretty daunting at first. But Jake and I decided to just go with it and visit as many as we could before we were A) full and B) our parking meter ran out.

The Taste of Hillcrest is a great way to sample from a variety of restaurants and to see what kinds of food they serve. I hadn’t been to any of the restaurants that we tried that day and there are already a few that I want to go back and try out the rest of their menu.

Since it’s a lot to take in, I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.

This is a pasta with crab in a tomato cream sauce from Busalacchi’s A Modo Mio. Usually made with angel hair, they tossed it with penne for the Taste of Hillcrest for easier serving. It was, in a nutshell, delicious.

Jake and I then headed a few blocks away to the Tractor Room, where they were cooking outside.

Skewers of polenta and pheasant & cognac, rabbit sausages with chives and a squeeze of mustard. I stuffed the whole bite into my mouth and was rewarded with a really mouth-watering bite. The mustard really gave it to the kick it needed to make this superb – I definitely want to come back here and try their other menu items!

Next up, we headed over to Raku Japanese Fusion Cuisine. They had bowls of veggies out and we thought that’s all that had so grabbed that. It was Spicy Garlic Edamame (good flavor, but really hard to chew?) and sesame asparagus (tasty). Then we were given some freshly made Teriyaki Chicken Wings and we were in love. Super crispy with a light drizzle of sauce – this was our favorite item of the whole day. We tried to go back the next day to get these again, but was way too early. We’re still planning on going back!

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Mary, North Park, San Diego County

anniversary dinner at alexanders / north park – san diego, ca

Hoo boy, I am behind in posts! My laptop issue isn’t quite solved just yet, but hopefully in a few more days I’ll be back to work using my own laptop instead of someone else’s (aka, my dad’s laptop). Using another laptop is not quite the same as using your own. Things are different and everything’s in a weird place and you don’t have your usual programs. Arrgghhh, frustrating.

Anyway, let’s talk about something fun! As in my 5 year anniversary dinner last month with Jake!

I had grabbed a coupon for a swanky little spot in North Park called “Alexander’s on 30th” to celebrate our special occasion. The place is definitely full of swank with their all-white decor inside on the restaurant. It creates a cozy, comfortable and romantic feel to the restaurant.

[Swanky interior in the daylight]

We got some bread in a basket to start with for our lovely anniversary meal.

[Crusty bread]

Jake let me pick out an appetizer to start with. He wasn’t much into it, but told me to “order whatever I wanted”. I was tempted to order something I would usually like (aka, something with just cheese, like their roasted garlic and brie) but instead opted for one of their crostini’s.

[Goat cheese bacon and honey crostini]

I don’t remember the exact name of this one – I don’t see it on their menu anymore – but it was a crostini with goat cheese, crispy bacon, herbs and a drizzle of honey. The bacon was super crispy (just the way I like it) and the creamy goat cheese gave it an intense flavor constrast. It was very light on the honey – I would have actually preferred just a tad more honey to balance out the richness of the goat cheese. While I did enjoy this, I found I couldn’t it too much of it since the flavors here were so intense.

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