Tag: american

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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Clairemont, San Diego County, Mary

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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Atwater Village, Los Angeles County, Mary

eating in la: the village bakery & cafe / atwater village – los angeles, ca

Time for another road trip! This time to hang out with my cohort, Alyssa.

I drove up on a Saturday morning to her house just outside of Downtown LA. I always go up Saturday morning because Friday afternoon traffic makes me very, very sad. There was a slight drizzle when I left and I encountered no traffic on my way up. I got to her house just under 2 hours. That’s the way to go!

After I got there, we got ready to head out for the day and went out for breakfast. We were taking a felting class in the early afternoon and gave ourselves enough time for breakfast and a little window shopping before our class started.

Our first stop of the day was to The Village Bakery and Cafe in Atwater Village.

This is what we looked at while we stood in line to order, trying to decide what we wanted to eat for breakfast. This case contained cupcakes, tarts, and various brownies.

We’ve only scratched the surface! There were also all kinds of muffins, cinnamon rolls, mini pies…

Cookies and cakes…

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San Diego County, Mary, Little Italy, Downtown

dinner and a show at anthology / little italy – san diego, ca

I was recently invited to Anthology to try out their newest menu items by Chef Todd Allison. I’d always been interested in going to see a show at Anthology. This proved to be a stellar way to try out some new eats and to catch a show all in one.

Anthology is set up with three different levels – the main floor near the stage, a second level with just a few booths, and a top level. There’s also an upper level GA admission area with no view of the stage and monitors instead.

Laura and I arrived well in advance of the crowd and snagged some nice seats up front on the floor, near the stage. Getting there early was nice since we were able to chat and eat most of our food before the show began. The waiters are pretty good about letting you have your space when the show begins and only come by to check on you when necessary.

I had picked a date arbitrarily and we ended up seeing a band called the Robert Glasper Experiment – a mixture of jazz, soul and a little hip hop all thrown into the mix. I can honestly say it was like nothing else I had heard before with the mixtures of genres all rolled into one. It didn’t quite make me a new convert, but I enjoyed seeing them and experiencing something new. I’ll leave the music reviews to others.

[Sake Steamed Black Mussels – Ginger, Mint, Basil, Hearts of Palm]

We started off with these steamed black mussels, which our waiter told us were locally grown from Carlsbad. I had never had mussels before, but I was feeling adventurous – and I’m glad I was because I ended really liking these! The flavors of the ginger, mint and basil all showed through giving them a really deep and wonderful flavor. The mussels reminded me of oversized clams – similar texture with a nice, sweet flavor.

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Banker's Hill, San Diego County, Mary

bankers hill restaurant / banker’s hill – san diego, ca

Bankers Hill Restaurant has been on my “to-visit” list for quite some time. Ever since I took a pie making class last fall with Rachel Cayhill, the pastry chef there, I’ve been wanting to indulge in her desserts again. I was finally able to come in for a visit with a few friends (Laura and Heather) in tow to check out Bankers Hill for happy hour!

I totally drove right by the first time. It sort of looked like any old building as I was driving by, but that’s not really the case. There are multiple crazy doors you can open in the front and the whole restaurant has a bit of an industrial feel to it. I dug it.

I came in early and snagged this table in the back, near the bar and this fun table with this awesome wine glass chandelier thing. The decor was very simply stated and I really enjoyed it.

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