I don’t do very much in Eastlake. It’s far away and usually if we’re in the area to get the kiddos, we go to Mandarin for cheap, delicious Chinese food. I was reluctant to go all the way to Eastlake for a meal, even if I had been invited, until I figured out that I’d be down there anyway. That’s how I found myself visiting Via Lago Trattoria with Jake and his youngest son, S., in tow for an evening …

You know I don’t do the gluten-free thing, but I like trying new things. I was given the opportunity to try our Chef Anthony Russo’s new line of all natural gluten-free pizzas. These are frozen pizzas bringing another product to the market for a gluten-free product.
I haven’t always had the best of luck trying gluten-free products so I was maybe a little wary about this one. But adventurous about it in any case!

Chef Russo has a few flavors out for …

Best Pizza and Brew is a new restaurant that opened in Mira Mesa just a few weeks ago and it’s a nice change of pace from the many, many Asian restaurants that litter the neighborhood. The new pizza joint is a “spin-off” restaurant from the folks of Pizza Nova and offers baked items, salads, subs, pizzas and craft beers on tap.
I actually first saw that Best Pizza and Brew was open while I was on the way to Urgent Care …

A couple of weeks ago, Jake and I were on a quest to find some snow for his youngest son who really, really, really wanted to play in the snow and make snow angels. This was that weekend we had the warmer Santa Ana-like weather. Our hopes weren’t very high, but we did manage to find a few patches here and there… but sadly, not enough to make snow angels.

Just barely enough snow to toss a couple of snowballs at …

There was a time, around college or so, that I didn’t eat pizza. I got sick of it. The smell of pepperoni made me feel ill and I just wouldn’t touch the stuff. That’s what the college years imparted on me: a lack of love for the grandest of college food staples. I did eventually rekindle my love of pizza slowly but surely and now I’m uber picky about what kind of pizza will cross my lips. If you try …

Let me just say right off the bat… I was skeptical. A gluten free restaurant with baked goods and regular food? Could this possibly be any good? As someone who doesn’t shun gluten at all and doesn’t have food allergies, I wasn’t sure how this whole experience would go down. But since I got invited to come in and check it out, I was willing to take the risk. And I have to say… I was pleasantly surprised.

[inside the cafe]
2Good2Be …

I’m a bit proud of this one, my second post for the WorldFoods challenge. And I got this idea from thinking about beans.
Beans are not usually something I ever think about. I tend to shun beans, not really enjoying their flavor or consistency. But I did have a bean dish this summer that I really enjoyed at Isola Pizza Bar – it was made with cannellini beans and had a great punch of garlic and rosemary and served as a …