[giveaway] daphne’s $50 gift card (just because)
Oh my goodness. It’s December. Where did the year go?! I don’t think I’m prepared for this whole Christmas thing … Continue reading [giveaway] daphne’s $50 gift card (just because)
Tag: californian
islands restaurants, pineapple infused margaritas, $100 gift cards and you
I’m here with another peek at a few new items over at Islands Restaurants plus a sweet, sweet giveaway for … Continue reading islands restaurants, pineapple infused margaritas, $100 gift cards and you
kelvin at the w hotel / downtown – san diego, ca
Writing this post is making me hungry just reliving this dinner! I brought Stacey in tow with me to experience the food here, having no idea what a treat we were in for that evening. I had been invited to sample the menu at one of the new restaurants Downtown – Kelvin, which is situated inside of the newly renovated W Hotel. This new restaurant is headed by executive chef Kevin Harry. Chef Harry took the time to talk with us and present each dish to us to explain the dish which was a really nice personal touch. He pretty much fed us until we cried uncle – and it tempting to keep going, but there’s only so much room in your stomach… unless we’re talking about dessert. There’s also room for dessert!
[Dining room at the Kelvin in the W Hotel]
[Crazy pretty light fixtures]
One thing I can say about the Kelvin is that is pretty. And it’s cozy. And I love the light fixtures! I love the use of colors here.
[Complimentary bread and Pomegranate Mojitos]
Stacey and I started the night off with some tasty complimentary bread and some very minty pomegranate mojitos – that had pomegranate seeds floating through the drink. It was a nice fruity and minty way to start a meal.
After getting our drinks, we were introduced to chef Kevin Harry who asked about any allergies or diet restrictions. I told him of Stacey’s aversion to seafood but assured him that he could still bring seafood for to me.
Mmm, get the seafood into my belly!
And with that, we let Chef Harry take the reigns and bring us whatever he felt like putting before us to stuff into our faces.
[compressed watermelon with point reyes blue cheese, cilantro and saba drizzle]
The first thing Chef Harry brought out was this dish with these bright, colorful cubes. The cubes are compressed watermelon – the air is taken out of the watermelon to intensify the flavor of the watermelon. It’s paired with a rich, creamy, salty blue cheese and drizzled with saba, which is made from grape must (yeah, I had to Google it).
The sweet, refreshing watermelon paired so well with the blue cheese that I was really taken by surprise. It’s a unique twist on a salty-sweet combination that I found to be so original and refreshing.
[polano corn soup with spiced popcorn]
Our next dish was one of my favorites – a corn soup with popcorn! There’s a little drizzle of a spicy oil in for a nice kick and the creamy soup was simply delicious. The popcorn kernels adorning the top of the soup gave a little crispy element to the soup. The bottom started to soak up the flavor of the soup but was still crisp and crunchy enough to give that fun texture. Chunky pieces of potatoes and corn are in the soup contrasting with the creamy, rich broth.
Continue reading “kelvin at the w hotel / downtown – san diego, ca”
new shrimp items at daphne’s california greek
Daphne’s has undergone a transformation, becoming Daphne’s California Greek last year and offering more and diverse items on their menu. One of their newest additions are their new shrimp items.
[Crispy Shrimp Pita Sandwich with two sides]
The crispy shrimp has been on the menu before, but never before in a pita sandwich. I got the Shrimp Gyro meal with two sides – greek salad and rice pilaf.
The shrimp itself was nicely done – crisp with a bit of herbs that are in the batter. It’s kind of unwieldily to eat a shrimp pita though, since the shrimp like to keep jumping ship and falling right out of the sandwich. While it was good, I’d still prefer to get the shrimp “on the side” and not eat it in a pita.
[Mango Shrimp Salad]
One of their other new items is the Mango Shrimp Salad. I went with the grilled shrimp this time and am happy to report that the grilled shrimp is quite tasty. They’re fairly good sized shrimp and the grilling gives the shrimp a nice, distinct flavor. I took them off the skewer to eat with my mango salad. The salad itself has hand-made mango salsa with a hint of smoky chipotle flavor, mixed greens and feta cheese with a balsamic hummus dressing.
Continue reading “new shrimp items at daphne’s california greek”