Tag: restaurants

Buried Treasure, Restaurant Style- The Grill’s “Forest Mushroom Ravioli with Homemade Almond Pesto”

Ever notice how some of the most scrumptious little food spots are tucked away in some obscure spot? The best food always is.

We have been hitting this spot known simply as “The Grill” for years. Brothers Henry and Edwin Bautista and their crew do a fabulous job at packing the parking lot of a tiny strip mall behind the Sorrento Valley Coaster station. Good luck trying to get to it and our favorite coffee shop, Zumbar. And you know what? It pleases me to no end that the difficulty of successfully navigating your arrival to this place is directly proportional to the deliciousness of these two joints. That’s how The Universe of Great Food works. I figure that only really interested people will try to find their way here… consider it equivalent to buried truffle that only the most persistent dogs and pigs can locate.

Albondigas from The Grill…

On Wednesdays, The Grill serves a home made Albondigas Soup- Mexican Meatball Soup. They make a mean bowl of Albondigas and if I’m eating lunch with The Husband on a Wednesday, this is our spot. I love soup.

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Mushroom Ravioli with Almond Pesto

But I’m also the knucklehead who, back in January, announced that I would be doing something new every day in 2015. So, instead of my favorite soup I tried a different dish off the specials board- “Forest Mushroom Ravioli with Homemade Pesto.” The pasta was great, not blown out with over cooking. The ravioli’s stuffing is just right for the amount of pasta and full of a really lovely minced portobello mushroom. Homemade pesto took the stage, however, and I’ve enjoyed enough good pesto over the years that I could tell that they weren’t using pine nuts, but for the life of me, couldn’t tell what they used instead. Henry is nice- he didn’t torture me by withholding the info- he shared the almond secret. It would have driven me nuts trying to figure it out (ha- nuts… see what I did? LOL!)

Really, I can’t say how glad I am that I’m sticking to trying new things. I can’t tell if it has been more rewarding or more delicious… maybe both? There is still a lot more to 2015. Here’s to rut-busting!

What's on the menu, Henry and Edwin?
What’s on the menu, Henry and Edwin?

Where Has Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles Been All My Life?

We found ourselves in Anaheim Thursday night at dinner time and found a new restaurant- Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles.  

  • Twenty minutes waiting that was really only five.
  • Curtis the “Freaking awesome” waiter (as The Boy put it) handing me a menu from which I’d like to order one of everything.

And I was blessed with this for dinner:


This was by far the best fried chicken I’d ever eaten in my life. The waffles were delicious, too. Curtis wouldn’t tell me if there was cinnamon in the mix or not. Stinker.

New Tricks with Old Friends- Aqua Hiking and Kung Pao Calamari (Bonus! Make a Friend Try Ahi Poke)

Friends visiting us from out of town? A visit to Torrey Pines is mandatory.

Torrey Pines State Preserve this Friday… so lovely:

Stunning blue sky, green pines, and red cliffs, two days ago...
Stunning blue sky, green pines, and red cliffs, two days ago…

Southern California is experiencing a severe drought right now. So, when the friends from Indiana are visiting, what do we get for the weather? Two days of steady rain thanks to Hurricane Dolores. I didn’t snap any pictures of the ominous grey and black clouds as they rushed up on us, but did find this lovely photo online. Imagine the fog like this… just coming down in buckets:

This is the closest photo I could come up with- Torrey Pines in the fog... (photo credit to andrewharper.com)
This is the closest photo I could come up with- Torrey Pines in the fog… (photo credit to andrewharper.com)

Our hike today started with clear skies, but by mid-morning, the hurricane bands started coming up from the south. And fast. By the time we started the return hike, the skies opened up and we enjoyed (!?!) the rest of the walk along the water’s edge and the base of the cliffs in the pouring rain. At least we had the warm rain and beach to walk along!

Very VERY wet hikers make it to the car...
Very VERY wet hikers make it to the car…

By the time we made it back to the car we were soaked to the skin. I amazed that we managed to keep the cameras and phones dry. The hair dryers and styling products were a waste of time this morning. We looked (and felt) like we had jumped in a pool.

We finished the evening at a favorite fish restaurant, Bay Park Fish Company, where we talked two of the most unlikely of diners to try ahi poke- they didn’t die nor did they hate it! I had to try something new to eat since hiking in a total downpour wasn’t good enough for my New Thing o’ the Day. Kung Pao Calamari- yum. It is on the appetizer list, but with a side of rice, voilà- dinner.

Here you go, Scott, proof of your wife trying the ahi poke:

OHMYGOSH DEBBIE IS EATING RAW FISH!!!
OHMYGOSH DEBBIE IS EATING RAW FISH!!!
Kung Pao Calamari with a side of rice- delish.
Kung Pao Calamari with a side of rice- delish.

Comedy Outing with Your Teen- Big Laugh or Big Mistake…

It was a hit, whew!

A couple months ago, I took The Boy to an R rated movie that I thought would be all right… That was kind of not a smart thing to do.

Clearly, I have not learned my lesson- we took The Girl to see a bunch of comedians downtown since the headliner is a friend of The Husband. This is a first for us… The Mad House Comedy Club downtown in Horton Plaza is an 18 and up and some of the comedy can be pretty crass and off-colored.

What saved us was missing a few of the acts since one of us forgot her ID and we had to drive all the heck the way back home to get it (insert epic eye roll and long suffering parental sigh here). We missed a couple of the more outrageously raunchy acts this way. Am I a good parent, or what?!?

Fortunately, Johnny Cardinale does a show that isn’t cringe-worthy at all for a parent to see with their (college-aged) kid. The music set he does complete with guitar is fabulous and particularly why we wanted The Girl to see his act.

Thanks for a another great evening, Johnny!

Coconut Porter to Inebriate a Virus? Don’t Mind If I Do!

Is it “Feed a cold and starve a fever? Or the other way around?

A study by the Japanese beverage behemoth Sapporo suggests that inebriating the virus could help. Time Magazine had a article about this back in 2012 titled “Got a Cold? Have a Beer!” Unfortunately, one of the researchers admitted that you’d need to drink 30 12oz. cans to begin to do any good. Take heart, San Diego-style lovers! Your super high IBUs from triple hopped brews means your beer is packed with more of the anti-viral good stuff. (Wondering what IBUs are? Here is a great article from TheKitchn.com about decoding beer acronyms).

Coconut Castaway Porter and Got Nelson? IPA
Coconut Castaway Porter and Got Nelson? IPA

So, off to O’Brien’s Pub we went for spicy enchilada soup and a Thorn Street’s Castaway Coconut Porter. If the soup doesn’t clear me up, I have faith that the beer will restore my health. Don’t go pointing out the lack of healthy hops in my porter… it was good.

The Husband hadn’t heard of Thorn Street Brewery, and, surprise, it is one of our 100+ craft breweries here in San Diego. We found out that the North Park facility is a pub of activities for the whole family, including a Kids Eat Free Taco Tuesday with the Famoso Taco Truck, home brew classes, dance film fest and golf fundraisers, and other food trucks, too. Now that we have perused their web site, I think we need to check out this spot, soon.

Beer Tour!! Vacation AND Pub Hopping all in one convenient package!
Beer Tour!! Vacation AND Pub Hopping all in one convenient package!

And for a fun extra, here is a photo of one of the 21st Annual Great British & Belgian Christmas Beer Festival Tour! O’Brien’s Pub’s own Tyson and Kristina can take you on “the Ultimate Beer Geek Holiday” if you have a spare $3K laying about…