Category

4622 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92116. (619) 813-2272

http://www.leilounge.com/

Lei Lounge has an inside bar with seating for dining outside. If you have at least 6 people, try reserving one of their white cabanas.

Like great tasting food at bargain prices? Check out Lei Lounge’s Happy Hour special on Mondays from 5 pm to 10 pm: 50% off their samplers!!! (The following prices are already discounted.)

Tempura Sampler ($6) - rock shrimp, veggies, and lobster. The rock shrimp and lobster tempura were very good, but I didn’t like the broccoli tempura. Veggies are supposed to be healthy and there’s nothing healthy about deep frying them. I’d rather have steamed veggies instead of all that extra oil.

Skewers Trio Sampler ($6) - ahi tuna, lemongrass chicken, and beef kabob. The ahi tuna was seared, so I didn’t try it. I like my fish fully cooked. I didn’t try the beef kabob either. The lemongrass chicken was a little bland so make sure you dip it in one of the sauces. It was topped with very fresh, sweet, delicious pineapple.

Dumplings Sampler ($5.50) - scallop, beef and scallion, and ginger vegetable with assorted sauces. This was the only sampler that I didn’t like. Even with the discount, it was not worth $1 per piece, especially when comparing it to the other samplers. Beware, the ginger vegetable dumplings were very spicy hot!

Lei Cabana Sampler ($6) - 5 pieces of the chef’s selection of daily menu items. Our sampler had more of the ahi tuna skewer, lemongrass chicken skewer, veggie tempura, and veggie dumpling. The only new item was the Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls (brown thing to the top right of the sauce).

They even have drink specials! Mondays through Fridays from 5 pm to 7 pm: 50% off their signature cocktails. Lei Tropical Cooler ($3.50) - coconut rum, creme de banana, melon, syrup, pineapple and lemon juice.

Thai Sticky Coconut Rice ($5) - It doesn’t look good, but it tastes delicious! You can even see the whole strands of coconut.

Chocolate Bento Box ($16) - Definitely not worth it! Their dessert menu is a verbal menu, which means your waiter will describe their sweet offerings, but they don’t mention the outrageous prices! They were out of the Chinese-style fried doughnuts, so they gave us another piece of the pistachio cake, which wasn’t good, and another cream puff, which tasted like it was frozen and hadn’t completely thawed yet. The chocolate dipping sauce and the raspberry cake was ok. The standouts: the dark chocolate piece was sinfully decadent, very smooth, melts in your mouth… The circular creme brulee had a cheesecake like consistency, nice and thick… The last piece was white chocolate lemon cake? The smooth finish was sweet.

And… do you want an even better deal? Go to Costco and purchase their $100 San Diego Gift Card for only $80! You can also use it at over 100 restaurants in San Diego.

http://www.sandiegogiftcard.com/

The service wasn’t the best. We got there right as they were opening. There was only one waitress and it was a little difficult to get some service at times.

Lei Lounge also serves brunch and champagne cocktails.

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 5/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 17/20

Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA 92014. (858) 755-1161

http://sdfair.com/

With over 100 food vendors at the fair, how will you choose which fair foods to try? Here are some that I tried:

Chicken Charlie’s

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Chicken Sandwich ($6) - This sandwich is very small… the size of a Krispy Kreme doughnut. It’s not worth the money. They basically cut a jelly-filled doughnut in half and put in a chicken patty. It’s tasty, not disgusting. You get a chicken sandwich and the sweet taste of a doughnut. I liked it better without the honey. The honey makes it too sweet.

Deep Fried Cola ($5) - I had heard it tasted like funnel cake, so I wanted to try it. It’s deep fried batter, but instead of using water in the batter, they use Pepsi. Then they drizzle on cola syrup, add some whipped cream, and place a cherry on top. I could hardly taste the cola. It has little fried bits… sort of like Dippin Dots. I ended up throwing half of it away. Funnel cake is much better and it doesn’t taste as oily.

Chuckwagon

Chicken Plate ($11) - The chicken is very tender. It almost falls off the bone. It is a little dry though. Make sure you get a lot of BBQ sauce with it. The beans, coleslaw, and cornbread aren’t too bad. This is probably healthier than all of the deep fried foods.

If you’re feeling a little adventurous, try Rattlesnake Ranch’s Rattlesnake Chili or Rattlesnake Bites. Yes, I said rattlesnake!!!

Black and Green Tea (Photographed by Tim Doan)

9870 Hibert St. San Diego, CA 92131. (858) 549-7658

It’s been a while since I’ve written a review. There are too many things going on at home but I think I’ve gotten a handle on them. This review has been waiting in dormant for about a month now (has it been that long?!) and it is now ready for the public!

My friend Tim had recently purchased a new camera lens (Canon EF 50mm f/1.2) and had wanted to test it out with a couple of shots. But I was too hungry to go and find things to photograph and so I suggested for him to take pictures of food instead!

Sweet and Sour Shrimp ~$6.00 (Photographed by me!)

Theres a lunch special here that includes a meal with a free boba drink. Its your choice of either Black or Green Tea. (Drink upgrades at an additional cost.)

I was slightly disappointed with this entree. The shrimp was good and all; cooked just right, juicy, and tender, but it wasn’t perfect. It had sweetness but there was no sour!! Oh my. Nether less, the vegetables were good and the sprouts too. Overall, it was a decent meal and filled me up quite well.

Kung Pao Chicken ~$6.00 (Photographed by Tim Doan)

I tried a little bit of Tim’s entree, the Kung Pao Chicken. And damn, it was much better than what I ordered…

Taste:6/10
Service:3/5
Atmosphere:3/5
Total:12/20

505 Laurel St, San Diego, 92101

http://www.sdurbankitchen.com/laurelrestaurant.html

Another favorite happy hour spot is Laurel. It had always been a great special occasion dinner place but a few years ago, Laurel was bought by the same group that also owns Chive and Kensington Grill. It’s still an upscale place but the new owner has given the decor a hip, swanky look and the bar is a comfy place for drinks or snacks with friends.

Their ‘7 before seven’ happy hour is a great opportunity to try some of Laurel’s menu and enjoy the atmosphere without paying premium prices. The happy hour, which is offered every night of the week, offers a list of 7 drinks and 7 appetizers, all priced at $7.

A friend and I stopped in the other night to catch up over some delicious bar bites. Above is my friend’s Mango Martini and my Dragon’s Blood Sangria. The sangria was the best version I’ve had in a while - sweetened with port and calvados, an apple brandy.

Here are a couple of selections from the $7 food menu. My favorites were the little sandwiches on the left, Laurel’s version of sloppy joes called ‘lamby joes’, made with ground lamb seasoned with garam masala and topped with caramelized fennel. These were finger-licking good. Our flatbread appetizer was dressed with salty bits of ham and blue cheese and drizzled with a sweet sauce. Also pictured are the addictive edamame which are complimentary. I’ve also tried the short rib spring rolls and the mini escargot ‘poppers’. All portions are pretty generous so it’s easy to put together a decent meal. The ‘7 before seven’ menu makes it easy to treat yourself to a stylish experience without a huge expense!
Taste: 9/10
Service: 4/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Total: 18/20

403 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004. (323) 464-2820

http://www.miaafe.blogspot.com/

For Bridget’s birthday, we walked from her apartment to Cafe Miaafe… just a few treacherous blocks. It was dark and we almost had a casualty The atmosphere was awesome! We sat outside in a tent with the curtains drawn back. Inside, there is an art studio and gallery, but we didn’t have a chance to check it out. Maybe next time. The setting was so pretty with their tiny little lights, but it was cold.

B’s birthday cake was ok. The frosting reminded me of Cool Whip. Blah! I didn’t even finish my slice. More sugar, please!

Blended Green Tea Latte ($4.95) - What was I thinking?!?! Apparently, I was on crack! Like I mentioned, it was cold and I ordered an ice cold drink! In my defense though, I don’t usually order lattes, so for whatever reason… I thought blended = in a blender, but I didn’t think they meant blending ice… it was still pretty tasty. (Starbucks has a similar version.)

They brought out some pretty funky treats, which we didn’t order, but were willing to try. Aimee thought that there was a pate in-between the cheese and cracker, but sadly, it was peanut butter! It was one of the gnarliest things I’ve ever tasted! Each little “treat” was different… topped with pineapple, mango, bananas, strawberries, olives, meat, and other assorted oddities!

We had fun though!!! The staff was very nice. (I think they’re Korean. They also have another location in Venice Beach.) They gave B a bday card and they didn’t even mind us talking about Halloween parties with Gary Coleman, pierced male body parts, and bitch slaps… you just had to be there!!!

Taste: 6/10
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Total: 15/20