Exploring the city can be fun, especially if it involves food. The Bite San Diego tours are created to spotlight a few eateries as well as teach some history about a particular area of town. Downtown/Little Italy was my choice for a makeup tour (following the La Jolla tour).
A friend and I walked into Royal India a little before noon, where our friendly tour guide Hank was gathering the other people attending the tour.
Hank hails from New York and told us a little about himself and the tour, then ushered us towards the buffet. Can there be a better start than this? I mostly remember how much I enjoyed stuffing every tasty food item right into my mouth. Royal India is worth revisiting in the future!
Upon exiting the restaurant, I noticed this awesome status with a bowl. It held cardamon fennel, which is supposed to help with digestion when you chew on it but boy was the flavor potent!
Ring in 2016 with Gogobot San Diego at their New Year's Party, "Dance Dance Resolution" at the beautiful Rancho Santa Fe Motor Club! All proceeds benefit The Seany Foundation to help bring hope and happiness to kids affected by cancer!
A friend and I attended Dance Dance Resolution (note the play on words from the popular DDR game) as media on Sunday January 31, 2016 through Delicious Buzz. The weather was all sorts of wacky that day, cold, wet and windy, but luckily the event was held indoors! Check out the highlights of the event below!
A $2 donation to the charity got you adorable pug kisses from Chloe, shown here with loving owner The Stylish Bisou!
Our foodie friend LateKateFoodie was totally down for this activity! We all laughed...
The big downtown Mardi Gras block party has moved to the weekend, Saturday Feb 6, 2016 rather than the usual Fat Tuesday! If you are interested in attending, the best deal is a Mardi Gras dinner package! The packages include $30 toward food/drink from a participating restaurant. Prices are $60 for general admission package or $90 for VIP ticket package.
For example, the current cost of a GA ticket is $50, and for $10 more, you’ll basically be getting $20 free to spend on food/drink. Similarly the cost of a VIP ticket is $75 and for $15 more, you’ll get a free $15 toward your food/drink!
The dinner package must be purchased online. You choose your restaurant when you purchase your tickets. Redeem your food/drink on the night of the party and have fun!
We were paired up for a food preview at The Field Irish Pub, located just outside the block party. You can hear the lively Irish music playing in the background while you get your grub/drink on.
We went a little wild on the food last night for our preview.
San Diego is a wonderful city to live in and it's nice to discover things about where you live. We were invited to check out a Bite San Diego tour and after browsing the options, Dennis and I settled on their La Jolla tour.
We met up at the starting location of Ohana, a family owned restaurant serving homestyle Hawaiian food. Our tour guide David was easy to spot, the guy keeping an eye out for all the other "lost" folks who would be joining us that afternoon.
Everyone waited at the tables until the whole group had arrived. David started the tour with a quick intro, then started passing out the food. This is the point where you mingle with the other folks. Or keep to yourself, your choice!
Our first bite was this kahlua pork and coconut rice. I have to say that coconut rice was damn delicious with its shreds of coconut, partially toasted, and a little bit of coconut creaminess. The shredded pork was tender and juicy too so we were fans of this sample.
We're always checking out new places for San Diego Restaurant Week and were invited to preview the SDRW menu at The Marine Room in La Jolla. This fine dining restaurant has huge windows facing the ocean, which is especially mesmorizing when it is HIGH TIDE. I never knew there existed a restaurant where you could watch the waves splashing at the heavy duty windows while dining (view depends on season/time of the year).
The restaurant itself is located in a residential looking area so you go through a little bit of windy streets to reach it. Once there, you can valet your car or find street parking nearby. We were seated by the hostess and were ready to eat.
The San Diego Restaurant Menu is attached at the end of the post and contains 3 appetizers, 6 entrees, and a dessert to choose from.
Crest Cafe has been featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. We've had our own little sneak peak during a few Taste ofHillcrest events. This family run business has been open for years but only recently did we sit down for an actual meal inside the retro diner.
Initially, we met a few familiar faces at a mini blogger dinner coordinated by Passion Roots PR (from our Curry World review). The Crest Cafe owners, Cecelia and Ruben, gave us free reign over the menu, allowing everyone to pick whatever caught their eye.
Soon the food arrived. After a flurry of photos, we dug in. Thankfully it was a relatively small group. The more bloggers, the longer it takes before we can taste the food!
I've lived in San Diego for about 10 years now but still love discoving new things about this beautiful city of ours. I was invited to spend a Saturday afternoon touring downtown Carlsbad along with a few local food blogger friends, both old and new, through the Carlsbad Food Tour.
Our gracious guide and the founder of the Carlsbad Food Tour is Cherimarie Poulos. She leads this easygoing journey through downtown Carlsbad and filled us with bites and fun little history bits throughout. I'll preview the places we visited but will leave the historic details for visitors to experience themselves!
The first stop of our tour was at Caldo Pomodoro, which means hot tomato. Their buttery garlic bread has won awards from SD magazine and can be dipped into a chunky flavorful marinara. I heard very good things about their sauces too. After sampling the famous garlic bread as well as their baked artichoke hearts, we settled inside to hear more history of the restaurant as well as some of the famous visitors who have stopped in for a bite!
At my day job, my office is relatively close to the kitchenette. Every time I enter that area, I eye the huge snack box by the microwave. It's filled with candy, cookies and other snacks for 75 cents but I typically resist the urge for sugary, processed food. Some days though, I give in because I'm going snack-crazy and I don't even know what I should be snacking on instead.
My eyes totally lit up when I found this email for doing a product review on Golden Island Jerky. Snacks are constantly evolving to meet the newest food trends and the addition of protein is one of those positives I can see myself agreeing to!
Golden Island pitches their products as handcrafted and gluten-free as well as individually sliced and marinaded. These are then fire-grilled or kettle-cooked to maximize their intense flavors and bring out a moist, tender texture.
We like a drink when we go out. Our drinks of choice are made with spirits. I love the girlie drinks (Taste N Tinis is one of my fav events) while Dennis loves the whiskey and tequila drinks... though I often take a sip or more. To each their own.
We also happen to have a well stocked bar at home, which turned out to be perfect for a package I received in the mail...
Such a pretty package for a book review made me giddy with excitement! Look at those red striped straws on the side!
Our new books included Cocktails for Cougars and Cowgirls and This Girl Minds Her P's & Q's.
