Adult Spring Break Part III- San Diego

At the wedding on Coronado

After a few days in San Francisco and then LA, Brady and I enjoyed a quick 2 hour drive down to San Diego. After the 8 (or 9) hours of driving down the coast I think anything would have felt short in comparison! We spent one evening in the Gaslamp District in San Diego and then headed over the bridge to Coronado where we attended the wedding of two of our Chicago friends. A few highlights...

Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill: Brady and I went for their famous fish tacos after seeing a segment on the Food Network. They offer about 10 different varieties of fresh fish and the fish is then grilled and served as either tacos, a sandwich or on a salad. The people that worked here honestly couldn't have been nicer and the tacos were terrific.

Filippi's: Brady and I went to Filippi's with friends who were also in town for the wedding. It's in San Diego's Little Italy area which I had no idea existed. This was such a cute neighborhood, full of restaurants and bars. We settled on Filippi's after reading rave yelp reviews and weren't disappointed. This is a family owned pizza joint serving up great pizza, pasta, and cheap wine. When we left there was a massive line down the street so were definitely on to a good thing and got there at the perfect time!

Burger Lounge: This was another great find. Super simple menu, a few burgers and salads, but Brady and both loved our food. Brady went with the turkey burger and I had a veggie salad. I recreated the veggie salad last week and ate it for about 4 nights straight.

Hotel del Coronado: We stayed across the street at the Glorietta Bay Inn which was cute and a fraction of the price but if you are on the island, touring the Hotel del Coronado is a must. This place was absolutely beautiful. Brady and I walked around the grounds, along the beach and I fell in love with the coolest garden. Maybe someday :)

View of the Hotel del Corando from the beach.

Adult Spring Break Part II- Los Angeles

After enjoying the weekend in San Francisco, Brady and I picked up our rental car and headed down the Pacific Coast Hwy 1. It was an absolutely breath-taking drive, a little scary at times and definitely not the quickest route to Los Angeles, but it was well worth it. Along the way we checked out Monterrey, Pebble Beach, and then stopped in Carmel to check out the town and to walk along the beach. Carmel was darling, very quaint and full of charm. About 8 (Brady says 9) hours and one stop at In-and-Out Burger later and we arrived in LA.

We stayed at the Beverly Hills Hilton which is such a cool hotel. It's recently been renovated but still maintains it's old-Hollywood feel. While in LA, we checked out the Santa Monica area which was full of cute shops and restaurants, went to a live taping of Jimmy Kimmel where we sat front row and talked with Jimmy Kimmel, drove down Rodeo Drive, and tried our best to spot a celebrity (no luck).

Before we left LA, Brady and I ate at Ink, Michael Voltaggio's (a former Top Chef winner) amazing new restaurant. Our meal was hands down one of the best I've had. I loved the creativity and thought that went into each of the dishes and it was fun to see Voltaggio working in the kitchen. Ink is a small plate restaurant so it's great for people who like to try new things. We had 6 small plates and a dessert which was the perfect amount for two people. We went with the following dishes:

carrots, coconut ice, cardamom soil, carrot juice curry
crab, charred avocado, whipped fish sauce, mushroom chicharron - One of my favorites
beef tartare, hearts of palm, sea bean chimichurri, horseradish, rye - My least favorite but I tried it :) 
brussels sprouts, pig ears, lardo, apple - Another favorite, can't go wrong with brussels sprouts & pig!
halibut, asparagus green tea, egg yolk gnocchi - This was the perfect spring dish.
lamb shoulder, lamb’s quarters, tongue, vadouvan, yogurt
apple, caramel, burnt wood ice cream - LOVE IT!!! 

Brady and I also tracked down the Kogi BBQ Food Truck via Twitter and enjoyed some awesome Korean bbq tacos. I am not positive where we heard about Kogi BBQ, perhaps Bourdain??? Not sure, but whoever it was I owe them a big thank you. These tacos were so good that I dug right in and then realized that I should take a picture, oops!

Kogi BBQ Truck

Adult Spring Break Park I- San Francisco

The sign of a great vacation is not wanting to leave, already looking forward to the next time you go back, (and still being in a relationship!). Brady and I just returned from a 10 day vacation in California and we had the best time. It was just what we both needed to recharge the batteries. We visited multiple cities throughout California, drove down the beautiful Pacific Coast Hwy 1 most of the way, met up with all of our Chicago friends for a fun wedding, and ate and drank very well! I have a lot of restaurant reviews so I decided to break this post into a few.

Brady and I flew into San Francisco. We stayed at the Hilton Financial District which I thought was in a great location. It's right in the heart of Chinatown which is a lot of fun and must see in San Francisco. Just a few blocks away you'll find the Italian area and Union Square which is great for shopping. As for restaurant recommendations, I have a few...

Ferry Building Marketplace- I loved this place!  The Ferry Building is located along the water and is full of cute food related boutiques (olive oils, cookware, etc), bakeries, cafes, and flower shops. This is the perfect place to grab lunch to-go and head out to the pier and enjoy the view. I highly recommend the Cow Girl Creamery shop, it was still Lent so I had a sandwich with fresh goat cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and fig jam. I will be recreating this sandwich soon, it was so simple yet absolutely delicious.

Caffe DeLucchi- Terrific Italian food in the Italian neighborhood. The food was authentic, fresh and very reasonably priced.

Tonga Room- Brady and I saw this place on Anthony Bourdain's show The Layover and knew that it was a must see. We went for happy hour and had a great time. The restaurant has a Polynesian theme and looks like something that belongs in Disney World, not inside the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel. The decor is kind of cheesy but there is something about drinking a tropical drink with an umbrella in it that just screams vacation!

Mission Chinese Food- I have read about Mission Chinese Food in numerous food magazines and was so excited for the opportunity to give it a try. I will spare the long story about how this place got started but it's a really cool concept. Basically, a couple started serving Chinese food out of an already established Chinese restaurant's kitchen. The food is Americanized Chinese food or "Chinese-nouveau" as they call it, and honestly the best Chinese food I've had. This is an absolute must for anyone visiting San Francisco in my opinion.

South Beach Getaway

Ah vacation... such a wonderful thing. Brady and I returned last week from a long weekend getaway down on South Beach, Miami. The trip was just what we both needed. Relaxing on the beach, sitting on the hotel balcony with cocktails, and dining at fun restaurants was the perfect cure for the February blahs.

I blogged about our first trip to South Beach last April but we tried some new restaurants (and revisited some favorites from last time) so I thought I would share my latest recommendations. We stayed at the Hilton Bently Hotel again which we love. See my review of the Hilton Bentley Hotel here.

Restaurants

OLA Miami
OLA Miami is a fun Latin American restaurant located adjacent to the Sanctuary Hotel. I have always been under the impression that I wasn't a fan of ceviche but OLA Miami made discover my love of ceviche. We ordered the Mixto Ceviche which consisted of shrimp, octopus, and cobia in lime and orange juice, with jalapeno pepper, cilantro and kalamata olives. The ceviche was served with a little side of fried yucca which made for an interesting and incredibly tasty appetizer! I ordered a chicken dish that to be honest I didn't love. I should have known better then to order chicken at a restaurant, especially one in Miami with so many great seafood options, but I ordered the chicken and wasn't wowed. Brady had duck served with crispy rice with edamame, raisins and pine nuts. Brady liked the duck and we both loved the rice side dish. While my chicken was just so-so, I would definitely recommend the restaurant. The ceviche was awesome and there were numerous dishes that I wish I had ordered!

Sardinia Enoteca Ristorante
When you think of South Beach you typically think seafood and Latin food. It turns out you can find really great Italian food as well. Brady and I always love a good Italian restaurant so we decided to try Sardinia which was voted one of the best restaurants in South Beach. We loved our meal at Sardinia. They had a great wine list, they are known for their extensive wine selection, and a charming atmosphere. Brady ordered Orecchiette with wild boar sausage and rapini pesto. I have no idea where I would find wild boar but I'd love to make this at home, I'm going to have to do some research. I ordered Pappardelle with homemade ricotta, tomatoes and black olives which was light and simple but had great flavor. Another perk of Sardinia was it's proximity to Purdy Lounge, a fun lounge we visited for after dinner drinks next door!

Lolita Cocina and Tequila Bar
Lolita is a new restaurant that recently opened near the Hilton Bentley. We walked by the restaurant a few evenings and thought it had a fun atmosphere so we made last minute reservations. Lolita opened within the last couple months so the service wasn't perfect but the food and fun atmosphere made up for it. Since I am now a fan of ceviche, we ordered the Tres Ceviches which included three different types of ceviche and was the perfect way to get my ceviche fix before leaving town. I ordered the Mercado Verde, two wild mushroom, sweet potato and zucchini enchiladas with a green and red sauce. I loved the combo of veggies and will definitely be making my own version of this soon. Brady ordered Carne de Vaca, two short rib enchiladas in a mole sauce that was AMAZING. This will also be a dish that I will be recreating. You can never go wrong with short ribs but then add the rich mole sauce and you have a real winner!

We also went back to Prime One Twelve, definitely one of our South Beach favorites. We had another amazing meal and had a great time people watching. Prime One Twelve is the place to see and be seen and you never know what celebrity might walk through the door. To see my review from last year click here. We also revisited La Sandwicherie, a sandwich spot that it's a must when visiting South Beach. If it's not apparent by this long blog post, we ate and drank very well!

Chilam Balam

This past weekend, Brady and I went to Chilam Balam, a Mexican restaurant in Lakeview. I have been wanting to try Chilam since it opened a couple of years ago and now I am kicking myself for waiting so long to try it. We both thought the restaurant was terrific- excellent food, casual and inviting atmosphere and great service. Plus the restaurant is BYOB which is a huge bonus!

I love that this isn't your typical Mexican restaurant. You aren't going to find tacos with a side of rice and beans anywhere on the menu. The menu consists of small plates meant to be shared and the restaurant prides itself on using local and sustainable ingredients. The menu changes monthly, a few dishes are always on the menu but the specials change to reflect the season and what's available from the ranchers and purveyors that they buy from.

Brady and I ordered 5 small plates as suggested by our server. Here is a rundown of what we ordered:

• Chunky guacamole with pickled radishes, served with crispy tostadas
• Shiitake Mushroom Empanada with grilled vegetables, Wisconsin jack cheese, and salsa verda- This was our least favorite dish. I thought that it could have used something else in it, maybe black beans and a different sauce.
• Seared Barramundi with grilled frisee, pineapple, bacon and sunchokes- So good! The fish was served with a side of corn tortillas so you could wrap the fish up like a taco or to use it to soak up the sauce. 
• Duck leg Enchiladas with tomatilla sauce, baked jack cheese, and watercress- These were beyond good. I would have been happy with just a bigger helping of these enchiladas. 
• Chorizo Meatloaf with pickled jalapenos and mashed potatoes- Another amazing dish. I loved the combination of the meatloaf and picked jalapenos plus who doesn't love mashed potatoes?

I'm already looking forward to our next visit to Chilam Balam. All of the dishes on the menu sounded fantastic. It was incredibly hard to narrow our selections down to five but I think for our first visit we made great choices and we both left happy with our new restaurant find! 

** Top Chef fans might recognize the chef of Chilam Balam from the current season of Top Chef Texas. Unfortunately, he didn't make it too far in the competition but I guess that means he is back in the kitchen making good food at the restaurant!