Wednesday, May 25, 2011

San Diego, California - Lunch, Dinner, and Drinks

Osteria Panevino  722 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101, 619.595.7959


I never expected to find this gem of Tuscan Italian Cuisine in the heart of the Gaslamp District. The staff was very welcoming and allowed us to bring in our own special dessert and cake topper, and made us right at home. The appetizers seem a little pricey for the size of the food that comes out, but are packed with flavor and worth the money. We started out with the cheese and meat board combo, which was not only a conversation piece as we ate, but created a family style feel. While most of us started with wine, my friend Jen had an amazing alcoholic Black Cherry spritzer that we all highly recommend.



A few of the entree favorites at our table was the Lasagna Bolognese (which sound typical for an Italian place, but this was no Olive Garden grade Lasagna!), the Malfatti al Funghetto, and I wish I could remember the name of the dish that my old college roommate Kara had. Her family is Italian. I've been to Thanksgiving with them in Jersey and will vouch that she has an Uncle Gianni, but the dish she had she said was a good as grandma used to make it. High praise, because like I said, I've had her family's cooking! I had the Linguine Allo Scoglio (Pictured), which was very good if you're a seafood fan - the shrimp had an amazing freshness and were firm, and it was chock full of clams, mussels, and calamari. Would I come back specifically for this dish in the future? Not until I'd sampled the whole menu - there are way too many other handmade goodies to try. Would I highly encourage others to come experience this restaurant with or without me? Absolutely!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

San Diego, California - Breakfast Cafes

Beach Break Cafe 1902 S. Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054, 760.439.6355




The first thing you notice walking into the Beach Break Cafe is the clean, friendly environment. Decorated with a variety of surfboards, old school skateboards, and framed photos of surfers on huge waves, wipeouts, and beaches, the waitstaff perfectly reflects the environment. My friend Sarah, was mildly obsessed with the cute little surfer girl waitress with her perfect blond side braid and cut arms. As you wait for your table, there's an honor system coffee station that allows you to pour yourself a cup of regular, decaf, or vanilla joe - complete with a variety of unique coffee mugs. A former Oceanside resident turned our group on to this cafe, and in the week we spent in and around the San Diego area this was the best place for omelets, homestyle potatoes, and coffee cake!

The trip was centered around two 30th birthdays, and when we asked the waitress to take our picture for it, she also dropped off two complementary birthday coffee cakes that were an amazing way to whet our appetites! The eight of us are not girls that are afraid to eat (or eat off each other's plates) and a few things we'd highly recommend and would bring me back here to eat again was the Vegetarian Omelet (pictured), Greek Omelet, Banana Crunch French Toast (pictured), and the biscuits and gravy had a delicious gravy. Even the bathrooms continued the theme and took us under the sea with humorous leering Lobsters, Octopus, and Star Fish. This is a must stop breakfast shop for any Oceanside stay!
























Cafe 222 222 Island Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101, 619.236.9902


Cafe 222 was our hangover breakfast after an amazing night of Champagne Raspberry Mojitos. Featured as one of Bobby Flay's best things I ever ate for their peanut butter and banana french toast, I was really looking forward to experiencing this cafe. The ambiance was funky and fun with the bright colored lime green walls, coffee cup chandeliers, and was popular with about a 45 minute wait. I would come here for the waffles and pancakes, but not the eggs and potatoes. I ordered eggs benedict, and wouldn't order it again, the Hollandaise sauce was bland and the poached eggs were almost hard boiled, and most of our plates that arrived with home fries (sauteed with green bell peppers and onions) left the table with most of the home fries on them. The peanut butter and banana stuffed french toast and pumpkin waffles (after sampling them off my friend's plates), would bring me back to give Cafe 222 another chance to change my initial impression. In fact, my friend Katie S even bought the pumpkin waffle mix so she could take it home and share it with her boyfriend. The biscuits also had great texture, but I'd take the Beach Break Cafe's gravy first. If you're in the mood for waffles and pancakes, this place is a fun, funky option in downtown San Diego!



Richard Walker's Pancake House 520 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101, 619.231.7777


There was about an hours wait, but boy was it worth it! The posh yet funky interior with the stained glass windows and their multi colored rubber pulley's are the perfect setting for the decadent menu. Katie S literally walked out of the restaurant yelling to the line that they should try the Baked Apple Pancakes (Pictured). Yup, sometimes we got food induced turrets! It really would bring me back a second time...and a third....and a fourth. All the cakes were good, my Northern Bacon Stuffed Flap Jacks had the perfect mix of salty and sweet (there were so many of them I wound up cutting out and eating the areas with the highest bacon concentration), and the blueberry and chocolate chip cakes were delicious as well.


The Eggs Benedict was much better here, and Bree had chicken soup for breakfast (her tummy was a little tender) and it actually had real shreds of chicken breast like mamma made it in the kitchen! Also highly recommended by our hotel's concierge, if you had one morning to eat breakfast in the Gaslamp, this is the place to pick!