Tag Archives: food

Weekend in Pictures: Record Store Day Food!

RSD 2013 Food Collage from Pink CandlesWho knew that our food adventures would be just as eventful as our fabulous finds during Record Store Day?  It’s not so hard to imagine when the adventures happen with a friend who is a food blogger!  As mentioned in last Monday’s post, here is part two of my Record Store Day adventure with CC of the blog Pink Candles at Ridgemont High (who provided photos for the mini-collage of moi above).  We started off the day very early by standing in line at Donut Bar in Downtown San Diego.  I can safely say that this is the first time that I have ever stood in line early just to get into a food establishment.  We left my house at 7:15 am and there were still people in front of us!  The picture below was taken after we had already been inside and then sat down across the street to enjoy one of our donuts (you can see a picture of our day in line on their Tumblr page here).

DSC00998 (2) (1280x1280)

RSD 2013 Food Collage 1

RSD 2013 Food Collage 2I’m glad that the menu was posted because we got the chance to think about what we wanted prior to going in (they also post their menu daily on their official Facebook page).  Even then, walking past all of the donut goodness had me changing my mind several times before I made my final decision: German chocolate cake donuts for my husband and mum; a blood orange, a blueberry with meyer lemon glaze, a creme brulee and maple bacon bar all for myself.  CC selected the same ones, sans the maple bacon bar.  Needless to say, I ate the maple bacon bar straight away, but my runaway favorites were the blood orange and creme brulee.  The blood orange donut had a wonderful citrus glaze and the donut was so soft and fluffy.  The combination melted in my mouth.  The creme brulee one was a filled donut, and had the same crunchy candied sugar topping as a true creme brulee dessert, so it was like eating a handheld version.  Overall, quite a delicious start to our day!  We saved the rest of our donuts for later and at that point headed to the San Diego Record Show and then Groovy Records.  After our first two record stops, we headed to Pacific Beach (the M-Theory line was a bit too long).  I took the picture a row of bikes after we parked the car (below).  I just adore that mint and pink one.

DSC01021 (2) (895x1280)

RSD 2013 Food Collage 3

Before we ventured into Thrift Trader and Cow Records, we had lunch at Papa Luna’s Empanadas, an establishment specializing in empanadas.  Being Filipina, both CC and I are very familiar with empanadas, but I’ve never had them like this.  CC had two empanadas:  a shrimp filled one (I don’t think it was on the menu pictured above) and one filled with butternut squash.  I had the special of the month, the Moussaka (lamb, eggplant, garlic and parmesan).  CC explained that you can have them either baked or fried, and she suggested fried, and I couldn’t have imagined having them any other way.  Because I usually have ones filled with beef and potato, the empanadas at Papa Luna’s were so flavorful and unexpected.  I will have to go back and bring my family and try the dessert empanadas.  That dulce de leche and apple one has my name written all over it!

DSC01027 (2) (1280x896)

RSD 2013 Food Collage 4CC suggested that we have dessert at Sugar & Scribe, an Irish bakery next door to Cow Records, which was our last food stop of the day.  Everything that I had at Sugar & Scribe was fabulous and oh-so-delicious.  CC bought a few desserts to take home and also had a quiche in the store.  Here were my goodies: the orange creamsicle and Grandpa Soapy’s lemon curd mini-cupcakes, a spicy ginger chew, a couple of mini sugar cookies and a bag of shortbread cookies.  The mini-cupcakes were light and so very fresh.  I love desserts with citrus in them (such as the blood orange donut at Donut Bar), and both the orange creamsicle and lemon curd cupcakes satisfied that craving.  The mini sugar cookies were as pretty as they were yummy and the ginger chew reminded me of Christmas.  I’m savoring the shortbread cookies, and I still have two more to have with tea.  Not only did I love the baked goods, but I adored the quaint decor, personal pictures on the wall, the stories behind each recipe printed and displayed, and the lovely conversation we had with the owner and her family members.  I had such a great time on Record Store Day because it was an all around spectacular sensory experience for the mind, stomach, ears and soul.  I want to thank CC for a great outing, and here’s to more to come!

RSD 2013 Food Collage 5

DSC01053 (2) (1280x897)

RSD 2013 Food Collage 6

Pink Candles in My Burning Kitchen

DSC00642 (2) (1280x896)

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of meeting two local ladies who are food bloggers.  Darlene of My Burning Kitchen discovered my blog due to a link on M-Theory’s Facebook page to my post about Peter Hook.  She contacted me through Twitter and we started to chat.  Through Darlene, I met the lovely rocker girl of Pink Candles at Ridgemont High (I will respect her choice to remain annonymous, so I’ll just call her Pink Candles).  Both have posted very sweet comments on my blog, and through email exchanges, we discovered that we each have quite a few things in common, mainly to do with loving the 80’s.  Darlene shares my love of Duran Duran and groups like Depeche Mode and New Order.  Pink Candles is more a hard rocker, which actually equates to our mutual love of metallic spikes and edge in our style (she had killer boots on when we met up).  After a few Tweets and many emails later, we decided it would be fun to meet up.

Pink Candles arranged when and where, which I fully supported because I definitely would trust food bloggers to pick a more than suitable place to eat!  She choose the Eclipse Chocolat Bar & Bistro in eclectic South Park.  It was the perfect time of day to have their Sweet & Savory Bunch special, which is $16 for three plates.  After having a salted mocha with homemade marshmellows, I started brunch with the rosemary potato wedges in a burnt caramel hollandaise sauce.  Very savory indeed!  Sadly, I don’t recall what Darlene and Pink Candles each had for their starters.

DSC00632 (2) (1280x897)

DSC00635 (2) (1280x1280)

Next we had our main dishes, all pictured below.  Darlene had the grilled panini (left), I had the build-a-benedict topped with brown sugar-pulled pork with a chile burnt caramel hollandaise sauce (middle), and Pink Candles had the mushroom thyme quiche (right).  We all shared bits of our main dishes with each other and although my dish was very good, I liked Pink Candles choice of quiche.  That flaky pastry was quite heavenly.

DSC00633 (2) (1280x896)

DSC00628 (2) (1280x853)

We closed with the sweet portion of brunch.  I think it was an accident that both Darlene and Pink Candles ordered the same dessert, which was the burnt caramel apple cobbler.  Now, that was a very interesting and very savory dessert because it was spicy, sweet, creamy and rich.  The chile burnt caramel hollandaise sauce blended well with my build-a-benedict so the heat of the spice was more mild.  But the spice was very prominent when used over the cobbler.  I’m going to have to bring my girls Janice and Regi here, because I have found a new favorite dessert, which was the frozen peanut butter mousse.  All elements of this dessert worked so well together and I just couldn’t get enough, even though I was a bit full from my starter and main dish.  Next time, I will go there just for that dessert with a cup of coffee.  So. Good.

After brunch, we strolled around South Park for a little bit, taking in some shopping.  Pink Candles bought a few goodies and I vowed to go back there after Lent and explore more in depth the stores that we visited that day:  Bad Madge, The Make Good, Junc Life & Style and Graffiti Beach.

DSC00641 (2) (1280x896)

DSC00638 (2) (1280x960)

DSC00636 (2) (1280x1280)

And finally, pictured below are the desserts that both Darlene and Pink Candles each made and brought to share (as the sole fashion blogger not knowing this food blogger ritual, I came empty handed).  Pink Candles made the yummy blueberry mochi cake and Darlene made the equally delicious yellow cake with sour cream chocolate frosting (the cake & frosting recipes are on her blog here).  Pink Candles even made beautiful earrings for each of us (I have wore my pair to the Alicia Keys concert).  I like this ritual, and I will definitely bring something the next time we all meet up!  I have found new friends in Darlene and Pink Candles, and you can be sure that this will not be the only time I go on an outting with these beautiful and fun food bloggers.

DSC00647 (2) (1280x1280)

Weekend In Pictures: That Place is STACKED!

A couple of weekends ago while shopping, my son and I stumbled upon a new place at the Fashion Valley mall.  The place is called Stacked, and makes the most of our current technology and incorporates it into food service.  Upon entering, the space is quite modern and attractive, with boldly painted walls and 80’s and alternative music piping through the speakers (already a plus with me).  We were greeted by very friendly people, who took our name and put it into a computer as part of a queue.  When it was our turn to be seated, we were taken to our table and noticed every table had a tablet computer.  Our server also handed us a traditional fold-out menu, but really, would you use that over an iPad?  We didn’t either.

I noted immediately how simple the menu was: burgers, pizza, sausages, salads, sides, desserts and drinks.  Because we just wanted a light nosh before heading home, I ordered food from the kids menu for both myself and Dominic.  I kept looking at the burgers, which looked fantastic but seemed a bit much at the time.  So the mini-burgers from the kids menu worked out just fine because they were basically sliders.  Dominic said he wanted chicken nuggets, his go-to dish.  I think he always says that because it’s really the only thing he knows how to ask for.

If you’ve never been to Stacked, the servers guide you through ordering.  They suggest ordering your drinks first because you can “send” your order to the kitchen and have them arrive at your table.  This allows you to have it while browsing through the menu to place your food order.  The menu consists of pre-determined menu items or meals that can be customized or “built”, hence the name Stacked.  They are then sent to the kitchen in the order you want your food to arrive.

The price ranges from $3.50 to $12, which rivals the price of any fast food joint, but with the quality of a good sit-down restaurant.  Our kids portions were full meals and included the french fries and baby carrots at only $3.50 and $4.00 each.  I was pleasantly surprised at how great the food was for the fantastic price.  I also loved how you could build any of your meals, including the incredibly delicious cookie ice-cream sandwiches.  I had the Simply Sweet Strawberry cookie sandwich, which coupled two of my favorite desserts: Snickerdoodle cookies and real strawberry ice-cream.  This dessert was a mere $2.50 and worth every penny.

If you’re looking for good food for the whole family that won’t break the bank, check out Stacked.  Your stomach and pocketbook will thank you.  Hope you had a great weekend!

Deal of the Day: Pacifica Del Mar

My friend Angi and I went out to dinner last week at Pacifica Del Mar in Del Mar, California.  I had eaten there before with my friend Janice, so I knew it was a great place to have dinner.  The atmosphere is very California cool and they have a beautiful view of the ocean from their outdoor seating.  The food is fresh and flavorful, and their dinner prices range from $25-$50.  My favorites were the appetizers: Angi had the Ahi Tuna Tartare (pictured below) and I had the Dungeness Crab Cakes.  Tasty! 

Ahi Tuna Tartare

They also have a great rewards program that you can sign up for and immediately receive a $25 gift certificate, which is why this is the deal of the day.   Click on the link below to be taken to their website so you can view their rewards program.  Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page on their website to see the listed information below.  Happy dining!  

Pacifica Del Mar 

Rewards Program 

Sign up and instantly receive $25 off your next visit 

Some EXCLUSIVE member benefits 

–         Receive a $25 gift certificate on your birthday and membership anniversary 

–         Earn points for ever dollar spent and redeem for gift certificates 

–         Your points are tracked automatically 

 SIGN UP AT PACIFICA DEL MAR OR PACIFICA BREEZE