Thai Hot

My quest for the best Thai Food in San Diego is on. And as a girl whose long time routine of holing up on a Sunday afternoon with the latest TV show series (seriously I have been doing this a while, you can really crank through the episodes of Greys, Desperate Housewives, Pretty Little Liars, Weeds etc) and ordering Thai Food (through Grubhub or eat24 because, yes I am that lazy to pick up a phone and call) you can try a few different places. So now that I have found your new favorite Thai place, how about you give a gal a few TV series recommendations

1.       Farmers Market Thai Place-Saranya (Ok I know slightly cheating since they don’t exactly deliver, but sometimes I have leftovers!)

a.       Hands down the best. Spicy as all get out-they ask you Thai Spicy 1-10. Order a 3. You will still live, I won’t promise that if you go spicier. Fresh, fresh, fresh and loaded with veggies and protein. Musts are the noodle and rice dishes. Also check out the fattest Thai Shrimp rolls you have ever seen! I’m checking out the curry selection next!

2.       Lotus Thai

a.       Yum. This place is good.  The curry is spicy and the pad thai a tasty noodle mixture with plenty of vegetables and spice to round it out.

3.       Mint Thai

a.       Don’t. Just don’t.

4.       Bali Thai

a.       Quickest delivery of them all (30-40 mins most days). Good thai, but can sometimes be a bit greasy. However, I do love the Fresh Rolls (spring for the extra sauce because it’s delicious!) and the soups-YUM!

5.       Thai Time (Ocean Beach)

a.       Again I’m cheating a little, but if you are feeling guilty about laying on your couch all day and can venture out for the 15-20 minutes it takes to pick up your takeout, this would be the place to do that for. It’s all good. And so are the prices. Eat-up! Your wallet won’t be losing weight and neither will you!

The Romance of Farmers Markets

There is something so romantic and foodie wrapped together in your local farmers market. Is it the piles of fresh vegetables just waiting to be grilled, or sauteed with your new infused olive oil, or the salad fixings that would make even the non-veggie head take a bite? Whatever it is, there is a feeling that encompasses you when you visit the market to pick up your vegetables, bread or sample the food vendors offerings.

I have spent my entire childhood at a farmers market on the weekends, courtesy of parents owning a natural foods bakery, and now make it a point in my “grown-up” life to visit my local market on a regular basis. I think it holds several appeals for me-I get to be outside, I experience my neighborhood in a new way each time, I enjoy establishing relationships with my favorite vendors and there is nothing more exciting than taking the morning’s haul back home and planning out grilling sessions or dinners to showcase the favorite pick.

Farmers Markets offer the best of so many worlds, it’s a perfect “date” to stroll around on a Saturday morning with a cup of coffee and your more established significant other. Hey, everyone looks good in sunglasses and lazy morning outfits or workout clothes after your morning run, yoga or hike… Check and see if you have a Farmers Market that is mid-week with more of an evening theme…think beer garden and live music. It’s the perfect after work place to meet friends, your new interest or to meet  your new interest. I am a firm believer that doing activities you enjoy will engage you with like minded people… and if you don’t know what to do with the random bag of fava beans or pea shoots that you just so happened to pick up…maybe he or she will.

 

Favorite Farmers Markets:

Seattle- While not a traditional Farmers Market, the Pike Place Market is home to lots of veggies, crafts and fish swinging and singing fish mongers.

Ithaca, NY- The Ithaca Farmers Market is the largest outdoor farmers market on the East Coast. And everything is grown within 30 miles of the waterfront location.

Yoga Pants and Grocery Stores

I promise there is a correlation here. Most of us wouldn't be caught dead (or hope not) to be caught by our ex, our boss etc in our sweats at the grocery store-except for after yoga class. We're glowy and just a tad bit sweaty (well unless you finished a Power Sculpt class and then you're soaked), and our exuberance for life is floating around us.  I think healthy/natural foods grocery stores purposely position themselves next to yoga studios (healthy activities=healthy eating?). And I think that women and men alike leaving their yoga classes purposely go to these stores with their post glowy selves to see and be seen. Come on-like you don't think your butt doesn't look good in yoga pants?!

So my short and sweet dating tip and thought here...we all know their are more "single" grocery stores-Whole Foods, Sunflower Markets, Trader Joes etc that boost a health conscious, rather good looking group of shoppers. Hey it's easy to strike up a conversation over which cheese should be the splurge this week or brussel sprouts vs. Kale for dark greens. (I'm going to make Kale Pesto for dinner...I should let you know how it turns out). It's the shy single's easiest pick-up place and you know you already have a couple of things in common: you both like food and yoga, crossfit or whatever.

Recipe for Kale Pesto:

3 cups of chopped baby kale (large stems removed)
1 cup of basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

In a food processor blend all ingredients together except for salt, pepper and olive oil. Slowly add olive oil in a steady stream until ingredients come together and make an almost runny consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

Note: I don't add nuts because the kale has a pretty nutty texture and it also reduces the fat a lot by not using them.

I like to toss mine with whole wheat pasta, oven roasted tomatoes, and rose wine sauteed onions and mushrooms. Make sure your date eats it too...no one loves garlic breath by themselves, it's meant to be shared.

Coffee Culture

There is an experience with coffee. The aroma, the sniff test, the first taste, the enjoyment as you savor the flavor and enjoy the effects of caffeine. Ok. I am a coffee addict. But I love everything about coffee, whether it's brewed in my home, at my local favorite place or wherever I have searched out a shop.

Your home:
It's the essential coffee. The get-up get going in the morning coffee to make it through your morning routine and out the door to your job, your first appointment or whatever. It's what you share with your special someone as you snuggle in bed or on the couch and wake up together on a weekend morning.
I used to date a guy who (and I should have ended the relationship immediately as soon as the first time this happened) used to brew himself one cup of coffee in the morning. Yup. One Cup. Guess what his nickname was? One Cup. Coffee is meant to be shared and enjoyed together, and when you both share a love for something, no matter how fundamentally functional it is, savor the experience together.

Your local favorite place:
You always have one. Or maybe several. I like to people watch at mine while I enjoy a Skinny Vanilla Latte or an SVL as they like to call it. Or maybe it's Americano day. Creamy, thick, dark, smooth when it's pulled just right. Coffee shops are where I order my "treat coffees" and work on emails, or this blog or surf for my next vacation deal (I wish). But it's where I get outfit ideas on what to wear, and maybe more importantly what not to wear. It's where I hear all of the local gossip and start to feel like I am "fitting in" in my new neighborhood. It's an ideal date place (well maybe not your FAVORITE local coffee shop...if the date doesn't go well, you still have your hideout later).

Your searched out shop:
This is your essential coffee away from home. And not Starbucks (unless you are in Seattle, and then you are given a pass). And you know you are an addict when you actually search on your GPS for the local coffee shop, or will walk several blocks past the nearest Starbucks to find that shop.
It's where you can shyly tell the barista that you are new to town or just visiting and they treat you like their best friend even if it's only for 5 minutes. It's your home away from home.

Whoever started Coffee's marketing campaigns...I'd like to meet them. They were brilliant. They not only sold us on a flavor and feeling, they gave us an experience. And I bought in-probably for life.

Where to try:
Home: Currently I am checking out Trader Joe's selection and am favoriting the Medium and Dark Roasts of their house blends. It's a fine line between good and breaking the bank when you work from home.

Your favorite local place in San Diego:
Influx for that Italian feel, complete with Italian speaking customers and the "just right" pulled espresso
Cafe Virturoso for some of the best coffee outside of Seattle you will ever have. Small and loud because they are grinding and roasting in house, but try the Mexican Mocha.

Your searched out shop:
Hop a plane to Boulder and check out The Cup. Environmentally concious, just hippy and hippish enough to be the hottest place in town to be seen, and to see. Try their milkshakes or a Bahkti Chai with a shot of Vanilla Syrup.

Sunflower Organic Dining

Sunflower or Sunsuck...you take your pick. I choose the latter.

My company's holiday lunch was hosted here. I feel bad for making the recommendation because I pride myself on knowing restaurants. Having heard good things, but never having tried the place, I thought the place at least had a fair chance.

Starting with the service. What service? The restaurant was empty of patrons and apparently of servers. Ours kept disappearing for such long lengths of time that I had to pull him aside and have a conversation about what decent service consisted of. Oh like maybe showing up at the table for drink orders within a 10 minute period of sitting-I would of said two minutes, but that seemed to be stretching it for him.
The food portions were small and unimpressive. The burgers could have fit in the palm of my hand, and I have small hands. My Pad Thai was flavorless. Only redeeming thing about the meal were the desserts that were a little more than mediocre.

Luckily, I have since redeemed myself at my company for suggesting this place to celebrate the holidays

SOBO American Bistro

SOBO is delicious, sophisticated and just the right mix of casual and contemporary.

I am in love with fish right now and am working or rather eating my way through every type of fish to find the favorites and flesh out the bad. My first visit to SOBO was with my dear friend, after a day of the slopes we wanted some sophistication combined with good food and well mixed spirits. We found both.

Starting with a glass of Malbec, we shared a a roasted beet and goat cheese salad. I went out on a whim and choose the special (I consider myself a picky food snob and usually go for the tried and true menu items, but this sounded too good to pass up)-an Arctic Char with a mint tzatziki sauce, served with a wild rice cake and braised mushrooms and swiss chard.
Oh medley of flavors! This was incredible.
My "date" choose a sea bass steeped in a miso broth with bok choy and fennel salad. The plump shrimp dumpling floating in the broth added just another bite of mouth excitement.

Our desserts were another round of drinks. I choose to move on from wine to the Harvey Wallbanger...a grown-up, refreshing twist on vodka and fruity mixed drinks.

I love the open kitchen aspect of the place and SOBO sports an amazing glass wine cellar. My only complaints would be our server could have been a bit more knowledgeable about the food and the noise levels tend to be a bit high with the industrial type ceilings.

This will be a place on my meals-to-remember list.

Minturn Saloon

Howdy Partner!
Step back in time at the Minturn Saloon with it's quirky, homey and crude decor and servers. Crude is not meant to be an insult, rather the decor and servers add to the environment. This place has enough character plus, some. The plank floors, signed movie star pictures on the wall, sun withered, long haired wait staff that have been with the restaurant for for 20+ years, enormous bull horns hanging-yep it's an experience.

Now, the food is Mexican with an offering of thick and tasty barbecue as well- not exceptional, but with pitchers of beer or margaritas to wash it down the caliber goes way up.

Try this place after a long day of skiing as the portions and the atmosphere is huge....bring along a bunch of rowdy friends-this place is not for the quiet or shy-and be ready for a good time. I can almost see the rounds of tequila now...