Restaurant Review

  • An Endless Parade of Meat at Texas De Brazil San Diego

    Rodizio style Brazilian steakhouse restaurants are my absolute favorite style of dining. It combines everything I love in a culinary experience - endless meat, a variety of flavors, and that sense of being special. Over the past few decades the Churrascaria concept has spread rapidly in the United States and Texas de Brazil is one of the biggest operators to offer this experience. Now they've added Carlsbad, San Diego to their list of more than 50 locations world wide. They invited us to stop by and try their interpretation on the concept and we loved it!

  • Louisiana Purchase San Diego Is More Than Just Another New Orleans Restaurant

    I love New Orleans, in fact I'm absolutely enamored by the food, music, and culture of Southern Louisiana and it's a surprisingly diverse combination of influences. It's a chaotic gumbo of sometimes conflicting perspectives but very few people are able to communicate why this area is so intoxicating... Chef Quinton Austin though clearly gets it.

  • A Romantic Oktoberfest at Chicago's Edelweiss

    header-imageThe word "Oktoberfest" likely causes images of a raucous bar scene with giant steins of beer and busty waitresses dressed in dirndls. What if I told you that there was a family-friendly restaurant with authentic German food that was a perfect date location too? That's the quick synopsis of our experience at Edelweiss Dining - located in the Chicago suburb of Norridge.

    For more than 30 years, this restaurant has served up some of the best authentic German food in all of the Chicagoland area.

  • The Prestige By Mystique Dining Is A Magical Option For Date Night In San Diego

    There is a wide diversity of options when it comes to date night ideas but on New Year's Eve it gets a bit more complicated since way too many businesses look at this as an option to jack the prices up while cutting corners. This has made it quite challenging some years for Heather and I's anniversary but this year she suggested we try a magic show dinner theater that had opened up down the block from our loft in the San Diego Gaslamp. What we experienced last night was an awesomely fun evening of magic, food, and drinks.

  • Sushi Deli San Diego

    Years ago when I first tried sushi, it was a rare and elite luxury designed only for those willing to spend a lot of money and savor every bite. There is still that aspect of sushi and the exquisite precision of Japanese food preparation but over the past few decades, sushi has become democratized. Today, you can get sushi in ballparks and gas stations as well as some of the world's finest restaurants. Sushi Deli is somewhere between those with both the ability to bring sushi to the masses while still maintaining very high quality and adapting it to a market seeking fun, excitement and innovative ideas. It's no surprise then that they were also one of the first to adapt to the new realities by making their pickup experience one of the easiest and safest in San Diego.

  • I Just Ate One of the Best Ribeyes Ever at Ruth’s Chris San Diego

    Typically, visiting a steakhouse like Ruth’s Chris is something reserved for special occasions like celebrating a new client or a birthday - but why not plan a “because I love you!” date night for someone you love? That’s what I did with Heather a couple of weeks ago before leaving on another week-long trip.

  • El Agave Tequila Tasting and Dinner in San Diego's Old Town

    San Diego has tons of craft beer bars and great wine is in no shortage either but the craft spirits industry is also growing rapidly here as well. One of the shining stars there is El Agave Artesanal tequila and so I was thrilled that the folks at El Agave Restaurant invited us back to try some additional menu items as well as a tequila tasting led by one of their experts.

  • I May Have Found World's Best Bacon Cheeseburger at Hodad's Ocean Beach San Diego

    Since 1969, when Byron and Virginia Hardin opened their first location in Ocean Beach, Hodad's has been a legendary burger joint in San Diego. With an atmosphere that borders on kitschy tourist trap but somehow manages to stay authentic, this is a must-visit location for anyone visiting the city. However, what makes it even more awesome is that it is more than just a "cool place" to grab a bite, it is serving up some of the most amazing burgers in the whole world. 

    For those of you who have never been to Ocean Beach, it is a beach town located just north of the city and is full of hippies / surfer culture, so it is also great for people watching.

  • A Taste of Tuscany at Osteria Panevino in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

    Osteria Panevino is set in the heart of San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter and while there is no shortage of restaurants here, it's always fun to find ones I haven't been to before.

    The restaurant is designed to evoke the best of an authentic Tuscan osteria complete with brick walls and chalk boards on the walls with specials, a great wine list ranging from $25 to $900, sidewalk seating and of course bread as well as a full menu featuring homemade pasta, steaks, seafood, and of course gourmet Italian desserts. 

  • Celebrate Mardi Gras Any Time of the Year at Bud's Louisiana Cafe

    Heather and I LOVE Mardi Gras - well, actually we just love New Orleans and the spirit of Mardi Gras goes along with that. There is something liberating and fun about a time of year when you can just let loose and celebrate all the good things in life including friends, family, food, and of course drink! 

    Unfortunately, not everyone can make a trip to New Orleans in person, so the next best thing is to find a great Cajun or New Orleans restaurant near you and celebrate that way. In our case, this meant seeking out Bud's Louisiana Cafe in San Diego. I was a little concerned when I discovered it was located in an industrial park in a suite that would normally have held a logistics office or moving company, but as I've learned about great food down south - never judge something by the exterior appearance.

    That was true here as well and I am thrilled that we spent our evening here enjoying authentic New Orleans food and of course Abita beer!

  • Flagship Sunday Brunch Cruise on San Diego Bay

    Let's just start out by saying that Heather and I had a fantastic time. This brunch cruise was an experience that really is hard to compare since it was three distinct things wrapped up into one happy package. For instance, raise your hand if you've ever done a booze cruise with someone you love? Keep your hand up if you've done a harbor cruise that involved a meal... Ok, now keep you hands up if that food has been great, the service excellent, and the experience was one that you can't wait to do again.  Yeah, not a lot of hands are up still, but that's ok! 

    You probably haven't had the opportunity to sail with Flagship Cruises out of San Diego before. 

    The company offers several different cruises ranging from whale watching excursions to sunday brunch, and even a jet boat. However, despite this diversity of types of cruises offered and my initial scepticism that they might be a jack of all trades and master of none, I can heartily recommend it and I will almost certainly go again. Heck, I'd even recommend their other experiences based on this one!

  • An Evening with Le Cirque at Mid-America Club

    le-cirque-headerRecently Heather and I had the pleasure of attending a special "Pop Up Series" of An Evening with Le Cirque events across the country. Ours was located at the Mid-America Club in Chicago, a SPECTACULAR venue set 80 floors above Chicago with gorgeous views that matched the fabulous flavors and plating that Le Cirque is known for. 

     

  • Dinner Takeout Done Right - Our Experience from Parc Bistro San Diego

    2020 was a rough year in a lot of ways and generally, we like to do at least one restaurant feature every month, sometimes two or even three. With dine-in options mostly closed or simply not to my level of comfort, I stopped doing restaurant features the way I liked to do previously. I still continued to order out but it took time for the industry to catch up and start producing options that made sense beyond the typical take-out heroes like burritos, sushi, sandwiches, and sandwiches. I was a bit nervous for New Years Day dinner since not only is this a big night for foodies in general... but it's also my anniversary. Luckily we saw Parc Bistro on TV and loved their attitude and creativity so we decided to order their Beef Wellington and try it out.

  • I Just Ate a $100 Steak at Greystone Steakhouse San Diego

    In the world of steak, sometimes bigger is better and other times it is all about being ridiculous and over-the-top. This $100 steak at Greystone Steakhouse in San Diego's Gaslamp firmly belongs in that second category. The 3oz Japanese Wagyu steak comes topped with 24 karat gold flakes, hand shaved black truffle and is served on a slab of fine marble. 

  • Rivea At Delano - Dining at the Top of the World in Vegas

    One of the things I love about Vegas is all the amazing restaurants. It seems there is a never ending supply of creativity that is both pushing the culinary as well as architectural arts. What I didn't expect was to find an astonishingly awesome dinner at the top of Delano on the far south end of the strip. That's where Rivea sits and offers diners an unparalleled view of the entire strip. They say retail is location, location, location and this is absolutely true for Rivea. Luckily for us, the service and food was equally fantastic - making for one of the best dinners I've experienced in a long while.

  • I Just Sipped Two Thousand Dollars of Scotch at The Whiskey House

    Everyone should have a neighborhood bar. It's one of those places that can be a home away from home where the bartenders welcome you warmly when you enter the door and you feel comfortable before you even have a chance to order a drink. That's what San Diego's The Whiskey House is to me, so when I got the opportunity to join them for a Glenfiddich tasting a few weeks ago I jumped at the opportunity. Then I discovered that they were opening a $4,000 bottle of Glenfiddich 40 year and I cleared my schedule for the rest of the evening!

  • Why Does Lobster Mean Fancy And How Did It Get That Way?

    There's something magical about lobster, just the mention if it brings visions of wealth, status, and a lifestyle of luxury. As someone who once lived in a lobster town in Massachusetts, lobster was always an affordable luxury - similar in cost to a great pork chop or a nice steak. Even though the cost was equivalent, the mention of lobster meant we were having a special dinner. Years later and on a different coast, that's pretty much how I feel each time I walk into Red Lobster today too.

  • A Brazilian Brunch at Fogo De Chao

    Most of us have at one point or another enjoyed a Brazilian steakhouse. Typically it's an expensive experience reserved for those celebratory dinners for holidays, birthdays, promotions etc. Recently though, Fogo de Chao has launched two new twists on this including their amazing brunch and also a "gaucho lunch". As a man who loves my meat I couldn't pass up the opportunity when they invited me to check out their new Brazilian Brunch!

  • Hungry For Crab? We've Got a Solution at Red Lobster!

    We talked about Lobsterfest a few months ago, but now it's time for Crabfest at Red Lobster and it's a perfect opportunity to treat someone special to a great dinner! In my case, Heather and I celebrated her birthday a couple days early with a big heaping portion of Bairdi Crab Legs and I had the Crab Lover's Dream featuring King Crab, Snow Crab and a delicious Crab Linguine Alfredo.

  • A Guide to the Best and Most Popular Restaurants in Mexico

    When most people think of Mexican food, they imagine basic Tex-Mex dishes like tacos and burritos. While these dishes can be delicious, they don't come close to representing the true diversity of Mexican cuisine. There are many amazing restaurants in Mexico that will make you rethink your perception of Mexican cuisine. In this blog post, we will list nine of the top restaurants in Mexico, each with its own unique take on Mexican cuisine.