Restaurant Review
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Dine Like a Celebrity at the Mirage Buffet Chef's Table
Las Vegas was once the land where everyday people could escape their everyday reality and be whoever they wanted to be for a few days. Today, the strip is dominated by elite restaurants, fancy shops, and pretty much anything expensive that you can imagine. It's a great place, but what's missing is that "Las Vegas Magic". Luckily, that still exists at a few places and others are creating new experiences that make you feel like a celebrity - without spending like it. That's exactly how I felt when Mirage Las Vegas invited me to stop by to check out their Chef's Table Experience at the Cravings Buffet.
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How To Have the Best Experience Possible at a Brazilian Steakhouse
It should be quite clear by now that I am a huge fan of Brazilian steakhouses or Churrascaria as they are also known. There's something magical about a buffet of meat that comes to you. Since you and your friends can simply sit at the table for most of the meal and not worry about getting up to load your plate with more food, conversation seems to flow more freely and it's certainly a more relaxing form of celebratory eating than other options out there. I've been lucky to be treated so well by the folks at Fogo de Chao and so after my visit to their Vegas location last week I figured it was a good opportunity to share some of my expert knowledge on how to maximize your experience at a Brazilian Steakhouse!
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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.
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A Taste of Cuba in San Diego at Havana 1920
There are two things in life that I love the most (outside of my wife of course!) - Traveling and Food. That's really one bigger thing: exploring new cultures. That's why I love trying new restaurants that work hard to transport you to new times and places like Havana 1920 does. Havana 1920 is a new Cuban-themed cafe and bar in the heart of San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter - very close to the convention center as well as most of the bigger hotels. Here's what we loved about it!
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San Pedro Fish Market Grille: The Classic Shrimp Tray Is Here Too!
The San Pedro Fish Market is one of the most famous restaurants in Los Angeles and dates back to 1956 when it opened it's doors as Vista Seafood. It's known worldwide as a fun place serving up huge portions of fresh seafood that people know is worth facing crowds of hungry people just to get a bite of. Now they are expanding into a new concept, delivering the food and fun of the classic Shrimp Tray and other items but now in a fast casual restaurant environment. While still family owned, the San Pedro Fish Market Grille has expanded to multiple locations including Rolling Hills Estates, Wilmington, and Harbor City - where they invited us to join them for a taste.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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California Pizza Kitchen Las Vegas at The Park: More Than Just Pizza
My wife tells me that I'm weird since i don't love pizza. Unfortunately because of that, I've generally avoided California Pizza kitchen since I'd always seen it as a pizza joint. Since earlier this year though when I helped them kick off their new location at The Park in Vegas, it's become one of my favorite restaurants.
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Theatre Box and Sugar Factory San Diego Is One Sweet Combination
Theatre Box just opened up in downtown San Diego and frankly you'd have to be living under a rock to not know about it. Between celebrities posting ridiculous dessert pictures on Instagram and other buzz it honestly wasn't my sort of place I thought. After all, usually these places just have "instagram food" that looks pretty but doesn't really taste that great. However, when I was invited to check it out I accepted since I was curious. Honestly I wasn't expecting much. I figured that at very least though that it would be a good opportunity to finally see Aquaman and grab some dinner. My bias against celebrity endorsement almost caused me to miss out on one of the coolest new concepts in San Diego.
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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.
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BJ's Restaurants MVP Bundle: The Perfect Homegate Helper For The Big Game
As we gear up for the big game, I had the chance to test drive BJ's Restaurants' MVP Bundle, and let me tell you – they've thought of everything for the perfect homegating spread. While the bundle itself is impressive (featuring your choice of a large pizza paired with either 3 pounds of boneless wings or 30 bone-in wings for $55), I decided to kick things up a notch by adding some of my favorite appetizers.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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California Cuisine and Cocktails at Breakfast Republic San Diego
Breakfast Republic seems to be on the list of every foodie I know in San Diego right now. With lines on weekends that might you second guess stopping by, I know plenty of my friends have simply just passed it by but still wondered what it was like to dine there. Luckily, they continue to expand and now have locations in North Park, Liberty Station, Encinitas and recently opened in East Village San Diego. The menu here is exactly what you'd expect from a California brunch place and in particular one that's growing up in San Diego's modern food scene and we were thrilled to be invited to check it out.
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Rice and Company at Luxor Las Vegas
One of my favorite things about visiting Las Vegas is the food scene. There's always something new and fun popping up and because of the competition, innovation is constant. On this most recent trip, we were invited to check out Rice & Company, a pan-Asian restaurant located right between Blue Man Group and Carrot Top's theaters inside of the Luxor resort at the south end of the strip. It's the perfect spot for pre/post show drinks as well as a complete dinner to keep you going all night long.
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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.