Wings used to be one of those things that came free with a happy hour special at your local pub. Today though they are a premium treat that in some cases is just as expensive as a steak or good piece fish. Unfortunately not all wings are equal and so it can be very complicated to separate the premium wing companies that are worth spending your money on, from the ones that think you just don't know any better. Lucky for me - and millions of others in San Diego! - Dirty Birds is a great example of a company producing a fantastic product that I personally can't wait to enjoy again on my own dime.

Eggs Benedict is one of my all time favorite things to eat and I know that's true among many of my friends as well. It's a special dish that is generally reserved for special occasions and restaurants. However, it's easier to make at home than you might imagine.

I LOVE fajitas - unfortunately they are typically really time consuming to cook at home because you have to cut pieces of raw chicken, marinate them and then cook them. That's time consuming but also messy and frankly it's just easier and more enjoyable to go to a restaurant so you get the pomp and circumstance of the sizzling skillet and fresh, steaming hot tortillas. While it doesn't quite bring it to your table, the new Foster Farms Sauté Ready chicken makes things SUPER easy to cook up awesome fajitas at home. All you need to do is add onions, peppers, toppings, and tortillas and you have a great family dinner in just about 30 minutes!

The other day I was wandering around my local grocery store trying to figure out what to buy for lunch. I was hungry and creative - a combo that tends to be expensive for me. As I wandered through the sauce aisle I realized that nearly every time I buy a bottled sauce I'm disappointed in the flavor, thickness, etc. So I thought to myself, "why can't I make a sauce that matches exactly what I love?" While this sauce ended up turning out great and was ultimately "wife approved", sometimes the journey of creation is exciting in itself. You can always learn from your mistakes, adjust the proportions and make things distinctly YOURS!

One of the hottest food trends right now is birria - no it isn't new but it is newly popular outside of the Mexican community and innovative food pioneers have taken it to new levels, far far beyond the classic birria taco. In fact, on this food tour of three San Diego birria restaurants, we tried it in tacos, pizza, ramen!

One of my favorite parts of traveling is experiencing new food that you can't get anywhere else. Sure, you can get tacos in any state... but San Diego is king. Unfortunately we can't get good bagels or BBQ here either. With Goldbelly though, you can order from dozens of different restaurants, bakeries, and other food makers from around the country. While many of these are iconic foods like BBQ from Nashville's Peg Leg Porker or Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, others are lesser known... despite being local's favorites for years. Armed with a $500 gift card provided by Goldbelly we started our journey. Here's what we bought for our backyard feast (and saved for ourselves to eat too!).

How many times have you found yourself thinking or saying out loud that you hate cooking? Although you love the finished product and enjoy a delicious tasting meal, maybe you’re tired of all the work that goes into it. Rather than giving up on cooking and resorting to takeout and restaurants for every meal, why not learn to find the joy in preparing healthy meals that take much less effort than you’re used to? It may be all you need to reinvigorate yourself and see cooking in a fresh new light. Here’s a look at some useful tips on how to prepare healthy meals with less effort.

Are you hungry for something different when it comes to food on a cruise ship? Yeah, me too. While I love the tried and true mixture of buffet, main dining room, steakhouse, and Italian restaurant... variety is nice too. Virgin Voyages is a disruptor in the cruise industry. When you take a look at the food offerings, you will see why that is going to be very exciting for guests when Scarlet Lady starts sailing this fall from Miami.

Most people think of tacos, enchiladas, and burritos when it comes to Mexican food but at cross-border towns like Tijuana, you'll find a much more diverse culture. With a history that included serving as a destination for American's seeking drinks, gambling, and "other things" for the past more than 100 years, Tijuana has a culture that represents a unique blend of California and Mexico. One of the cities most legendary culinary contributions is undoubtedly the invention of the now internationally famous Caesar Salad.

We tried Freshly meals a few weeks ago as an alternative to that, "OMG I'm SOOOOOOOOO HUNGRY!" feeling that inevitably ended up with way too expensive and way too much food delivery orders. Getting food when you are hungry is simply not a good idea if you are looking for something moderately healthy and affordable. It's not that you can't make good decisions but your body chemistry is working against you at that moment. That's why we tried Freshly on a weekly basis. Now they've introduced a new Multi-Serving Proteins & Sides product and decided to send us some to check out.

The other day I discovered I actually liked gin... or at least Tanqueray No Ten. To be honest, I'm still not a huge fan of dry gin and so bear with me - this is something different. Instead of the medicinal, pine-tree-flavor you might be familiar with, we're going for a bright citrus flavor that compliments the classic base of juniper and other botanicals that give gin such a unique flavor for our wings in today's recipe. For those of you who love wings and are looking for something new - this is going to be a treat!

You're an adventurer. You're an explorer. You love discovering unknown places and obscure activities. You want an experience. If this describes your personality, it probably describes your appetite too. Of course, the challenge of living an adventurous lifestyle is trying everything the world offers while maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. While this sounds like a daunting task, it doesn't have to be difficult. There are three habits you can start right now that will help you stay fit while exploring the menus of the world.

One of the fun things about cruising is the food – not just the quantity, but the specialness of having treats that you generally don’t find at home. Over the years, as American tastes have gotten more sophisticated, cooking shows have become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. While many cruise ships do have a cooking demo a couple times on each voyage, Holland America Line has taken this to the next level with actual theaters to showcase their chefs as well as periodically invite celebrity chefs to make an appearance as well. Even though cruising is closed right now, we can still remember the good old days while planning for future explorations and adventures!

Ventura California is one of those iconic Southern California "surf towns" that you probably have heard of from classic rock songs like, "Ventura Highway" or seen in countless TV shows and movies. It's essentially the bridge between the laid back country living embodied by Central Coast California and everything you think you know about Los Angeles. Personally, I've driven through here several times on my way to somewhere else but never stopped. Last week I broke that cycle and now I'm wondering why I didn't visit earlier.

Sometimes it is nice to just have a delicious meal that is easy to prepare and tastes great. I've been doing a version of this recipe as a pasta side dish for the past year but decided to kick it up a bit and turn it into a full meal with the addition of some shrimp mixed in. 

Chicken, ham, fish, beef, lamb these are all standard dinner meats but I personally love to explore flavors found in wild game animals. Even when they are farm raised, trying something different helps set the mood that tonight's dinner is going to be something special. 

March has begun and that means that it is unofficially Irish Heritage month - even if that's mostly celebrated by St Patrick's Day traditions such as green beer and leprechauns as well as more palatable ones such as a corned beef and cabbage dinner.  Variations on the classic corned beef and cabbage recipes have been what I've eaten for St. Patrick's Day for the past 30+ years, so it's time to try something new and explore Irish culture a bit while doing so.

 They say that the way to a man's heart is through his mouth so we're going to share four awesome Valentine's Day Gifts that men will love!

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.

This dinner is a classic Jewish dinner that would be appropriate for any number of holidays. However, I decided to prepare it last night in honor of Hanukkah even though I'm not Jewish or even particularly religious. Why? Because Beef Brisket, Latkes, Chollar Bread, and Matzo Ball Soup are all among my favorite treats and I love switching up my menu to try different recipes in my own kitchen.