Just a few hundred feet from my loft in San Diego is Lionfish - Modern Coastal Cuisine - set inside the Pendry Hotel. I've walked by a few times but for some reason never had a chance to enter and check it out. Last week their PR team reached out to me to promote the fact that they have been recognized as a 2019 James Beard Foundation Smart Catch Leader, and would I be interested in stopping over for dinner sometime. Not one to pass up a chance to enjoy some food and drinks I graciously accepted their invitation. Now, I'm just wondering why I haven't visited before now...

Nachos are one of the great American party foods. It's uniquely American in that it took inspiration from another culture and then made it ours. That's what American food is all about - taking the best from around the world and then making it even more awesome. So in that spirit, I introduce you guys to nanchos! That's right, Indian inspired nachos using nan instead of chips and a blend of spicy and exotic Indian spices.

For most Americans, the answer to "where does your food come from?" is simply - the local grocery store. While that's true, it misses the whole point. With the exception of farmers, fishermen, and hunters, few of us stop to think about how our food got to the store shelves and what it went through to get there. I'll admit that some parts of this visit were tough to see and even tougher now to write about. The process isn't always clean or easy but after taking this journey with Perdue Farms to understand the process better I've made some significant changes to how I think about what I buy to eat.

For the past few months I've been using Premier Protein shakes as a quick meal replacement for breakfast and mid-day snacks. The other day though, I came across an interesting idea - instead of using creamer for your morning coffee, try Premier Protein Caramel flavored shake instead. This way you get a nice cream flavor plus a hit of sweet caramel without worrying about adding extra sugar or fat.

National Gumbo Day is October 12, 2019 and we're big fans of this hearty dish and how it reflects the local tastes and personal styles of the cook. While it is tempting to try and put together a list of "America's Best Gumbo" that would be an exercise in futility. The truth is that the best gumbo is the one that is made from the heart and served up with a smile. So, gator, seafood, sausage, pork, or something else, let's grab a spoon and check out these great places to get your gumbo on!

Being on the west coast is weird sometimes - we are three hours off from games that start on the East Coast and that means our tailgating foods are generally closer to brunch than dinner. Personally, I like to spice things up and I'm tired of the traditional recipes. Sure, you could have wings and mostaccioli but let's do something different. That's why I created this Brazilian-inspired omelette recipe featuring some products provided to me by the folks over a babbleboxx to create our own tailgate brunch experience.

In this article, we will list down what you should limit or preferably avoid at all times after stroke. Just always remember not to include or avoid three “S” in your recovery diet—salt, sugar, and saturated fats.

I've been hooked on Big AZ sandwiches since I first worked with them a few years ago. These aren't for foodies but they are for men with a big az appetite!

Taking an epic road trip is my favorite way to experience what it means to be an American. While flying to a great destination is a quick way to get to a destination, with a road trip the journey is the destination. Along the way you get a chance to meet new people, taste new foods, savor new drinks, and spend time discussing various topics with your traveling companions. Last year I got a chance to do a short road trip in California for the launch of the all-new 2019 Toyota Rav4, a vehicle that quickly became one of our favorites. Now we've had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the 2019 Rav4 Hybrid, which aside from one frustrating item is about the perfect mid-sized SUV for a long road trip.

Ok, so I'm guilty of it too... I like to work hard to the point where I'm absolutely starving. I don't want to wait for delivery and I'm too hungry to cook - so I hit the freezer to see what's inside. Often times that results in pretty bad food choices but it doesn't have to. The folks at Conagra sent us a few of their latest product to check out and all of them can be prepared quickly so you can get back to work fast.

So you've probably experimented with whiskey before when preparing BBQ but sometimes the occasion just calls for tequila and so that what we tried. This recipe is a fairly simple smoked brisket recipe with light hints of tequila that help pair it well with a nice full glass of high-quality agave spirits such as our favorite, Don Julio 1942.

Pasta mixed up with cheese has been a favorite dish for centuries. It has a long history of being both a dish enjoyed by foodies to one enjoyed by the poorest of people looking simply for a tasty treat to fill their hungry bellies. As a result, you have an almost infinite number of macaroni and cheese recipes with each person having their own twist on the classic. Today's recipe comes to us from Bellwether Farms, an artisan creamery located in Sonoma County, California and features their Bellwether Farms Carmody.

Now it's 25th year, Taste of The Gaslamp is one of the biggest food and wine events in San Diego and it's a great opportunity to check out a bunch of different restaurants around town. I live downtown so I can walk to virtually anything I want - but I've gotten into a rut and only go to my favorites these days. Unfortunately the restaurant industry is a dynamic environment with new places opening and old places closing almost on a daily basis. This means that while I have my favorites - it can be hard to find new ones... before it's too late. So, this gave me (and other residents) the opportunity to explore them for one low price.

Babe's BBQ and Brewhouse is located in Rancho Mirage, CA about the middle of the "Greater Palm Springs" area and that makes it a great spot to meet up after a day of golf, off-roading, or in our case driving at the BMW Performance Center. With a combination of Latin Fusion, a variety of BBQ styles, and craft beer it's got something for everyone.

The flavor of fire-grilled meat is a primal experience that goes back thousands of years. Man has been drawn to the delicious char and juices dripping from a perfectly cooked piece of meat since the first time he tried it. Thankfully this is a skill that continues to be passed down through thousands of generations of men and that continues today in backyards across America! Unfortunately, it isn't something that just anyone can do properly. You need to equip yourself with a few basic skills. Just like any other craft, the technicalities of the process have to be carefully mastered.

One of the things I love about cruising is the food. It's not always the "best ever" but each cruise line has some iconic dishes that fans absolutely crave and savor the memories for months and years after the cruise. In the case if Carnival, their Warm Chocolate Melting Cake is undisputedly one of the best deserts at sea. While virtually all cruise lines offer a variation of a "chocolate lava cake", Carnival's is just that much better and we've got the secret recipe below. However, the other thing I love about cruising is that you can always make things better and the crew loves to make guests happy. That is true on almost every cruise I've taken with Carnival and it is certainly true the night we took Carnival's Warm Chocolate Melting Cake to the next level by adding melted peanut butter!

I love cooking, eating, taking photos of food, and sharing meals with interesting people. Food is something that I'm pretty passionate about and so I was excited to dig into the survey results that Knorr sent me from their survey of more than 2,000 Americans. The survey included questions about food preferences, cooking styles, spending habits and more. As someone who loves food I was a bit surprised by some of the findings but maybe I shouldn't be. Here's what they found...

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.

Looking for a tasty treats to keep you warm and happy this winter? Here's some suggestions from our friends over at Guiness and Bulleit!

I love fun wines and the personality behind them, so I was excited to try MERF Wines Cabernet Sauvignon a few weeks ago. All too often I feel like wine is either stuffy and boring or kitchy product designed to draw you in with a label but ultimately lacking the quality product to make you want more. I've been a fan though of Columbia Valley wines from Washington State since they generally have a fantastic quality to them that is almost a part of the lifestyle. David "Merf" Merfeld's product continues this so we wanted to get to know him a bit more. Here's his thoughts on travel, food, and why he switched from brewing to winemaking.