I'm a sucker for dining with views of the water, I'm addicted to sand, palm trees and the sound of waves crashing on the beach while I eat. Heck, even in colder areas without sand and palm trees I still love oceanfront restaurants where you can smell the sea breezes. Oceans 234 in Deerfield Beach delivers all of that in a chic but still chill, laid back and relaxed environment with some of the best food I've had in a long time.

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.

Fogo de Chao is hands down one of my favorite restaurants. Not only do you get a never-ending parade of meats but the place is fun and imaginative when it comes to creating seasonal updates to the menu. We were invited to check out their new Spring Menu this week, so how could I resist when it includes three new cocktails to try!

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've finally found it! I knew that San Diego had to have a restaurant that was equally good at ambiance as it is in service, preparation, and presentation. Earlier this month Heather and I were invited to have dinner and check out Greystone Steakhouse - one of the older restaurants here in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter.

Greystone Steakhouse just recently celebrated 15 years of operation here and after the amazing dinner we enjoyed, I can see why it's been able to survive so long and I am sure they will continue to have great success for many more years to come!

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. 

The Gaslamp District is the destination to go for nightlife in San Diego. It's the place to be seen and it's no surprise that it is home to some of the most popular restaurants in the city. Last night I had the pleasure of dining at Acqua Al 2 for an opportunity to taste my way through it's delicious cuisine direct from Florence Italy.

Many Italian restaurants trace their inspiration back to Italian roots and Acqua Al 2 is no different - except that they actually have a location in Florence itself. Many years ago, owner and Executive Chef, Martin Gonzalez went to Italy to learn Italian and better understand the customs and way of life. To do so, he enrolled in cooking classes at the prestigious Instituto Culinario Apicius where he was award the title of "Best Student". 

Josefas Cocina Mexicana is a brand new addition to La Jolla from the same folks that brought us Iberico. As part of it's opening, I was invited to stop by for a lunch to check it out and share my thoughts.

For the past year, I have been moaning that the San Diego restaurant scene sucks - and so a few PR teams ganged up on me to convince me that I just had bad luck in picking places. While I still stand beside my earlier comments, I am starting to discover that while San Diego doesn't celebrate - or demand - a certain high level of sophistication from its restaurants compared to the prices charged,... there are some fantastic gems.