While Vegas has trended away from lavish buffets, the tradition of a casino buffet being the crown jewel of a resort is alive and well in San Diego. Last week we were invited to check out Viejas Casino Resort's buffet during their new Friday Crab Legs feast and we were not disappointed!

Crabfest^® is back at Red Lobster and we stopped by to check out some of their new creations including the Crab Cakes and Crab-Oscar Salmon and the Crabfest® Ultimate Surf & Turf - both are new this year. Don't worry, your favorites are still here like the Crab Lovers Dream^® and they have limitless cheddar bay biscuits (as long as you ask nicely!). 

As you probably know by now, one of my absolutely favorite restaurants is Fogo de Chao. There is little out there that's better than the experience of enjoying great cocktails while enjoying an endless parade of meat served by friendly gauchos - well, except doing it in Brazil itself I suppose! Each season the folks at Fogo also update their harvest table with seasonal selections but they've now updated their bar menu too. They are so excited about their new offerings that they invited me back again to try some of their new cocktails and small plates before the full dinner that I already knew would be awesome.

There seems to be two main types of seafood restaurants that I'm invited to visit. There are fancy ones with waiters in suits and white linen table cloths and others are casual shacks where the only thing that matters is the food. Thankfully, Grand Isle is the later of those two options and is inspired by the classic coastal Louisiana fish camps from Grand Isle. However, along side extremely fresh seafood served steamed or raw, guests will find creative dishes that wouldn't be out of place in the fanciest restaurants in New Orleans.

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.

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.

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!

There's something special about southern cooking. It's a craft that has been honed by generations and has a unique sophistication that really isn't based on "price" but rather simply a love for flavors and textures that transcend economic divides. When I lived in North Carolina, food was a celebration and "Sunday Dinner" represented a time when friends, family, and neighbors would gather at my friend's grandmother's house for stories, drinks, and meals that I still remember today. That's the magic Southern Cooking and Yardbird Las Vegas has taken that experience and elevated it to a level that is sophisticated - but still approachable. 

It's time to celebrate the holidays with feasts, bright colors, drinking, and good friends. Thanks to the folks at Fogo de Chao, I was invited to check out their new holiday offerings and of course, I jumped at the opportunity! At most restaurants right now you're going to find a menu matching the winter weather that we're all starting to dread. For those in the Southern Hemisphere like our friends in Brazil though, this is the beginning of summer! This means that you'll find not only traditional holiday treats like sweet potato casserole but also fresh watermelon, pears, mangoes, and other fruit on the harvest table.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

Old Vegas may have slipped behind the curtain over the past decade to make way for hipsters and people looking for upscale luxury experiences but below the surface there are still a few Vegas treasures that will transport you back to the golden age of Vegas when being a "celebrity" meant something more than just how many Instagram followers you have. 

Las Vegas has some of the best food in the entire country and whether or not you are here for a convention, a bachelor party, or simply just to partake in the thrills of "Sin City", you are sure to work up a heck of an appetite. Don't let your hunger ruin the moment though! Fortunately, Las Vegas is filled to bursting with excellent eateries ready to satisfy whatever urges you might have.

Visitors to Coronado Island are typically familiar with the famous Hotel Del - afterall, it's one of the earliest buildings in the area and set the tone for the next 100+ years as a mecca for beachgoers. What I learned this week, was that just across the road is an even older building that was built a year earlier in 1887. Originally serving as the boathouse for the resort, it now houses a fantastic seafood restaurant that is part of the Bluewater Grill group.

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!

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!

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.