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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Catching up with smiley!



GoodOnYa

I decided to meet up with my dear old friend Tim for lunch. While he was busy at work, I yelped away.  I was limited to finding a place in Sorrento Valley, Carmel Valley, or Mira Mesa. There were pretty good reviews for this place so we decided to give it a try.  It was very difficult to find; online directions were inaccurate and the place does not even have a sign.

The set up is circular
It is an Order and Pay situation
Looks like a mini food court 
Sandwich #13 and #3.  Both came with a pickle.
The price was decent at $7 a sandwich. Bring cash because they charge $0.50 for credit card use.
Sandwich #3:  Natural turkey, cranberry sauce, avocado, Swiss cheese, and tomatoes on Ciabatta bread.
I forgot that a Ciabatta bread is a little tougher than most breads. But it was fresh and worked well with the sandwich so it was ok. It was a simple sandwich. I love the cranberry and turkey combination. I liked how they use low-fat mayonnaise but I think I deserved a little more avocado. But overall, this was delicious- Light and fresh.
Sandwich #13: Chicken, avocado, Provolone cheese, spicy mustard, lettuce, tomato, and onion on multi-grain (grilled)
I love that this sandwich was grilled which made the bread warm and crispy.  This was another simple sandwich that was cleanly and freshly made. 
The always super nice and super smiley Tim. Thank you for our mini catch up! It was fun, like always.

Overall: This little place takes great pride in using organic and fresh ingredients which definitely shows. They also have a smoothie and coffee bar.  The menu for that definitely seems delightful and I hope to try it next time. 

Happy times, happy stomachs!

Reunited after 2 weeks (FINALLY)


Lucha Libre (5 of 5 stars)
My first reactions: What a crazy looking little place! Why are all the walls pink and gold? Why are there leopard print seats?


1. Wait in line for 20 mins
2. Order and pay
3. THEN you find and reserve your table (they are pretty strict on this)
 1. Order and pay
2. Receive paid drink and water
3. Receive a tray of chips and containers
4. Go to unlimited salsa bar
5. Grab napkins and utensils
 Fresh baked tortilla chips (not oily)

The "Surf and Turf Burrito"
I love that the shrimp was fresh and the avocado was freshly sliced! The carne asada was very tender and you know that they used a high quality steak. I love the tortilla- it definitely tastes home made. I was surprised that there was rice in this burrito; I can definitely pass on the rice. I would have liked less or no rice, and more meat!

The "Undefeated Seafood Burrito". 
You have a choice of Mahi Mahi or Grilled Shrimp. We decided to go with the Mahi Mahi. The creation was basically a fancy fish taco.  The fish was very soft and flavorful.  This is a lighter burrito because it does not have heavy components to it.  The cabbage, bean, fish, and white sauce blended very well together.  One comment: too many black beans.  I don't know if I'll try this again, I think this mixture would make a better taco. It also needs a name change because the name makes it sound crazier than it is.


 My sexy food model
 He just can't wait to eat!
 You know the food is BOMB when he makes this face!
 Lucha Libre is now my MUST GO TO MEXICAN JOINT IN SAN DIEGO!
Thank you to these two food experts!

Time: 8pm on a Saturday night (BUSY)
Location:  1810 W. Washington Street (It's near the airport, near Old Town)
Horrendous parking. Luckily, we found a spot in the very limited reserved parking spots.
Type of food: GOURMET Mexican food
Ambiance:
If you eat outside, you get a fun view of the freeway entrance and 2 gas stations. You should definitely sit outside though. The inside is super stuffy and uncomfortable.
The decor has a very central theme: Lucha Libre. 
The restaurant caters to young college students and locals who want excellent food at very reasonable prices.
Service:
The line to reach the cashier took about 20 minutes. But the wait for the food took less than 10 minutes. 
Looking for a table was the worse part. 
Phil was also a little annoyed that you had to bring back your chip tray in order to get more chips! I guess it is good that they are trying not to waste but it is so inconvenient.
Taste:
Excellent quality steak and seafood; home-made tortillas too! Pretty messy to eat though.
Price:
Dang and I ordered 2 burritos and 1 horchata. The total came out to be roughly $17. 
Overall: An excellent place for some authentic and fresh Mexican food. One con: it makes everyone gassy and burp-y (thank you beans!)


Tavern and Bowl

Downtown on a Saturday night = worse parking situation ever AND the rudest people ever.


We decided to go have some fun at "Tavern and Bowl" to check out this new concept of bowling+bar. You must be 21+ to get in. The bar was pretty slow for a Saturday night and the crowd was definitely catering to an older crowd. But I did notice that they had a college night on Wednesday that might be more exciting.

Dark, blue lights, intimidating
As for bowling, WOW, $45 per hour? That is simply ridiculous. No wonder there were only 5 lanes and only 2 were being used at 10pm on a Saturday night. Luckily and thankfully Phil had previously bought a Groupon.  All we had to do was pay $3.75 each for our shoes. 
Ready, get set, GO
Play bowling AND watch sports? Good for the guys and bad for the girls.
 Ready for the Blue Moon
 $18 a pitcher gives you 4 full glasses
Cheers to a good night and many more to come!

Philly cheese and Lo
Boss lady and Dangeezy
Game 1: Couple vs. Couple 
Game 2: Boys vs. Girls
What a come back the boys had!

Overall: Probably will not be back.



Altitude

Located on the 23rd Floor of the Marriot Hotel in Downtown San Diego.
We were afraid that we were under dressed since we did not plan to go to any clubs or lounges in downtown.  However, we were thrilled to learn that any attire was possible. Of course we felt a little under dressed as we were surrounded by girls in high heels and boys in nice dress shirts (who probably decided to stop by after the clubs)



 Sweet memories of Las Vegas
While we waited 20 minutes for the 1 elevator, we decided to take some cute pictures!

 View of Petco Park
No drinks, just dancing and enjoying the spectacular view

Overall:  I'll definitely be back. Seems like a fun place to come watch a game at Petco Park, to watch the sun set, or to just hangout, relax, and get some drinks.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Triple the FUN

Wednesday, August 24th.

i LOVE going on couple dates!



A nice and casual dinner at CPK. It's a great place for groups, decent portions, and fair prices.


Yummy in our tummies.


The food was good but our tummies left feeling satisfactory. The total came to about $85 including tips.


Bread and Butter upon request

Soft and fluffy, just the way I like it!

Dynamite Shrimp
Small portion, alright taste, not a dynamite!
Habanero Carnitas Pizza
Spicy habanero sauce that comes with the pizza
I'm glad the sauce was on the side, quite spicy. The crust was thin and crispy. The shredded pork was a bit dry. Overall- something new and cool to try.
Caramelized Peach Salad (half)
I like spinach and caramelized peaches.  Too bad there were only 4 pieces of peach and lots of blue cheese crumbs. Overall- tasty and great combination of flavors, but totally not worth $9
Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza
Such a delicious classic. BBQ and pineapples all day, any day
Chicken Tequila Fettuccine
What a fancy Latin and Italian fusion. Overall- yum
Kung Pao Spaghetti
Not a big fan of Asian cuisine at American restaurants. Although this spaghetti was a tad oily, I loved the mix of spicy and garlic. The pasta also had a awesome texture for slurping. 


Good company = lots of laughs and a fun time


Our handsome men
The classy ladies
Three happy couples
Yep, boys you better hold on tight and cater to all our needs!


Dave and Buster's


Game on!
Start off the night with couples vs. couples basketball shoot out!
Way too intense
What I learned: Nhat has an incredibly strong arm. WATCH OUT! 
Planking (weak)
Planking (cute)
Planking (stylish and a pro)

Ending the night with unless pictures of cuteness.
oh happpinessss
My rock and my pretentious sugar daddy
oh my, what a beast!
A relationship that never looks boring because I know that Thanh will always spice it up! Congrats on your almost 4 years! Let's have  a party when we both hit 10 years!
oh, this is too cute
Kudos to the cuties that joined the relationship crew. Lots of laughs and memories coming your way! Many more dates (and pictures) to come too!
tahdah, we are the boss in the relationship!
We train our boys well
True men hold purses = girlfriends are happy = more good times
"whoooopie to a fun night!"
"yay, we have the best girlfriends and we will do everything they tell us to do!"
Hello, goodnight!


Thank you Tri for being on top of planning a date
Thank you Nhat for your overwhelming picture taking (credits to many of the pictures shown above)
Thank you Thanh for your endless harassment that we all enjoyed 
Thank you Kevin for reading my blog now and then
Thank you Dang for being such a darling