July 2013: Month in Review Part 2

July 21st: Peach Cafe, The Grove, The Block and Urban Seoul

Started the morning off with brunch at one of my favorite spots, Peach Cafe.

peach cafe benedict (from their weekend specials)

i don't quite remember what tony ordered lol. I want to say it's the Breakfast Skillet also off their weekend menu.

After grubbing, I wanted to visit the Topshop store at the Grove. I ended up getting 2 pairs of pants for work. Didn't have much luck finding anything else at The Grove so we started the trek back to San Diego. I wanted to stop at a Off 5th so we went to The Block at Orange. I found this shirt and I just couldn't resist taking a picture. Freakin' hilarious.

Didn't end up getting anything but we started getting hungry so we decided to stop for BCD Tofu House. Unfortunately, there was seriously 20 people ahead of us on the list so we decided to try Urban Seoul. Reminds me of Kogi BBQ truck but more Mexican inspired.

urban 3b (aka bibimbap)

urban 3b

japchae mari (my first time trying this. very interesting)

pork belly tacos (the bomb dot com)

July 22nd-26th: Work

After work on the 23rd, I ventured out to "explore" San Diego. I headed over to UTC to try Tender Greens. I had heard so many good things and it did not disappoint. I believe I got the Simple Salad with Marinated Steak. The steak was super good. I didn't have to add anything to it which in my book means it's really good lol.

For dinner we went to check out Dumpling Inn. It has super high ratings on Yelp with over 1,000 reviews and ever since I moved to San Diego, I've been looking for places with good Asian food... specifically, dan dan noodles and dumplings like the ones at Din Tai Fung. This place has a hella line. We went around 7:30p on a weekday. There were about 10 people ahead of us and they even close the wait list before their closing time. I think on that day they closed it at 8pm when they actually close at 8:30p. Some people leave and they check the wait list every 10 minutes or so and cross your name off if you aren't there so I wouldn't recommend leaving to do other stuff after putting your name on their. This isn't an American restaurant lol.

Anywhos, the dan dan noodles were ok. Not spicy at all for me. The real hidden gem that I found which I didn't even expect to find was the creamy corn soup. OMG! Seriously if you love corn (which I do) you MUST try this soup. It's absolutely delicious. So when we were ordering the lady asks us if we want the large or small bowl of soup and encourages the two of us to get the large. When it came out, my eyes seriously O_O pooped out of their sockets. This bowl was freakin' huge. We could have gotten the small but I'm so glad we didn't because the soup was SOOOOOOOOOOOO good. Everything else was good but nothing to write home about. I would say it's authentic and compares to food in SGV.

dan dan noodles

creamy corn soup

hung pao (insert some kind of fish) lol

On the 24th, Tony's parents invited us out to Veranda Fireside Lounge and Restaurant at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. The ambiance is super nice. We sat out on the patio area facing the golf course and saw the sunset. Super great place for brunch with the gals or a birthday dinner. Very good for larger groups as well. They also have a lounge-y area where you can get drinks from the bar and just chill.

tomato bisque (?)

never ending prime rib!

tiramisu

On the 26th, we went out with Brandon to the Bay Park Fish Co. If you enjoy food that has a curry type taste, you will love the steamed mussels (I guess it tastes that way 'cause of the coconut milk and lemongrass lol). The pasta that I got was in the same sauce as the mussels but it was still delicious! Me and repetition is A-ok!

steamed mussels

July 27th: Donna's Bridal Shower/John's Birthday Party

the bridal shower area

the food. yumes!

the girlies

July 28th: JT/JZ Concert & Beef rolls

Heading the the Justin Timberlake and Jay Z concert in Pasadena, CA. We decided to stop at McDonalds and I got the last minion in my collection! Here he is partying like a rock star.

the rose bowl.... the rose bowl

before the show started

beef rolls at 101 noodle express after the concert. yumes!

July 29th:

Monday morning started with breakfast at Julienne. The gazpacho was so refreshing!

open faced egg salad sandwich with white truffle oil and tomatoes on toasted pumpernickel
with a side of gazpacho

grilled mahi mahi tacos (off their summer menu)

sprinkles ice cream

look at these two g-nomes (lol i know how these are pronounced but apparently not glocks)

July 30th: Bruno Mars Concert

Sorry, I don't have anything up from this concert yet. We were literally 5 rows from the back of the place so there's not much to see anyways. Great energy and overall great concert!

July 31st:

Best day ever! NOT! haha. Got written up twice in the same day but let's leave work at work. I got this lovely package from Tanya in the lovely Hawaii!

all my goodies!!

my meal at phil's bbq. 

Until next time folks! Talk to ya'lls soon!