TIMES NEW JEN: September 2013: Month in Review Part 1

Sept. 1st:
The night before I had gotten a call from my dad that my grandma was in the hospital so Sunday morning we went back to LA to visit her. She was completely knocked out by drugs and wasn't coherent when we were there. It was pretty heartbreaking seeing her like that because she's always been pretty healthy and it was really the first time I had seen her where her face was completely swollen. We left to grab lunch since she was sleeping and we decided to get some Vietnamese sandwiches at Banh Mi Che Cali. Their food is super inexpensive. Their banh mi is always buy 2 get 1 free and their boba drinks (selected varieties) are always buy one get one free. I used to buy this for my coworkers whenever I had the chance.

After going back to the hospital and visiting with my grandma for a little bit, we headed back to San Diego to meet up with some of Tony's college friends. I'm a little sad that we don't have pictures since it has been so long since they've all seen each other but it was a very good time with good company. It was such a diverse group of people coming from many different backgrounds so it was really cool.

Sept. 2nd-6th: Work
Some days I get credentials like this. lol.

On the 5th, we had passed our loss prevention audit (finally lol). Got home early and had a beer to celebrate. The man brought me flowers.You can't really go wrong with flowers :).

Sept. 9-20th:
Worked 12 days straight. Luckily most days were just 6 hr shifts. On the 13th, Judy and some other girls came down to San Diego for the weekend. We went out to Whisknladle in La Jolla. The food was actually really good and flavorful. I would highly recommend the House Made Tagliatelle, especially if you like pasta. We did family style with the bone marrow and the cutting board and I shared the Local Mussels and the Tagliatelle with Bertha. Mussels were really good too. Ambiance for the place is perfect for a girls night or date night. The outdoor seating is really nice too.

sangria (we ordered the pitcher lol)

cutting board

bone marrow

house made tagliatelle

local mussels

On the 14th, we randomly went to Ramen Yamadaya to try it out. I had heard pretty good things about this place and it didn't disappoint. I would have to say at Izakaya Masa is better; it's definitely legit. BUT if you're not willing to wait and you have those spur of the moment ramen cravings, Ramen Yamadaya should do the trick. Izakaya Masa can get pretty crowded so I'd recommend getting a reservation. They'll actually call you 10-15 minutes before your table is ready so you can walk around while you wait if you decide to go that route.

San Diego Restaurant Week started on Sunday, September 15th and I didn't realize how crazy reservations were going to be but they got filled up quick! Luckily I was able to make a reservation at Amaya at the Grand Del Mar.

For my full review on the restaurant week menu, please head over here. The jist of it is your tummy will be extremely satisfied and you'll feel like royalty!

On the 18th, my tech and I decided to mix business with pleasure and headed down to Coronado to check out yet another place for restaurant week. We went to Leroy's Kitchen + Lounge. Stuff was pretty good and service was good as well. Although if you go there in the afternoon, we weary that the sun beats down pretty hard on those sitting outside (I think I almost go sunburned) so if you're one of those vampires, I'd probably sit inside. Even having the umbrellas didn't help.

me trying to show off my ootd so one of us wouldn't be underdressed

left: not a chance in hell
right: rum punch (i believe)

calamari

truffle fries

truffled grilled cheese

leroy's burgers

wah lah! the whole shabang!

On the 20th, we went out to celebrate Tony's coworker's birthday at Empirehouse. I really liked their pickles and their drinks were pretty good. The sausage bread was really good also.