San Diego Restaurant Week 2013: Amaya at The Grand Del Mar

For our first Fall Restaurant Week pick, we went with Amaya at the Grand Del Mar. The meal was $40 or you could choose to have the wine pairings as well for $65. Our overall experience was superb. They seriously treat you like royalty. Our reservation was at 7pm booked through Open Table. Not sure if they had self parking but we couldn't find it so we just did valet instead. Upon walking into the lobby, there were 2 hotel staff that opened the double doors. Seriously felt the urge to curtsy lol. The hotel felt a lot like going into Aulani for some odd reason. The restaurant is downstairs so we headed there. We chose to sit indoors and in a booth (versus a table). Their booths are HUGE. Tony and I could have seriously both laid out and we both still would've had room.

Here's the menu: (what we ordered is italicized)

Cocktails:
L: San Diego Mule (Belvedere Vodka, Canton Ginger Liqueur, Ginger Beer, Strawberries, Lemon Juice)
R: French Kiss (Stolichnaya Razberi Vodka, Chambord, Pineapple Juice, Raspberry Puree, Champagne Floater)

First Course Choices:
Carpaccio of New Caledonian Prawn
Greek Yogurt, Roasted Summer Melon, Basil

California Stone Fruit Salad
Goat Cheese, Marcona Almonds, Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Huckleberry-Glazed Beef Short Rib
Carnaroli Rice Risotto, Corn, Manchego

Entree Choices: (sorry I was too busy scarfing down the food to take pictures lol)
Seared Sea Bass
Sweet Corn and Fava Bean Succotash, Pickled Grape Tomatoes, Lobster Bordelaise

Half Rotisserie Hen
Lightly Smoked, Local Roasted Root Vegetables, Bourbon-Thyme Glaze

Grilled Prime Beef Filet
Loaded Baked Potato Croquettes, Broccolini, Truffle Bearnaise


Dessert Choices:
Caramelized Apple Bar
Shortbread with Dulce de Leche, Caramelized Apples, Vanilla Ice Cream, Apple Cider Reduction

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Snickerdoodle Crust, Spiced Rum Ice Cream, Cranberry Compote

Maple Pecan Pie
Chocolate-Covered Maple Whipped Cream, Baileys Creme Anglaise

Highlights: Appetizers and entrees were absolutely delicious. I rarely give out 5 stars on Yelp but this place definitely gets 5 stars in my book (the only other place that has gotten 5 stars in my book is Sushi Ota). The pumpkin cheesecake was pretty good but the pecan pie was just ok. I'm not a big fan of nuts in general but Tony wanted to try it out. The sea bass was seriously at the thin line between cooked and raw (which is tastier to me). The top tasted almost raw in texture while the bottom was cooked but still extremely melt in your mouth good. The filet was also very good but I loved the sea bass more. The prawns were also super good. So refreshing with the summer melon! As for the cocktails, I would highly recommend the San Diego Mule. I mean wow. I don't think this will be for everyone but if you usually like mules and you like ginger, then bam! this drink is for you! It definitely tasted like gingery goodness with strawberries. Yumes for sure! Tony got the wine pairings with each course so I also go to try. The ones that we liked the most were the Maison Roche de Bellene, Pinot Noir, Bourgogne, France 2010 and the dessert wine, Bersano, Moscato d' Asti, Piemonte, Italy 2011. The Bersano was SO EFFING GOOD. Wish I could've had an entire bottle lol.

Overall, I would highly recommend this place, whether for restaurant week or for special occasions. It's a great place for making that special someone feel even more special :).

January: Foodie Adventures Part 2

Pamplemousse Grille

Our 2nd night out for San Diego Restaurant Week was spent at Pamplemousse Grille. We got there before our table was ready and John was able to sweet talk his way into some free truffle fries from one of the hostesses. Let me just say they were the best truffle fries I've ever had! Possibly the best because 1) I was hungry and 2) They were free lol. We got started with some drinks at the bar and then our table was finally ready.

pamplemousse martini

lobster ravioli w/ seared scallops, asparagus, wild mushrooms,
baby tomatoes & ginger soy beurre blanc

the trio (supplemental)

warm chocolate caramel cake with salted caramel creme anglaise,
vanilla gelato & variety of berries

Overall, I liked the food but I would only go back for those truffle fries! So delicious! The desserts for most of the restaurant weeks have been disappointing and this one was no exception. The dessert here was pretty much like the Applebee's Warm Molten Lava Cake. It was nothing out of the ordinary. The food was good but again, nothing out of the ordinary. I was seriously pining for dineLA restaurant week at this point because none of these places had met my expectations. If I could do dineLA, I would definitely do STK again. So good and cooked to perfection. Everything was unlike anything I had ever tasted.

Bo-Beau Kitchen + Bar

Our 3rd night out was unplanned but ended up being one of the best places we tried during San Diego Restaurant Week. We went to Bo-Beau after Tony's co-worker had recommended it to him. We decided to invite Tony's family along for this foodie adventure. The parking at this place is extremely cramped so you'll probably need to find street parking. If you have a nice car or a lowered car, I would not park in this lot. It's pretty much all gravel. 

crispy brussel sprouts (sooo good!)

escargot with garlic herb butter

le romantique

steak frites (+$10 upgrade)

cinnamon roll - so effing good!

Some of us ordered off of the restaurant week menu and some of us decided to order the things that looked good from looking at the Yelp pictures. There seemed to be a consensus that the Cripsy Brussel Sprouts were good so we ordered that. And the Yelp community was correct! Super tasty! They were a little crunchy so it almost didn't feel like I was eating veggies. My drink was pretty good although I can't remember if it was strong or not. My first course was the escargot which was quite tasty. It was my first time having escargot and I was very afraid it would become a "Pretty Woman" moment where Julia Roberts flings the snail across the room. The sauce made it extra tasty. The steak frites was very, very good! The fries very super good and the meat was cooked to perfection. I also got a chance to try Tony's dish which was the Fettuccine + Duck confit which was very good. I think I would get that instead next time.

Overall, I definitely think I would come back. The ambiance is super romantic and is absolutely perfect for a date night. We were looking at the different chalk boards on the wall and they actually had some specials. For instance, it said Tuesdays were their "Cheap date night for 2" so you could get 2 selected entrees and a bottle of wine for $40 which is a pretty good deal.

Happy Hump Day, lovers!

Concert: Muse

January 21st, 2013

Muse at the Valley View Casino Center (San Diego Sports Arena)

the tickets

our seats

(I apologize, when I uploaded the pictures, they got out of order)

What an amazing concert! I've heard they were really good live but this was beyond what I had imagined. I was really blown away by the stage set up and the lighting. The sound was amazing as well. I would definitely     recommend seeing them if you ever have the chance. The only thing that was missing was they didn't play "Big Freeze" which is my favorite song off the new album but other than that, they played the classics like Hysteria, Starlight, Time is Running Out, etc. The pictures and footage seriously don't do it justice but here are some of the videos.







Big thanks to YouTube for stabilizing my videos :D lol. I'm still uploading a few more videos but each video takes almost an hour so I'll continue to post as those go live!