San Diego
CLOAK & PETAL
Right in the middle of Little Italy in San Diego this very busy sushi place is the place to be. The menu is extensive with a lot of appetizer options and sushi rolls to choose from. We went with the whole family and order a little bit of everything, my favorites were: brussel sprouts with pomegranate, blistered shishitos, hamachi jalapeño, soft shell crab roll, spicy hamachi roll. The place has an awesome vibe it is perfect to go order a bunch of appetizers, a good cocktail and have an awesome time.
MORNING GLORY
If you don’t mind more than an hour wait time for an amazing brunch, then this is the place for you. I am not kidding about the 1 hour + wait time for this place, the good thing is that they take your cellphone number and send you a text when your table is about to be ready so you can walk and do other things while you wait for your table. The place itself is something to see, the mix between death metal and pink interior design is something to experience. The place is always packed, the menu has a lot of different options and cute boozy cocktails to choose from. As always, I love to order family style to try a little bit of everything and choose my favorites, this time we ordered: Fried rice with fried eggs on top (apparently a favorite, always first item in the menu to sold out), Egg McFunin (their take on McDonalds Egg McMuffin), Egg Benedicts and Crispy Scalloped Potatoes. Everything was amazing but my overall favorite was the fried rice with fried eggs, it had pork belly, cheese, scallions and 2 fried eggs on top that make everything come together deliciously.
SALT & STRAW
This is not your typical ice cream and chocolate ice cream flavors, they are known for their amazing different flavors, all local ingredientes, all amazing. You can find anything from: Roasted Strawberries and White Chocolate, to Peanut Butter Stout with Pork Chicharron (yes, Chicharron), that was the one I ordered and it was a delicious combination of peanut butter and salty caramel pork chicharron. They always have new flavors and depending on the store location. The line is worth the wait if you love ice cream (as I do!).
LITTLE ITALY MERCATO
Every Saturday there is a Farmers Market in Little Italy, they have endless options to choose from: fresh produce, flowers, artisan food, crepes, paninis, smoothies, fresh bread, and more. It is worth it to visit Saturday morning for a stroll with an empty stomach to try all the amazing things you can find here. One of my favorite finds were fresh almond croissants we found in a little tent and the fresh berries of course.
DUKE’S
One of my fav restaurants in Honolulu Waikiki is now in La Jolla, with an amazing view of the ocean the terrace is the best place to have lunch. The food is good, we ordered the fish and chips, an almond crusted catch of the day and ahi tuna tacos, but the reason we come to this place is not the food, but the dessert! Hula Pie, the macadamia nut ice cream with a chocolate cookie crust, covered in chocolate ganache topped with chocolate fudge and whipped cream, once piece is huge but the flavor is just as huge.
SHAKE SHACK
Whenever there is a shake shack in a city I visit, I have to go. My fav go to is always the shack stack, a beef patty + cheese stuffed fried portobello mushroom, with fries and a cookies and cream shake always!
