Another month, more adventure in eating and drinking. This month was much slower in terms of dining out at new spots. We had a few dinners with friends so I know that was one cause, and I guess a lot of repeats this month. Overall, it was not a wow month in terms of food for us. We did have a few good breweries and coffee shops though. One repeat worth mentioning and I’ve been happy with all my meals from is Jayne’s. P and I went twice this past month, and I love it.
Adams Avenue Grill (Brunch)
We went twice this month for brunch, both times before our hikes. This place is near our house, so it makes it easy to pop up and grab a bite. Overall, pretty good. I really liked Prosciutto & Caprese Eggs. Though the second time, I was a bit disappointed with my order of the Bacon Stuffed Waffle. The waffle had a very artificial vanilla flavor to it, that was quite off-putting, especially with the savory components. Plus the grits were on top of the waffle, which made it soggy. I think it would have worked better if the grits were on the bottom, then waffle, then egg, then sauce. The Santa Fé Hashbrown Bundle and the Chipotle Chicken Benedict were both tasty too, so I’m not putting it in the bad category
Queenstown (Brunch)
I’ve heard good things about their brunch for a while now, but we had not made it there yet. I had also heard brunch gets busy fast, so P and I took advantage of an early Sunday morning, and got there around 10. We got a seat right away, no problem. It was good, but I’ve had better brunch. I think I ordered the wrong dish. Their Oink is one of their signature dishes, but I just was not feeling it that morning. I should have went with that. I got the chicken and waffles, and they were ok. The waffles were not my favorite, though better than Adams. The chicken was good, but weird, since it was just wings. I expected a breast. There was not a lot of meat on the wings either. P’s was good. He got a huge chicken breast with his dish. We might go back to try the Oink, but it would not be worth a long wait for me. See more pictures of Queenstown great outdoor area from our first visit.
Waypoint Public (Brunch)
P swore we had not eaten here, but we had been for dinner before 🙂 Waypoint is a popular spot for brunch in the North Park neighborhood. They have a great open space, with roll-up garage doors, perfect for people watching. They also sport an extensive draft beer list. The brunch was good, solid offering, but not the best in town. I really like their take on a BLT. That dish is the winner.
Karl Strauss Brewery (La Jolla)
Crossing off another brewery on our quest to try them all, this one happens to have a large food offering in addition to their beers. Karl Strauss Brewery (or brewpub) in La Jolla, is a very expansive space, with burgers, salads, and other classic pub fare. I was super impressed with the salad. The burger was good, but not a top San Diego pick. I really liked the parmesan bites, and the waitress even gave us a little taster of the Amber to pair with it. It paired very well. Next time we are going for the pretzel though. I would certainly go back for a nice casual lunch and good beers. Karl Strauss is one of San Diego’s founding breweries, so they have their beers down 🙂
The Islander
This was one of our stops for You & Me Day, which was P’s date day he organized for us this past month. I have the best husband 🙂 We have heard lots about this place located in Coronado, so we stopped in after a few hours of soaking up the sun. The Islander is seafood focused in a casual order-at-the counter environment. Meaning we felt ok going after beach lounging. We had the Tacone, which is sort of like a poorly constructed burritos; delicious, but a total mess. I got the grilled shrimp and P go the Yellowtail, which were seasoned well. My favorite part was the slaw on the Tacone, and the pickled veggies. If you are looking for a casual seafood fix, this is your spot.
Heartwork Coffee
The cutest little coffee shop in the Mission Hills neighborhood. Very minimal and cleanly designed. They offer coffee from three different local roasters, which is a neat selling point. It’s a great spot to try some local beans. I did go with tea at the last minute, since they offered a house version of a London Fog, and I just couldn’t pass that up!! It was a good call, very good. This was a great kick-off spot for our You & Me Day. We then headed across the street to Farmer’s Bottega for breakfast, it was good, but not as good as our first visit.
James Coffee Co.
Since we heard about this local roaster from Heartworks, we had to make a trip straight to the source. They have the most awesome space in Little Italy!! It was so neat. Their coffee was tasty too, I tried the latte with condensed milk and cinnamon and it was so smooth, good balance with the coffee, and not bitter. Tasty! If you are in Little Italy, you should check them out!
The Not So Good
Barbant
Another place that we had high hopes for, that didn’t really deliver. P had the bratwurst, which I hated. Now to be fair I’m super picky about my sausage, and I do not like when it’s mealy in texture, and this one was. I also thought that it needed more kraut on there, the whole thing just seemed dry. I had the Bouncer sandwich, and it was not good. The texture was all off, and it was covered in a very thick layer of aioli. The description said hollandaise, but it was more mayo in texture…not even close to a hollandaise. I did not like it. We also ordered the donuts, which were dry and a weird texture too. We probably will go back to give the mussels a try, maybe brunch just is not their thing. The guy sitting near us ordered the mussels and they looked good.
Cueva Bar
We had heard great things about this place from a few different people, but it just did not do it for us. Maybe our expectations for tapas are just too high 🙂 I wasn’t wowed by any of the dishes. It wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t great. I felt like the menu needed to be expanded, no seafood offered at all. What is tapas without a seafood dish? The stuff dates were super dry. The avocado tower dish was very tasty, but that was the only dish I was really happy with. The empanada was dry and overcooked. The potato dish was ok, but seemed to lack seasoning. So disappointed 🙁
Booze
Park & Rec
This is a new cocktail bar in our hood (University Heights), that we were excited to try. It’s a beautiful space, very unique concept and the pictures does not do it justice. They have multiple outdoor areas, a ping pong table, shuffleboard, pinball, and neat seating. More importantly they have wonderful cocktails and great bartenders. The bartenders were half the entertainment and all their drinks were balanced and yummy. Even drinks that would not be my go-to. So happy to have this addition to the hood!
Pacific Brewing Co.
What a great find!! A new go-to brewery. Their beers are so well-balanced and true to style. We have liked all their beers we have tried. It doesn’t hurt that the couple running it are super friendly too. Great find!!
Duck Foot Brewing
LOVED it here, beautifully designed, open space, and super friendly owner and staff. So the twist to this brewery is that all their beers are gluten-reduced. The even better twist is that you can’t tell!! I would never lie to you about beer 🙂 We got to meet one of the founders, and he was as awesome as the beers we sampled. He actually is not just jumping on the next food trend, but suffers from Celiac disease. He has a graphic design background, that shows in the space, and a passion for the product that shows in the pint.
The Not So Good
2Kids Brewing
So, this brewery resides in the same parking lot as our beloved Pacific Brewing Co, however they are planets apart in quality. We got all of their beers in tasters to share, and did not finish half of them 🙁 The best beer we did try was their Blonde Coffee Stout, brewed with Dark Horse coffee (our neighborhood local roaster), and it tasted exactly like iced coffee. The other beers were just so off. This is the worst since our experience at Groundswell. Skip this and go straight to Pacific.
Other
Cinema Under The Stars
Ok, this one was on my San Diego bucket list and it’s kind of a big deal. This is the first movie P and I have ever been out to see as a couple!! We never go to the movies! Now I can say the first movie we ever saw together was Ferris Bueller’s Day off 🙂 This was a fun night out, and I liked the feel of it. My biggest complaint is the “concession”, which was just microwave popcorn, candy, and bottled soda. They really need to step it up in this department, or let you bring your own in. I was so upset they didn’t have a real concession. The chairs were very comfortable and it was a nice viewing experience. We got a double recliner so we were nice and cozy. It was a bit of a snug fit for us and we are on the smaller size, just to throw that out there. I would consider going back, though you are paying about the same as for a traditional movie at around $15 a person.
Hiking
We did make it on two hikes this month!! Go us 🙂 I’ll be sharing those in separate posts, so I can show tons of pictures.
I know June came off as a meh month, but it really wasn’t. We just can’t bat 100 on all our picks, all the time. We need to step up our dinner game though, that’s one thing I noticed.
What was your favorite meal you had out last month?
