Palmy's

The moment we walked up to Palmy's in Pacific Beach, I was smitten. 

I was also surprised: I wasn't sure where we were going to sit. I definitely wasn't expecting to battle a Sunday brunch crowd on a Monday morning. And yet almost every seat in the expansive outside seating area was taken. 

It was easy to see why: the breezy coastal decor, dappled light and beautiful people gave off the very definition of "good vibes." 

But mostly I was surprised I had never heard of what obviously had to be a PB institution before, especially given the steady hum of influencer-type patrons buzzing in and out. 

As it turns out, the thing is... they've only been open less than a month. 

Coronado Brewing Co.

It's hard to know where to start when you come back to a blog you haven't touched in almost two years. It's even harder when your life has completely changed... the last time I posted anything I was pregnant but not yet a mom, renting and not yet a homeowner. Now I'm a mom of two with a home in OB. Wild. 

The hardest, though, is knowing where to even begin when the whole world has changed. 

Rather than take on the daunting task of trying to navigate all of that in my first post back, I decided to start simple: with a little brewery review. Coronado Brewing Co.'s tasting room and kitchen in Bay Park isn't new or trending. But it is kid-friendly and that's what brought us there this past Friday afternoon. 

Saying YAS to the Dress

With less than 6 months until our wedding now, planning is finally in full swing! And I could not be more excited.

Back in January I was tearing through wedding checklists like a maniac. But I quickly realized that this is the only time I get to do this. And I want this planning process to be fun and memorable and stress-free too (or at least as stress-free as it can be for a stress addict like me). I want to indulge in it a bit!

So when it came to shopping for The Dress, I decided to make a weekend out of it. Shanna, Makena, Bonnie and I headed up to Venice Beach the weekend after my birthday with a cute AirBnB booked and two dress appointments: one at Dreamers and Lovers in Torrance and the other at my bridal mecca, Grace Loves Lace.

Miss B's Coconut Club

A couple of Fridays ago I finally visited a restaurant that's been on my list for a while now: Miss B's Coconut Club in Mission Beach. I am a total sucker for all things tropical- and island-themed and Miss B's is famous for its Island vibes. Vibes which were so necessary on the dreary, blustery Friday that my friend Makena and I headed in for some tiki-inspired cocktails.

That's right, San Diego gets March weather too! It may not be three back-to-back nor'easters, but a damp, gray, windy Friday afternoon is still just as much of a bummer.

Which is why we needed tropical atmosphere, comfort food, and giant skulls full of tequila, mezcal, pomegranate and cinnamon to distract us from the weather.

Three Cheers, Three Cocktails: A Toast To Her

Strong women... may we know them, may we be them, may we drink with them.

That's how the saying goes right? ;)

This past Sunday I had a chance to do just that and share drinks with a bunch of strong and wonderful women at a Galentine's brunch event hosted at one of my absolute favorite restaurants, CUCINA enoteca.

The event, which was to celebrate women we love with toasts in their honor, featured three delicious cocktails crafted by one of CUCINA enoteca's mixologists, Korie Rogers, featuring Pomp & Whimsy gin liqueur.

And honestly? These drinks were so delicious that it would be criminal not to share them with the world. Which is why I was super pumped today when the generous teams at CUCINA enoteca and Pomp & Whimsy let me know they were cool with me publishing the recipes.

So break out your jiggers, grab your gals and raise a glass filled with one of these amazing cocktails!

Jake & Eggs

If you've been on the hunt for the perfect biscuits and gravy in San Diego, I have good news for you: I found them.

Jake & Eggs, a pop-up breakfast spot that takes over Ocean Beach's Sundara restaurant Wed-Sun from 8-2pm, has been on my to-do list all summer. When I woke up starving last Saturday morning with no plans, I decided it was time to #treatyoself to a nice breakfast.

There was a 15 minute wait when I arrived, but they text you when your table is ready, which is nice. It gave me time to wander around in Olive Tree Market and score some of my favorite Jackie's Jams.

Once I was seated and it was time to order, I was overwhelmed by how tasty everything sounded and looked. It is really hard to not order everything.

I ended up with some Dark Horse Cold Brew, Jake's Lemonade Sangria (SO GOOD!), a side of biscuits and gravy (SO GOOD!), and their Sweet Potato Hash with avocado subbed for eggs.  Their biscuits and gravy were honestly the best biscuits and gravy I've ever had in my life. The gravy is this fluffy, airy sausage and thyme gravy that is just like getting a warm hug from your food. I don't know how else to explain it.

Next time you find yourself in OB for breakfast, remember this little gem of a secret breakfast spot. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Jake & Eggs
(inside Sundara Indian Cuisine)
(619) 419-1207
1774 Sunset Cliffs Blvd
San Diego, CA 92107

A Very Venice Valentine's

In my life, three neighborhoods have immediately felt like home each time I've set foot in them: my current (and likely forever) neighborhood of Ocean Beach, here in San Diego, Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles, and Venice Beach, also in LA.

I love, love, love Venice Beach. So when I had the chance to spend a day up there last week for a work conference, I took advantage of it and spent the night. And since it was a few days after Valentine's Day, I decided to turn it into a romantic Valentine's Day date with myself, complete with a walk on the beach at sunset, a fancy meal and... turtle racing.

As it turns out? Venice loves me right back.

Gjelina

Hi, my name is Bri and I'm a sucker for over-hyped restaurants in trendy neighborhoods. Especially restaurants that have so much hype it condones publishing a popular cookbook of their recipes.

Which is why I ended up dining at Gjelina when I was in Venice Beach last week... for the hype, for the sceney scene... 

Oh, and did I mention the delicious food?

Burgers and Trivia at Nicky Rottens Coronado

Television and celebrity gossip. If you were recruiting me for a trivia dream team, that's what I bring to the table. I mean, the first website I check every morning is People.com. Sad? Almost definitely. But my weakness for celebrity gossip becomes my greatest strength at Trivia Nights. It's where I finally feel appreciated for who I really am.

All kidding aside, Ryan and I have often discussed trying to find a fun trivia night to go to and last week we may have ended the search after a great night at Nicky Rottens Restaurant in Coronado.

The Nolen

For a city with such perfect year-round weather, you would think we'd have a lot more rooftop bars. And you would be kind of wrong. Sure, San Diego loves its patio bars and restaurants, but actual rooftop cocktail lounges are few and far between.

The Nolen is here to try and change that.

Last week, Ryan and I were able to check out the newest addition to the Gaslamp inside the newly constructed Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Gaslamp / Convention Center hotel. Entering The Nolen through an entrance separate from the hotel on 6th Ave, thirsty people will ride an elevator to the 14th floor where The Nolen is perched. From there, visitors are free to enjoy cocktails at the bar, around a firepit or at any of the cozy tables and booths in the 2500-square foot space.

We tried a number of their yummy cocktails that night like the dangerous Shirley Temple of Doom, with mezcal, absinthe, tequila, grenandine, lemon and soda, and the Darjeeling Nikki, with tea infused gin and apple brandy. Ryan enjoyed a couple of their super strong Old Fashioned's, while one of my favorites was the 13th Floor, a draft cocktail with tequila, lime, orgeat, peach liqueur and prosecco.

I have to say, the drinks were impressive, but the bartenders were almost more so: watching truly talented bartenders make craft cocktails is one thing, but watching them made to perfection with speed and without sacrificing a smile is another. Our bartender Ian was slaying the cocktail game all night... if you see him, have him help you select a drink!

With unobstructed views of the skyline, The Nolen is now one of the prettiest places to grab a fancy cocktail and watch the sun set over the city. In fact, The Nolen may now be the most perfect place to start or finish a special night downtown.

The Nolen
456 6th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: (619) 237-0678

Brunch at La Jolla's Catania

If you follow San Diego's food scene at all, you don't have much of an excuse for not knowing about Catania, the latest concept opened by WhisknLadle's hospitality group. For the past 8 months it has attracted rave reviews praising everything from its food to its craft cocktails to its prime sunset-viewing location on the top floor of the La Plaza La Jolla. 

Its primary focus? Italian coastal cuisine. And now? Brunch. 

About three months ago, Catania started serving brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10am-3pm, offering gorgeous views of the Pacific as you sip your mimosas. And about three weeks ago, they invited local food writers and bloggers (that's me!!) to check out the new menu. 

The Lebowski Bar

A couple of weeks ago, I was enjoying a drink at my former neighborhood bar, Aero Club, with my best friend Bonnie when I pointed out a postcard taped up on the fridge. It was a postcard that Ryan and I had sent to Aero during our trip to Iceland. Because who doesn't send their favorite bar postcards every time they travel?

On the front was a picture of His Dudeness and the logo for The Lebowski Bar, a Big Lebowski-themed bar in Reykjavik that Ryan and I frequented during our stay. Apparently I had never told Bonnie about this bar and it was then that I realized I never blogged about it either.

I decided I needed to do something about this glaring omission because... well... you know, that's just, like, my opinion, man.

More importantly? Because The Lebowski Bar is a pretty wonderful addition to any Icelandic itinerary.

Taco Bout a Dream Come True

Secretly? This little blog is really an exercise in manifesting. Call it Secret-ing, call it bhavanizing, whatever you call it, I'm doing it with every post I write. All with the hippie belief that by putting good energy out there, I will welcome more of the same back into my life.

I mean, at the end of the day that's why I write... to connect, to attract people and places and moments into my life that add meaning and beauty and adventure.

But of all the amazing things this blog has manifested so far (and there have been a lot), last Wednesday night took the cake.

A decade ago, I was 19, driving around backroads in Connecticut, listening to this new CD I'd just bought by a singer songwriter named Tristan Prettyman and daydreaming about what my life would be like if I lived in San Diego.

And last Wednesday? Oh, I just casually had dinner with Tristan at Puesto downtown at The Headquarters. No big deal.

Restaurant Review: The Baked Bear, Pacific Beach

Duh.

That's all I could think when I was first invited to The Baked Bear, the ice cream cookie sandwich chain that was started by two San Diegans in Pacific Beach.

Ice cream? Check. Cookies? Check. Delicious toppings? Check. Ability to customize your ice cream cookie sandwich to your heart's content? Check.

Why didn't I think of this!?

Restaurant Review: Kitchen 4140, Clairemont

Brunch saves lives relationships.

Seriously. I mean, relationships are about compromise and what is brunch if not the definition of compromise? Thanks to brunch, all the people out there like me who prefer a blissfully savory lunch can peacefully coexist with their egg-loving, bacon-craving, breakfast-eating better halves!

The only trouble with such a perfect meal is finding a restaurant that does it justice, both in food quality and in atmosphere. Because let's be honest: brunch demands atmosphere. It is meant to be eaten outside, surrounded by leafy greens and sunshine. Lucky for us San Diegans, Kitchen 4140 in Clairemont meets both these requirements with their adorable garden patio and delicious menu created by Chef Kurt Metzger.

Restaurant Review: Union Kitchen & Tap, Gaslamp

Fun fact: I have at least a dozen favorite restaurants in San Diego. So for me? The only difficult thing about having visitors in town is deciding where to take them out for food. 

It's even more difficult when it's one of your best friends from back home and this is her first time in San Diego and you're planning on using food as your secret weapon in convincing her to move here. 

That's a lot of pressure. 

For Marianna's visit last week, I had 4 dinners to plan and in the end, whatever neighborhood we were touring that day more or less narrowed it down. Until her final day when I had the biggest challenge of all: deciding on a dinner spot in the Gaslamp. 

We needed a place that had outdoor seating with a decent view, fun cocktails, a solid wine list, a tasty charcuterie board, nice ambiance (preferably with live music), and of course, great food. 

Solution: Union Tap & Kitchen. 

Restaurant Review: barleymash, Gaslamp

Real talk: picking out a great restaurant for dinner in the Gaslamp is probably as overwhelming for San Diegans as it is for visitors. Most of the time I can barely pick out a place when I need to for myself, let alone make recommendations. And it definitely doesn't help that restaurants downtown sometimes seem to disappear overnight.

This was exactly the predicament one of my best friends, Bonnie, and I found ourselves in a couple of weeks ago, when we were looking for a dinner spot before having a Scandal night back at Bonnie's place. Then we were invited to try out barleymash's menu... problem solved!

I was familiar with barleymash because, how could you miss it? I've walked and driven past its prime corner location on 5th and Market a billion times. Still, I'd never eaten there because while it had always seemed like a fun spot to drink, honestly I just expected the food to be your typical semi-decent barfare, similar to the other large, corner bars on 4th and 5th Ave.

Which is a shame, because I was completely wrong.

Restaurant Review: Lumberyard Tavern, Encinitas

I hate to be the one to break the facade, but every so often... once in a blue moon, really.... San Diego has a bit of precipitation fall from the sky. Other, less fortunate parts of the country will know this phenomenon as "rain."

Also, on occasion... extremely infrequent occasions, the temperature dips below 50°. If I remember correctly from my east coast childhood, this is something known as "cold."

When, in the rarest of rarities, these two catastrophes combine during the months of December or January, it can often resemble something called "winter." And everyone knows that on winter nights, there is no better place to be than inside a cozy tavern with warm food and good wine.

Which is precisely how we ended up at Lumberyard Tavern in Encinitas this past Tuesday, on a dark and stormy night.

Restaurant Review: Wang's North Park

"There is no good Chinese food in San Diego." - Me, anytime before last Wednesday

Do you know how many times I've made that (mostly unfounded) declaration? A lot. Good Chinese food, along with even remotely decent bagels, chicken parm subs, and pizza, was something I thought I'd left behind on the east coast. And in the past 4 years, I've managed to find secret spots for each of those foods. Except Chinese.

Good Japanese food or Thai? San Diego knocks those out of the park. I have so many favorites, I wouldn't even know where to start recommending places. But good Chinese food has eluded me here.

And then I went to Wang's North Park.

Not only did I find good Chinese food... but I think I found the best Chinese food in San Diego.

Oh, and may I add, some of the best craft cocktails...

Road Trip Diaries Part III: Ring My Maroon Bells

The view from inside our pashmina-curtained car camping set up

During the last week in August, Ryan and I dropped the dogs off at boarding, packed up the Versa and embarked on a 5-day road trip through the southwest. Thousands of miles and 35 hours of driving took us through 5 states: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. In Part III, we are waking up in Aspen after a long day of driving through Utah.

When Ryan and I told people we were car camping for the wedding we were attending in Aspen, we got a lot of looks. Looks that said it maybe wasn't the best plan. And that might have scared me off the idea.

That is, if we hadn't done it before.

Similarly, the last time we road tripped to a wedding, we decided to camp. During that trip, to Big Sur in 2012, we also arrived at our campsite in the middle of the night, in pitch black darkness. So this time, just like before, we had absolutely no idea what we were going to be waking up to.