first friday

My friends K and M came with us to support the local arts displayed in our own backyard. We toured art galleries and art/photo displays by local school as a part of First Fridays at Liberty Station. According to K, the NTC was all but abandoned buildings just 10 years ago. Now, it has been revitalized. It’s the new center of our neighborhood with the biggest Von’s I have ever seen, the best bread shop in SD and several restaurants that range from burgers and Hawaiian to sushi and ice cream.

After nibbling on a bit for chees chocolates and wine, we sat down to enjoy happy hour at Solare with a glass of wine and soe munchies including aranchini and pizza.

Food Truck Crossing

There may be some food experts that say that the food truck craze has come and gone, but in SD, they still hold the fun and novelty they had in places like LA circa 2010.
Friday night mark my first food truck event if you don’t count the sushi truck parked right off campus on the intersection for Bancroft and Telegraph.  Oddly enough, it was held at Boomers, and despite very little advertising, the place was packed within a few hours of the event start.  The most coveted truck for most people was probably the bad boy burger truck from LA that recently won a Food Network competetion.  “Grill ‘Em All” had one of the longest lines.  Luckily, there were 5 of us, so one of us stayed in line for this most wonderful burger, and the rest of us ordered food from other trucks to bring back to the line.

I’m not big on burgers, but I had to try this place just to see if it was worthy of the hype.  Things got even more interesting when my friend G was designated THE last customer to be served because they were running low on food!

I ran into a friend of mine who ordered a burger with peanut butter, jelly and Siracha.  An interesting combo for sure…definitely kept me intrigued until our burger was ready.

About 2 HOURS later, G had arrived to the window.  She asked them to make their favorite burger, and we ended up with the Whitte-deep fried bacon, cream cheese and Siracha

So did this burger live up to our expectations?  YES!  The burger was phenomenal.  Hot juicy patty and just the right amounts of the toppings.  The cream cheese with excellent with the burger, creamy and delish…and how could you go wrong with soft luscious bacon?!  G got to take home a little momento to mark her special place in line-a hand written message on a paper bag signed by the truck owner

The other trucks we tried were also worth noting: a Filipino truck from LA served and salty sweet sausage with fried egg on rice- really really good!  Lomo Arigato served seasoned tri tip over rice and FRIES! The had the best chili cilantro cream sauce to accompany the dish.  KalbiQ made some killer soft tacos filled with beef, chicken and pork with pineapple

One big family

This past week, my parents came to visit. We spent the week eating around town, and as always, with plenty of wine. We visited some of our regular places we visit when ever my parents are here: Roy’s and Chin’s. We introduced them one of our new neighborhood favorites, Pomodoro. We also tried a place new to all of us, Flavor.

Despite eating out almost every night, we did enjoy a home cooked meal made by yours truly. While shopping at Costco, B picked out a very nice package of boneless short ribs. It was so sweet that he is starting to ask for some of my dishes! So on my parent’s firt night in town, we had spinach salad, braised short ribs with papardelle and red velvet cake!

Mardi Gras

Friday night, we were both working late and really not in the mood to cook. On our quest to get to know our neighborhood a little more, we met at a very unsuspecting Creole marketplace and deli. When we walked in, there were 5 tables with plastic tablecloths only adorned by a selection of hot sauces. Beyond the tables was a wall with a banner that read ‘The Wall Of Fire’. The wall was covered with novelty hot sauces. Some that amused B included Dumb Ass, Smart Ass and Rectal Ripper Hot Sauce. There were some sporadic New Orleans inspired decorations including masks, beads, a New Orleans Saints pennant as well as a few old Emeril Lagasse cookbooks on a shelf.

We were greeted by a friendly girl with a Russian accent. We decided to eat-in and took a look at the menu. Po Boys, muffalatto, gumbo, alligator sausage? Definitely not your typical fare in southern California! We decided to try the red beans and rice and the jambalaya. The waitress served our food and reviewed the different hot sauces with us. She was particularly nice. Both were very good, but I liked B’s jambalaya more. Very simple no-nonsense place, glad we gave it a try.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

To avoid the crowds, we decided to celebrate on Sunday the 13th. I had to work that day, so B searched his favorite online review site to find a great neighborhood place for dinner. He made reservations for us at Pomodoro. What a great find!

The cozy restaurant was buzzing with people. The inside looked like a converted living room. We were seating in the covered patio and was greeted by our Italian waiter. B started off with a glass of red, I had the Proseco.

Looking at the menu, there were so many delicious things to ponder over. We decided to have the pork osso bucco with risotto and a pasta dish. Both were excellent, especially the osso bucco! It was a little intimidating at first, given that the plate was HUGE! We decided to save room for dessert and enjoyed the left overs later that week. We decided to try the strawberry napoleon, which was absolute heaven! We finished off the entire thing, really not like us.

As we got into bed that night, we both agree that it was a very great meal. We will definitely go back again! Thank you for taking me out for our 1st Valentine’s Day as Mr and Mrs!

The first 8 months

Now that wedding and the honeymoon excitement has subsided, B and I have been focusing on building our little nest on a hill. We recently heard news that an acquaintance who married just 1 day before us just had his first baby. Doing the math in my head, that doesn’t really add up…but anyways….I thought about what we have been doing the last 8 months while R and L were preparing their own nest for their new arrival.
Even though we’d been together for over 5 years and spent lots of time together in the past, being married felt different to me (but apparently not for B, according to him!) I suddenly felt like were now co-dependent on each other. I felt like I should have dinner on the table and take care of household duties. B easily slipped into the roles of dishwasher and garbage taker-outer (as always), vacuumer and landscaper. Aside from uncertainty and instability at work, the first 8 months of marriage have been wonderful!
We’re gradually adding furniture pieces, the most recent are a second couch upstairs and 2 bedrooms chair, one of which I’m sitting in now. It took us about 7 months to hang the oil painting of Venice upstairs in the living room. It’s special since we picked it out together one afternoon spent in Coronado. Domestic items we have purchased that I’ve never considered to get before include and steam mop, and good sized collection of throw pillows and steam iron.
The past summer in particular has been one to remember. We started to get to know our neighborhood including the walking path to the local market and enjoying the Cabrillo National Monument. We took walks on warm nights to the park via the hidden staircase B discovered while jogging.
TRIPS:
Although we haven’t lived up to our agreement that we would travel somewhere far and exotic every 6 months, we managed to take a quick trip to Yosemite as part of our trek to Fresno for M and L’s wedding reception. Although we froze in a non-insulating permanent tent and used public showers and bathrooms at Camp Curry, it was a great trip, a true vacation. It was B’s first time actually seeing the summit point, and even though I had seen it before, we were both awe-inspired by the breathtaking view. We (actually more B) hiked along the path of the waterfall right when we arrived in the park. We completed the vertical hike along Nevada Falls which is about 7 miles I believe. When we finally made it to the top, we enjoyed the view from the fall’s break point and the serene waters with a very aggressive squirrel. The second day was spent going to Glacier Point, probably B’s favorite spot of the trip. We then took a short hike up and rock just a little smaller than Half Dome and took some fun pictured that made it appear that we were climbing a huge rock! On our final day we saw the Giant Sequoia’s, walking right through one of them! We met a couple who went to med school at UCSD and who were friends with an former pharmacy resident-small world!
Travelling to Santa Barbara is also a relaxing getaway and we can visit family at the same time. We stayed with B’s parents and traveled to wine country via Solvang. We got a great bottle (to be enjoyed) which has notes of smoke and coffee. A very complex flavor profile that I’m looking forward to drink!
CELEBRATIONS and PLAYING HOUSE:
My first venture in my new kitchen was making homemade scones with a recipe from the Cook’s Illustrated subscription I received as a bridal shower gift. The strawberry ones were so much better than the blueberries (when overboard on the blueberries). In any case, B’s work and Uncle P and Aunt L appreciated them.
We hosted our first dinner guests on out 1 month anniversary, cooking Thai food for 10 guests (our SSC group). I will definitely think twice about cooking Asian food for a big group next time!
C and M came over to make lamb shanks braised in red wine with risotto and strawberry shortcakes on one summer evening which really made the kitchen and the house feel more like home.
Thanksgiving was also another milestone in our 1st year that was so wonderful! I planned for quite a while, trying to find the perfect apple pie and pumpkin pie dish. Although my efforts to make homemade pie dough using bourbon was an absolute flop, the house-full of people appreciated our hospitality. The menu consisted of:
Herb roasted brined turkey and gravy, Mashed potatoes, Roasted sweet potatoes and yams, Mac and cheese, Cornbread stuffing with sausage mushroom apple and cranberry, Mixed marinated veggie salad, Mom’s Broccoli casserole and Rice stuffing, C’s grown-up’s string bean casserole. Dessert was skillet apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan squares and Nancy’s organic carrot cake.
For my birthday, B surprised me with a day at December nights, noshing on fried potato balls and papusas, visiting the natural history museum and listening to local groups perform at the Organ Pavilion. The night was topped off with a l dinner at Kensington Grill with D, M and H and dessert with Mae and Heaven Sent-Red Velvet of course!
After hosting a Holiday Party for B pharmacy staff, Christmas was pretty low key since I was battling a bad cold or URI of some sort. B gave me a beautiful pearl necklace, and he liked the Citizen EcoDrive watch I picked out for home. One new thing that we did that may become a family tradition was check out the Christmas lights and decorations on B stumbled across on delivery run for work. Although there aren’t that many houses, it was quite a sight…like Disneyland!

Our first extended house guests 2 families with 2 rambunctious kids, particularly the little 2 year old G who has a hot head and stubborn personality. C got a glimpse into parenthood and thought that kids were as cute as she had thought! Made J*’s little 6 month old A* seem like an angel from heaven. He hung out at our house for about an hour for dinner with little more than a bit of fussiness.  He chilled with B on the couch watching the Laker’s game with him and patiently sat in his carseat without a peep. So sweet! Just re-enforced that not all kids are the devil’s child!
Last weekend was Chinese New Year and mom and dad came to visit. This is their second visit since B started calling them mom and dad. Kinda weird….we celebrated New Year’s Day and Vigilucci’s which was surprisingly good! Traditional Chinese New Year Dinner was Saturday night when we split our time and stomachs between Auntie’s house and ours. Mom made big tempura shrimp, fried wontons and yummy sweet and sticky spareribs as appetizers. We feasted on miso glazed salmon, lion head, sugar snap peas and chai. M tried so hard to make an impression. He wore red (along with wearing ‘crimson’ after approval from C on Thursday night) and ventured to the local Asian market in search of a pomelo and mochi!
So far, it has been a great ride, and I am looking forward to continuing it. As my mom alluded to as I handed her a New Year’s red envelope for the first time as a married daughter, B is a part of the family now. Mom acknowledged that she is an in-law now….timing possibly related to the New Year? But she said that she was hoping that grand kids would be on the way soon. We’re still trying to squeeze in some fun travels, but we will see what the future holds!