Update: The Pursuits of a Foodie - Zia Gourmet Pizza

So this post is coming late, but nonetheless here it is. A few weeks ago Hector and I finally got to venture out to Zia Gourmet Pizza on Adams Avenue. We had been eying it for several months and since it was a part of our "Adams Avenue Challenge" we knew we had to try it out. So here is our experience through pictures.

The outside of Zia Pizza. No a/c inside so we sat on the patio (which really is just the sidewalk). 

The happy, hungry couple

The outside street view of Zia Pizza. It's really close to Lestat's.

We ordered the small garden salad to split and it was enormous! It came with artichokes, tomatoes, arugula, mixed greens, caramelized pears and a house made pear dressing. It was yummy and cheap! I think it was $5.50

mmm mmm mmm

And because we were soooo anxious to taste the pizza I forgot to take pictures until after we had almost finished it all. So here you see the "Potato Pizza" on the left and the last slice of the "New Yorker" on the right.

The New Yorker came with whole wheat crust, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and really thick strips of spicy turkey pastrami (which was soooo delicious).

Now the Potato Pizza came with the same whole wheat crust, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, green onions and delicious roasted potato chunks. The combination of the New Yorker and the Potato pizza was absolutely divine. We split the Medium which was $15.50 and we had 4 slices left over. For gourmet pizza with fresh ingredients made when you order - $15.50 was a GREAT price.

Yummy in my tummy. With over 100 reviews on Yelp giving it a 4.75 star rating out of 5 stars we knew we were going to enjoy the food. But really it blew our taste buds away and we definitely will be going back for more.

To see the menu, location and contact information go to:

www.ziagourmetpizza.com 

And if you do happen to stop by and try it out make sure you leave some love on this post and encourage more people to eat local and try something new!!

Our Getaway to Palm Springs

So this previous weekend my dear husband and I took off to Palm Springs for what he defined as an S.E.S weekend. Two of those letters stand for Sleep and Eat the other well I am sure you can figure it out :) We were excited to be hitting up some warm weather, but got a little more then we bargained for. Between 10am and 4pm it was roughly 108-113 degrees outside. Let's just say it was HOT. Thank goodness it's the desert and thus a dry heat, because that same weather on the East Coast would be paired with 90% humidity and I hate humidity. But besides the overly hot weather, I had an absolutely perfect time.

Here's the skinny on our 3 days and 2 nights in the desert:

Friday Morning:
Slept in :), then packed and took-off around 11am. Hector grabbed a breakfast burrito on the way and I ate donuts. Generally I am 100% of the time up for a B-fast Burrito, but donuts were calling my name and chocolate milk....yum yum yum 

The back road to Palm Springs gets super crazy and with Hector driving 50+mph on the tight turns I had to hold on.

I promise I am not overreacting...

Friday Afternoon: 
We checked into the Hyatt Regency Palm Springs and after just finishing up a 15 million dollar renovation I must say this place was very nice! I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. I take away 1 star because although we got a great rate ($90 a night) they only served a breakfast buffet for $20 a person and their room service menu was atrocious. So I wasn't thrilled with their supposedly great food options. Oh well, not a huge problem since there was about 100 different restaurants and cafes within walking distance. Also parking was $15 a night and I was under the impression that this was included in the $12 per night resort fee. So we ditched the underground parking lot for street parking and our car was perfectly fine. I personally hate paying for things that you really shouldn't have to. Anyways here are some picture of our room. It was a Premier King Suite at $90 a night (govt rate) that was roughly 700 sq feet and had beautiful views of the desert mountains.

The living room area. Larger then our condo...

No spa tub, but a super nice shower/tub combo and vanity area. 

King bed that was a little harder then I prefer, but still comfortable. Huge flat screen TV's though in both the bedroom and living room.

The view from our balcony. I thought it was beautiful. Better then looking at the pool or street. Apparently it was an upgrade from the room we booked. We also ordered an in-room amenity online which was suppose to be this grand fruit platter, well it was more like a fruit bowl and it was nothing spectacular. It was $20, but they didn't charge us for it because of our anniversary. It always pays to tell the hotel when you are celebrating something :) Trust me. Now that I think about it, I should've ordered the cheese and fruit platter for $50 and the chocolate dipped strawberries for $35. Next time...

Friday Night:

So after we checked-in we took a very nice nap in a freezing cold room. It was bliss. We woke up around 3:30pm and decided to hit up the pool before dinner. We lounged about for 2 hours and then headed up to our room to get ready for our 7pm (unnecessary) reservations at Miro's Restaurant. When we arrived the restaurant was completely empty, besides 2 Senior Citizens who were boozing it up in the corner ; ) But honestly it was soooo nice. We felt like we had the restaurant to ourselves. We came here because the reviews were impeccable. I ordered the 10 oz filet mignon on a bed of mashed potatoes, with steamed vegetables and a green peppercorn sauce. It was superb! Hector got the Shrimp and Scallops platter with saffron rice and steamed vegetables and he asked me if I could re-make the sauce at home if I tasted it. Unfortunately, I am not that amazing. Hector's dinner also came with some really great Lentil soup and I opted for the Caesar salad to get in some greens while they sounded good. All in all I would definitely come back. It's not your local Chili's so be prepared to drop a bill or two, but so worth it. 

Outside Miro's Restaurant - trying to rock the bump :)

Another one outside, taken by Miro himself.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel, took another nap and then headed out to the Palm Canyon Drive Strip around 10pm. It was surprisingly packed, probably because the 90 degree weather at 10pm was rather comfortable. We walked around, scouted out possible breakfast options and of course got some Ben n Jerry's ice cream. It was delicious, although 2 minutes after ordering I got a horrible stomach ached (probably from that delicious 10oz filet) and only had 1 bite. The dinner was totally worth the stomach ache. I just don't think my pregnant self handles red meat well. 

Saturday Morning:

We slept in till 11:00ish... :) it was divine. Then we headed out for breakfast and Yelped this rather awesome restaurant called Elmer's. To be honest if you saw it from the street you would think it was a Denny's, but their menu rocks. For starters they have this dish called a dutch baby and it looks interesting and apparently is delicious, but we both had cravings for something more familiar. Hector ordered the Strawberry-Rhubarb French Toast and I got the 1/2 Rancher's Breakfast. It came with scrambled eggs, 2 slices of the thickest most amazing bacon in the world (seriously we thought they had just butchered the pig in the back) a homemade biscuit and northwest breakfast potatoes. I give it a 5 out of 5. It was a simple plate, but executed with perfection. Hector also loved his Strawberry-Rhubarb French Toast. The jam/jelly/sauce topping tasted fresh and apparently was housemade. We scored with 2 orange juices at a $1 a piece (unheard of ?!, can we say overpriced Hash House with your $6 juices!!) We both left with zero on our plates and only $22 from the pocket including a good tip. This shows that great food does not always come with a high price tag.

Outside Elmer's Restaurant

After breakfast we hit up the local redbox to rent a movie and grab some C-Bean. We took a chance with The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen (the middle aged love of my life and the reason why I now have a weird thing for Russian Mobsters and Russian Names - watch Eastern Promises if your curious) and Charlize Theron. I LOVED it. It was intense, dramatic, interesting and surprisingly creepy in all the right places.  Would definitely recommend to any one who is a movie buff. 

If your a Guy Pearce fan, don't expect much from this. His role is all of 2 minutes at the very end. Robert Duvall or Charlize Theron deserved title credits more then he did. Although he did good.

After watching The Road on our mac we took another well deserved nap and woke up somewhere around 4pmish. We hit the pool again and relaxed while soaking up the 100 degree sun rays. I think around 7ish we headed back to our room and tried to decide on a place for dinner. Neither one of us was starving and for some reason we both wanted burgers so we went to a somewhat favorite of the masses and hit up Ruby's Diner. No need to go into the deets about this place, you can visit one yourself in our own Mission Valley mall ; )

After dinner we walked around for awhile, took a detour to take some pic's of a restaurant with a funny name that our friend Jason would appreciate ("Wang's in the Desert"), and then hit up some more ice cream on the way back to the hotel and finished the evening with a little tv and good conversation :)

Sunday Morning:

We were sort of missing our pup Harley so neither of us really wanted to prolong the day with extensive sun-bathing. We decided to pack up the car and hit the road around 11:00am. We picked up Harley at my sister's around 12:45ish and then grabbed subway before going home. It was the perfect ending to a perfect, relaxing weekend. Hector did have to come back and pack for a 2 week training course in Georgia the next morning, but all in all it was a sweet getaway and an awesome way to celebrate 4 years of marriage!

** In the past I have only stayed at Rancho Mirage, so this was our first trip to PALM SPRINGS. I think it has grown tremendously over the years, because this place was definitely awesome. It has been known as the less desirable spot to stay in comparison to Rancho or La Quinta, but I give it 2 thumbs up... just make sure you stay on or near the Palm Canyon Drive strip :)

Yum Yum Yum

So the foodie in me strikes again.

For all of you whose stomachs happen to graze the roads of San Diego, I have a special secret to reveal to you... I just happen to know where they serve the BEST Breakfast Burrito EVER.

I am almost hesitant to share. Why? because it will then no longer be my little hole in the wall taco shop that so dearly meets my high expectations for making what should be one of the world's greatest contributions to food. Can I get an amen?

Seriously, the breakfast burrito can be eaten at any time of day and will satisfy ones hunger with the highest levels of satisfaction and pleasure. I could conceivably eat one every day. However, I would then be significantly overweight and very unhappy, thus I resist and try to limit it to once or twice a month (sometimes more).

So are you curious? Do you have any idea of the place I might be talking about? Is your body prepared for the onslaught of high caloric intake because of receiving the most important foodie secret known to mankind?

If not, then let me clarify a few things before I get a million responses that say, "I know a place better", "I think that place sucks", 'Haven't you ever tried ____?", because if I know one thing its that people can be quite passionate about food and even more passionate about their favorite food places. Case in point: Me. So knowing that, I would like to preface my discovery with the following:

1. I have tried many, many, many breakfast burritos at dozens of restaurants throughout San Diego and none of them compare in my opinion to this place. 
2. This place also happens to have some of the best house made red sauce EVER and thus enhances the over quality of the burrito, not that the sauce is necessary for it to be delicious.
3. The factors that I take into consideration when determining the BEST Breakfast Burrito from an OKAY Breakfast Burrito are the following:

a. Eggs must be fluffy, bright yellow and white in coloring none of that overcooked egg slop.
b. There must be MEAT in it, meaning it has to have well-cooked bacon or sausage and not soggy bacon in it.
c. Potatoes and cheese (cheddar not AMERICAN) must make a healthy appearance as well.
d. Tomatoes, onions, peppers and things of that nature have to be in there somewhere. Unless they have an amazing red sauce or salsa then its okay for it to not be in there.
e. And lastly I love beans in my BB. Not black beans, but the perfect concoction of pinto beans.
f. oh and it can't be all greasy and oozing like a oily sludge that's gross.

So please keep this in mind because you may not like these things in your BB and if that is the case, then shame on you. You are missing out.

Anyhow, moving on... so taking into account everything I said above in my opinion the absolute BEST BREAKFAST BURRITO just so happens to hail from...

Lucy's Taco Shop in Downtown, San Diego on C street.

If you think you know of a better place then I will fully accept a Best Breakfast Burrito challenge, however you must try Lucy's before making the assumption that your place is better :) By all means though send me your recommendations, I can never resist trying a new potential 

Best Breakfast Burrito.

Happy Eating!

The Pursuits of a Foodie

A few days ago one of my friends called me a foodie. For those of you who don't know what the heck a foodie is, read below.


From Wikipedia :)

Foodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink.

Pursuits of a Foodie

Typical foodie interests and activities include the food industry, wineries and wine tasting, breweries and beer sampling, food science, following restaurant openings and closings, food distribution, food fads, health and nutrition, and restaurant management. A foodie might develop a particular interest in a specific item, such as the best egg cream or burrito. Many publications have food columns that cater to foodies. Interest by foodies in the 1980s and 1990s gave rise to the Food Network and other specialized food programming, popular films and television shows about food such as Top Chef and Iron Chef, a renaissance in specialized cookbooks, specialized periodicals such as Gourmet MagazineCook's Illustrated, growing popularity of farmers' markets,^[3] food-oriented websites like Zagat'sYelp, publishing and reading food blogs (a number of people photograph and post on the Internet every meal they ever make or consume), specialized kitchenware stores like Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table, and the institution of the celebrity chef. 

Although I personally have never considered myself a foodie, I have come to the happy realization that I totally am. Thus, my husband (who I wouldn't really say is a Foodie he just enjoys eating) and I have created a Food adventure that we would like to call the Adams Avenue Challenge. Adams Avenue is the main street that runs through Kensington, Normal Heights (where we live) and University Heights. It has a ton of restaurants, eateries, cafes, specialty food stores etc. and we are committed to trying out every single one of them! This will obviously take awhile for several reasons, however during our 3 years in the NH area we have already visited a few of them and thus can cut the list down a little. The first reason it will take awhile is time and the second is money. We aren't sitting on piles of gold so we will have to take that into account, but I hope to have some wonderful places to write about and experiences to share with all of you.

So without further ado, here is what we happen to be conquering during our Adams Avenue Challenge. I know it looks a little daunting, but I am sooo excited!! I have marked the ones we have already visited in red and added comments to the right. I hope to have individual write ups on all of the places we have already visited and will visit in the future. If we finish this challenge then we will strive onward and conquer Park Blvd and University Avenue!

 Adams Avenue Grill                     2201 Adams   - a bit $$, but great food and service

Air Conditioned	4673 30th St	-
Antique Row Cafe	3002 Adams	- SO CHEAP and GOOD
Bettina's Custom Catering	3641 Madison	- not sure if will try catering?
Bleu Boheme	4090 Adams	- NOT CHEAP, but amazing french cuisine!
Blind Lady Ale House	3416 Adams	- Pizza and Beer (lots on tap) great atmosphere
Burger Lounge	4116 Adams	- Pricey burgers, but delicious!!
Cabaret Cafe	3739 Adams	-
Cafe 21	2736 Adams	- Awesome for breakfast, but $$$ unique
Cantina Mayahuel	2934 Adams	-
Casa Adams Mexican Restaurant	3038 Adams	- I wouldn't recommend it, it was ehh
Country Kabob	3375 Adams	- Greek Food and amazing. LOVE IT.
DiMille's Italian Restaurant	3492 Adams	- Yummy pasta, pizza and garlic knots!!
El Zarape	3201 Adams	- over priced for mexican, good happy hour
Jayne's Gastropub	4677 30th St	- dying to eat here!!
Jyoti Bihanga	3351 Adams	-
Kadan	4696 30th St	-
Kensington Cafe	4141 Adams	- wonderful, visited on a weekly basis
Kensington Club	4079 Adams	-
Kensington Grill	4055 Adams	-
Kensington Vine	4191 Adams	-
Lestat's Coffee Shop	3343 Adams	- beware of vampires, coffee okay
Lou Jones Inn	3391 Adams	-
Luz's Restaurant	3402 Adams	-
Mama Mia Pizza	3446 Adams	-
Mauricio's Mexican Food	3200 Adams	- cheap Mexican with a little class = awesome
Pinto Thai Cuisine	3381 Adams	-
Ponce's Restaurant	4050 Adams	- delicious classy Mexican restaurant
Proprietor's Reserve Wine Bar	4711 34th St	-
Rosie O'Grady's Pub	3402 Adams	-
Sabrosito	2941 Adams	-
Senor Mango's Juice House	4607 30th St.	-
Starbucks Coffee	3352 Adams	- Kensington location okay
Starbucks Coffee	4134 Adams	- NH location way better, barista's are nicer!!
Subway	3540 Adams	- $5 footlongs can you beat that?
Tam's Thai & Laotian Food	3456 Adams	-
Tao	3332 Adams	-
The Ould Sod	3373 Adams	-
Triple Crown Pub	3221 Adams	-
Twiggs	2804 Adams	- yummy cookies and great coffee
Villa Del Mar Restaurant	3531 Adams	- cheap Mexican = always a good choice
Zia's Gourmet Pizza	3311 Adams	-

Incredible Cheesecake Co.           3161 Adams -  Mariposa Ice Cream           3450 Adams  - homemade ice cream, it was okay Niko's Mini Mart           3334 Adams  -
Viva Pops                                      3300 Adams -

** After looking at the list it actually doesn't look so daunting. Would it be too much to say we could accomplish it by 2011? Happy Food hunting! Oh and sorry about the poor editing. Blogger just wasn't working for me today.

Addicted to my husband, sleeping, reading, vanilla waffles, chocolate....

My list of addictions could go on for an eternity. However today is mostly about my addiction to Saturday. Yes, you can be addicted to a day of the week, just as you can detest a day of the week (i.e. Monday). So I am inclined to tell you that my textbook definition of Saturday comes from the very wise and very astute Barney from HIMYM.

In Barney's words Saturday = Awesomeness

Why? because its generally the one day where I feel that I can be lazy guilt free. Monday - Friday are the days where I try to be productive with my unemployed self so that I can feel somewhat entitled to a lazy day on Saturday. However, even though I feel justified by this reasoning, I still really don't deserve a day of laziness. Saturday is also the one day I am guaranteed to sleep in past 9am, cuddle with my puppy in bed, cuddle with my husband in bed, make waffles, catch up on my reading and generally do nothing. Which in short is why Saturday = Awesomeness.

So while I bask in the awesomeness that is Saturday here are a few of the things that my awesome self enjoyed/created during my Saturday of awesomeness.

1. Vanilla Waffles - so simple and yet so much better then your basic waffle. Follow the instructions on your waffle mix and just add vanilla extract. How much depends on how much you love vanilla. I would say at minimum 1 tbs, but the more the better :) For even more amazing waffles try out Sweetstacks pancake mix that you can use for waffles. Honestly, the best thing in the world! It's a pacific islander recipe that makes the most decadent pancakes/waffles ever. You don't even need butter. Try a free sample (you pay shipping and handling) here.

 

photo credits: google - unfortunately I didn't snap any of my own :(

2. Photo Editing - I don't know how to use nor do I own photoshop or any other expensive photo-editing software, however I do know a thing or two around Microsoft Word for Macs and Publisher for PC's and to be honest you can create some awesome stuff with these programs. So today I made a photo card circa 1970's with a picture of my hubby and I. I love retro colors so that was the inspiration behind the borders/text.

3. Saturday nights are generally reserved for going out and this Saturday we went to a place in Little Italy called Caffe Italia. They serve the yummiest Gelato Milkshakes with Italian soda and whipped creme. Honestly, if you are ever in San Diego you MUST go here. They serve 3 different shakes: Muddy River - dark chocolate gelatoawesomeness, Orange Baba - orange/strawberry gelatoawesomeness, and Caffe Emmline - espresso gelatoawesomeness. The only thing you need to remember is to bring cash. The drinks are about $5 each and seriously YOU. WILL. LOVE. IT. I have tried all 3 and my fav is Muddy River, but they are all great so pick your poison. 

  

Muddy River 

Yummy ooey goey whipped creme and tons of chocolate :)

Great coffee as well

and cappuccino

and in case you forgot the place is called Caffe....

 

mi amo caffe italia!