Category Archives: around san diego

around san diego - San Diego eats + drinks

industrial grind coffee

November 19, 2014

Industrial Grind coffee in Hillcrest, San Diego // My SoCal'd Life, a lifestyle blog

San Diego’s coffee game has stepped up big time recently, and though I moved here only two-ish years ago, friends who’ve lived in San Diego their whole lives have noticed a change, too. The major players include Coffee & Tea Collective, Cafe Moto and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, but there’s one hole-in-the-wall cafe worth adding to the list.

Meet Industrial Grind Coffee, a small-batch artisan roaster on Park Boulevard in Hillcrest. Owned by partners in work and life (and retired members of the Navy) Kathy and Barb, the cafe has an open-air layout with a front patio, cool back patio that’s designed with sauna-style wooden benches in stadium seating and fun details like benches decorated by each barista. Though that particular address on Park has operated as a coffee shop for about a decade, it wasn’t until four years ago when Kathy and Barb found it on Craigslist and—inspired by L.A.’s Intelligentsia—transformed it into its current form.

Since it’s just a 5-minute walk from my apartment, you’ll often find me there with Teddy (it’s a very dog-friendly cafe) and a cup of the Bettie blend, my favorite brew in the whole city. (I love that they offer an 8 oz. cup for just $1!) Customers also love their huge selection of gluten-free breads, but that’s not the only reason we all keep coming back. Industrial Grind feels like a home or someone’s backyard, and the staff is made up of some of the friendliest people in the city.

Take a look:

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around san diego

weekend recap

November 3, 2014

A few snaps from the weekend that was…

cruella-de-vil

101 Dalmatians realness for Halloween. We ate pizza (in costume) at the Golden Hill Luigi’s, walked around South Park to see all the awesomely decorated houses and did a little bar-hopping (sans Teddy) in Hillcrest. We saw a lot of Maleficents, a lot of Day of the Dead-ers and a few Frida Kahlo’s. Props to the parents who dressed their kid up as Freddy Krueger and made him take a photo next to a Neighborhood Watch sign.

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around san diego - Travel

weekend recap

October 27, 2014

Native Poppy flower workshop

I’m pretty pleased to share that the beaut above was arranged by yours truly and made this weekend at The Library Shop’s workshop with Native Poppy. As a thank you for recently featuring her on the blog, Natalie of Native Poppy graciously invited me to take part in the floral workshop. Here’s what that and the rest of my weekend looked like:

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around san diego - San Diego eats + drinks

piacere mio in south park

October 15, 2014

Piacere Mio in San Diego // My SoCal'd Life, a lifestyle blog

South Park is hands-down my favorite area of San Diego not just because it has a sense of community where everyone knows each other and a great dog park and almost all small businesses, but also because it has one of everything I need. There’s my pizza place (Buona Forchetta), my coffee shop (Cafe Madeleine), my work coffee shop (Rebecca’s), my ice cream spot (Daily Scoop), a home decor/gift shop (Progress) and a handful of other useful, fun shops. But it now also has something I didn’t realize I needed: a quaint, date-night-ready restaurant.

Piacere Mio recently transformed from a casual gelateria and coffee shop to an intimate, romantically lit Italian trattoria. There are meat dishes and a smattering of typical appetizers, like bruschetta, beef carpaccio and sauteed mussels, but the highlight is the homemade pasta. Servings are seriously huge—enough to serve 3-4—and well priced at $12-15, and I love the mix-and-match option, where you can choose a sauce and pasta style to go with it. Considering how rich and carb-heavy pasta can be, though, if you’re a party of two, I’d suggest ordering one pasta dish (the pesto sauce is phenomenal) and one vegetable or meat.

But it’s delightful even beyond mamma-mia-good pasta. The setting is charming—check out the beautiful pendant lamps and snug bar space—and feels like the kind of place Eaman and I would go to for weeknight dinners during the cold New York City winters. It’s warm, cozy and very fitting as San Diego starts to turn towards “fall.” Check it out:

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around san diego

weekend recap

October 6, 2014

A few snaps from my weekend thanks to my iPhone…

golden-retrievers-san-diego

On the one hand, this summer has been a psychotic beast that just won’t quit. On the other hand, I’d much rather be hot, hot, hot than cold and miserable. Last week I was cold and miserable in Minneapolis, so even though it was a scorcher this past weekend, I was loving the heat and warmth on my skin. We took Teddy and our friend’s pup Tilly to the Coronado dog beach so we could all cool down. Teddy behaved, Eaman bodyboarded and I played with a 3-month-old English bulldog puppy. It was one of the most perfect beach visits. And T was so exhausted he fell asleep on Tilly’s bum.

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around san diego - San Diego eats + drinks

new restaurant alert: bottega americano

October 1, 2014

Bottega Americano in San Diego // My SoCal'd Life, a lifestyle blog

I may not have lived San Diego for that long, but even I can see that there’s a huge shift going on in its food scene. Within just one year I’ve noticed San Diego step out from L.A.’s shadow and carve out its own spot in the food world with inventive menus, well-designed spaces and patrons who are actually excited for something new. And through it all, the East Village has led the charge for creativity (and let’s be real, gentrification). There’s Don Chido, Comun Kitchen & Tavern, Rare Form and its rooftop bar Fairweather, as well as the very industrial-cool event space Luce Loft and the fancy-schmancy Fit gym. The East Village, you can say, is having a moment.

The splashiest of new tenants to the neighborhood is Italian restaurant-market Bottega Americano. Many people refer to it as the West Coast answer to Eataly, but that’s just not accurate. While Eataly is made up of various food stations with a marketplace sprinkled throughout, Bottega is a restaurant at its core and marketplace on the side. That said, it’s one of the most fun, energetic dining experiences I’ve had so far in the city.

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around san diego

welcoming fall at suzie’s farm

September 24, 2014

Suzie's Farm, San Diego // My SoCal'd Life, a lifestyle blog

Well, Saturday evening was just magical.

It was the night of Suzie’s Farm‘s fourth annual autumnal equinox dinner, a celebration of the new season with a communal dinner under garden lights on the farm property. The dinner incorporated produce from Suzie’s—my favorite farmers market vendor—as well as meats and seafood from local vendors, and was prepared by the team behind La Jolla’s Whisknladle.

The space was set up like the most simple, charming and rustic wedding—it really felt that way with all the celebrating and reveling—and used color as this year’s theme. While jars of various dyed colors were peppered around the farm, at each place setting was a handkerchief hand-dyed by the farm owners Lucila and Robin and their daughters Sylvie and Inez. The real wow factor? The handkerchiefs were dyed with plants around the farm. I got a pale green napkin made from kale, while my friend visiting from New York City got a golden brown version made from basil.

Some of the highlights included the amazing pizzettes and zucchini fritters served during cocktail hour and the salad made of watermelon, compressed melon, cucumber granita, charred radishes and local cheese. I’m not even a melon person, but Suzie’s makes me a believer. For dessert, we left our communal seats for three different dessert stations, including pumpkin hand pies, chocolate chip cookies and mini ice creams made from beet, sweet potato and mint. (My tablemate who blogs at Look for Pinky got a great shot of these.)

The night ended with Lucila demanding that we dance, and so, the band played on. Take a look:

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