weekend recap

Some keepsakes from the weekend that was…

There are so many coffee shops cropping up in San Diego. Heartwork Coffee Bar is new to the Mission Hills neighborhood and serves local roasts by Dark Horse and James Coffee Co. Double snaps for vegan donuts by Papa G’s. The one above is a French toast flavor.

Froggy legs at the dog park.

We were invited to try The Red Door, an approachable fine dining restaurant in Mission Hills that specializes in French cuisine with a comfort-food twist. We were lucky to have executive chef Karrie Hills walk us through the concept behind each course, and it’s clear how much sustainability dictates the menu. Now, I hate the overuse of the phrase farm-to-table as much as the next person, but at Red Door, they can back it up. The restaurant’s farm, where they source so much of their ingredients, is located in nearby Mt. Helix. My favorites were the eggplant salad, lamb meatballs, quinoa, which we topped with grass-fed steak, and bread pudding.

Finally checked out Kate O. Sessions Memorial Park in Pacific Beach. It’s a wide, hilly, grassy 79-acre park that overlooks the Coronado Bridge, Mission Bay, and on a clear day, Tijuana. Beyond the expansive views, it’s quiet, draws a friendly crowd, and though not technically an off-leash area, pretty much all of the dogs are scampering around sans leash. Most of the pooches are well-behaved—except for that cheeky Labrador puppy who stole a T-ball bat and didn’t want to give it up—so as long as you don’t mind the four-leggers running around, it might just be the most perfect park ever. That said, some dog owners need to be better about picking up after their dogs. I will never understand people who don’t!

I have a newly minted love affair with Barrio Logan, a largely Hispanic neighborhood just south of the East Village. Given its proximity to the Coronado Bridge, it reminds me a lot of DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in New York City, and I find the same kind of energy here, too. It’s the pulse I’ve been looking for in San Diego, somewhere that oozes culture and energy and people doing big things, In Barrio Logan, it’s most apparent in their community of artists and galleries. I could go on and on about Barrio Logan, but trust that you need to visit. On Saturday night we went to the exhibition opening at HB Punto Experimental, located in a random alley. (The pieces are much more experimental than what you see above, but I thought this painting in the lounge area was so beautiful.)

The party continued at Border X Brewing, a Mexican brewery with unique flavors, like the Abuelitas Chocolate Stout. Works from the nearby Chicano Art Gallery decorate the space.

Post-brewery, we headed across the street to Salud!, a new restaurant from the team behind the uber-popular catering business, San Diego Taco Company. The menu, divided by “tacos” and “not tacos,” is short, but how much choice do you need with street-style carne asada tacos that good? The space is inviting, with casual picnic tables, upcycled decor, and vibrant paintings of corn (yes, really) in the bathroom hallway.

The most incredible chocolate chip cookies packed with Double Stuf Oreos that my friend made for her Super Bowl party. #lettuceforlunch