the refuge- san carlos, california

i am thankful i have tons of family who are as into food as i am. whenever my uncle and i are both home around dinner time, we make it a point to try a new restaurant in the area. one such opportunity arose and so we went to the refuge. i had been wanting to check out this place for awhile since i had heard a lot of good things about their belgian beer selection and their pastrami sandwich.

the beer selection- the list was made up of about 20+ belgian beers. the beers we ordered came in glasses that were specifically made for them. reminded me of one of my favorite places in seatlle (brouwer's), although brouwer's beer list is a bit more extensive. this is place is a must even if it's just to try the beers.

the food- we decided to order a pastrami sandwich and a cheesesteak (yelp review recommended). the cheesesteak was mediocre. i've definitely had much better cheesesteaks. however, the pastrami sandwich was very good. i would definitely come back for it.

leffe blonde and la chouffe

pastrami and cheesesteak

san diego adventures

a few of my girlfriends and i spent a week in san diego to celebrate closetcouture's 25th bday. a vacation always means lost of eating.

1st night- la puerta for a late night meal. this was my first carne asada fries experience and they were pretty darn good. the border tacos with freshly made guacamole were very good too.


day 2- a trip to san diego would not be complete without a trip to islander grill, a restaurant that serves chamorro (guam) food. being the only one who knew what to order, i ordered for everyone. the meal was both satisfying and filling.

red rice, short ribs, cabbage salad, chicken kelaguen, empanada

after a relaxing day at pacific beach, we went to eat at pacific beach alehouse. they brew their beers in house. their beers were good but i was surprised at how good their food was. the star of all the food was definitely the lobster mac and cheese.

front to back- pacific sunset ipa, whitewash wheat

calamari

lobster mac n' cheese

spinach artichoke dip

mile high ice cream pie

day 3- started with lunch at sand bar sports grill in mission beach. to continue my taco kick i ordered the carne asada and mahi mahi tacos. for the price these were pretty good. i've had better but these were quality for a sports bar.


after another day at the beach (mission beach this time), we went back to our new hotel, the porto vista hotel. we decided to have a drink at the hotel restaurant, the glass door, before going out. i'm glad we made a trip there because our bartender made the most amazing drink. i have a great appreciation for cocktails made with fresh ingredients. she made us a dragon berry mojito.

day 4- on our way back to the bay, foodicles and i stopped at stone brewing co in escondido. i recommend visiting here if you are ever in that area. they put a lot of work into the design of the restaurant and this extends to their food menu. you can tell they value the quality of their overall product and image.

13th anniversary ale

spud buds

bbq duck tacos

half moon bay brewing company

nothing says summer like an eventful spur of the moment trip to half moon bay. and a trip there would not be complete without some seafood and maybe some beer too. we decided to eat at half moon bay brewing co.

mahi mahi fish(one of my favorite fishes) and chips

raspberry brown ale