OK. Sorry it's taking so long.
Sunday after Thanksgiving. We went to Escondido and ate at the Stone Brewery. They opened a bar and restaurant a while ago, and we hadn't gone yet to check it out. Let me just say, that when we first went there, they were just breaking ground on this project. There was just the concrete floor and a hole in the parking lot. When we went on Sunday, the FP and I were blown away. It was a huge wide open space, with these huge windows that opened up like garage doors. Lots of stone architecture, of course...And a beautiful outdoor area with seating, grass and waterfall, and an outdoor bar of course. here's the link http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/
There's some good pictures in there.
Anyway, we were there during brunch. The menu is casual, but kind of international cuisine with good ingredients. So we started off with onion rings. These were just wonderful. They were thick slices,I mean like half the onion, but they were perfectly fried and the arrogant bastard ale batter was really good.
The FP and I got the chimichurri steak and sweet potato hash. On looking at the menu, I should have gone with one of my first choices - mac and cheese, or the sausage plate. Oh well, next time. This hash was kind of weird. It was acidic and spicy, but you could barely see the herb in it or taste it. It wasn't like what we were expecting. It's funny, because I think I told the FP it tasted like something he would make. So it wasn't bad, just not what we wanted.
The others got burgers and BLTs. The burgers looked good, and I guess the sister and brother in law liked them. The BLTs, the mom liked, the dad did not like, although he ate most of it. For some reason, the dad seemed to HATE everything about the place, although he didn't voice his opinion until we left, thank God! I wish I could tell you what kind of beers we got, but it was a while ago,and I have a poor memory. They were really good though.
So after that, we went to the Orfila winery. We tasted some wine, then we got a bottle of Sangiovese and sat in the back patio and drank it. The vines were all bare of course, but it was still a cool view. We could also see the burn area from the wildfires. They said that maybe 1% of the vines were burned, so it wasn't a big deal for them. So we were there til dark, then we went back to San Diego. We had to decide on the last supper. Amazingly, we went to Ruth's Chris. This is very funny, because all week, everyone had been wanting to go there, since it was in the hotel. The dad didn't want to go though, of course because it's very pricey. So on this last night, I guess he felt nostalgic and decided that we should go.
I was pretty excited. I have only been to the Ruth's Chris in New Orleans. The original Ruth's Chris is like an old - old people steakhouse. I'm not trying to be ugly, but you know what I mean. So it was quite different to go to this one that was really fancy and modern and all. The menu was still pretty much the same though. The funny thing about Ruth's Chris, is that the steak comes alone. If you want sides, you order them individually and can share them family style. So anyway, after a long weekend of indulging in all kinds of nonsense, it was nice to just eat steak. The mom and the sis got the chop salad with blue cheese dressing which was really good. Then they got the filet. The dad got salmon,(big surprise)the bro-in-law and FP got the cowboy steak, and I got the ribeye. The cowboy is the ribeye on the bone. The bro- in-law also got the sweet potato casserole and the big spender got shoestring fries. I think everyone immensely enjoyed their steak. I don't know if the dad really liked his salmon. He said he did, but I don't think he finished it. The sweet potato casserole was sooooo sweet, but it was actually really good. It tasted very grandmaey, homestyle. Not that I had a grandma that cooked that kind of stuff. Anyway, that was a very delicious end to a marathon weekend of eating.
And then there was more to come....
Monday. My parents on short notice arrived on Monday morning. Literally, the FP had just taken his mom to the airport and driven home, and there were my parents waiting. So they took a nap, and when the FP left to pick me up at work, he directed them to the grocery store. When we got home, they were there. They didn't find the grocery store, and they didn't want any of the fast food choices, so they decided to wait until I got home. They wanted to go to National City.
So the FP went north to work, and we headed south. It was around 3:30, so it was pretty slow. I got a combo - some chicken dish? and kare kare. Which kare kare is a stew with peanut sauce. Mine was with pork hocks. Very yummy. And I put the hot sauce and the garlic vinegar sauce all over my food and my parents laughed at me. I think my parents got the same thing. They shared theirs and only ate the chicken thing, and I ate half of each. Then I got some for the FP - goat stew and maybe adobo?
After that we went to the store that was in the same center. My mom got some smoked scad, some small bananas, sprouts, some veggies and shrimp and longanisa. At the fish counter, we saw that they will fry your fish for you, no charge. I don't know if I would ever really ask for that, but it was good to know.
So that night, of course we ate leftovers. The FP loved his food, of course. The goat stew was very rich and tasty.
Tuesday. The next day, we had some of that smoked scad, longanisa, leftovers and shrimp ukoy. The scad was delicious. The longanisa was good,but it was mild. Longanisa is Philippine sausage, and it's very fatty and sweet. So I like the spicy kind, because the spice cuts through the richness.
The ukoy.This was one of my favorite childhood foods. It's shrimp fritters made with bean sprouts and batter. You leave the shell on the shrimp. You make a flat patty of the sprout and batter, then you stick the shrimp on one side in the middle. They're pretty and they taste amazing. Fried bean sprout and shrimp are so good together. Man, I'd love to have one right now!
Wednesday. We had stir fry Food Pimp style. Beef, mushroom, broccoli, onion, soy sauce. Very simple, very good.
Thursday.This was a funny day. I came home, and my mom and husband were working on dinner. My husband was chopping veg and asking my mom how she wanted them. So the FP started browning ground pork, and in another pot he was sauteeing onion and garlic. My dad asked my mom about where the FP's dad goes on business. It was South Korea. So the FP sits at the table, and he's fucked. My dad gives one of his long speeches about history, terrorism and such. He was focused on the FP, and my mom and I were free agents. So I got up to check on the food. I ended up having to take over. I just mixed the pork and onion together, then added zucchini and squarsh, a little soy, a little fish sauce, a little vinegar and a teeny bit of oyster sauce. So after an hour, the history lesson was over, and the FP and I went to the practice space to work on our acoustic set.
Sunday after Thanksgiving. We went to Escondido and ate at the Stone Brewery. They opened a bar and restaurant a while ago, and we hadn't gone yet to check it out. Let me just say, that when we first went there, they were just breaking ground on this project. There was just the concrete floor and a hole in the parking lot. When we went on Sunday, the FP and I were blown away. It was a huge wide open space, with these huge windows that opened up like garage doors. Lots of stone architecture, of course...And a beautiful outdoor area with seating, grass and waterfall, and an outdoor bar of course. here's the link http://www.stoneworldbistro.com/
There's some good pictures in there.
Anyway, we were there during brunch. The menu is casual, but kind of international cuisine with good ingredients. So we started off with onion rings. These were just wonderful. They were thick slices,I mean like half the onion, but they were perfectly fried and the arrogant bastard ale batter was really good.
The FP and I got the chimichurri steak and sweet potato hash. On looking at the menu, I should have gone with one of my first choices - mac and cheese, or the sausage plate. Oh well, next time. This hash was kind of weird. It was acidic and spicy, but you could barely see the herb in it or taste it. It wasn't like what we were expecting. It's funny, because I think I told the FP it tasted like something he would make. So it wasn't bad, just not what we wanted.
The others got burgers and BLTs. The burgers looked good, and I guess the sister and brother in law liked them. The BLTs, the mom liked, the dad did not like, although he ate most of it. For some reason, the dad seemed to HATE everything about the place, although he didn't voice his opinion until we left, thank God! I wish I could tell you what kind of beers we got, but it was a while ago,and I have a poor memory. They were really good though.
So after that, we went to the Orfila winery. We tasted some wine, then we got a bottle of Sangiovese and sat in the back patio and drank it. The vines were all bare of course, but it was still a cool view. We could also see the burn area from the wildfires. They said that maybe 1% of the vines were burned, so it wasn't a big deal for them. So we were there til dark, then we went back to San Diego. We had to decide on the last supper. Amazingly, we went to Ruth's Chris. This is very funny, because all week, everyone had been wanting to go there, since it was in the hotel. The dad didn't want to go though, of course because it's very pricey. So on this last night, I guess he felt nostalgic and decided that we should go.
I was pretty excited. I have only been to the Ruth's Chris in New Orleans. The original Ruth's Chris is like an old - old people steakhouse. I'm not trying to be ugly, but you know what I mean. So it was quite different to go to this one that was really fancy and modern and all. The menu was still pretty much the same though. The funny thing about Ruth's Chris, is that the steak comes alone. If you want sides, you order them individually and can share them family style. So anyway, after a long weekend of indulging in all kinds of nonsense, it was nice to just eat steak. The mom and the sis got the chop salad with blue cheese dressing which was really good. Then they got the filet. The dad got salmon,(big surprise)the bro-in-law and FP got the cowboy steak, and I got the ribeye. The cowboy is the ribeye on the bone. The bro- in-law also got the sweet potato casserole and the big spender got shoestring fries. I think everyone immensely enjoyed their steak. I don't know if the dad really liked his salmon. He said he did, but I don't think he finished it. The sweet potato casserole was sooooo sweet, but it was actually really good. It tasted very grandmaey, homestyle. Not that I had a grandma that cooked that kind of stuff. Anyway, that was a very delicious end to a marathon weekend of eating.
And then there was more to come....
Monday. My parents on short notice arrived on Monday morning. Literally, the FP had just taken his mom to the airport and driven home, and there were my parents waiting. So they took a nap, and when the FP left to pick me up at work, he directed them to the grocery store. When we got home, they were there. They didn't find the grocery store, and they didn't want any of the fast food choices, so they decided to wait until I got home. They wanted to go to National City.
So the FP went north to work, and we headed south. It was around 3:30, so it was pretty slow. I got a combo - some chicken dish? and kare kare. Which kare kare is a stew with peanut sauce. Mine was with pork hocks. Very yummy. And I put the hot sauce and the garlic vinegar sauce all over my food and my parents laughed at me. I think my parents got the same thing. They shared theirs and only ate the chicken thing, and I ate half of each. Then I got some for the FP - goat stew and maybe adobo?
After that we went to the store that was in the same center. My mom got some smoked scad, some small bananas, sprouts, some veggies and shrimp and longanisa. At the fish counter, we saw that they will fry your fish for you, no charge. I don't know if I would ever really ask for that, but it was good to know.
So that night, of course we ate leftovers. The FP loved his food, of course. The goat stew was very rich and tasty.
Tuesday. The next day, we had some of that smoked scad, longanisa, leftovers and shrimp ukoy. The scad was delicious. The longanisa was good,but it was mild. Longanisa is Philippine sausage, and it's very fatty and sweet. So I like the spicy kind, because the spice cuts through the richness.
The ukoy.This was one of my favorite childhood foods. It's shrimp fritters made with bean sprouts and batter. You leave the shell on the shrimp. You make a flat patty of the sprout and batter, then you stick the shrimp on one side in the middle. They're pretty and they taste amazing. Fried bean sprout and shrimp are so good together. Man, I'd love to have one right now!
Wednesday. We had stir fry Food Pimp style. Beef, mushroom, broccoli, onion, soy sauce. Very simple, very good.
Thursday.This was a funny day. I came home, and my mom and husband were working on dinner. My husband was chopping veg and asking my mom how she wanted them. So the FP started browning ground pork, and in another pot he was sauteeing onion and garlic. My dad asked my mom about where the FP's dad goes on business. It was South Korea. So the FP sits at the table, and he's fucked. My dad gives one of his long speeches about history, terrorism and such. He was focused on the FP, and my mom and I were free agents. So I got up to check on the food. I ended up having to take over. I just mixed the pork and onion together, then added zucchini and squarsh, a little soy, a little fish sauce, a little vinegar and a teeny bit of oyster sauce. So after an hour, the history lesson was over, and the FP and I went to the practice space to work on our acoustic set.
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