Thane gets hitched! Michael's Bar and Lounge - La Jolla Hyatt

A big Congrats to our friend Thane of the Universe who eloped and married his GF two days ago! 

To celebrate, he booked Michael's Bar and Lounge at the La Jolla Hyatt at the Aventine. In addition to his immediate and extended family, many of our high school friends showed up. It was practically a reunion! Mr. Saliva (who also doubled as the unofficial event photographer with his killer camera), Mr. Reunion Organizer, Tatonka, Superman, Scregman (wow!!!), Ms. Lollypop and her husband, the Taquitos, and many more.

There was an assortment of dips for the pita bread as well as quesadillas. Bert and I had sushi earlier that evening so we didn't really try these.

There were also buffalo wings with ranch dip...

It was a free for all at the bar. Beer, wine, mixed drinks, you name it. Bert had a Ballast Point Stout (kinda chocolatey and dark but not as good as that Airdale Imperial Stout) while I had a fruity drink. Thane also ordered Patron shots for nearly everyone. I only had a sip because that stuff burns! Tatonka had about four Long Islands. Mrs. Taquito had a mixed drink called "Nuts and Berries" (gosh, that sounds nasty) that looked and smelled good - Frangelico, Chambord and Cream. Mmmmm....

Thane is such a great guy. He and Bert have been friends since 7th grade. That's a good 30 years folks! He was not only the best man at Mr. Drummer's wedding, but at our wedding. Even though there was heavy rain earlier that day and steady rain that same evening, we would  not have missed celebrating Thane's self-described "Post-Nuptial Celebration" for the world. So once again, Congratulations to our dear friend and his wife! Welcome to the family!

What, no lump of coal?

A few days before Christmas we got a package from C from Life on Manitoulin!

Here's everything: Three 4-packs of Coffee Crisp candy, 1 pack of Dare Juicee Sour Wigglers (for TC), one Chocolate Ginger bar and aa small box of chocolates from the Manitoulin Chocolate Factory. Those Coffee Crisps are addicting, I tell you. When we were there this summer, I bought several of those 4-packs and they went super fast!

She also sent us shirts from the Manitoulin Island Fire Department. When we visited C and her family, we gave her husband (who is not only a cattle farmer but also a school bus driver AND a first responder) a Chula Vista Fire Department t-shirt. It was so nice of her to return the favor.

coffee crisp

Here's some of the goodies left in our stockings by "Santa"...Note the purple eyeliner he gave me and the screwdriver for Bert. Thank you Walgreens.

A huge fucking thanks to Superman for giving Bert the suggestion to get me this book. Knowing my voracious appetite for anything pop culture relating to the 80's, Superman thought this would be something I would enjoy and if you're reading this Supe, "You were riiiiiight....you were riiiiiight!" (must be whispered in a raspy voice as taken from the scene in "Return of the Jedi" when Darth Vader is unmasked and agreeing with Luke Skywalker's statement, "I see the good in you"). What a convoluted explanation but for Star Wars geeks, they'll get it.

And by the way, this is now my new favorite book. I'm still reading it in bits and pieces, trying not to rush each chapter.

TC and I gave Bert this t-shirt. He's excited about the new Thor movie coming out. Australian actor Chris Hemsworth will play Thor. I still think that Alexander Skarsgard should have played Thor. He's 6'4" and Swedish (well, that counts as being Scandinavian in my book) and would rock that horned hat and wield Mjolnir quite well! Plus he looks a hell of a lot better than Hemsworth!

TC got two Beatles shirts. She really loves the one with the Union Jack with the superimposed images of the "Hard Day's Night" album cover. MFH gave TC the Paul Frank shirt; it's a long sleeve tee with black sleeves. I wish they had one in an adult womens size.

Bert got me a replacement Calyx by Prescriptives. Since late Fall 2009, Prescriptives discontinued this fragrance. I'd been wearing this since college (1990's and on) and must crushed when I couldn't find it at Nordstrom's last Christmas. A quick check on the internet revealed that it could still be ordered through some discount sites. It's a fresh and clean fragrance that I really love (smells kinda fruity too). This should last me about a year, so yay!

Bert likes PB so he really liked this stocking stuffer. Ha ha, PB Ballz.

The ever so awesome Darlene from My Burning Kitchen was kind enough to send me a couple of gifts, which were incidentally food related. When I opened the package, TC was so excited to try these bacon flavored toothpicks! I still haven't tried them yet!

She also sent me this cute hot dog coin purse! So fkg cool! Ha ha, can't wait to use this and whip it out when I'm in the stores. Wait, let me get some change now!

Those were just a few highlights of some of the gifts we gave and received. Although the next photo was NOT a Christmas gift, I threw it in here because several of the gifts were "food related". After opening our gifts Xmas morning, we were on our way to my mom's for lunch. Bert wanted to wear the Spam shirt I got him last year ($7.00 Tarjay my friends).

Hope you all had a great 2010 and here's to the upcoming New Year!!!!

Xmas Lunch

Trying to get in some posts before the end of the year...

These are pix from Christmas Day lunch at my parents...

From the far left, mashed potatoes, roast beef and pineapple glazed ham, courtesy of my dad.

From my mom, "Embutido", a Filipino style pork meatloaf. Normally made with ground pork, pickles, cheese, hard boiled eggs (not included here), and raisins. This is one of my holiday favorites. My mom said she didn't want to put eggs in it because "they make your farts stinky". NO! Really now, Mom? Farts or not, I love this stuff. Tastes good with rice.

My mom made one lone vegetable dish. I don't think this is Filipino. She did a green bean stir fry with tofu. I didn't really eat this but Bert liked the beans.

Here's a "group shot" of the food. At the upper right is Pancit Bihon and to the right of that, some sort of chicken curry dish with coconut milk.

During Christmas time, the Filipino grocery store, Seafood City carries Edam Cheese, a specialty cheese from Belgium. It has a nice, mild nutty flavor. My parents call it "Bola Bola" ("bola" means "round"). My dad used the rind to make that "red cross" thing. The edam cheese is underneath the red strips. There are also precut slices of cheddar and swiss. Hiding in the back are my lemon creamcheese bars. The last dessert made during this holiday break.

My dad also had a fruit platter: mangoes, pineapples, blackberries, avocadoes and kiwis.

And more sweets: Kirkland cookie assortment, peanuts, candy (Almond Roca, kisses, mini chocolate bars), Cassava cake (kinda like bibingka but instead of rice flour, it's grated cassava),Candy Cane Jojo's, homemade banana nut bread made by the neighbor (who is also my godmother), and a tiny peak of the cheese and crackers dish.

Lots of food right? My mom is of the persuasion that it's better to have more food than not enough, otherwise, it would be embarassing for her as a hostess. It's a Filipino thing to be generous with food during parties. You don't want to look like a cheapass either. But seriously, I love the hospitality at Filipino parties with the hosts making sure you are enjoying yourself and have enough to eat. If you are lucky, you will even be given styrofoam "to go" boxes to bring home leftovers.

Curry House

[Update - Closed in early 2012 and is now Koon Thai]

This past Monday, TC and I headed up to Convoy. We wanted to go to Wa Dining Okan for lunch since my daughter liked it so much when we went back in October. Plus, I wanted to ask the waitresses where they got their cool one shouldered aprons. If I had to wear an apron again, I'd want one like that.  Unfortunately, Okan was closed so instead of driving somewhere else to eat, we went to another restaurant a few doors down...Notice, the sun is out and there is not a cloud in the sky. That changed the next day!

I've read about this place on other's blogs and passed by it many times whenever we go to Nijiya market.

I'm not a big curry fan but I was curious to try Japanese style curry. Both of us were.

It's pretty big inside. We took an empty table on the right hand side (as you walk in) near the front.


This seemed interesting. I may get this next time.

Hmmm, this one too!

We looked over their specials... I knew what I wanted to try.

I ordered the Corn Potage (soup) on the side. The waitress described it as a 'corn chowder' but it was kind of watery with not enough corn in it to be a chowder (at least for me). TC enjoyed it so she finished this off.

TC chose the Breaded Pork with Curry (mild) entree which included rice and salad. It was not a lunch special so it was $9 something.

I got the $5.95 lunch special - the Menchi (breaded and fried ground beef patty) with curry (medium spiciness). I didn't think the medium sauce was spicy at all. Next time, I will go up one more notch to compare. I liked how soft the meat was underneath the crunchy exterior. Lots of sauce and rice. We only finished about one half of our patties and barely made a dent with the rice. Leftovers ended up being Bert's dinner.

Cross section of the menchi (on the left) and of the pork. I liked my ground beef better than the pork. It reminded me of meat loaf but with curry sauce. Duh.

Afterwards, we went to Nijiya to get a popsicle (for TC) while I got those Aladdin sake bottles as late Xmas gifts for some friends. I like the blue one because it's prettier and the sake is filtered (clear). The pink Aladdin bottles have unfiltered sake. Something about the cloudiness of the sake grosses me out so I prefer the clear one.

Who else ate at Curry House:

Of course Dennis of "A Radiused Corner" has been here. In fact, he's been here many times...Here's his post on their udon.

Cathy (a Friend of Yoso) has been here but didn't order curry!

Vicky, (another Friend of Yoso) guest posted and also tried several dishes here.

And most recently, Darwin and Ange of the blog "Eat, Darwin, Eat!" went here for their lunch specials as well!

Next time, I want to try that Masala Curry and also their highest heat level (maybe not on the same day)!

The Make Good and more...

Before walking back to our car, I was attracted by this sign to this store, the Make Good.

They sell all kinds of handmade items such as jewelry, scarves, totes, bags, accessories, toys, clothing and more. Really cute stuff too.

What really caught my eye was this sculpture, which I recognized from fellow SD foodbloger's site, Michael Olin Hammond; his foodblog is Foodopolis. If you click on his site, click on Gallery 1 and you can see "El Pato Libre" in all of his glory! Check out his creations - they are quite interesting and unique! I really likes how he incorporates found vintage objects and makes them into something entirely functional and whimsical.

Here is the view of "El Pato Libre" from the window, and yes, he IS for sale! :)

Some street art on the back of a sign...

More street art...I believe the sticker of the Asian Man is by Obey.

I didn't walk out of Make Good empty handed. After being tempted by some earrings and necklaces and figuring, nah, I could make them better, I saw a lone rack of gently used dresses. This pleated black dress with black lace overlay and nude foundation caught my eye. I also saw it was only $30!!! I wasn't sure if it would fit me but lo and behold, it fit perfectly. Well, I might have to get those shoulder straps taken in a smidge (because they kind of slip off) but otherwise, it looks quite nice. I'm not 25 anymore and can't get away with those really "out there" fashions. I think this dress is both naughty and nice.

I looked up the designer online, Adrianna Papell. Her dresses usually go for at least $150 or more, so $30 was a huuuge bargain. Ever since my operation two years ago, I've been super self-conscious of what I can wear and can't wear. Not like I ever wore really low cut stuff before, but I like how this dress does NOT show any cleavage yet still looks elegant and hopefully not farty or matronlike. I also liked the wide straps and the alternating black fabric with the lace overlay. It goes to about knee length.

Paired with a pair of pointy toed black heels, this dress is ready to go!

Since we're on the subject of dresses, I went crazy last month at Marshall's, of all places, on this dress by Calvin Klein. I normally don't get my clothes here. I was there just to look for serving plates for my Christmas cookies but also ended up with this new frock, which was clearanced at $49. Not bad since a dress like this normally goes for more than $100.

It's a charcoal grey knit sheath with an edgy zipper edge rosette detail around the neckline. A bit rock and roll but a twee bit conservative. The bottom of the skirt hits me right at my knee, but it may be above the knee on taller women (I'm 5'5").I love it. I feel like those swanky chicks in "Mad Men".

(sucking it in!!!)

Ha ha, this was taken in our downstairs bathroom. Bert thought it would be funny to hoist TC and carry her. I took a photo of them by the tree and she was touching the star on the top..

Yeah, we're weird like that!  It's too bad you can't fully see the maniacal look in their eyes ("their" not "my").

Daily Scoop on Juniper

After our lunch at Station Tavern, in which we forgot to bring our leftover sweet potato fries, we headed up the block. I didn't realize that Fern turns into 30th St. right at the corner of Juniper. The Daily Scoop on Juniper is a cute little ice cream parlor here in South Park. It's on the Northeast corner of Fern and Juniper. If you head up the street on the West side, you'll hit Vagabond. One the Southwest corner across from Daily Scoop is Rebecca's Coffee House.

It's Country French decor in here. Tres charmant, n'est ce pas? Man, I had to dig up my rusty ass French just to type that shit! Back to the decor which has a red, white and black color scheme with French toile valances and fleur de lis accents on the wall. Cute!

There's an adjoining shop which I was kind of curious about, but there were people in there chatting away. Looked like a tiny gallery of sorts. I'll have to check it out next time I come here...

It's hard to read but the sign above the door is in pretty script and says, "Enter as strangers, leave as friends".  Two women were working really hard on fixing these doors. Due to the recent rains, the water made the wood swell, making the doors stick. One woman was hammering away and ended up scraping the inner sides of the door to shave it down.

In addition to ice cream, they also offer Sundaes, Ice Cream Drinks, Hawaiian Shave Ice, and Banana Splits. One scoop is $2.95. And look at the bottom right corner, "Niederfrank's"!!!!

No wonder some of the flavors seemed really familiar. Along with regular flavors like chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, they also had Champagne and Cabernet Sorbet (shades of Jesus Juice anyone?).

Here are more flavors...

We each got one scoop on a sugar cone. That was a pretty big one too!

TC got the Red Mint Chip, which we've had before at Niederfrank's...

Bert got one of his favorite flavors, Butterscotch...

I got the Triple Chocolate - I'm not sure what makes it "triple" (should've asked). It's chocolate flavor with chocolate chips. I really like ice cream with "stuff" in it, whether it's chips or nuts or candy but I mostly like chocolate chips.

I liked how this looked in the window. If you look out the window, you can see Rebecca's Coffee House. Several years ago, a few co-workers and I went out to dinner at Vagabond which just opened (this had to have been 2006 then). As we were leaving, we saw a car crash into a tree in front of Rebecca's!!! WTF!!! Scary! Wait! Here's the post (just of Vagabond, not the car crash); it's one of the first food posts I did with photos back in 2006!

I want to try some other flavors here next time. Just one scoop though. It was hard enough finishing one after that burger! It was a nice surprise to see this shop because I hadn't heard about it before. Our original plan was to drive through 30th and go to Heaven Sent Desserts but oh well, how could we resist this cute shop?