Bert's Birthday + Post Bday crawl

Another revolution around the sun...

Above, our meal, including Bert's birthday dinner, from Hawaiian Style (CV)...

TC had the teriyaki salmon combo, I had the loco moco (for the record, it was TERRIBLE  because the hamburger patty was a dry and densely packed meat puck; the mushrooms and gravy were a'ight) and Bert's request, kalua pig. We didn't go out for dinner since TC had the ACT test the next day and needed to do some last minute review.

Dessert were these items picked up from our local Trader Joe's...

Of the two, we liked the tiramisu torte better. Tasted almost like an ice cream cake when still frozen. The chocolate almond butter tart also tasted better still frozen; I have an extreme hatred for soft desserts. The crust wasn't as crisp as I'd hope it would be.  Bert liked both but preferred the tiramisu torte over the other dessert.

The day after Bert's birthday (we are 148 days apart; he counted back when we were in high school and I always took his word for it because I'm lazy like that), while TC was taking the ACT, I took Bert out for a mini birthday crawl...

First stop, it had been awhile (nearly two years!) and since I had a coupon (yesss, I have no shame), we went to Grinds & Vine on the southeast corner of Texas and El Cajon Blvd, where we were surprised to see construction going up. It turns out that those will be upcoming luxury apartments. North Park is changing!


We also noticed that the G&V's patio (which was talked about in my first G&V post).  According to the gals working here, the patio was opened this past year.



They now have a menu board:

There are murals outside as well - on the Conext box and the back side of the G&V building...




From this:

(photo from my first G& V post linked previously)

to this:

Wow, what an improvement.

I wasn't sure what to get here and after texting my good friend Cathy of mmm-yoso that we were here, she suggested the cold brew flight. This was perfect since I love trying small tastes of food and/or drinks.  My coupon was buy one get one free (up to $7 off) but because the flight was $8 and Bert's mocha was less than $7, they took off the lower priced item.  It was still $$$ saved though.


Here they are...from left to right, the Guatemala up to the Bird Rock French roast.


My favorite were the last two drinks because they were a darker roast and had more chocolate tones to them. Bert had to help me finish these, keeping in mind that we hadn't eaten yet.  I was afraid I would mess my stomach before having had breakfast.

Bert's caramel mocha was in a ugly papercup; no need to see inside but at least one obligatory photo with the new construction as a backdrop.

Before we left, a nice man and his dog sat down outside and he asked us about the flight since he was curious and hadn't seen it before.  I'm glad that I was able to give the flight a try. I think all coffee place should do that! I love variety.

A few minutes away in neighboring University Heights was our next stop. Starting last year, and taking my suggestion, Bert signed up for ibirthday.com and included Cafe 21 as one of the restaurants. They have one of the best deals - one free birthday dinner (but could be used for breakfast/brunch or lunch) with the purchase of an entree.  We were here last year for his birthday dinner and were here again but this time for brunch.


It's nice going when hardly anyone is there!  It was a little past 8:15 am when we arrived. The place was filled by the time we left.

The view from our spot in the patio, the sun wasn't fully out yet and I was hoping it would be overcast the whole day (it wasn't).

It's never too early for drinks, ha ha. A Moscow Mule for Bert (same as the one I had for my birthday brunch with MFH) and my watermelon mint lemonade. I splurged because husband's birthday.


Both were refreshing; his mule had that gingery kick!

Bert's potato cake side for his entree (prosciutto omelet; they erroneously brought out a prosciutto crepe and later took it back after we realized, a few minutes later that it wasn't his order). This was delicious, can you see that crust?

Our brunch:

Bert's Prosciutto omelet (I wonder if they used the prosciutto pieces from the crepes plate?) - this was totally cheese covered and quite flavorful with the salty meat and mushrooms.


This was my short rib sandwich. It was a toss up between this or the shortrib burger (which I got during my birthday brunch in April but had forgotten the leftovers; I was determined not to forget this time).

The short rib was so very tender and so flavorful with the caramelized onions and the mozzarella cheese. I asked them NOT to put any gorgonzola cheese; the bread was sourdough. Dressing was a light raspberry vinaigrette for the mixed greens.

I really loved the mushrooms in my sandwich. It was the kind that you don't even bother picking up because everything will fall right out and make a horrific mess.  I had to be genteel and use my fork and knife. I ended up deconstructing the sandwich and eating mostly the filling and some of the bread.  This was so delicious: I would get it again in a heartbeat.

We had time to kill that morning before TC got home from the test.  And why yes...a birthday coupon was also involved with this visit to S3 Coffee Bar in Grantville. Bert's email from S3 included a free pastry with the purchase of a coffee drink (not quite like a buy one get one), so he got a hazelnut latte for his drink and chose a slice of chocolate chip banana bread for his freebie.


No more coffee for me since I had that flight earlier.

Fast forward to later that early evening. We had dropped off TC at a beach bonfire with the tennis team and after crossing the Coronado Bridge, made out way to La Mesa. We were greeted warmly by the owner and his wife. We did not see the young man who was our server last year but our server that evening was equally as gracious and attentive.


This time we sat in this corner...

and once again, utilized a coupon from my trusty Entertainment Value book. Totally worth the $40. This deal was buy one get one (up to $18 off; another great deal in my eyes).

Dinner started off with complimentary honey glazed house made corn bread. Last year the bread was studded with strawberries.

Our drinks were in custom printed glasses featuring their logo and a fleur de lis (this was, after all a Southern restaurant). There is no alcohol license here which is kind of a bummer so Bert got a Dr. Pepper while I got the sweet tea.  Living large, ha ha. Seriously, I hardly ever order drinks; it's usually water for me but this was a special occasion.

I specified for my salad to come out plain. Last year it was predressed with balasamic dressing and I didn't like it at all. Plain was so much better. The light raspberry dressing on the side wasn't actually bad though.

We ordered two appetizers with the intent of saving some for leftovers...

The meat pies were half moon shape this time and did not come with a dipping sauce like last year. They did not taste as "crisp" and flaky. They seemed like they were reheated.

Our server recommended the fried green tomatoes so we gave that a try. This was $6, making each slice $2 each (wut!). While delicious in its seasoned corn meal crusted glory,  it wasn't worth it in my opinion.


Crust!

Our dinners:

Bert's catfish dinner ($22) - this was the larger portion. He chose mashed potatoes and collards as his sides. Those catfish pieces were quite substantial!

I got the porkchop ($18/the "free" item) which Bert had last year. This was the "stuffed" version which Mary spoke about (her post linked at the end); for whatever reason, the version we had last year was NOT stuffed but just as delicious.

The porkchop was glazed with maple syrup as well as butterflied and stuffed with their honey cornbread. It was served with mashed potatoes and steamed yellow squashed and carrots. For both of our entrees, the sprinkling of fresh herbs was such a nice touch.

The porkchop portion was more than I could finish so the other half would be enjoyed for the next day.  There was also one tiny downside to this porkchop (not shown) and that was a small bit of uncooked meat close to the bone. The meat was definitely still raw so I made sure to eat the outer edges.

Previous visit to Grinds & Vine:
October 2015

Previous visits to Cafe 21:
My bday brunch earlier this year and Bert's belated bday dinner last year

Previous visit to S3:
"Summer drinks from S3", August 2017

Previous visit to Bourre Southern Bistro:
October 2016

Happy Birthday to my dear Husband Bert!  I'm happy to be growing old with him.