Caffe Calabria (North Park) Restaurant Review: Delicious and Kid-Friendly!

We had been to Caffe Calabria only once before, with another couple. No babysitter tonight - but I was craving wood-oven Italian pizza (mmmm). Decided to try it out with SuperBoy.

SUCCESS!

Atmosphere: Not only cool and romantic and hip for grown-ups, but cool for a little boy. The inside is made to feel like a night street, all lit up. SB liked the fake windows and facades. The other theme of the restaurant is soccer. So there are Italian Jerseys everywhere - and soccer on the screen. The fact that SB was still in his soccer jersey from his game today received kudos from the wait staff, which SB liked.

Pizza: super yummy. We liked both the Margherita and the Margherita DOC with veggies added.

Frascati wine: delish and only $6

Green salad for only $5: super delicious and enough for us to divide in three parts as an app.

SB also liked the aranciata and was super well-behaved.

Oh - and the food came out so expeditiously.  Score!!!

I asked SB if he wants to come here again. He rolled his eyes and said, "Of course," as in "Duh, Mom."  North Park is also so much fun to visit. We saw an awesome African dance class going on at Stage 7.

***
He was so well-behaved that we went next to Heaven Sent Desserts at Univ and 30th for dessert.  SB got a red velvet cake, which he liked. I got german chocolate cake, which was tasty too (and enormous).  CH got a 3-chocolate cake, which was the yummiest, in my view.

Caffe Calabria and Heaven Sent: a fantastic date night for the whole family!

Restaurant report: JSix (Gaslamp)

We missed RW at JSix, but had a fantastic meal.

LOW POINTS: service is always so darn slow here. This would be a much more famous and successful restaurant, and we'd come more, if they had more staff on the floor. Took forever to order, and by the time we got our first course, we had been there for more than an hour.

Pepper Blossom cocktail: super-boring. but they changed it out for me to something yummier...

Cream of spinach soup: kind of boring

Chicken dish: it was a little too peppered for CH, though he thought it was ok

HIGH POINTS: Crazy delicious and not super heavy food.  Other friends and I had:

--super yummy manhattans. Never had one before; hope they are not all downhill from here. They had their own orange bitters and some other yummy stuff in it.

--ridiculously yummy raw veggies and burrata salad

--super yummy suzie's farm salad; every component was yum

--very tasty tuna crudo. Small portion. But the sea beans were super-tasty.

--corn agnolotti: very good. My friends l-o-v-e-d it; I thought it was tasty.

--halibut with coriander and yogurt: super yummy and innovative

--truffle fries: tasty, wish we hadn't gotten them free with yelp check-in; otherwise we had a super-low carb meal

--also ridiculously yummy tapenade with decent bread

--L-O-V-E-D hazelnut brandy ice cream.  Chocolate coriander ice cream also good.  Banana bread pudding was tasty; the vanilla ice cream with it was forgettable.

In short, great food here, nice atmosphere. Need more floor or kitchen staff!

Restaurant week report: Crush (Solana Beach)

Nice meal at Crush for RW.  Bruschetta entree was fantastic (grilled good bread, great burrata, tomatoes, pesto).  Eggplant was very tasty and huge portion, but very heavy - wouldn't order in future.  Great "julep noir" (bourbon, blackberries, mint, lime).  Great music too, but not so loud that you can't hear your companion talk.  Glad we went. (though I must add that a friend went the night before and was less impressed with the salmon. But we were lucky!).  This place is becoming a favorite.

Cucina enoteca opening soon (Del Mar Flower Hill)

(I feel like I am rebroadcasting Candace Woo's news this week, but she has so many interesting items concerning my fave chefs or places!)

She is reporting that the new sib of CU in Flower Hill will open September 29:

http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/09/19/cucina-enoteca.php

Looks beautiful inside. We'll see whether it's kid friendly too..... (date night at Flower Hill does not strike me as super appealing but we'll manage otherwise.

Jack Fisher stops being a pastry chef :(

Candace Woo is reporting that Jack Fisher, one of my two fave pastry chefs in town, is switching to the savory side AND moving down to Imperial Beach.

http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/09/19/chef-jack-fisher-on-moving-from-sweet-to-savory.php

This is not good news for me or for dessert-lovers north of downtown!  But hopefully it will be a good step for him - we all need change.

Going to Cucina Urbana soon - hopefully they will have some of his desserts left even if he isn't there to execute!

Tender Greens now open at SD Airport!

Great news from Candace Woo at SD Eater: http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/09/17/tender-greens-takes-off-at-the-airport-tomorrow.php.

Must check out soon! (reports are welcome!)

Shoutout to Candace Woo at SD Eater!

a. Candace Woo is cool and always has good taste. Loved her old reviews (she was at CityBeat and I forget where else) and now her restaurant coverage at Eater San Diego.

b. Extra cool - she included my Sea and Smoke review in a roundup of Sea and Smoke reviews: http://sandiego.eater.com/archives/2013/09/13/the-latest-word-on-sea-smoke.php.

Come back any time, Candace - glad to have you reading!

Upcoming Restaurant Week visits

We normally avoid Restaurant Week - it's too crazy, restaurants are too rushed.  And it's not always that much of a bargain.

But we're going to hit Crush and Searsucker Del Mar this week.  They both should be a good value. It will be a great excuse to try Crush again, and to give the new Searsucker a new try to see how it compares to Burlap.

Which 'wich Review (Carmel Valley)

Last Monday, SuperBoy and I saw that there was a training session in the space where Which 'Wich was about to open in the Del Mar Highlands Shopping Center.  We read the sign on the door and saw that the restaurant would open on Wed.

On Wed. morning, SuperBoy said, "Mommy, that new restaurant is opening today - can we try it out tonight?" Ah! I am raising a food-forward boy! Love the use of "try it out." How could I say no?

When Cute Husband came home, we headed over there.  It was very busy for opening night.  But we loved it!

a. You can really customize your sandwich in a lot of interesting ways.  I got a whole wheat baguette with tomato, cheese, spinach, and sauerkraut.  (hmm....sauerkraut).  CH got a reuben and liked it.

b.  For kids, you can doodle on your sandwich bag and then post it on the wall.  SB loved this. He wrote an ode to the cashier and showed it to him. What is cooler to a little kid who loves to draw than being able to draw and post your work in a restaurant?

c. Place was highly staffed and staff was super friendly. 

d. Prices are very reasonable.

e. CH loved the idea of a pizzawich (a pizza sandwich! he said).

We didn't try shakes but SB wants to next time.  Great option in the neighborhood.

New food trucks in Carmel Valley

Miho hardly comes to High Bluff anymore; too busy!

Devilicious was here Monday (oops - I missed it!).

today a new Thai food truck (HaadSai Thai Food).

Can't wait to try Devilicious one of these weeks!