Foodgirl has been busy and so I haven't blogged! So I don't get too far behind (and because of a special request from my fave Expectant Mama and her veg-loving hubby), here's the quick scoop on some recent visits.
Fairouz (Sports Arena): Fairouz really deserves its own entry since we absolutely love it. Middle Eastern buffet (says "Greek" on the outside but they're really Palestinian). Ridiculously good food (veg and non-veg), very healthy and reasonable ($12.95 for the buffet). Great atmosphere, charming and hospitable host, gorgeous art on the walls (doubles as a gallery); great music. We all like it. Some of the delicious things we get there (they rotate choices): lentil soup, chicken-lemon soup; stewed zucchini, stewed okra (trust me, sounds super-bland but somehow is ridiculously yummy); divine stewed eggplant when they have it; roasted potatoes; various chicken and beef things; tons of salads (humus, spicy carrots, minty macaroni salad); divine desserts (rosewater white pudding; carrot halva, etc.). There are probably 40 choices on the buffet between hot and cold and dessert so I'm leaving tons out. Boy loves the music, not to mention the humus, pita, lentil soup, veggies, and all of the wonderful desserts (esp. the carrot halva). We love this place even though it's a drive.
Waters (Solana Beach): Really Waters deserves about 10 entries, since I go there so often (I usually trust my readers to look up the restaurants but here's the URL so you have no excuse not to check it out! http://www.waterscatering.com/) . It is a gourmet paradise in Solana Beach, esp. if you're a working mom with veg and non-veg eaters at home. They have sandwiches (some of my faves are the eggplant and the portabella mushroom; ABW likes the roast beef especially), salads and wonderful desserts. But the exciting part are the ever-changing entrees, sides, etc in the case, all of which can be tasted and then purchased by the pound. I never leave Waters without buying a ton of stuff for us to enjoy for the next few days. The menu changes seasonally, so you never know what you'll find. Some things I enjoy there: soup (tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, roasted red pepper, gazpacho, etc. - almost anything, and it's usually flourless and vegetarian); macaroni and cheese; polenta; anything with quinoa; roasted vegetables (one of the few things they have all the time - I'm addicted to them); lasagna with the best sauce ever (ABW loves it too); wild salmon cakes; other interesting fish; grilled chicken dishes with all kinds of interesting sauces; etc etc. I'm only giving a little tiny sampling. Also love their zucchini bread, granola, mashed potatoes; sweet potato puree, and tons more. Without Waters, the transition to being homebound during Boy's first year would have been infinitely more challenging (and certainly less tasty). LOVE WATERS! (Plus they are super-friendly there).
Bencotto (Little Italy): Everyone treats this new "modern Italian" restaurant like the second coming; it's getting buzz everywhere. Was good - ABW loved it even more than me (he called it "Good", which is way better on his scale than Ok or Fine). We would definitely have gone back....but I got sick afterwards! It wasn't good enough for me to risk returning again. Had wine; eggplant parm app; delicious homemade pasta. Not sure what did it.
Vela (downtown in Hilton Bayfront): Let's just say I'll never go back. Food was good, but one of us got hurt - and they sicced security people on us and ruined our meal...We never made any comment about suing or anything but they went into horrible Liability Control mode and just ruined the rest of the meal. No apologies or even comping and then relentless calls and letters from their insurance people for the rest of the week until I asked ABW to get them to stop bothering us. The food was good but not good enough to ever have me set foot in that hotel again....
That's all for now...trying an old fave with a new chef tonight and will post on how it goes....Hoping for a much better experience than Bencotto or Vela! :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment