S-P-O-I-L-E-D

We have a tradition in Thatfamily. During the night before our birthdays, Thatparents would sneak into our room and fill the floor with as many balloons as would fit. My first year of college, when Thatboy and I had been dating only a couple of months, Thatmom called him up and asked if he could continue the tradition since they wouldn't be able to. Thatboy didn't quite understand exactly how it was done; I woke up my birthday morning to an empty floor, but a ceiling full of helium balloons. Nowadays I get the best of both worlds.

Thatboy had a few more tricks up his sleeve. Everytime I would turn around throughout the day there was a pretty wrapped package waiting for me. He divided them into 4 categories. My "practical" present ( a gift certificate), my "want" present (something I had asked for), my "extravagent" present (something sparkly in a classic blue box), and my "pleasure" present (chick lit and a new cook book). And throughout the day I received enough other presents to make me feel almost guilty about how spoiled I was. Another blue box, presents to drink, presents to eat, presents for the kitchen, presents made of leather....

Thatboy had also declared a mandatory half day in celebration. We headed to one of my favorite places, The San Diego Zoo. I love being a member of the zoo because I can spend either an hour there, or a day. Just being there makes me happy. We began with a visit to my friends.

Then it was off to the new Elephant Odyssey exhibit that just opened last month. I hadn't been since it opened and I was dying to see it. Last year I did a 5k at the zoo and got to see the work they were doing on it and I wanted to see the finished product. It didn't disappoint.

Elephant Odyssey showcases the merger of the past and the present by combining present animals with descriptions of their long lost ancestors. There's an recreation of how fossils are discovered in tar pits. The simulated tar pit fills and empties revealing bones of extinct animals.

But of course, the main draw is the elephants!

On the way out, we stopped by the old elephant enclosure to see the rhinos and giraffes. We also saw these guys! Because I'm morbid I thought this giant anteater had a dead friend on its back. Or a stuffed animal. Turns out that's its baby!!! The baby isn't weaned yet and so mama carried it around on her back all day.

After the zoo, we went home to change for dinner. Thatmom, Thatbrother, and UDubb were all coming down to have a birthday dinner with us. When they asked where I wanted to go, the answer was clear - Blanca.

Thatboy and I love Blanca. It's his favorite restaurant in all of San Diego, and it definitely ranks up there for me. I chose it, not just because I love the food, but of all my favorite restaurants, this one is the farthest north - which I thought would be helpful for my family driving down.

Like Starlite, Blanca is another one of my "hidden favorites." It's located in a strip mall, which belies the clean, modern interior. Chef Wade Hageman offers a 3, 4, or 5 course meal that changes depending on availability of the ingredients. Almost everything is caught, killed, or grown within 150 miles of the kitchen. In addition, the seafood is ocean friendly in both the ways it is caught and prepared.

Thatboy and I got there early, so we could grab a drink at the bar before everyone arrived. Blanca has some great happy hour specials. Thatboy enjoyed a Malbec and I had a Moro Blood Orange. The blood orange vodka which serves as a base makes this drink taste like juice. Very very dangerous juice.

Because it was my birthday, Thatboy let me indulge in one of my favorite treats - a cheese plate. I LOVE cheese plates. Mostly because I love cheese. This one came with a maytag blue, with sugared pecans and a pear sauce; a french cow's milk soft cheese with marcona almonds and apricots, and a creamy cheese with dates. Can you tell by my fantastic descriptions how dangerous that martini was?

When the rest of the family showed up, we were shown to our seats and our amuse bouche was delivered. Corn chowder in an espresso cup. It was sweet, it was creamy, it was the perfect way to start the meal.

Blanca offers a different bread selection each night. The night of my birthday it was a garlic cheddar and chive biscuit. Warm and cheesy - this was a hit with everyone at the table.

Course 1. I started with the lobster medallions. The lobster was grilled, which is a new presentation for me, but still let the sweetness shine through. Served with melt in your mouth herb gnocchi, and the best fava beans I've ever had. A meyer lemon reduction only emphasized the sweetness of the lobster.

Thatmom and UDubb had the warm spinach salad. The thing holding the salad together? A strip of Nueske's bacon. Thatboy was happy to take Thatmom's bacon when she offered.

Thatbrother and Thatboy had the Monterey Bay Abalone. The green papaya salad that accompanied it in the abalone shell was Thatboy's favorite thing he ate all evening.

Course 2. Thatboy, UDubb, and Thatmom all had the Kobe Flat Iron Steak. The potato gratin tasted just like a baked potato. It was a twist on a classic dish, complete with English peas and carrots, as well as a homemade worcestershire sauce.

Thatbrother had the pan seared Alaskan Halibut. The soba noodles complemented the buttery fish - or so he says. We all know how I feel about fish. Except Thatbrother who kept asking if I wanted a bite.

My selection won for entrees though. Thatboy took one bite of my red wine braised short ribs and pronounced that "they rocked." The plate then got passed around the table so everyone could enjoy. The meat was tender and perfectly prepared, falling apart by the touch of the fork. I loved the sourness added by the olives on top, as well as the sweetness from the tangerine cumin reduction.

Thatboy ordered an extra course, but since none of us did, we'll call this course 2.5. Petaluma Quail Kung Pao. Thatborther had never had quail before, and thought this would be a good place to try it. He thought it tasted like cornish hen, but wasn't as impressed with the fried presentaiton.

Course 3. Thatmom ordered the sorbet trio. Cherry sorbet served atop fresh cherries, strawberry sorbet served atop fresh strawberries, blackberry sorbet served atop fresh blackberries.

One of my favorite things about Blanca is the desserts. I think the best dessert I have ever had was their browned butter pear bread pudding. This time I went with the blueberry financier with a creme freche sorbet. Bursting with fresh, sweet blueberries in every bite, I wasn't disappointed.

Thatboy, our chocolate fanatic got the Valrhona chocolate ganache cake - filled with gooey melty chocolate. I think he especially loved that it came with spearmint ice cream.

And because we were celebrating, out from the kitchen came a special treat! A carrot cake cupcake. Because everyone should have cake on their birthday. The cake itself was perfectly dense, while the cream cheese frosting was creamy sweet goodness.

We rounded out the evening with one more sweet treat - apple candies. Sugared and jelly, like grown up gummy candy.

I felt so spoiled getting to spend the day doing my favorite things, going to my favorite places, with some of my favorite people!

Starlite, Star Bright

The best part about birthday celebrations is that I get to pick where we go, meaning it's time to visit all of Thatgirl's favorite places!

To celebrate Prez's birthday we headed to her pick, Tower23. To celebrate mine, we headed to Starlite.

Starlite is Thatboy and my favorite place to go for drinks. It has something for everyone. A great wine list, inventive cocktails, and a fantastic selection of local and imported beers. Starlite is the kind of place that's a hidden gem - very much a local secret. You could drive by it without ever knowing it was there. You won't find many tourists here at all. It's the kind of place where if Thatboy and I lived in the neighborhood we would come by every day after work for drinks.

This time around Prez and I brought the boys - they make awful handy designated drivers. Although, in truth, I think the reason had more to do with Zorba's desire to try Starlite. He quickly confided that he had heard so many great things about the place, had driven by a million times, but had never gotten the chance to stop in.

Thatboy loves the selection of beers here, so to start out he had some Liberty Ale, a microbrew from San Francisco. He quickly moved to Trummer Pilsner which he preferred. As for me, I wanted something cool, refreshing and girly. A Velvet Diablo was just what the doctor ordered - Tequila, Velvet Falernum, crème de cassis, lime, and ginger beer (which is the secret ingredient in most of Starlite's drinks). It has quite a kick.

Prez wanted something lighter than tequila, so she ordered up the white sangria - Pinot Grigio, brandy, orange, lemon, sugar, peach bitters. It tasted like juice and she had no problem drinking it as though it were. Zorba doesn't do frou frou girly drinks, so he inquired about the well vodka and was completely impressed that they use Rain. Not that he had ever heard of Rain, but an organic vodka is much preferable over the typical Popov type well he's used to getting. As for us - we're Rain fans. Mostly because it's smooth and the bottle is so pretty.

For rounds 2 and 3 I switched over to the house specialty - the Starlite Mule, which comes in their signature copper cups. Rain Vodka, ginger beer, lime, and Angostura bitters. This also had a kick, probably why they call it a mule.

Our philosophy with Starlite is that you go for the drinks, but stay for the food. Everything is fresh, local, and seasonal. They use high quality organic meats and produce. Each dish tastes fresh and leaves you oooohhhhhing and ahhing. Both of the boys were completely taken in with the leek, bacon, and onion tart.

Prez and I went for the mixed fry which included crispy onion rings, seasonal vegetables, crispy scallops and a herby ranch dressing for dipping. Zorba tried to eat the dressing with a spoon he enjoyed it so much.

Zorba and Prez had just returned from a wedding in Cape Cod and after hearing all their fresh seafood stories, Thatboy decided he needed some oysters. Good thing Starlite had some fresh regional ones from Carlsbad!

After a couple of mules I was drunk enough to require something a little more substantial, so a burger and fries were quickly ordered. Called simply "The Burger" as though there were no other, it consists of an all natural Brandt beef patty, Gruyere cheese and caramelized onions, served on a brioche bun. There's no mucking about with tomatoes, lettuce, or any fancy schmancy toppings, and the burger needs no accompaniments. Instead it's just plain and simply gooooood. Nothing to hide the flavorful beef, the melty cheese, and the sweet onions. The bar back confided in us that it's his favorite burger anywhere. We're tempted to agree. Served with super skinny fries and a homemade pickle it was the perfect way to end the first celebration of the week!

I'll never grow up

When we got back from British Columbia, Thatboy and I were so excited to have an extra day off for Memorial Day. We slept in, and when we woke up, we began planning our day. My number one "want" was a good run, since I hadn't run while we were in Canada. Thatboy wanted to hit up the beach. So our compromise was that I'd go for a run on the beach while he surfed, and then we'd hang out on the sand. I went to take Thatdog for his morning walk, and when I came home, plans changed. I collapsed on the ground, dizzy and nauseous. I couldn't move without feeling completely and totally sick. No beach for me! I spent the rest of the day on the couch running a fever and alternating between wake and sleep while Dr. Thatboy kept me covered in blankets and threatened ice baths to try to bring down my fever.

UUUUGGGHHHH I hate being sick on a day off!!!!

Luckily it was just a 24 hour bug, but I've never had one of those before so I decided the smart thing would be to stay in bed an extra day. Except the next day I felt sooo much better - and hungry!!! I didn't eat anything Memorial Day because I was so sick and asleep most of the time, so Tuesday I was ravenous. Of course, having just returned from out of town and spending the day in bed the day before there was no food in Thathouse. So I figured I would have to make do and go for one of the classic "home sick in bed" foods - a grilled cheese sandwich!

Thatboy is adamant that grilled cheese requires American cheese, but since I don't consider that real food, we don't have it in the house. Instead I used a gorgeous sharp cheddar. And since apple goes so well with cheddar I threw that on too. Besides, you know what they say about an apple-a-day! It must have worked too, because there's been no signs of sickness in Thathouse ever since.

Lifting June Gloom

In 1997 Thatfamily experienced a life changing event - Thatdad had a heart attack. The doctors advised that he should lose some weight and Thatdad began his morning 4 mile walks. Thatmom and I kept him company every morning and joined him. Now, even though Thatdad may have been lacking in the "length of leg" department, he was a FAST walker. So fast, in fact that Thatmom and I had to run to keep up with him. And that's when and why I began running.

So when I saw that there was a "mother daughter 5K" down here in San Diego, I asked Thatmom if she'd be interested in doing it with me - for old times sake. Thatmom was hesitant- although she walked on the treadmill every morning at the gym before Thatdad died, she hadn't run in years, and she hadn't been back to the gym since February. She had joined a new gym, knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to the one where Thatdad died, but she had yet to make use of her membership. I promised to train with her on the weekends and she agreed to the race. This was Thatmom's first 5K and because of that, we decided that we'd run/walk it. I don't really care about time anyway, and it was more important for me to do it with her. Every Sunday we ran/walked about 4 miles, just to show her that she could easily do a 5K.

This Friday we headed up to Thatmom's house as usual, but after selling the last of Thatdad's cars Saturday morning, we headed back down to San Diego. We toured Thatmom around Balboa Park before heading to one of our all time favorite restaurants, The Prado.

We'd be dying to take Thatparents here for years, and were thrilled to finally have the opportunity to share it with Thatmom. We were even more delighted when she was as enchanted with the place as we are.

Thatboy suggested we start off with a pitcher of their fantabulous sangria. Thatmom thought this was the best idea ever and declared that we would henceforth be ordering sangria at every restaurant that served it. This was after her third glass. We also decided at this point in time that Thatbrother and I would have a Sangria-off in the near future when he returns from his Central Coast trip with UDubb.

Thatmom ordered the lemongrass grilled yellowtail with sweet potato puree and sauteed pea vines. She was hesitant about the pea vines, but they quickly became one of her new favorite vegetables. She thought the yellowtail was perfectly cooked and mild.

I ordered the forest harvested wild mushroom risotto with fresh herbs and white truffle whipped goat cheese. The mushrooms were so meaty, and the arborio rice was creamy creamy creamy, only accentuated by the creamy goat cheese.

Thatboy was planning on ordering one of his old standbys when he heard the waitress telling Thatmom how fantastic the basil fettuchine was. He quickly changed his plans. He LOVED the dish with sauteed tiger shrimp, artichoke, tomato, red onion, garlic, and white wine.

Okay folks, here comes my plea. You old school readers probably remember that my undergraduate degree is that ever useful B.A. in theater from UCLA. While I, like many of my classmates, have ended up in a career far from the kelig lights, I am still a rabid supporter of the arts. And my friends, the arts are hurting. I IMPLORE you to go out and support your local theater.

This is the second year in a row Thatboy and I have purchased season tickets to the Starlight Bowl's summer musical festival. In March we received a letter stating that the producers were unable to afford to produce all four promised shows. Instead the season was cut in half and we're only going to be able to see two shows. While neither show is high on our "ooohhhhhhhh" list, we're attending in high spirits in the hope that this season won't be the last. In the hope that somehow enough funds will be raised to continue a 63 year tradition.

The Starlight Bowl is an outdoor ampitheater - which means you can enjoy your beer, wine, cheese, hot chocolate, dinner, snacks, whatever as you enjoy your musical. One of the highlights for us is the fact that the theater is right in the flight path of the airport. In order to take care of that excess "noise," everytime a plan passes over, the action on the stage freezes. It never gets old for us. But we are easily amused.

In order to raise more funds and attract a wider audience, the Starlight Bowl's season this year is very family friendly. Last night we got to watch High School Musical, the musical. A good time was had by all, even though by the time it was over, Thatmom and I were having a hard time staying awake. We're not night people. After the show we hurried home so we could get a good night's sleep. We had a big day planned!



This morning we headed to the Del Mar Fairgrounds for The Aflac IronGirl 10k/5k. The event was all about women empowerment. I believe the announcer said there were 3000 women there. You could run the 10k or the 5k, individually or in a mother-daughter team. Thatmom and I decided to do the 5K as a mother-daughter team.

Thatmom was so nervous as the race started. Her one goal was to "not fall."

Thatmom far surpassed her goal. Not only did she "not fall," but she ran almost the entire thing! I don't think she walked more than 1/2 a kilometer. As we neared the finish line she told me her goal was to "start slow, but finish strong." I told her she was pretty strong the whole race. My only regret is some lady got in front of her as Thatboy tried to get us crossing the finish so there's no fantastic finish picture. Just know that the little black and white hat beside me is Thatmom.

After the race, Thatmom got to experience one of the best parts of racing - the goodies!!!! One of the reasons I thought this would be a good race for her is because everyone who ran got a finisher medal. It's a tangible symbol of her accomplishment. I'm trying to convince her to wear it around town all week. We also got a great bag which is perfect for groceries, a t-shirt specially fit for women, a stuffed duck, a sun pack with sunscreen and chapstick, as well as all the vendor goodies. Thatmom got into that very quickly, making a beeline for the Luna bar stand and filling her bag. She thought the goodies would last all day as she began filling up her bag with stuff from our pantry when she got back to our place. "I thought the goodie bag was good everywhere." she told me.

To celebrate our accomplishments, we headed to breakfast at Original Pancake House where "it never felt so good to feel so full." (Thatmom's words...not mine.) Then we headed to the outlets for a little retail therapy.

Talk Turkey to Me

I mentioned earlier this week that we've been eating a lot of turkey burgers lately. Partly because they're so frickin' easy, and partly because Thatmom is amazed by the grill pan. Thatboy is a saint when it comes to my substitution of ground turkey for anything that usually made with ground beef. He does love how creative I get with the flavors and add ins...usually. Here's one that was a miss with him, but I liked it so I'll share. If you like sweet and savory you'll like this too. Thatboy doesn't like fruits with his meats, or so he says.

I picked up so cranberry apple chutney at Trader Joes, and is usual for me, I've been using it for everything. You know those grape jelly meatballs? Well they are just as yummy with cranberry apple chutney instead of grape jelly. It adds a little kick to a turkey sandwich, especially with some mozzarella! I figured since turkey and cranberry are such a natural pair, I would throw it in my turkey burgers! As I've already noted, Thatboy was underwhelmed. I liked the change from a regular old turkey burger. Now you'll have to decide if you like "dem apples" in your burger.

Cranberry Apple Turkey Burgers

• 2 Tbsp Cranberry Apple Chutney
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 green apple, finely chopped
• juice and zest from 1/4 lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• sprinkle chipotle chili powder
  

1. Mix all ingredients in bowl and shape into 2 patties.
2. Heat grill pan over medium high heat and grill burgers 7 minutes on each side, or until done.

A San Diego Treat

If you're a San Diego resident, you undoubtedly get asked by friends and family visiting where the best place is for good Mexican food. Beside the obvious choice (hey, we're only 30 minutes from the border), Thatboy and I are decidedly divided on our favorites. Located on the same street, our rival taco shops couldn't be more different. His favorite, Lucha Libre, is bright and flashy - a fun place to take kids, and known as one of the only places north of the border where you can get a Tijuana hotdog (hotdog wrapped in bacon and topped with ketchup, mustard, mayo and onions). My favorite, El Indio, is older and classic. It might not be as fun, but the food is fantastic and it's withstood the test of time. El Indio has been around since 1940 and is said to be the birthplace of the taquito.

Our solution is to take turns with where we grab lunch or dinner. My recommendation to you is to try both! The benefit of the two being within walking distance of each other.

Do y'all have taquitos where you live? Rolled, fried, flour tacos. They're crunchy and usually great finger food. I decided to make them more of a fork and knife kind of meal by topping them with chili and cheese. I don't make my own taquitos, not with El Indio on the way home! The idea was inspired by leftover chili I had made a couple weeks ago. Remember that? The one I dumped a ton of chili powder in? Adding cheese definitely decreases the heat level.

Chili Cheese Taquitos

• 12 taquitos
• 6 oz cream cheese, softened.
• 1 cup chili
• 1 cup shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese
• 1/4 cup pico de gallo
• 2 Tbsp green onions, sliced
• 2 Tbsp sliced black olives
  

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a pyrex baking dish with baking spray. Mix cream cheese, chili, and cheese in the baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.
2. Pour over hot taquitos and sprinkle with pico de gallo, green onions, and black olives.

What's in a weekend?

I don't have a lot to report from this past weekend, which would seem to imply that we did nothing. In truth, we did a lot, just nothing especially picture-worthy. Y'all know what the inside of Costco looks like, right? And errand running really isn't especially blogworthy. I will show you the primary accomplishment of our weekend:

For weeks, Thatmom has been saying that she really wanted some furniture for outside so she could have her coffee and breakfast outside, or we could all eat outside. So most of this weekend we went from store to store looking at patio furniture before deciding on that set you see above - which required us to venture allll to all the stores in Orange County to pick up the various pieces since each store only had 2-3 chairs and we needed 5. 2 days of chair picking up! And I wish I had taken a picture of my little mommy squeezed in sideways in the back of the car with all those chairs and table. We laughed as we discussed what Thatdad would have said about the whole venture. How he never would have agreed to buying the above set, nor would he have let Thatmom risk her life scrunched into the back.

Things we ate this weekend?

A couple weeks back I had brought Thatmom up some Halloumi to try since it was a new cheese for her. The package sat unopened in her fridge and finally I decided I would do something about it. I fried it up, since Halloumi is one of those amazing cheeses that melts on the inside, but not on the outside, to create a gooey treat. Topped with a simple vinaigrette (lemon juice, garlic, and oil) it was a hit with the whole family, but Thatboy in particular is a fan of squeaky cheese.

Thatmom also had some ground turkey to use up and requested I make her favorite turkey burgers. "The one with the greek sauce." We've been eating turkey burgers about once a week, but I knew Thatmom was referring to Cooking Light's Grilled Turkey Burgers with Goat Cheese Spread.

And now it's time for Thatgirl's handy dandy guide to baked pasta. My quickest easiest throw together meal. This makes enough for a family of five with enough left over to last Thatmom allll week. She loved it so much, she even cut up a few little pieces for TMD, who loved it just as much as Thatmom.

1. Cook your pasta. You're going to use a full box of pasta here. You can use any pasta you like. Thatmom likes penne. I like Rigatoni. Pretty much anything is going to be good here, but I like shapes that are round so all the goodness can get inside each piece of pasta.
2. Preheat your oven to 375. Mix pasta with a tub of ricotta, an egg, and seasonings of your choice. When making it for us we go heavy on the garlic. When making it for Thatmom we go super light on garlic. We add basil and oregano, but again you add what you like.
   
3. Get yourself a big baking pan. 9x13 at least and spray the crap out of it with baking spray. Pour about 2 cups of your favorite sauce into the pan (you want to cover the bottom). You can use marinara, meat sauce, alfredo, whatever!
   
4. Now take half of that pasta mixture you created and pour it over the sauce. Now comes the time to play! Pick your favorite pizza topping and put a layer of that on top. Sausage, pepperoni, ground beef, broccoli, spinach, eggplant - the world is your oyster.
5. Top the topping layer with cheese. I put about 2 cups of shredded mozzarella here. SO bad for you, but honestly, this is not one of my "healthy dishes." Just skip dessert. It's worth it.
6. Now you're going to pour about 2 more cups of sauce over all this goodness. Then layer the rest of the pasta mixture, another layer of toppings, and some more shredded mozzarella.
7. Finish with a sprinkling of shredded parmesean before covering and baking for 30 minutes.
8. Remove the covering and bake for another 15 minutes - this gets the top of the pasta all yummy and brown.
   

Scenes with an Italian: restaurant

Do you have any friends that you never get a chance to see? Goodness knows I do. And I am firmly of the opinion that any chance I get to see those friends I will do everything in my power to take. Even if it means rearranging my schedule, or canceling other plans.

On Thursday night, as I was preparing dinner, I got a call from my friend Faye. I wasn't shocked, since Faye and I had been trying to plan some phone time for a couple months, but I was excited. Faye and her husband moved to Italy last summer for work and therefore it's been almost a year since I'd seen her. Since that time Faye has had quite a number of crazy experiences including a robbery while she was sleeping in her home, and a more welcome experience - her pregnancy. So I was eager to chat when her name popped up on my caller id.

TG: Buongiorno Italia!!!!!
Faye: What are you doing tomorrow?
TG: Why - are you in the country???!!!!
Faye: We are. We've been here a week, and we just finished doing all the required family visiting. We leave on Saturday, so I wanted to see if there was anyway you could meet me for breakfast tomorrow morning.
TG: For you? Of course!

We spent a little time trying to figure out a place that would be close to where they were staying, which luckily wasn't too far from one of my favorite areas in San Diego for breakfast. I asked Faye if there was anything she was craving for breakfast that she couldn't get in Italy. She laughed. Apparently breakfast in Italy consists of a teeny tiny cappuccino and a cornetti. She was torn between french toast and biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I only know one place in San Diego that has truly fantastic biscuits and gravy, so we were off to Hash House a Go Go.

We met early, which was good because it meant easy parking, and no wait for a table. The no wait is a big plus, because if you come at regular breakfast time you're almost guaranteed a 45 minute wait at least.

How fantastic does Faye look at 5 months pregnant? Italy must agree with her. Although, I spent a very enjoyable breakfast listening to her stories about being pregnant in Italy. I heard about the drinking ("the waiter was annoyed I wouldn't do a shot of limoncello, even though I pointed out I had already had my glass of wine for the day."), the hospital situation ("The hospital is an hour away, but it's the only one that has soap and nursing care."), and even shopping for the baby ("a stroller costs 400 euro!). She entertained me with stories of trying to navigate on Italian highways, where apparently there are no rules of the road or lines directing traffic to specific lanes ("I drive past accidents and dead bodies all the time"). She let me in on all the "locals" secrets about food and travel. The original plan was for us to visit them in the fall, after Fayebambino was born, but those plans were obviously revamped earlier this year. We're hoping that by next spring we'll be able to leave town for long enough to pay a visit to the three of them and see all their favorite sites.

Meanwhile, I'm sure you're all dying to see what we ate, right? I know Faye's been bugging me to post pictures. It was her first time at Hash House, and like so many first timers she was astounded by the quantity and quality of food.

Faye ordered a giant cup of coffee - sighing as she did. She informed me that in Italy it's nearly impossible to get a giant refillable coffee. It's just not how they drink it. As for me, in tribute to my breakfast date, I got a sparkling Italian blood orange juice.

Faye decided to go with her french toast craving. At Hash House, the french toast is dipped in banana cinnamon cream and served with bananas and pecan maple syrup.

As for me, I had the sage fried chicken with eggs and bacon mashed potatoes. That gorgeous gooey stuff is a maple reduction which is unbelievable with the fried chicken. Hash House has the best fried chicken in San Diego. I promise you. And the mashed potatoes aren't so bad either. The secret is definitely in the bacon. I was able to bring home enough for lunch later that day AND snacks for Thatdog. He's a fan of bacon too. And the giant biscuit? Of course I handed it right over to Faye. She's got a growing baby to feed. She told me he sleeps most of the day because "growing into a person is hard work!"