American

Hey, there! I've been busy with work and life, but I wanted to share some great things to eat!

Here's the short of it:  Who knew Potato Soup (with leek bread pudding and gruyere) could taste this good?  The waiter brought a bowl with bacon topped with an egg and then poured the soup into the bowl ($11).  Seriously, best potato soup I've ever had.

We were driving from San Jose to Lake Tahoe and made a stop in Fairfield at the Jelly Belly Factory.  (They also have a factory in Wisconsin.)  Once you enter, it's very colorful and seems like a smaller version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.  We waited in line for about 45 minutes for the tour.  They take groups of 50-60 people every 10-15 minutes for a 45-minute tour.  Be sure to go during a weekday to see the factory workers working and jelly beans being made, otherwise you'll just see videos on the weekends.  For participating in their free tour, you g

We were driving back from Lake Tahoe and had to stop at Sweet Lumpy's BBQ, but as we drove into Old Town Temecula, I noticed that a new restaurant was in its place.  Luckily, with help from an iPhone, we discovered that they had moved a few blocks away, so we got back into our cars and away we went!

The new location is a little secluded (no longer on a corner), but it is bigger.  There are tables and booths inside (with peanut shells all over the floor - it's ok, they encourage it), as well as an outside dining area ready for a hoe down!

The San Luis Rey Cafe used to be next to Fortunes, but it has been moved next to the pool, where Cabana Cove was.  It's a little bit nicer in the new location because there's a view, but the decor is still Cabana Cove.  It makes me think that they're remodeling and will be moving the Cafe back to the old spot.  I asked an employee about it, but he didn't know anything...

Luc's Bistro is a gem hidden away in Poway.  They use fresh ingredients to prepare Southern favorites at affordable prices.

We started off with French Fries with Truffle Oil & Parmesan ($3).  It was a hit with my group.  They liked the hint of parmesan.

I can't remember when I first heard about Sweet Lumpy's BBQ, but I've done the drive (about 50 miles) to Temecula twice for their delicious food.  It's that good.

Their BBQ is slow cooked at low temperatures.  The BBQ sauces (original and spicy) are old family recipes.  I ordered the BBQ Chicken Sandwich ($6) and the chicken was really tender.  It tastes great with their sweet, original BBQ sauce.  The sandwich comes with fresh-cut fries, which are also good!  Really good with the BBQ sauce.

I like turkey burgers and shakes.  I like Ruby's Diner in Mission Valley, but what they don't have is servers in big wigs who have choreographed dances and a live DJ!  I went on Valentine's Day and that was a mistake.  The restaurant was packed with families and kids' birthday parties.  Our party of two had to wait 45 minutes for a table.  Larger parties were told up to 2 hours!