2017 Reflections - Favorite Bites + Birthday Haul
Dennis and I are enthusiastic about what's in store for us during the year 2018 but first, a quiet moment to reflect on the year 2017...
It was an eventful year, especially with a mid-year job change and the ever constant stream of gossip and politics on social media. At least food was our steady pillar, taking our minds off the crazy and instilling a peace of mind and belly. With the blog sneaking past 11 years (what? already?!?), we've visited countless new restaurants, forged foodie friendships through Instagram, and even traveled to Europe for the first time! There was much left unpublished so I'll share several new pics of recommendations as well as a few other favs.
Queenstown Public House
Friends and I attended a party at Queenstown Public House and ended up ordering this amazing chicken pot pie. It was HUGE with flakey crust and creamy gravy, ample for two people. This is one on my list to take Dennis!
Izakaya Sakura
Another favorite dish is the chicken katsu curry at Izakaya Sakura. The chunky sauce and crispy fried breading made for a satisfying meal during one of our night ramen rides. The end destination would change depending on what we were in the mood for. Biking together was a fun activity we picked up that provided physical activity as well as fulfilling the munchies.
Mamma Lina's
Mamma Lina's supplies both businesses and the public with homemade pastas in their Mira Mesa factory and store front. I love these simple but tasty raviolis served with crunchy pesto topped bread and side salad. There's the option of sandwiches here too!
Meze Greek Fusion
This is an old favorite of Dennis's but we still can't get enough of the Fiery Feta dip from Meze Greek Fusion. Another must try is the saganaki i.e. the flaming Kasseri cheese.
Tin Roof
Tin Roof has these Dixie Biscuits which are deep fried sliders loaded with pork belly! Who knew you could pile so much yum into one bite?
Fishmonger's Market
This mango hamachi from Fishmongers Market was another favorite bite! So so smooth and heavenly fresh. We stopped by here for a hearty dinner before heading out to Balboa Park for December Nights, our first attendence in a couple of years!
Del Sur Mexican Cantina
Del Sur Mexican Cantina has a tasty Jackfruit Taco, which is surprisingly good for a meatless dish! I'm eager to get a little more jackfruit into my diet after this! Not to mention, we loved the house salsa that comes with their snack chips.
Crushed
For drinks, Crushed has some marvelous mimosa mixes! I really enjoyed the Summer Thyme Pear flavor while brunching with friends. This is another spot I'm vying to take Dennis for some weekend eats. Parkhouse Eatery also has some wonderful mimosas to choose from.
Travel
Dennis and I were thankful to spend our 5 year anniversary in Europe, which is only the second time I've ever traveled internationally. We wrote some travel tips for both Paris and London and still have a few more posts in work. Dennis still thinks of this delicious fish and chips from our London trip, which will be on blog along with the rest of our visit soon!
Birthday Haul
I updated and published my master list of birthday freebies and deals to make the most of this year's birthday offers. What was the agreed favorite? Savoring the Full Churrasco Experience at Fogo de Chao with December birthday buddy Marketing Melodie. Her meal was completely free with the "Gaucho Lunch - with Grilled Selection" option while mine was $10 with access to the full menu! Later in the month, we celebrated once again at Boathouse for their prime rib birthday night!
2017 birthday offers redeemed: Boathouse, Bushfire Kitchens, Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Firehouse Subs, Fogo de Chao, Godiva, The Habit, Menchies, Native Foods, Noodles & Co, Pieology, PizzaRev, Pizza Studio, Red Robin, Rubios, Souplantation, Starbucks, Veggie Grill, Which Wich, and Yogurtland. Refer to the master list linked above for all available offers.
I was lucky to meet many foodies through Instagram this year. After one of our IG dinners, we stopped by Creamistry where I took this photo. They craft ice cream with plenty of smoke (from liquid nitrogen). Check out hashtag #sdfoodbloggertakeover for more pictures from the meetups.
The Instagram account is growing slowly but surely with 800+ followers. I'm proud that it is organic without resorting to crappy follow/unfollow apps (one of my pet peeves). For 2017, my most popular picture was taken at San Diego Poke Company.
All in all, we feel it was a great year. Moving forward, my goals for 2018 include being more consistant with posting on both the blog and on instagram. Let's get ready to rumble!
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Comments
Here's wishing a prosperous and amazing NY to you and Dennis ! I'm still having a hard time getting into IG and FB :(
you have good readership which is totally fine on its own. social media requires so much work. for instagram, i put in time doing comments on other's posts to interact and it still grows slowly. for facebook, i share with my friends to get a little more publicity to my posts.
That's alot of good eats for the year. Wish I could have tried the fish and chips.
Better than mr fish and chips! But yea, a bit far to visit unless you are planning on some future London travel!
Great post detailing your bday freebies. I must take note so I can use some of those new ones for my upcoming bday, ha ha. Cute mini sliders! Also, interesting use of jackfruit in a taco. I guess green jackfruit masquerading as pulled pork is a thing. I have a few cans of it at home and want to experiment with it. I normally cook it in stews or as a Vietnamese salad with shrimp and pork.
went to my friend's bridal shower and they had mexican seasoned jackfruit with beans and [vegan] cheese over tortilla chips... loaded nachos for the big win (didn't even know the cheese was vegan until afterwards)! i immediately asked for the recipe. i've tasted a wonderful vietnamese jackfruit salad in the past as well! one can of jackfruit is sitting in my pantry ready to become a future meal!
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