Temecula is a strange part of California. Somewhere between LA, San Diego and Palm Springs, it’s essentially the middle of nowhere. Except it’s not. It’s wine country, it’s gated communities and it is the Old West. Nowhere is the latter felt more than Old Town Temecula, which is a blend of truly old buildings and new buildings made to look like cowboys once had shootouts inside. Front Street Bar & Grill sits in Old Town, but doesn’t try to look like a cowboy outpost. Instead, it has the looks of colonial mansion, with a great outdoor patio. Continue Reading»
‘California’
Sonic Good is Just Pretty Good
October 3rd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditAbout 10 or so years ago, the world began to see commercials for a fast food burger place called Sonic. These commercials were often both funny and hunger-inducing. Unfortunately, though, Sonics were only in select locations throughout the country. Yes it was annoying, but it was also genius, because it whet the appetite for Sonic with people who had never even seen the place. The idea was that when they would finally see one, whether in travel or with a new one being built, they would want nothing more than to devour their burgers. And it worked, at least on me. When I saw my first Sonic years ago while driving through Independence, Missouri, I just had to try it. I remember it being good, but this was pre-meat blog and in the middle of a cross-country road trip, so the memory is mostly blur filled with the knowledge that the meal kept my internal fuel running just as long as I needed it to. Continue Reading»
Frying Up the Sea at Parkers’ Lighthouse
September 7th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditParkers’ Lighthouse in the Shoreline Village of Long Beach is not an actual lighthouse. Also surprising was the fact that during my time there I met not one person named Parker. It is, however, a seafood restaurant overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean. So, for the third time in just two days, I found myself staring at menu full of fish and finally I gave in. Continue Reading»
Por Ti Funghi, Volare
June 15th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditWhile in San Diego with a couple of runners the night before the Rock and Roll Marathon, we needed some carbs. I wasn’t running, but I am never one to turn down a carbo-load. Knowing nothing of Italian food in San Diego and not really wanting to go to Olive Garden (no offense to the Garden, but we wanted to support something local), we turned to Urban Spoon. Yes, there’s an app for that. This directed us to Volare, a sort of whole in the wall in a sort of sketchy part of town. It looked perfect. Continue Reading»
The First Pizza Factory
June 6th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditWhile there may be 120 Pizza Factories in five different states, the original Pizza Factory has humble roots in the town of Oakhurst, just outside of Yosemite National Park. And after a long day of staring at and walking through giant sequoias, very little sounds better than some greasy pizza. I hoped Pizza Factory would be able to deliver said pizza. Plus, with a tagline like “We Toss ‘em, They’re Awesome” it’s hard to go wrong. Continue Reading»
Strange Strips at George’s on the Cove
December 15th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditFor my last meal in San Diego, we headed to La Jolla. I didn’t know much about La Jolla beforehand, but it ended up being a pretty cool little part of town. We did a little walk around The Cove and saw some pretty tasty-looking live seals. Sadly, these guys were not for eating, so instead we ate a place called George’s at the Cove.
George’s didn’t have a very unvegan-friendly menu (I should also make it clear that they had a burger on their menu that looked pretty good, but after the zoo and Hodad’s the day before, that was out of the question), but it did have an awesome view. Which is great, but you can’t eat a view. Because it doesn’t taste good. Filled with vegetarded dishes, I finally found something I could eat on their “sides” menu. It was called Cayenne Dusted Grilled Chicken Strips and this “side” came with arugula salad, fries and a parmesan garlic dipping sauce for the fries. I don’t know about anyone else, but this was the first time I had ever seen a side dish come with its own side dishes. This was strange to me, but I was okay with it because it meant I was really getting a full meal. The one thing I wasn’t okay with was the arugula salad. When I ordered I asked them not to worry about given me the salad and then I waited for my side meal to come. Continue Reading»
Bacon Patties and Burgers at Hodad’s
December 14th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditOne of the hardest parts of being an amateur food blogger is that when people are struggling to decide what to eat, they look to you. Never mind the fact that you don’t eat healthy, don’t like to spend too much money and are happier with a cheeseburger than foie gras. So even though I was with family in San Diego, the only place I knew to go to was Hodad’s in Ocean Beach, a divey surfer burger stand. Continue Reading»
Cooking with Fire at Turf Supper Club
December 10th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditWhile down in San Diego for a weekend, a friend recommended a restaurant/bar called Turf Supper Club. By the name of it, it sounds like an expensive and pretentious restaurant, but he assured me it wasn’t. What makes the place special, unpretentious and surprisingly cheap is the fact that you cook your own food. But these aren’t some thinly sliced Asian meat and veggies, these are full steaks, burgers, kebabs and fish. Cooking food yourself doesn’t necessarily appeal to all people, but at Turf Supper Club it is more of an event than work. Continue Reading»
Rants and Raves
IronWorkz
December 14th, 2009Continue Reading»
I really have no idea where this video came from, although I do believe there is a British accent involved. Nonetheless, this awesome video features a faux band called IronWorkz and this band helps tell the tale of why red meat is so important to the diet. It’s refreshing to see an entertaining ad like this in a world flooded with tasteless and really unfunny PETA ads. Check it out below, and be entertained.
Going Global at Plan Check
A couple of weeks ago, The Backyard Bite invited me to The Burger Culture Clash, sponsored by Stussy (which apparently still exists) and Plan Check. Plan Check, by the way, is a sort of new (since February) restaurant in West LA with Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger fame. As my love of burgers, especially those of the umami variety, I jumped at the opportunity.
Although I arrived alone, I was not the only lone eater. Just next to where I was seated, I met e*star LA and we decided to share a meal called loneliness, because it’s better than eating alone. We made quick friends over our respective blogs and Midwestern roots, then got to work at dissecting the special menu, which Plan Check will be featuring for the next month if anything tickles your fancy.
Continue Reading»











