I spent the first week of July traveling down the coast of California on a Wedding Tour. What is a wedding tour, you ask? Well, Red and I were invited to 3 weddings in one week. We attended the first wedding on Sunday July 4th, in Santa Barbara. We stayed at the Pacifica Suites, sharing a room with 3 of my best friends (and incidentally once college roommates) and their main squeezes. There were 7 of us total in this hotel suite, but it was a blast! It got a bit smelly towards the end, which didn’t help the massive hangover, but a blast just the same, as it sort of brought me back to our Isla Vista apartment that probably never smelled very good. I enjoyed returning to Santa Barbara, my college stomping ground, and as always when I visit the area, I returned to all my favorite eateries. This includes the Natural Café (Their Tostada Salad rocks my world) in Goleta and the Bagel Café in downtown Isla Vista. I specifically like returning to the Bagel Café to order the Deluxe Melt (A bagel toasted in the oven with sun-dried tomato cream cheese, tomatoes, red onions, and melted cheddar cheese, all topped off with lemon pepper) simply to relish in the fact that this amazingly artery clogging delight was a staple in my weekly college menu. If the excessive drinking alone didn’t kill me, it is a miracle that my eating habits didn’t finish me off back then. Because we were in town for a wedding, I didn’t get to visit all my favorite spots, but the two that were hit, were definitely worth the drive.
After the wedding, we began our journey down the coast of California to our next wedding destination, San Diego, on Friday July 9th.. An old friend who had attended the wedding in Santa Barbara mentioned that if we were heading through Santa Monica (we were), then we should try Cha Cha Chicken (we did). After a night walking down Santa Monica Pier and 3rd St. Promenade, and the next day cruising down Venice Beach (we had lunch at the Figtree Café right on the Boardwalk, definitely worth checking out), we met a friend at Cha Cha Chicken. This was such a cool little hole in the wall, serving up dishes with Caribbean flavors. The food was delicious, and because they don’t serve alcohol, they don’t mind if you go down the street to a nearby liquor store to purchase your own beverages. I bought a six-pack of Tecate and enjoyed my SALMON NEGRIL, a salmon fillet smothered in a garlic, curry sauce. It was served with plantains and rice…YUM! Red ordered the Coconut Fried Chicken, which was really good. After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Santa Monica, and headed south to Orange County, and then to San Diego.
Whenever Red and I are in an area we don’t know well, we consult our food bible. In other words, we get online, head to the FoodNetwork website, and scroll down Guy Fieri’s adventures on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I admit that sometimes I watch the show and get panicked about all the great places to eat that I may not ever experience…I’m working on that irrational anxiety! We selected a place called Crazee Burger, fascinated by the opportunity to try Kangaroo, Alligator, or Ostrich in burger form. We weren’t disappointed! I was, at first, a bit annoyed that the Kangaroo burger was temporarily not available, but I didn’t dwell on it. As promised, the Alligator burger, with curried fruit compote was really flavorful and delectable. Red’s venison burger with wine soaked pears and mushrooms was also really yummy. It was another fabulous meal, on a great California road trip.
The next day, we had a few morning hours to kill before Red had to meet up with the Groom-to-be to get fitted for Tuxedos and attend the wedding rehearsal. We woke up early, and headed to the San Diego Zoo. One thing I will say about the Zoo is that you can really learn a lot about parenting styles by people watching there. Fascinating! We were so captivated by the mating habits of the monkeys that time flew by, and pretty soon, we were running late. As usual, I was beginning to get hungry, since we didn’t really grab breakfast before we left for the Zoo. Not wanting to blow our money on the exorbitant Zoo food prices, Red called to check in with the Groom-to-be and asked for a recommendation of a quick food stop on the way to his house. He suggested Evolution, a vegan (and partly Raw Food) restaurant. Now this suggestion may have been our favorite meal of the entire trip. I had a pesto “burger” with “cheese”, and Red’s “burger” had guacamole. I am really starting to warm up to the whole vegan (and raw for that matter) foods movement…they have really brought their cuisine to a new level. If you are ever skeptical, seriously, suck it up and give it a try! The only thing is, don’t be fooled, vegan does not equal healthier (in a caloric sense). The rest of San Diego was pretty wedding centered, but fun all the same.
We rounded out the Wedding Tour that Saturday morning, waking up early, and driving 6 hours north to Paso Robles. While the drive was barren and boring, we were welcomed by a dip in the hotel pool, and then an evening of love, local wines, and delicious BBQ. It doesn’t happen very often, but when I returned home that Sunday evening, I needed a break from restaurant dining for a while. After a week of decadence, I craved fresh veggies and light salads. But don’t worry…that never lasts long. A trip to the farmer’s market and the gym knocked me right back on track.
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