San Diego: America’s Finest City

In an effort to dine at all 3000 San Francisco restaurants(900 and counting), my wife Linda and Hall-of-Famer son MJ recently traveled to sun splashed San Diego to experience food, golf, wine and fun with lucky friends who live there. 

From the Oakland Airport,  it is an easy 1 hour flight.  Southwest Airlines offers many choices to meet your travel needs. 

We stayed at Morgan Run Resort in Rancho Santa Fe offering “something for everyone” to fill your day.  The Resort is an easy 40 minute drive from the San Diego Airport.  They offer 69 reasonably priced boutique rooms located right on the golf course.  The rooms are nicely appointed with fireplaces, spacious, and close to the spa, tennis courts, golf pro shop and Gene Littler Lounge.  Famous golfer Gene Littler is also a resident and is often seen mingling with the members and guests. 

The Littler Lounge has a fascinating picture gallery of his many golf accomplishments and 2 of his favorite golf clubs.  He was known as “Gene The Machine” inducted into the World Golf Hall Of Fame and won the prestigious US Amateur and a US Open.  Great food, exotic drinks, wine, micro brews and multiple large screen TV’s make it a great place to unwind after a round of golf, tennis or spa treatment.  There is also outside seating and fire pits with great views to enjoy the low humidity perfect year around weather.

The golf course features 27 nicely manicured golf holes. It is a very friendly course to walk for those who want more exercise and do not like to ride around in a golf cart. There are 4 tee choices to meet every golf skill level.  Linda found the lady’s tees to be very friendly and fair.  She experienced “golfing joy” when she got a near ace and birdie on a very challenging par 3.

On the way from the San Diego airport, we stopped in nearby and sensational  San Diego to explore the famous San Diego Gas Lamp District.  After strolling around, we decided to dine at Los Ponchos De Charly  and enjoy their 17 year history of great Mexican food and music.  We sat on the patio and enjoyed people watching, great weather, Cadillac Margaritas, Quesadilla’s and their wet burrito that were all prepared to perfection. 

The Gas Lamp district is a fun, fantasy foodie collection of great restaurants, jazz clubs, hotels and interesting shops. 

Morgan Hill Resort is also located very close to Jake’s Del Mar Restaurant located right on the beach of the clear, blue Pacific Ocean. It has a vibrant atmosphere and always packed with happy patrons watching the surfers and sensational sunsets. Reservations are highly recommended.

This was “Déjà Vu” for us as we were there in 2008 for the US Open held at famous Torrey Pines.   Torrey Pines is also scheduled to host another US Open  in 2021.  We were guests of the Golf Channel in 2008 when our son MJ won the essay contest for the" Fathers Day US Open Contest".  His essay was selected from 25 thousand essays submitted. We were also recognized on National TV on Father’s Day during the final day of the US Open.

Jake’s Del Mar Restaurant  brought back these vivid, magical memories eternally deposited in our rich memory banks.  We enjoyed fish so fresh that you thought it was just caught in the ocean that was only a few steps from our table.  We especially enjoyed the crispy calamari, lobster spring rolls and lightly pistachio crusted Mahi Mahi with a side order of perfectly seasoned cauliflower.  The meal was highlighted with their  famous" Hula Pie" dessert.  This sinful creation is made with creamy Macedonia nut ice cream,  a delicate chocolate cookie crust and a generous amount of heavenly hot fudge.  It is a very large proportion and recommended to be shared with 2-4 people. 

On our final day, we enjoyed “fun in the sun” at nearby La Jolla. This classy Oceanside town features pristine beauty, a variety of boutique shops and great restaurants.

We dined at George’s On The Cove and enjoyed exceptional views and foodie fun created by Trey Foshee. Trey has been voted one of the best chefs in America and we were not disappointed.  We dined on the third floor ocean terrace and enjoyed stunning views and carefully crafted food presentations.  They are open for lunch and also offer elaborate price fixed dinners in the evening.  Reservations are also highly recommended at this well known foodie refuge.

We enjoyed an elegant lunch beginning with George’s Famous soup made with smoked chicken, broccoli, and black beans and shared  George’s fresh albacore fish sandwich, fish tacos and crunchy french fries that was enhanced with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean Cove and soft, warm sunshine.

In conclusion, It is no wonder that many corporations have conferences in San Diego and many tourists visit from all over the world. 

 “America’s Finest City” has perfect year around weather filled with happy, proud residents and a “must do” to add to your bucket list. 
To make reservations at the Morgan Run Resort  go to:  http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Morgan-Run-Club-Resort

Somnium Winery: Danica Patrick Living The Dream

In an effort to visit all 600 wineries in Napa( 400 and counting), my wife Linda and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Somnium  owned by famed female car racer Danica Patrick. 

Danica Patrick’s motto  in life is to “dream big”. 

She recently retired from car racing with a Hall Of Fame resume. She now has a new passion with her Winery in Napa called Somnium which is the Latin term for “dream”. 

She says, “wine is about relaxing, eating great food and friendly conversation with your friends. I fell in love with everything about Napa on my first visit there. My dream of owning a winery is now a reality with Somnium.”

The 22 acre vineyard in located on famous Howell Mountain.  Vintner Aaron Pott is making world class wines for Danica.

Our host today was General Manager Tracy Smith. She is very knowledgeable and bubbling with wine energy. We had an elegant tasting on the top of Howell Mountain that was a heavenly experience. We tasted the  2015 and 2016 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Both were bold expressions of excellence with smooth finishes. We especially enjoyed the 2016 that will be released in December. 

For more information, go to:

https://www.somniumwine.com/Vineyard

Biscuits And Blues: Live Nightly Music And Southern Cuisine In The Great City By The Bay

In an effort to dine at all 3000 San Francisco restaurants (900 and counting), my wife Linda and I recently had the pleasure to experience Biscuits and Blues.

Located near Union Square in the heart of San Francisco,  Biscuits  And Blues offers live blues music in an intimate venue from local, regional and national bands.

It is a fun experience of great music, southern inspired cuisine, salads, New Orleans gumbo and a unique drink selection. We enjoyed the gumbo, biscuits and a drink called the Kings Sazerac. This drink was a blend of Bullet Rye Bourbon,  Bitters, Pernod and lemon peel that complemented the music perfectly. 

We had the pleasure to experience Pryor Baird. Pryor is originally from California and made his mark in Nashville. He gained national recognition when he was a semi finalist on the popular Voice Talent show.  His voice was soothing  and packed with power just like our Kings Sazerac libation.  It is no wonder he did so well on the Voice. We went to the 7:30 show and arrived at 6:30 to enjoy dinner before the show. There is also a 10:00 pm show.

We would highly recommend this long time San Francisco icon. It is a great place to enjoy live music and great food for any business gathering, special occasion, holiday or birthday celebration.

For more information and to make reservations go to:
https://biscuitsandblues.com/

Cafe Jacqueline: The Chef with the Sparkle in her Eye

Cafe Jacqueline: Serving Sensational Soufflés Since 1979

In effort to dine at all 3000 San Francisco restaurants(900 and counting), my wife Linda and I recently had the pleasure to dine at Cafe Jacqueline. Located in the heart of foodie heaven, North Beach, Jacqueline Margulis has been making her soufflés since 1979.

Jacqueline is now in her young 80’s and still makes each soufflé for her many happy patrons. The charming restaurant has been voted one of San Francisco’s most romantic restaurants. Matthew the server has been working there for 25 years providing attentive, excellent service.  In addition to soufflés, they have a nice selection of beer and wine and onion soup that will soothe your soul. Some patrons just go there for the onion soup, glass of wine and dessert soufflé. 

Jacqueline was born and trained in Bordeaux, one of our favorite foodie city’s and makes her light heavenly masterpieces 5 days a week. If she is on vacation or sick, the restaurant closes.

They have an open kitchen and she loves to talk to you while she works with precision and effortlessly like a world class surgeon preparing these masterpieces.
I went into the kitchen and had the pleasure of watching her eyes twinkle with joy as she prepared our gruyere cheese soufflé and grand mariner dessert soufflé that she recommended for us. The soufflés are large and served for 2 people.
She said, “I love seeing the joy and happiness that my soufflés bring to my patrons. I don’t know how much longer I can do this but I hope it is for many more years. It keeps me very happy and young.”

We hope she can continue for many more years. In our “high tech, hurry, hurry” life, the process to create these heavenly works of art takes around 2 hours. So if you are not in a hurry and want to enjoy something sensational and special, this is a “foodie must do experience”. 

To reserve your table, go to: http://www.cafejacqueline.com/