San Diego Food

When the general manager, Ian over at Healthy Creations asked Michael and I if we’ve ever visited them I somewhat chuckled a little inside since 1) it’s a little far away from us in Encinitas and 2) it has Healthy in the name.  But Ian assured us if we liked good food we would not be disappointed.  Next thing I know Michael and I are headed over to try them out on a random day, in an unassuming shopping mall.  Aside from fresh food and drinks they also have healthy products they sell off the shelf and also cold products in a refrigerator on on side of the restaurant.  

They focus on local organic and gluten free products and also have an ingredient binder that lists all of them out in case you are curious or have any allergies.  Looking over the menu, it was a little hard to decide what to get but Ian swooped in to the rescue and offered up his suggestions.

Michael got the chocolate “malted” almond milk and I got the kombucha on tap.  The kombucha was a little more welcoming than some other versions I’ve tasted out of a the bottle.  This one was sweeter and had a hint of sourness.  Michael loved his chocolate “malted” almond milk and we were told that the maca was what gave it the natural nuttiness.  I think he’d get this again!

The mango and avocado salad tasted like it looked: great.  I had a salad that had similar ingredients a few days prior but lacked that freshness and unnecessarily drenched the salad in dressing.  Everything on this plate you see was rich in flavor, fresh, and tasted as it should.

Michael got the twisted reuben panini which he also enjoyed.  He especially appreciated the large thick cuts of pastrami!

I got the roasted Mediterranean chicken panini.  Soooo good!  The artichoke, chicken, cheese, everything really melted in your mouth.  They make their own focaccia bread in house and it was thin but sturdy and complimented all the ingredients inside.  At times artichokes can taste soggy and mushy but this one had a fresh crispy snap to them that I go nuts about.

So apparently Ian wanted to stuff us silly and made a few more dessert suggestions.  We didn’t have to listen but that would just be rude so stack em up!  Here’s the strawberry lemon bar, a mini carrot cake cupcake, a chocolate peanut butter brownie, and mini cookie sandwich.  All of these were great. The chocolate peanut butter brownie was one of our favorites.  It had a tough texture underneath the chocolate and peanut butter layer but once you had it in your mouth you get in that happy place very quickly.  Ian and the head chef/owner Rhiana were very gracious and informative.  It was evident that they care about what they do and are keen on producing nothing but top notch options that are not only healthy, but also leave you with a smile on your face by not sacrificing great flavor.  I’d recommend stopping by to give them a try!

Healthy Creations
376 N. El Camino Real
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 479 – 0500

http://www.healthycreations.com

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So SDF just participated in its first Dishcrawl in North Park last week!  What an interesting adventure indeed.  For those of you not familiar with the Dishcrawl concept, you basically sign up for $45 and get to go to four separate locations to sample various items on their menu that are pre-selected by each restaurant.  There is a Dishcrawl Ambassador (ours was Lindsay!) and she serves as the host and coordinator of the event.  Lindsay slowly revealed the locations as the event got closer so there is some element of surprise.  You start at one location and you “crawl” to the next location.  Each restaurant gave a little description about the food being prepared and the concept behind the restaurant itself.

The first stop was Alexander’s on 30th.  If you haven’t ever been here they have a signature white design and style that can’t be missed upon entering the restaurant.  Their pizzas and pastas are excellent.  They provided two separate pizzas to sample along with some bruschetta and a crab stuffed mushroom.  One of the pizzas served was the pesto, chicken, and elephant garlic pizza that I’ve tried before and love to order.  I highly recommend trying Alexander’s if you haven’t already.  

Sea Rocket Bistro is right across the street from Alexander’s and features fresh seafood on their menu.  They prepared a cooked oyster with romesco sauce and chillies, a sardine, and a local yellowtail fish taco.  The sardine was a daring offering for such a large group but the fish flavor wasn’t as bold as it may look and had a little crisp to the skin while not being too fishy.  The bones were hard to avoid and we noticed people had trouble maneuvering around them.  There aren’t too many restaurants that serve a sardine like this and appreciate Sea Rocket sharing what a nice sardine could taste like.   Personally I enjoyed the oyster the most out of the three and dug the spicy aftertaste.  As far as the taco goes, the tortilla flavor was just too strong for me and overpowered the great fish product.

It was a little hard to nudge our way to the food this time so Michael and I used this opportunity to recharge and didn’t get a chance to try the five spiced wings or the bacon and blue cheese flatbread.  But we heard from other crawlers that the wings were quite tasty.  

Swoon Dessert Bar was quite the experience.  I’ve heard of it before but never got a chance to try it until now.  The Executive Chef Ian Smith had a three course sampler for us to try.  From left to right we had a carrot cake ice cream with bacon, the Serpent’s Stout Mousse with marshmallow cream and smoked graham crumbles, and a devils food cake macaroon.  All were each unique and tasty in their own right.  They didn’t wow me on taste as much as they wowed me on presentation and uniqueness.  My sweet and savories in general stay on opposite sides of the plate so the hybrid compositions may not cut it for me.  The mousse was a little too hoppy for me and the graham may have even be a little too smoky for me as well.  The marshmallow’s sweetness however cuts through those overpowering notes and if you play your cards right you can get the perfect bite of balance.  Trying each component for me individually allowed me to get a feel for what each offers but are meant to be eaten together.  I enjoyed the macaroon as well, having no issues devouring it and each of the other samples.  Lindsay’s boyfriend ordered the carrot cake with sweet pea gelato to let everyone get a chance to see what a complete dessert looks like in presentation and portion.  Boy did it look good!  We’ll have to check them out another time to see what the other creations are all about.

All in all it was a great food event to partake in.  Lindsay was an amazing host and you can tell she put a lot of hard work and effort into making sure everything would go smooth.  It was fun to walk around North Park with our  dishcrawling group, eating and drinking at each spot.  Everyone seemed energetic and excited to see what the next restaurant had in store for us.  If there was one piece of advice I’d give future Dishcrawlers is to come into this with an open mind and leave expectations behind.  For the most part you don’t know what you’ll be eating or how big the portions are.  For me I wouldn’t have minded either a little more size to the portions or another restaurant on the list and to speed up the Dishcrawl a bit.  But I’m sure each event differs and it would vary next time.  It’ll be interesting to see what Lindsay has in the works for the next Dishcrawl in Little Italy!

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San Diego is in for a great treat!  The Big Bite Bacon Fest is making it’s way to the San Diego County Fair this year for the first inaugural Big Bite Bacon Fest.  We’ll be covering the event live.

In a couple of weeks, we’ll be holding a giveaway contest to raffle away two free tickets to the event (including admission to the fair!).  Stay tuned San Diego Bacon lovers…

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Project Pie is the latest in a series of new quick service pizza restaurants to make their entrance into Southern California.  Although they may not like my analogy, I think an accurate description is Chipotle meets CPK (California Pizza Kitchen).  It is a great concept that I’ve wondered about before, but strange that this hasn’t turned up sooner.  Anyhow, Jorgina heard about this new pie shop and we eagerly checked it out.  Project pie is located in the neighborhood of Hillcrest (central San Diego).  Parking was be a bit of a challenge, but it was worth the extra effort.

Their tagline is simple:  Design, Build, & Eat.  (works for me!)

There is a great visual appeal to seeing your pie being made right in front of you.  They start out your pie completely custom, or you have the option to choose a set pizza from their menu.  For us, we decided to choose a base pizza and then built it from there.  (Eg. I ordered a base of #2 which is the meat lover’s pizza).

I asked for three cheeses and started piling on extras like mushrooms, basil, and prosciutto.  Jorgina got a BBQ chicken pizza and added on a ton of different meats.  The nice thing is that the price is set, so you don’t need to worry about every last topping.  *Having said that, have you ever added too many things?  This happens to me from time to time in unlimited menu item restaurants.  Sometimes, subtlety is more.

Once they are done preparing your pie, they toss it into their oven and ring you up on their POS system running on iPads.

This is a bad picture, I know, but they’ve got a a really cool fountain full of Boylan Cane Sugar sodas to choose from, including two types of root beer.  No sooner than I got my drink, they were already calling my name.  (That was fast!)

Here is my customized #2: PEPPERONI, ITALIAN SAUSAGE, CRUMBLED MEATBALLS, MOZZARELLA, OUR SIGNATURE RED SAUCE, GARLIC – My additions were: Mushrooms, Basil,  & Prosciutto.

Here is Jorgina’s customized #6: GRILLED CHICKEN, SLICED RED ONION, CILANTRO, MOZZARELLA, GORGONZOLA, BBQ SAUCE – Her additions were: Pepperoni, Sausage, Meatballs, Bacon, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Prosciutto, and Basil.

Both pizzas were piping hot and delicious.  I was completely amazed at the speed of execution.  The pies were personal sized, but definitely generous in portion.  I had a slice and a half left when I was done and Jorgina had 2.  The dough as you imagine is thinner than a traditional pizza, and was crisp on the outside and bouncy on the inside.  I really liked all the toppings we chose, although next time I may ask for a little more marinara sauce.

From what I overheard, Project Pie has been open in this location for just a little over a month now.  I think it’s a fantastic addition to San Diego’s pizza choices.  It will definitely become a regular on my schedule.

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Michael and I don’t get out to downtown as much as we used to but we did get the chance to try Toscana Cafe and Wine Bar on 5th Ave. the other day.  It boasts one of the larger patios in downtown and looks great on a sunny San Diego day.

We sat inside on one corner of the restaurant.  The other side opens up into a larger seating area.

Lunch had many different offerings but we took our server Cameron’s advice and went with a few of his favorites.

This was not one of his favorites, and we didn’t even order it but they were very gracious and gave us a sample of their kale soup.  I believe it had sausage, carrots, kale, onions, and celery in it.  Quite tasty!  Michael thought it was a little on the salty side, but it was a nice way to start nonetheless.

We moved on to the Caesar salad and prosciutto wrapped mozzarella.  Both were very light and not overly seasoned.  The mozzarella came with a little side salad and balsamic was drizzled on top.  Sometimes Caesar salads can get tossed with way too much dressing but this was not the case.  The mozzarella pieces were fairly large and thick, which may be good or bad depending on how much you like mozzarella.  For me I’d prefer slightly thinner cuts wrapped with the prosciutto but it was still enjoyable.

I ordered the blackened tuna wrap.  The tuna itself tasted fresh and warm.  They managed to sear it perfectly and the fontina cheese melted into the garlic aoli making an ooey gooey scrumptuous sauce.  The pasta was not my favorite and tasted bland, especially after having a bite of the tuna.  But the main attraction was a large portion so no need to waste space on the pasta.

[Michael here...]  I ordered the chicken pasta and added scallops.  The pasta was cooked well and the scallops were delicious.  I only wished it were a touch saltier to enhance the flavors more.  I was impressed that the scallops were full sized diver scallops and seemed very fresh.

To top everything off we got this carrot cake and chocolate hazelnut brownie.  The portions weren’t large which was welcomed given the amount of food we just consumed.  The carrot cake had a fruit, maybe pineapple component that wasn’t expected.  I seemed to like it more than Michael.  But I’m more fruity than he is!  The brownie was more dense and I wished there was more chocolate flavor.  Everything was prepared nicely and I think dinner would be a different experience.  The owner, Sean stopped by and we chatted with him for a little on the history of the restaurant and what other projects he has on his plate.  He went through a remodel in 2010 and has been making little tweaks here and there to cater to the local crowds as much as the convention crowds.  It’s all about service for him and giving the customer the best experience possible.  If you are in the area say hi to him and try his other restaurants Bite m.e or Cafe Lulu.  He has another one coming in the old Red Light District space so stay tuned!  Thanks again to Stephen over at Alt!

Toscana Cafe and Wine Bar
238 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92101

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