San Diego Beachside Bar + Restaurant! 🌊🌅🍹 📍 Draft | @Belmont Park Have you ever been to this beachside restaurant right along the famous Mission Beach / Pacific Beach boardwalk? ✨ Draft is a perfect choice for a spring San Diego day, we stopped by to check out their spring menu and see about their specials. Here is what we loved! ⬇️ “Ready Set Bloom!”🌷 - Charity Cocktail with Big Josh Foundation, is absolutely delicious and beautiful, plus a portion of proceeds is donated to a great cause! 😋 Yellowtail Crudo - Delicous freshly caught yellowtail sliced and served with stone fruit salsita, and rhubarb geele. 🐟 Giant Pretzel - topped with crumbled bacon and served with sides of beer cheese and honey mustard! 🔥 Loaded Braised BBQ Fries - carnitas pork, chicharron, BBQ sauce, jack cheese, pickled red onions, spicy slaw and pickles on a bed of crispy french fries 🍟 #sandiego #sdfoodies #chrisandashley #missionbeach #pacificbeach

Valle De Guadalupe’s Fine Dining Restaurant Crafting Modern, Unique, and Innovative Creations! 🇲🇽🍷🍴 📍 Animalon Animalon by chefs Javier Plascencia and Oscar Torres is an award winning restaurant tucked away off the beaten path in Valle De Guadalupe, the premier wine area of Mexico located less than 2 hours south of San Diego. We have heard a lot of good things about Animalon so when the opportunity came to try it out on a recent trip to Baja we knew we had to make a reservation. Here are our thoughts on Animalon ⬇️ Usually tucked underneath a massive oak tree, Animalon is currently relocated up the road at Laja while they make improvements at the original spot. Although the atmosphere was lovely and classy at Laja the famous oak tree is definitely not to be missed. Once sat you are given the choice between either a four, six or nine course tasting menu with a wine paring for each or a full bar and extensive wine list to choose from. We opted for the six course with wine pairings so we could sample a majority of the offerings. ✨ After settling in we were given a cup of homemade broth with herbs to stimulate our appetite. Then a selection of starters from the kitchen came, not from the menu, these tasty bites like raw scallop and tuna nigiri were a solid start. Then a medley of seafood choices from kombu steamed bass, kampachi tiradito, and lobster tortellini. These seafood dishes were 10/10, lots of depth and a good blend of raw and cooked preparations leaving us well satisfied. After the seafood, it was time for our land courses. We had both a duck breast with a phenomenal mole sauce and a perfectly prepared price of steak with tableside poured reduction over top. Although both tasted phenomenal, we found the portions of the proteins a tad small, one of our few critiques of the meal. 🍽️ We appreciated the attention to detail at Animalon from the cube of perfectly cooked bread and shaved butter with local honey to the palate cleanser course of shaved ice with citrus, where a giant block of ice is shaved tableside, not only a delicious bite but a truly fun performance to watch. 😋 The wine pairings were phenomenal and came with generous pours of local wines some even that were made exclusively for @animalonbaja. 🍷 Finally dessert of a caramelized bread, which reminded me of a delicious bread pudding was served with a liquid nitrogen made homemade ice cream spin tableside by hand. A truly delicious way to end our meal. ✨ The dining experience is definitely fine dining priced. At 2,250 pesos or ($136 USD) for the 6 courses and an additional $850 pesos or ($51 USD) for the wine pairing it was priced in line with many top restaurants in So-Cal and beyond. However the unique preparation and distinctive Baja cuisine is hard to beat. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Animalon and can’t wait to visit again. #sandiego #sdfoodies #sdhiddengems #valledeguadalupe #mexico #baja

San Diego Spring Festival Blooms at The Beach! 🌻🌷✨ 📍 @Belmont Park 3/30 - 5/27 Did you know that San Diego’s Belmont Park is having their “Belmont In Bloom” spring time festival RIGHT NOW?! 😍✨🌻 From family friendly activities, instagramable photo ops, live music, caricatures, and all the limited edition sweets, bites, coffee, and cocktails you can imagine! 😋 We loved checking out the their photo opps, while enjoying a Matcha Raspberry Latte from Draft Coffee and the the strawberry seasonal Dole Whip that is stunning in color. Don’t forget to order the Peach Cobbler Funnel Cake that is definitely not to be missed! ✨ For adults, head to Draft to try their “Ready, Set, Bloom!” Charity cocktail with Titos and The Big Josh Foundation it’s as delicious as it is stunning, especially when paired with their spring time Yellowtail Crudo! 😋 For the Kiddos, All the rides are incredible including a newly revamped Giant Dipper! But we think that you would love their Dancing Stilt + Tulip Walkers, Caricature Paintings, Live Local Muralists, and Roaming Flower Princess! 👸 🌷 To see the exact timing to catch these be sure to head to Belmont Parks website! ✨ 🎥 by @Marcella Flores #sandiego #belmontpark #missionbeach #sdhiddengems #sandiegolife

$100 GIVEAWAY! Cold Brew Coffee Bar Opens in Pacific Beach! 🏝️🧊☕️ 📍 @Trident Coffee | 740 Hornblend St, San Diego $100 Gift Card Giveaway Rules Below ⬇️ You may have had Trident Coffee at their Coronado or Imperial Beach location or even picked up a can of their cold brew in the grocery store. Now they are expanding their cold brew reaches to Pacific Beach. Located less than a block from the beach this stunning spot is set to caffeinate the community with their 8 types of unique cold brew, well made lattes, and keto donuts! 😋 We stopped to learn more about Trident Coffee and were surprised to learn about their goals. Using mostly organic well sourced coffee from around the world they are passionate about creating health driven coffee drinks that bridge the world together over coffee! ☕️ From eight cold brews on draft like the “Daily Rations” a single origin bourbon barrel aged cold brew to their “Damn the Torpedos” a Peru Cajamarca coffee roasted to perfection. Even a decaf cold brew is on draft so you can enjoy their smooth, flavorful cold brew anytime! 🧊🔥 Their “Functional Espresso” choices are where the latte gets upgraded with choices like the “Cognitive Mushroom” with organic MCT oil, mushroom complex and cinnamon. To the “Midnight Vietnamese” with sweetened condensed milk, MCT oil and activated charcoal these creative choices are not to be missed. Pair those drinks with their house made keto donuts for a complete meal and you will not be disappointed. 🍩 We have partnered up with Trident Coffee to give one lucky follower a $100 gift card to try out Trident Coffeee new Pacific beach location!😋 Want to Win? ✅ Follow Us Follow Trident Coffee Comment With Who You Are Sharing This With! Remember to avoid spam, only we will announce the winner, we will NEVER ask for any credit card information. Only one winner will be picked and will be announced on our IG post on 4/11 *some restrictions apply #sandiego #sdfoodies #pacificbeach #sandiegohiddengems

San Diego’s Cult Artisan Knife Maker! 🔪 📍 @Meglio_Knives | Escondido Did you know that in San Diego’s north county that there is one of the most sought after and respected knife makers in the United States? Meet Brandon Hampton, owner of Meglio Knifes. You may have seen his knifes on social media, food network, and in the hands of some of the most respected chefs in town. Using the latest technology and steel he can find he crafts uniquely stunning knifes that are not only beautiful but tough and sharp. 🔪 We stopped by his production facility in @Visit Escondido and learned about how he makes his knifes. After cutting his PM (Particle Metallurgy) steel into rough shapes he hand grinds and shapes each blade into its desired form, using the geometry and style from Japan and Germany but with modern and harder steel. This gives Meglio Knifes a much stronger base that is less likely to chip, break, rust and generally loose its edge. You may even find some of his blades with unique laser etched patterns and custom handles, both of which add a unique flair to his selection. ✨ Brandon also wants to make sure every knife is sharp and ready to go. For a small fee you can get your blades sharpened by him at his workshop in Escondido or at Tunaville on Friday! 🐟 #sandiego #sdfoodies #sandiegohiddengems #sandiegofood