San Diego, a city I've always been skeptical of visiting due to my upbringing in a very beachy surfer town full of people I never really "got along" with. However, this weekend Ali and I made a trip down to San Diego for one thing in mind: Beer.
As avid beer enthusiasts we've been to close to all of the breweries in Orange County. Beyond the breweries, we like to see and support local breweries and what we've noticed in a lot of Orange County beer retail stores is that there is a wide selection of beers from the San Diego area. We were both fairly unaware of all the potential San Diego held for some good beer. However, one night Ali simply sent me a text that he really wanted to go to Ballast Point brewery because he has become quite a fan of their brews. Alas, what stemmed my planning for a little weekend getaway in San Diego! Little did I know I was going to fall in love with the city I judged harshly based off of preconceived ideas.
One of my coworkers recommended a FANTASTIC restaurant called "Craft & Commerce" where I think I had hands down the best veggie burger I've had in my life. Beyond that, it had a cool vibe and had some great local brews. Naturally we started early and had a couple of beers with our meal before hitting Ballast Point. We walked through the charming area of Little Italy after dinner in the direction of Ballast Point which worked as a lovely way to walk off some of our comatose presented by our HUGE dinner (worth it). When we got to Ballast Point it had a sports bar-y feel and was massive. There was also quite a large selection of beers. We decided to try their more unique beers, Ali tried an Indian inspired one which was brewed with multiple Indian spices-- it was good, the first few sips, beyond that it left your throat burning. This was the first beer I've ever seen Ali NOT finish, so that says something about the intensity. I opted for a stout brewed with cherries. It was all right, nothing super memorable, but the experience itself was.
The following morning we lounged around until we needed to check out of our hotel. We ventured to North Park, a place I was particularly excited about visiting because upon my research of San Diego, North Park was noted as a place with a lot of good coffee & vegetarian food. They weren't kidding. Beyond that, it was filled with art, everywhere. Be still, my heart. It had a Portland vibe mixed with LA. Mostly because it was mellow like the Portland scene but had shops you'd see in parts of LA. It was basically a dream. I kept noting how much I loved it, Ali felt similarly. We both said we could see ourselves living there. Upon my bad directions we stumbled upon a really neat looking restaurant called "Waypoint Public" where we decided to get brunch. First of all, it was unbelievably cute. Beyond the seats inside, there was seating all around the perimeter of the place which had open windows, perfect for a sunny day. I had an amazing spinach & avocado omelette and similarly Ali had an equally delicious chicken-sausage omelette. Upon leaving, we found out that a top chef contestant actually owned that restaurant. It all made sense why the place was perfect.
Aforementioned about the good coffee in North Park, we checked out a place called Caffe Calabria. They roast their own beans so I was already interested in checking it out. We found it a few blocks down from Waypoint Public and we marveled in how cute the place was. They also have a pizza oven in which certain hours they serve pizza! Stop it. We both opted to just try their regular coffee, I had a hot one, Ali a cold one. I must say, the iced coffee was one of the best I've ever tried. However, upon sitting, Ali wobbled the table and 1/4 of my coffee spilled on the table -_- It's fine. Kind of... Anyway, after that we made our way back home, both loving the idea of potentially living in San Diego in the future. I'm convinced and converted, San Diego, I love you.
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