Hi! I'm BAAACCCCKKK! UPDATE & FOOD ADVENTURE!

UPDATE ON ME!!! & FOOD ADVENTURE!

I know this blog has been neglected for the past three months. I am a horrible person. But literally, I have been a hermit crab. I've been swamped with so much going on that I lost sight of everything! So much has happened in literally two months. I moved to a new place, I started school again, I started my second job, AND I applied to Florida International University in Florida (and got accepted! YAY!) and I'm slowly starting to adjust before I make my big move again in January! This is going to be a really weird experience because I have never lived outside of San Diego my entire life. I love everything about this city, but I also feel too sheltered by this place. It may be my family or the familiarity of things but I feel like in order for me to grow as a person I need to explore new possibilities and learn how to do things on my own. Mommy and Daddy can't hold my hand forever. I am 23 years old, afterall!!! 

So besides my exciting update, I wanted to share a food adventure with you all! Last night the boyfriend and I decided to try this new restaurant in Fashion Valley called "STACKED." He saw it driving by the mall and it looked interesting. The thing that made it so different was the ordering process. You order your food from an IPAD. It boggles my mind how amazing technology has gotten today. LOL. 

We got there on Friday night at 5:30pm. Thank goodness we missed the rush that came in at 6pm! Their menu consists of the basics. Burgers, salads, pizza's, and sides. It cool because you basically sit there and put together your own meal on an Ipad. I chose a whole wheat bun with a turkey patty, lettuce, avocado, jalapeno, feta cheese, and their STACKED sauce. I also ordered a side of sweet potato fries (my fav!) We just added the order to cart and sent it to the kitchen. Our food came in standard time. It was pretty good and I will most likely go there again. I kept thinking what a hip cool new place for the kids. Haha. They also had a large choice of alcoholic beverages as well as shakes and other desserts. Overall, I really liked it. 

Thanks for Reading <3 TRANG

SUMMER ADVENTURES!

AHH...Nothing reminds me that summer is here like the Del Mar Fair... For those that don't live in Southern California, It's basically like our "state fair." It's the United State's 5th Most Largest Fair! Thanks to my boyfriend for that little nerdy fact. (LOL) I love going every year and I look forward to it!!! It usually runs for a month. Mid- June and ends every year on July 4th! Things I look forward to most while at the fair. 

1. The FOOD. Let me break it down to you: Australian battered potatoes with ranch & cheese, grilled corn on the cobb with butter chili powder, turkey legs, deep fried everything, cinnamon rolls, kettle corn, and so so SO much more!

2. The games with their amazing carnies. Need I say more? Lol 

3. The people! 

4. The SALES! 

5. Did I already mention the food? LOL 

...more to come! :)

FOOD DATES: BURGER LOUNGE

It's not the BK LOUNGE, it's BURGER LOUNGE! 

Hi guys! Hope everyone is having a great week. The weather here in San Diego has been picking up and I'm sooo happy! Yestereday, my boyfriend and I went minature golfing in Del Mar. It was so much fun because the decor was the cutest. We played the "Under the Sea" course. He beat me by ONE POINT! I'm sure he cheated somewhere... hm. 

 

So a few weeks ago, March 16th to be exact. I went to Burger Lounge in La Jolla, San Diego to try these burgers that everyone's been hyping! Burger lounge has a few locations, but he wanted to try this one here. It's a really really small corner shop that only has a counter inside and a few tables outside. The menu consisted of about FOUR items.. lol A veggie burger, a regular burger, a turkey burger, and chicken tenders. Sides of fries or onion rings were offered and whatever beverages. Even though the menu sounded simple, they decor and feel of the place was clean and modern! I'm a sucker for TURKEY BURGERS! So of course I had to order it, with grilled onions! YUM! 

You can see as they're cooking the food.

I love stainless steel for a restaurant and bright colors! 

$8 for a burger? I know, but it IS La Jolla, and it is PRETTY DAMN GOOD.

What's so great about this place? Their beef is all grass fed, fresh, never frozen, hormone free, etc, etc. Basically they make their foods with the best ingredients, hence the pricey burger!

This was my TURKEY BURGER. It was so juicy and delicious. The fries were also amazing, but you have to order them separate. 

Look how juicy my burger is! 

Check them out here: 

BURGER LOUNGE

♥TRANG

OBSESSION: TEA STATION'S GREEN MILK TEA ♥

My current obsession! I know that I have this tendency to get obssessed with things an I'll be all about it all day everyday. I remember I went through a phase where I had to get Jamba Juice every single day. It always gets pretty expensive. I always find something else and then move on to the next one. 

If any of you don't know what those little black ball- esque things look like down at the bottom of my drinks, they're BOBA. Also referred to as TAPIOCCA PEARLS. What is this stuff? Its a starchy substance derived from the CASSAVA ROOT. It takes a lot of steps that I really don't understand how to describe. It has a chewy sweet texture. Similar to the little balls in Tapiocca pudding except these are way larger.

I live in an area where they serve this stuff every block. It's as easy to get as Starbucks or McDonald's. The location I go to most often is Tapiocca Express. I like going there becaus they have yummy spicy chicken and have a large menu of drinks ranging from Milk Tea drinks to Ice Slushies. I have recently started going to Tea Station because the boba here is the best I've had in San Diego. I've tried them at every single location, but Tea Station is by far my FAVORITE! I always get the Green Milk Tea with Boba. It's so good, and the fact that it has green tea in it makes me feel all the better about drinking it. I also like it here because it tastes like actual green milk tea and not like a powdery substance that most places make it with. 

Just thought I'd let you guys know about this stuff. :) 

♥TRANG

FOOD DATES: FLAME BROILER

FLAME BROILER for LUNCH w/THE BF 

My boyfriend and I are always looking for new places to try! We love food as much as anyone! I remember seeing some place called "Flame Broiler" whenever I'm in the Mission Valley area. I thought we'd give it a try today. I fell in love with it. It's kind of like a healthier version of.. Yoshinoya. They have beef, chicken, and rib bowls. Plates as well. They all run around $5 bucks a bowl or $7 bucks a plate. They also had this "magic sauce" there that was pretty delicious. It tasted like teriyaki, hoison, and soy sauce all in one. it was DEEELISSHHH.They also give you the option of brown or white rice. I love that. It's so healthy, a bowl runs about 600 calories! It was a lot of food.

 

This is "The WORKS." It comes with beef, chicken, and veggies.

Visit their website here.

FOOD DATES: EL CAMINO

SO YESTERDAY, I spent some time with some loved ones at El CAMINO. 

(little italy, SAN DIEGO, CA)

The BF and I tried going here the previous nights with his roomies but the wait was 45 mins... and we were beyond starvation so it wasn't an option.

Since my brother was visiting, I figured we would take him! I actually have never been there myself. This restaurant/bar/ karaoke lounge is location in little Italy on India and Kalmia Street. It has this amazing decor on the outside which is all paper mache. They check ID after 9, so if you're under 21, you'd better come before then. They don't take reservations so your whole party has to be there before you can be seated. Parking is kind of tough depending on if its crowded or not.

We were seated right when our whole party came. The waiter brought us a plate of mediocre tortilla chips with a sampler of three dipping sauces and chillies. The first sauce was green. I figure it was a cilantro sauce, not spicy at all. The second and cheese sauce with a little jalapeno kick and the last sauce was a spicy salsa. The cheese was the obvious favorite. My BF ordered a large can of Tecate, ran him $5 and my cousins ordered the house Margarita and some rum cocktail, both ran about $5 each as well. Not bad. You can get a whole pitcher of the house margarita for $25. :) We didn't want to get too wild though.

My cousin ordered this soup. Some kind of tomato based soup with light noodles. It was a vegetarian soup. It was okay, but I wished they had like a tortilla soup or some sort. I give it a C-

They also ordered these shrimp nachos. Only he would order shrimp nachos. Normal people order chicken or carne asada. BUT no.. he orders the vegetarian soup that tastes like sphagettios and the shrimp nachos. They were yummy, but so hard to eat because they didn't really stick on the chips. And honestly, it was so dark in there, i didn't even know I was eating shrimp nachos. If the chips were better, I would have given this a higher rating.  B-

 I ordered the sweet potato flautas. They were so YUM. Four tortillas rolled with sweet potato and deep fried with cream cheese, spicy cilantro sauce, and a side of onion and tomatoes on top. SO BOMB, it was small, but made me so full. B+

My broski was smart and ordered a food ol carne asada burrito. You can't go wrong with this. :) It was delicious. With a side of mexican street corn? YUM! A.

Overall great atmosphere, good music, good inexpensive food and drinks. At at the end, they throw you a handful of Chiclet gum. Good stuff.

FOOD DATES:CPK

Today is such a beautiful day in San Diego.

It started pretty good, but then I took my grandma to this area of town that is inhabited by Asians and I just got overly frustrated. I took her to her doctors- a little hole in the wall office that basically accepts anyone who wants to go. Needless to say, the waiting room was PACKED. So packed they had to turn people away.

My grandmother doesn't speak any English, that's why she insists on going to these mom and pop, Vietnamese owned places for EVERYTHING, including a grocery store, where she can bargain on prices, a pharmacy, where she can request "free samples" and a Vietnamese travel agency that has no customer service skills whatsoever... All these places drive me crazy.

AHHH....... so after all the craziness, the BF took me to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. I haven't been here for a really really long time. I felt bad because nothing looked great on the menu but I just ordered whatever and I was happy with what I got. :) 

White Pizza

A combination of Mozzarella, Fontina, Ricotta, Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses with fresh sautéed spinach and garlic. I got mine without the bacon, and it was still pretty good. I also requested for a whole wheat crust, and it made me full a lot quicker, but it was still great. Good for vegetarians.

 

The Sicilian THIN CRUST PIZZA: A spicy marinara sauce with sweet Italian sausage, spicy Capicola ham, julienne salami, Fontina, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Topped with fresh oregano and basil. This was a good pizza overall. Too much meat for my taste.

 Korean BBQ Tacos 

Grilled marinated Korean steak, fresh shredded Napa cabbage, Romaine, sweet onions, scallions and fresh cilantro on corn tortillas. Topped with a spicy chili sauce.These were yummmmyyyy. They're a little pricey for just two. $5.99. They remind me carne asada tacos but with way more flavor. They're pretty good overall. 

SO.. ended my day with a little trip to Sephora and picked up a few things, but that will be for a later post. :)

A WORD on PB BAR & GRILL from my Guest BLOGGER :)

HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! 
I'm so happy to announce my guest blogger! My friend who goes by R.P. has been so kind as to grace us with a piece of fine literature that he has written himself. He spent a whole fifteen minutes on it and might I add, its a fine piece of work. You know it's a unique peace when you can read somebody's review and relate to it in many ways. SO, I put his facebook link around here somewhere, if you would like to meet him or take up your concerns with him, feel free to do so. LOL have a wonderful day! P.S. I will have a video up on my YouTUBE page shortly about PB bar & Grill.

Tuesday Afternoon Reflection

By:RP

 The famous PB Bar & Grill, I must ask you one question: What the hell happened to you over the years? When I was a much younger lad, going to PB on a Thursday night was a right of passage. Drinks were cheap, the crowd was fun, and of course the music was great.  Amazing how the times have changed. Every time I think of this dump I cringe thinking about the smell of the mildew covered carpeting, brought on by 18 years of inebriated girls spilling their chocolate cake shots, or whatever lame shot was popular back in 96’. I always vow that I will never be back, but somehow this place always calls my name! Most people over the age of 22 have a running joke about the section 8 housing that has become known as PB Bar and Grill. The smelly carpet, the fact everyone here looks like they want to fight, that nobody here knows how to act at a bar, and the fact that I feel like I’m at some sort of United Nations meeting every time I walk in. If you are reading this and you enjoy this place, that’s great.  I just hope you all read the following advice I have for you:

1.       Gentleman: I understand you are a follower, but just because for some god forsaken reason every guy here orders an Adios with a tasty maraschino cherry floating in it, doesn’t mean you should. I have been to a lot of bars in my life, and usually guys who order colorful and fruity cocktails tend to congregate with other men at the Brass Rail in Hillcrest. I’m only looking out for you, because the vast majority of people in the real world will have certain thoughts about a male ordering an Adios. Stick to beer or any other dark colored cocktail. If the drink has more than 2 ingredients in it, then it was meant for 15 year old girls.

2.       Ladies: I understand you just turned 21 and probably don’t get out much. That’s totally ok. I also understand to you PB may be the greatest thing since dollar beer night at Channel One in Serra Mesa, but please, when you are taking your first shot of the night don’t immediately act like you just downed a fifth of Jameson.  It is not physically possible to be wasted 3.2 seconds after taking a gummi bear shot. You are not drunk, and no I don’t like having you scream in my ear and spill whatever sugar laden shot you are drinking all over me.

Now I don’t want everyone to think I’m just being negative, I’m actually doing this to help some of you. The last thing you want to do in life is be at a business dinner and order a Tokyo Tea while your boss is drinking a Chivas on the rocks.