Sorry, I’m a sucker for awesomeness, even it is hokey out the wazoo.  I’m a teacher, hokey is what I do!  Hudson’s school had a Science Night and they had Man vs. Beast.  The kids had so much fun.  They only made it to one building and came home with loads of stuff in their bag, not to mention the stuff they learned and those super awesome hats.  Let’s be honest, who doesn’t need an unusually large set of teeth labeled?!

What a great evening – a fantastic opera paired with fantastic seats!  I have been waiting for this opera for a year.  Never have I heard so much laughter at the opera than in the first Act of Barber of Seville this past weekend.  This would have been a good opera for a first time opera goer.  I was a little bummed that the second Act couldn’t quite hold to the first.  Either way, we found out some friends had tickets too so we met up for dinner before hand.  Mimmo’s was our destination.  Quite the charming atmosphere, being inside the restaurant, feeling like you’re outside in a quiet bistro in Italy.  Did you catch that?  I know it was a mouthful, sorry about that.  Truly, a lovely night!

I’m starting to think that I might not really like Mexican food or perhaps all my tastebuds are dying so I crave savory food.  We started at Jimmy Carter’s for our Bite San Diego Tour in Hillcrest.  What a great date!  Quesadillas, tostados, and calamares tacos.  We walked about 15 blocks, hitting up 6 restaurants; learned a little history of Hillcrest and made some new friends in the process.

Local Habit What pizza can be complete without caramelized onion deliciousness?!  Will and I have had multiple conversations revolving around breweries and their ridiculous ability to have AMAZING food!  I swore I would be back for the Gouda Mac and Cheese.

Empirehouse  was once two little houses that have come together to delight us with food we love with a fun twist, not to mention the owners are fabulous.  It will see a reunion tour from us sometime soon.  The BBQ Bacon Burger casters with the red-miso sauce were so savory.

Brazen BBQ  OH my goodness!  I have not been so happy to have brisket and pulled pork in such a long time.  The owner wasn’t kidding when he talked about ribbons of flavor.  There is no surprise that they have won national BBQ competitions.  Watch out Texas!

Kona Coffee Shop  had a huge variety of delicious sounding coffees, but since I don’t do coffee, not to mention, I have enough perky without the coffee, I opted for a hazelnut steamer with whip.

Will was skeptical of the  Lotus Cafe…you know it being organic, vegan and vegetarian.  It was the trifecta of everything Will has no interest in food-wise.  Those are all swear words by his standards.    What a pleasant surprise.  We enjoyed carrot smoothies, hummus with pita bread and chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.  We agreed each was delightful, even if the carrot smooth tasted suspiciously like pumpkin pie.

We found a fabulous restaurant the last time we were in Denver.  Tocabes!!  This Indian Fry Bread eatery was amazing.  Amazing to the tune of 4 days in a row, driving across Denver just to eat lunch.  Not to mention we always ordered extra fry bread on the way out to eat in the evening over Scrabble.  Pictured above are my two favorite sodas…tricky to find, but so worth it!

There was a point where I was worried that Will might try to open one in San Diego, but the desire faded.  Will has figured out how to recreate them and I once again find my tastebuds so happy and find myself ever thankful for his wonderful cooking abilities, which I am sure will result in an expanded waistline for me.

Annie  Well my name means, loving.

Hudson  What does your name mean, Mom?

Me  It means wealthy one.

Hudson  What does wealthy mean?

Me Rich.

Hudson  Oh, what does Dad’s name mean?  Construction worker?

Me  What?!

Hudson  Well he knows how to make wet sand-dirt.  He’s really good at that and he likes gears.

Me  Nope, it means protector, but that was a good guess.