A Girl & Her Food: California Dream Eater Day#1: San Diego #DreamEats #VisitSanDiego

Visit California exclusively invited me, A Girl & Her Food, for a five-day individually tailored road trip January 25-29 through San Diego, Temecula and Newport Beach to become fully immersed in “California Restaurant Month”. I have never travelled to these cities and was truly excited to check them out!

First stop, SAN DIEGO!

Visit California nailed my car rental... a Ford Mustang from Avis. It was a beauty, and it was going to eventually take me up the coast to LA. Nothing like driving in style.

Although I was dying to cruise around, my body was starving. I immediately drove to the North Park neighborhood to grab a bite at Breakfast Republic.

Breakfast Republic has been raising feathers in North Park, as a top spot to enjoy the most important meal of the day. Serving tasty takes on American classics such as Oreo Pancakes, Chicken Wing Breakfast Bowls and S’mores French Toast, they are an innovative breakfast destination that locals and visitors are flocking to when they’re in search of a fun and unpretentious place to begin the day. And for me, that meant diving straight into the mushroom 'n pesto benedict. It jumped straight off the menu and into my belly I think. Button and oyster mushrooms, red bell peppers, spinach, hollandaise and pesto... and I added on shrimp. What a way to begin my day!

Breakfast at Breakfast Republic in North Park

2730 University Avenue San Diego, CA 92104

www.breakfastrepublicca.com

After breakfast, me and the Mustang headed to Pacific Beach, to check into Tower 23 Hotel, the place I would call home for 1 night (although I wouldn't have mind staying for several nights). Tower 23 is a modern and chic hotel overlooking the ocean. Each room has it’s own glass paneled balcony or patio with ocean views. I was greeted with a gift bag, charcuterie and wine! What a treat!!!

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Tower 23 Hotel

723 Felspar St, San Diego, CA 92109

http://www.t23hotel.com

(858) 270-2323

I wanted to hang out beach side and bask in the warm Californian sun all afternoon but had to stick to my #dreameats itinerary. I quickly freshened up, and headed to PrepKitchen in Little Italy, as it was named one of San Diego’s “Best Restaurants” in 2014 by San Diego Magazine. In addition, Prepkitchen Little Italy is the largest of the restaurant trio with a full service bar and private dining room. The resteraunt serves artisanal, farm-to-table cuisine and is open for lunch and dinner daily, as well as brunch on the weekend. The entire menu looked devine, but since being in San Diego I knew I wanted to try the fish tacos. Prepkitchen has yellowfish tacos, which are locally caught, and served with guacamole, pickled red onions, jalapenos, cabbage, and crème fraiche. I also ordered a salad of roasted beet and spinach, that was tossed with goat cheese, avocado, almonds, tangerines and balsamic vinaigrette. Everything tasted as good as it looked and as good as it sounded. Great start to my trip.

PrepKitchen

1660 India St, San Diego, CA 92101

(619) 398-8383

http://prepkitchenlittleitaly.com

After lunch, I headed back to Tower 23 Hotel to unwind before dinner, which was to be held at the iconic Coasterra Restaurant. Coasterra is San Diego’s premiere bay front dining destination with delicious Mexican cuisine.

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Our night started with an order of table side guacamole of crushed avocado, tomato, red onion, cilantro, cracked black pepper, cotijas, lime and Serrano in a molcajete.

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We then devoured the ahi tuna tostada (yellow fin tuna glazed in garlic and sesame, soy sauce, avocado, crispy corn tortilla, coleslaw, Spanish peanuts and cilantro), a crowd favorite according to Chef Deborah Scott.

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And then finally for the main course, as recommended by Chef, the Mar y Tierra - Cedar River natural beef short rib, Oaxacan mole, lobster risotto cake, grilled asparagus, and lobster claw... and yes it was out of this world.