(For this post I just went through the pictures on my phone and wrote captions for each. I got through the first ten days and it seemed long enough for its own post so there should be one or two more posts for November.)
On the 30th I had happy hour at Stanford’s and I said bye to most of my closest friends. Emotional, that’s all I have to say about that.
Halloween morning me and Marvin hit the road. The first day we ate McDonald’s for breakfast, KFC for lunch, and Carl’s Jr. for dinner. And then we had sushi with Russ and Janelle for 4th meal. Russ was housesitting for his uncle in Vallejo so we stayed there. Me and Marvin didn’t get much sleep for whatever reason (read: we were spooked!).
The next morning we hit I-5 again and basically this was the view for hours and hours and hours.
Met up with Wally at a mall to say what’s up. I remember feeling super super gross walking around the mall because we had been driving all day. I’ve got a little bit of a mustache coming in. Breakfast that day was In ‘N’ Out and I got an almond pretzel at the mall. That’s when I realized it’d probably be a good idea to get some non-fast food in me at some point.
Me, Marvin, and Wally made our way to Curt and Dyane’s house. Dyane made what seems to be her specialty—spaghetti. Basically perfect after being on that… 24-hour, fast food diet, need crunches after munching I discourage you from trying it.
I sent this forecast screenshot to my friends back in Washington so they’d be happy for me. “Have fun enjoying it alone, loser!”
TJ’s Oyster Bar. I love this place. Great $1 fish tacos. This became the go-to spot for me and Jason. I’m starting my third month in San Diego and I haven’t gotten tired of fish tacos yet.
I also love Phil’s BBQ. Man vs. Food covered Phil’s in one episode (it was just a segment, not the city’s challenge). I tried the tri-tip sandwich that was featured on the show and that was really really good also. Again, there’s certainly better BBQ in the traditional BBQ states, but this is good BBQ in the middle of San Diego.
Tacos El Gordo. There’s a lot of taco spots in San Diego. There’s a lot of really good ones. The adobada taco at Tacos El Gordo is one of the best things I’ve had in San Diego. The tacos are a little pricey for their size, but they’re so worth it. For the adobada taco, the meat is sliced off this machine which is similar (identical?) to the ones used in gyro shops. Then it’s grilled so the edges are crispy.
My first weekend me and Marvin went with Jamie to UCD to check out the Hello Kitty truck that was on tour. I wanted to check out the mall’s ice skating rink. We lucked out and walked in as some kids started warming up for a little league hockey match. We watched the first period and one team dominated 4-0. The puck basically never crossed into their half of the rink. I felt sorry for both goalies. One was trying to stop a shot every thirty seconds and the other was leaning on his stick and drawing things into the ice with his skates.
Rio De Gado. I love Brazilian meat places. I went with Marvin and his cousins Kris and JR. I think it was like $17 for lunch. Great value. Basically the same experience you’ll get from Ipanema. Great meat, great sides. Feel like dying after.
South Beach Bar & Grill has $2.50 tacos on Tuesdays. It’s super crowded and hard to find a table any time after 5 but it’s worth the hassle. And a no-brainer at lunchtime. The first time I went I included a lobster taco in my order expecting tiny chunks of lobster. I was happy to see that the chunks were substantial to the point that I wondered how they profit on the things.
