Phil's BBQ

Phil's BBQ had been on our minds all weekend, considering it was sandwiched just minutes between our hotel and the tennis center.  We were half serious about going here after our dinner at Buona Forchetta to maximize our eating experience with the short time we had in San Diego.  Fortunately, sensibility trumped gluttony and we instead drank beers, got some take out Mexican, and ate Haagen Dazs ice cream bars (finally got my ice cream fix!) in our PJs back at the hotel.  Ooook maybe we were still being gluttons.  Frankly, I had never heard of Phil's which is odd considering it has over 8,000 reviews on Yelp!  It's probably not a place that has popped up on my radar considering I don't do finger-lickin' good foods like ribs.  Please contain your bug eyes, dear readers.  BBQ just does not contribute to the high fiber diet my body requires if-ya-know-what-I-meeeeeeaaan.

We finally had our chance to grub after our grueling matches in the morning where I pulled my quad and my groin.  But it was all worth it to be able to call ourselves SECtional champions!  Our slanty eyes beamed with delightful triumph as we claimed our victory cups (literally cups for drinking, not like a trophy cup...*womp womp*), while our Amazonian opponents trudged home as losers.  It was 3pm by the time we called it a day.  I figured the line at Phil's would have died down by that odd hour, but Potty Pie and Personal Assistant begged to differ.  Holy smokes, they weren't lying!  It was at least a 45 minute line.  WTF man, it's just ribs!  LUCKILY Potty Pie had the inside scoop and knew a way to bypass that line.  I'm sworn to secrecy, but we were so damn happy to not have to wait in that line.  It was already bad enough we were eating lunch at 3pm, but make it 4pm and we woulda had some hangry birds going cuckoo again...

Beefy Rib 
Sweet Baked Beans
While I usually like to save the best for last, I'm too lazy to change the order of the pictures at this time.  So I'll start with a big YUM-O!  I think the baby back ribs are the crowd favorite, but damn, I was all for the beef ribs, which were so meaty, moist, fatty, tender.  The most I could do was 1 1/2 ribs, but I think Personal Assistant threw down at least 2 if not 3.  Antisocial Background Guy couldn't muster up the strength to conquer as many ribs.  What a disappointment.  The baked beans were just meh.

BBQ Chicken

Ping Pong doesn't eat beef or pork, so it was this sad little chicken for her.  Frankly, I'm not even certain Phil's is really her cup of tea, food or scene-wise.  She was a happy camper nonetheless, probably still high off our victory.  She was the one who pointed out to me our opponents were just men in skirts.  As a girl, it always feels good to kick a guy's ass!

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Buona Forchetta

So most of the random followers of this blog who don't actually know me, might be surprised to know that I'm not actually 300lbs.  I just eat like someone who is 300lbs.  I keep off the couple extra pounds by playing a lot of tennis.  I don't mean the recreational crap the housewives at the country club play.  I've played tennis since I was kid, took a huge break during my time severely overworked and underfed, and now am back at it recreationally competitive.  I went to San Diego to play tennis with my ladies doubles league.  After our first day of play where we swept, beating all the tall ass Amazonian chicks (some could possibly have been men in skirts with long hair), we happily celebrated with dinner at Buona Forchetta.

Mama Cracks-that-Whip said to make reservations for TWENTY-SIX people.  You should have seen the horror on my face *insert horrified emoji here.*  My personal preference for group dinners is no more than 6 diners.  So I pretty much tried to find a place 1) that took reservations that large and 2) served simple but delicious food.  It's hard to go wrong with Italian and Buona Forchetta happily accommodated the large group even at the very last minute.  Usually they don't even take reservations.  You should have seen the beehive of hungry patrons swarming outside this place for a table.

I didn't even want to think about the nightmare of splitting the bill among 26 people at the end of the meal, so I just focused on the 5 people sitting around me: Personal Assistant, Potty Pie, Pink LuLu, JoJo, and Shorty Mak Daddy.  We ordered and shared a bunch of things.  While Buona Forchetta is actually known for its pizzas, there were only 2 pizzas ordered among the 26 that night.  Nobody cared to carbo load for our match the next morning.  There's not a lot of running in doubles I guess.

Calamari

The appetizers came out in like a second compared to our entrees.  Not overbattered, not too chewy, just right.

Seafood Risotto

This was the best dish of the night.  Runny enough with each rice granule al dente.  Seafood was plenty.  Mama Cracks-that-Whip made it pretty clear this was her favorite dish.  My ding would be that it was a tad underseasoned.

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Sushi Ota

I have heard about Sushi Ota for a long time.  I have always had the sense it was THE sushi place in San Diego.  I couldn't tell you what that is based on or where I got that notion from.  In any case, when I finally made my way down to San Diego for a tennis tournament of sorts I wanted to be sure to hit up this spot.  Lucky for me, Token Bear and Care Bear call San Diego their home so they gladly joined me here even though they've dined here before.  Unlucky for me, there were no reservations for the bar.  I was pretty disappointed, but I still wanted to take my chances and see what quality sushi could be had at the tables. 

Edamame

Spicy Tuna Roll
I rarely eat rolls these days when I sushi it up, so it's actually nice to eat them.

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The Mission

For our last meal in San Diego, we decided to brunch it up at The Mission.  What's up with brunch places always having some crazy wait?  Why does everyone love brunch soooooo darn much?!  It's just breakfast, but at lunch time.  For some crazy reason, people get way too excited about eggs and pancakes at noontime.  I like brunch, but I don't love it.

CMac Attack kicked off the meal by ordering a caramel machiatto or latte.  The nice waiter brought her a freshly made hot drink, with a smiley face made in the foam.  CMac Attack kindly conveyed her disappointment in the error since she wanted a cold drink.  The waiter surprisingly brought her another drink, cold, but with a sad face this time.  Haha!

House Quesadilla Grilled chicken, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, salsa cruda, green onions and sour cream served with Mission black beans 
CMac Attack did what she did best, attack!!!!  Haha, jk.  I think she enjoyed this dish.

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Extraordinary Desserts

No trip to San Diego is complete without a visit to Extraordinary Desserts, especially if you've never been before.  It is the "go-to" spot for some of the prettiest cakes and desserts.  After many years since opening this 2nd location near Downtown San Diego, the place still has a busy line out the door with a long wait on the weekends.  I will admit that I'm not a huge fan of cakes in general, but this is a fun place to take friends here for their first time experience.  You can't deny the awe-inspiring effect a large display of cakes and desserts has on people as they walk through the door.

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Bencotto

Since we were staying in the Gaslamp district of Downtown San Diego, we decided to check out Little Italy, which was fairly close by.  Who doesn't like pasta?!

Fiori di Zucca Ripieni lightly fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta and smoked mozarella
I've never actually tried zucchini blossoms before, but who knew a flower could be so tasty?  I guess anything that's fried and breaded will be delicious, but the creamy mixture of cheeses used to stuff this little guys made for a winning combination.  The side servings of sun dried tomatoes added great contrast of flavor.

Burrata burrata cheese, shaved fennel and celery salad in lemon vinaigrette
The other members of the party didn't seem too enthusiastic with this choice of appetizer (no chimes of agreement or "ooo that looks goood"), but since our first choice (fried saffron risotto balls) were out, I quickly threw this one in as the replacement.  After everyone had their first tastes, the praises came raining down.  I suspect some did not know what burrata was or that fennel could be so crunchy and refreshing? 

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Lucha Libre

A few weeks ago, the high school crew (+ The Toothbrush Sharer) and I celebrated Dubabo's birthday in sunny San Diego.  Much to my surprise, after too many years post-graduation, were all still good friends.  Most of them still hang out regularly (DJ SuCha, HemaSh, CMac Attack, etc) but I'm just too far and too busy to hike it down to the OC to hang out most of the time.  But when I do get to meet up, it's like time never really passed.  It's just good times through and through which makes me really happy.

HemaSh lived in San Diego for 3 years so she pretty much served as our trusty guide.  She suggested Lucha Libre for lunch.  It's a pretty funny little joint with pictures of lucha libre fighters all over the walls that serves fancied up tacos, burritos, etc.

They even have a special golden booth that get's table side service and a special fight bell to ring to call the waiter.  We were sad we couldn't sit here since it was already reserved.  We just ordered at the counter and found some regular seats.

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