Taos and Santa Fe Day 3 Visited 9/3/2016 3.5 - 4 Forks

Taos Diner  908 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571                                        3.5 Forks

Another local diner, another huge Mexican breakfast.  I could definitely get used to this, although my stomach probably can't.  We checked out another local dive breakfast place that is old school and full of locals.  I mean, it's called the Taos Diner, what else were you expecting?  The menu had all the classics of a New Mexican style breakfast place.  I opted for the papas and huevos (obviously potato and egg in Spanish) with a side of turkey sausage because despite all the food I had been eating on this trip, I wasn't really getting a whole lot of meat in my diet.

The plate was enormous as expected (I should note that Aarti's breakfast burrito was practically the size of her head) and probably had a pound of cubed potatoes smothered in Christmas salsa (red and green chili), scrambled eggs, sour cream and guacamole.  It was a great combination of food but I really could have done with way less potato and more egg in it.  The whole trip I had been focusing on the green chili because that's what New Mexico is famous for, so I figured I should at least try the red or Christmas version at some point.  While I'm glad I tried it, the green chili solo was much better. There's just something tastier to it that I can't put my finger on.  The red version seemed more smokey and less appealing to me.   I tried really hard to finish the dish but there was just too much potato for me to really enjoy the dish entirely - I was getting uncomfortably full and it was really unpleasant at one point.   But don't let this discourage you, it's definitely worth a visit - plus there are 2 of them (Diner I and Diner II), so you really have no excuse when you're in Taos.  Total bill:  $42 for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit: Yelp

Coyote Rooftop Cantina  132 W Water St., Santa Fe, NM 87501                                       4 Forks

We finally made it to Santa Fe!  It was a nice beautiful drive with a few stops along the way, but we finally made it to our final destination around 3pm and we were starving.  The hotel we were staying at, the lovely Inn and Spat at Loretto, was smack in the middle of all the action which was great.  The staff there was super helpful and one of the valets told us to check out the Coyote Rooftop Cantina for a quick affordable snack.  There is a more formal dining area in the bottom but just go up the stairs to the rooftop to reach the Cantina.  

The weather was great and it was nice to sit in a rooftop bar, which there weren't any of in Taos, so it's worth going to here just to get a change of scenery and decor.  What I also didn't realize until later was that most of the bars/restaurants in New Mexico only served beer and wine - no liquor license. But Coyote Cantina was literally the only place we went to all trip that actually served booze - so you could get a real margarita with tequila in it - not some gross wine substitute.  We sat at the edge of the bar over looking Water Street, so it was good people watching.  Aarti and I got a prickly pear margarita and Deanna got a mango one.  I should note here that due to the elevation, you should be careful when you drink alcohol here.  Apparently 1 drink really equals 2 drinks, so it's easy to get drunk quickly.  But regardless, I was happy just to have a real drink in hand and the prickly pear margarita was delicious.  I slurped it down quickly and definitely got a headache afterwards but it was worth it.  

I also got the shrimp ceviche tostada ($14) to snack on, Aarti got the trio of salsa ($6) and Deanna got the veggie tacos ($14).   The shrimp ceviche was really tasty - very plump pieces of shrimp that were well marinated and served with avocado, cucumber and radish.  I was trying to stay away from the tostada part but it was covered in the yummy marinate that I ended up scarfing that down too.  While this ended up being much more than a quick snack, I really liked this place.  It was one of the rare places also that seemed to cater to a younger crowd as New Mexico is definitely not a vacation hot spot for the under 50.  Luckily there were a few weddings going on that weekend, so there were more younger people hanging out at the restaurant that made it a bit more lively.  Total bill:  $90 for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Shed  113 1/2 E Palace Ave., Santa Fe, NM 87501                                                       4 Forks

The Shed is probably one of the most popular restaurants in Santa Fe.  It's got a great location right in the middle of the plaza and a lovely outdoor patio as well.  Every time we passed by this place there was always a huge crowd in place.  We had originally wanted to go to Cafe Pasquale for dinner but it was a 45 mins wait and the wait here was luckily only 15 mins.  You know you're not in New York anymore when most of the restaurants close at 9 or 9:30pm, even on the weekends.  So when we got there at 8:45pm, they told us that they would squeeze us in for the last seating.  Craziness - in New York people are only just making their way to dinner at that hour.

We got a seat outside and quickly ordered.  The problem with having a late snack at 4pm is that you're not really all that hungry at 8:30pm.  Plus at this point I was starting to get really sick of "New Mexican" food and really just wanted a freakin salad, which I could have gotten here but alas I felt like I had to keep up with the vacation theme.  I opted for the fish tacos ($15) which were 2 soft tacos with grilled white fish, avocado, red cabbage, and pineapple salsa and a side of dirty Spanish rice.  I was glad the fish was grilled to make it a bit healthier and while I wasn't super hungry this did hit the spot and all the flavors balanced each other out.  An interesting but random touch was that all the dishes came with a side of garlic french bread.  Weird but hey, I love garlic bread, so I'll take it.

I think since it was late and the waitstaff wanted to get home, dinner felt a bit rushed and our waiter wasn't that engaging.  Otherwise, it was a pleasant experience and I can see why it's a popular place for lunch or dinner.  I will say that up to this point, I've enjoyed all my meals in New Mexico but the bar and standard is definitely very different than what it's like in more urban cities like NYC or SF. While all the food is delicious and satisfying, it's definitely much less refined and fancy, which is absolutely fine but it is a pretty noticeable difference.  Total bill:  $71 for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Taos Day 2 Visited 9/2/2016 3.5 - 4.5 Forks

Michaels' Kitchen Restaurant and Bakery 

304 C N Pueblo Rd, 

Taos, NM 87571          4 Forks

Michael's is exactly what I pictured a local diner in New Mexico to be like.  It was kind of like a scene out of Twin Peaks - an old no frills diner with lots of older people and locals having breakfast. And I loved every single second of it.  It was a very country town feel and the menu had everything you could think of from American style breakfast to a Mexican style breakfast.  I tried to stay a bit healthy and went for an egg white veggie omelette with hash browns and an English muffin.  Classic diner breakfast.  Since we were in New Mexico, the veggies in the omelette were locally grown peppers, onions, and avocado.  It was really delicious and huge portions (as was everything in New Mexico).  The only bummer of the meal was that the hash browns were a bit dry on their own but when mixed with the egg and ketchup, it got the job done.  

While my meal in general was solid comfort food, what put this review in the 4 fork range was the freaking fry bread that Aarti got as a side to her already enormous breakfast burrito.  Fry bread is a local Native American dish that almost kind of tastes like funnel cake in that it's fried dough.  This one came out warm and fluffy with a side of sweet butter.  Jesus was it delicious and probably really terrible for your health but it's a famous thing to eat in New Mexico, so I had to try it as least once. Deanna's dish came with a side of pancakes and it's been a really long time since I've had pancake and this, again, was solid comfort diner food that made me really happy.  Nothing here was elegant or fancy but that is what made it such a great meal.  Deanna and Aarti both also got pinon flavored coffee, which apparently is a local nut grown in the area and added a hazelnut type flavor to the coffee - so its worth trying if you're in New Mexico.    As I mentioned before, be ready for giant portions -People here really do not understand the notion of portion control but hey, I was on vacation, so what did I care?? Total bill:  $52 total for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Ojo Caliente Spa and Resort   50 Los Banos Drive, Ojo Caliente, New Mexico 87549           4.5 Forks

Probably the best thing we did all trip was to take a visit to the Ojo Caliente Spa and Resort.  It's about an hour from Taos and is an outdoor resort with 5 different hot pools/springs, spa treatments and you can also stay there overnight as well.  We bought a day pass which basically gives you all access to the pools and sauna.  Unfortunately when we got there it had started to rain and thunderstorm and they force you out of the pools when there's lightening because of the metal that's around.  Understandable but still a bummer.  So during our time out, we made our way over to the restaurant to grab a glass of wine at the bar. 

Although it's a casual place, I still felt a bit weird in my towel and bathing suit, so definitely bring a cover-up if you're going to go straight from the pool.  As you can imagine, the food at a resort spa is somewhat healthier than a typical place.  At the encouragement of the bartender, we got the green chili "fries" and a farm fresh salad with burrata.  The food here was amazing and probably the best I had all trip.  The "fries" were actually strips of local poblano peppers lightly battered and served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.  The peppers were mild but sweet with a hint of tang to it.  Mixed with the sweet and sour sauce, it made for a perfect rainy day snack and healthier too.  I wish more places outside of New Mexico made this kind of dish. 

But even better was the salad.  Apparently the resort has a local farm a few feet away and everything except for the burrata was picked right across the street - and you could taste the freshness and dirt that came with it.  It was a bit heavy on the herbs vs. veggies, but since they were so fresh it didn't really matter.  The burrata was soft and paired well with the lightly dressed veggies.   Combined with a glass of wine, we were all in heaven.  

The rain finally stopped so we were allowed back to the pools but this meal was well worth a bit of an interruption - even if it was a bit on the pricey side.  Total bill:  $64 total with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Love Apple    803 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM, 87571                    3.5 Forks

The Love Apple was a very recommended farm to table restaurant that was a 5 mins drive from our Airbnb in Taos.  It also got a lot of buzz as being one of the most beautiful restaurants in town as it's housed in an old Catholic chapel from the 1800's and it's still got a lot of the original design in tact. It's definitely a very beautiful and romantic restaurant - we might have actually been the only people not on a date here.   

The food is described as local, organic home cooking - so it goes along with the hot buzz of sustainable cooking and all the food is prepared from scratch, which is a nice touch.  We actually weren't all that hungry from our nice meal at the Spa but we had to eat dinner because everything in town closes after 9pm, so this was our last chance to really get anything to eat. 

We started with the buttermilk yellow and blue cornbread ($6) and since I wasn't hungry I got the small local charcuterie plate ($11) and a local green salad ($10) as my mains.  The cornbread was delicious with the right consistency of cornmeal texture.  What really made it addictive was the cinnamon butter and lemon chive butter that came with it.  I would recommend actually combing the two butters together to get a sweet and salty mix on the cornbread.  I was more of a fan of the blue bread but both were fantastic.  Next came my charcuterie plate which I should have known to not expect it to be like the ones I had in Italy since I'm NOT in Italy.  Needless to say, I was a bit let down by it as it wasn't a true meat place - there are pieces of ham, goat chorizo salami, a mild hard cheese, pickled melon, apricot jam, pesto spiraled zucchini, and scallions wrapped in bacon.  It also came with some local sourdough bread which was good for eating the meat and cheese with.  It was a very rustic farm type of plate and while it was fine, it definitely doesn't measure up to a traditional Italian style meat board - not even close.  By this point, I was really not hungry at all but forced myself to pick at the salad to offset all the cheese and Mexican food I had been having.  It was a fresh salad mixed with local peaches, goat cheese and pecans.   I usually don't like fruit with my salad and this didn't really change my mind too much.  The goat cheese was very very mild which I was not used to at all.  To me, goat cheese should have a strong kick to it and this one was way to plain for me.  The salad at Ojo was much better than this one.  I didn't try Aarti and Deanna's food but they got an amazing looking tamale with a picture perfect fried egg on it - totally instagram worthy.  

What redeemed this meal review wise for me was the dessert.  We got a peach (I guess peaches must have been in season) crumble and it god damn amazing.  Warm and crumbly top served with sweet vanilla ice cream - it doesn't get much better than that.  Definitely save room for this.  Total bill:  $120 for 3 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Taos Day 1 Visited 9/1/2016 3 - 4 Forks

The Hollar Restaurant  2849 Hwy 14 N., Madrid, NM 87010   4 Forks

Deanna, Aarti and I took a fantastic long weekend road trip in New Mexico and one of the most popular things to do is to drive the Turquoise Trail up to Taos.  Along there way there are cute tiny towns to visit with quirky museums (Tinkertown Museum is a great stop), art galleries and jewlery shops as well as just fantastic scenery all around.  The "biggest" town on the trail is Madrid - it's actually got a main road and is about 3/4 of the way along the trail, so it's a good place to stop and take a lunch break. 

There are about 3 total places to eat in this whole town and The Hollar has the nicest atmosphere with a large outdoor patio facing the main street.  New Mexico is famous for their green chili and it is indeed on every single menu I saw.  It is not really a spice pepper but a tangy one and it adds a level of flavor that I really enjoyed and now miss in NYC.  The menu here is classic Southwest cafe food - salads, sandwiches, burgers as well as a hint of Southern cuisine such as grits and fried green tomatoes.  We were all starving because we didn't really eat breakfast, so we started with the fried okra and I, of course, had to get the burger with green chili and swiss cheese on a pretzel bun with a side of potato salad.  This was all washed down with a cold local beer.  I was one happy girl at that moment. 

The fried okra was great - small bite size pieces that you could pop in your mouth and served with house made ranch dressing.  The okra was cooked just right - not too slimey and the fried crust was a light corn meal batter.  It definitely curbed our hunger right away.  The burger also was super satisfying.  It was a 1/2 lb angus burger cooked medium rare.  The pretzel bun was a nice option as it was very sturdy and kept all the juices and flavors together.  I kind of assumed that the green chili that would come with it would be more like a green salsa like consistency but it turned out to literally be roasted green chili peppers - so that was a bit disappointing.  But it still added some great pop to the meat and I could see why everything has green chili in it.  The potato salad was a redskin curry flavor potato salad with pickles which was a nice twist to a regular mayo based salad.  Deanna got the same burger but in a veggie version and on a buttermilk biscuit and Aarti got the fried green tomatoes with grits.  They both liked their meal but said that the grits had a bit too much black pepper on it. 

Overall, it was a lovely way to kick start our vacation.  The place had a folky hippie vibe which is exactly how I pictured New Mexico - so this place did not disappoint.  Everyone was pretty nice there and it felt like a chill local joint that even people from neighboring towns might check out.  Total bill:  $26/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Orlando's New Mexican Cafe   1114 Don Juan Valdez Lane, Taos, NM 87571                3 Forks

 We finally arrived in Taos in the afternoon and checked into our super cute Airbnb.  It was smack in the middle of town and within walking distance or a short drive away from most of the main shops and restaurants.  Our host had recommended checking out Orlando's which was a around the corner for our place.

I should have mentioned earlier that all the portions in New Mexico are HUGE.  I mean, you see it and your eyes are literally bulging at how much food is on the plate, yet somehow I always manage to finish everything.  The shrimp enchiladas came on blue corn tortillas which was a nice touch and it was smothered in green chili (what else?) and cheese.  I wish there were more pieces of shrimp as it felt a bit skimpy and the pieces I did have were overcooked a bit and dried out.  Aarti mentioned that her burrito was under-seasoned, which is surprising given how many ingredients were in it and Deanna's veggie bowl almost kind of looked like soup because of how watery the beans and tomatoes were.  

I should also mention that very few places in New Mexico seem to have a liquor license.  Most of the places we went to only had beer or wine or this really overly sweet wine margarita mixture.  While that isn't a deal breaker, it is kind of a bummer to have so much Mexican food without any tequilla. Overall, the meal was fine and was a nice foray into New Mexican food but we all thought that there was room for improvement for each of our dishes.  It was kind of like a nicer/sit down version of Chipotle.  Our waitress started off really nice, giving us a free taste of the wine margarita, but in the end kind of came off bored.  It might be because everything closes at 9pm in New Mexico and that they were trying to usher us out, which I can kind of understand if she was looking to get home quickly.  Total bill:  $15/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Shipwreck Grill Visited 8/27/2016 3.5 Forks

Shipwreck Grill  720 Ashley Ave., Brielle, NJ 08730

Ahh, the Jersey Shore.  It gets a bad rap from the show but if you are lucky enough to have friends who have houses down there, it can be a great weekend get away.  There are some really lovely towns that aren't the GTL crowd.  The great thing about beach towns is that they are usually filled with tons of yummy seafood restaurants.  So this past Saturday night while in Spring Lake, a bunch of us checked out Shipwreck Grill which was close the water and pretty crowded on a Saturday night.  They try to "class" it up a bit by putting a sign out in front saying that they don't allow service to anyone wearing shorts, flip flops, baseball hats, etc but when you're in a beach town, half the population is going to show up in flip flops, so good luck with that.  I guess they were going for a more mature crowd because the demographic here is definitely older and not for the fist pumping crowd. 

The menu here is classic traditional surf and turf fare:  lobster tails, fish, raw bar, and steaks.   As a seafood lover, I was thrilled with the options and had a really hard time deciding between all the fish entrees.  I ended up going for the lobster bisque ($9) to start and Amy and I shared the seared tuna ($28) and the halibut ($35) since we were both deciding between those 2 dishes.  

The lobster bisque was a fairly large sized portion and extremely rich.  It was too heavy handed with the sherry reduction and skimpy on the lobster pieces.  I know it's not a chowder and shouldn't be chunky but it I just felt like I was having a bowl of sherry with a hint of lobster instead of the other way around.  Next time I'll stick with calm chowder instead.  Luckily the fish dishes were better.  I started with the halibut which came with New Zealand green mussels (my favorite!!), potato chunks, pea tendrils, and asparagus all sitting in a light lobster broth.  The halibut was a nice light flakey white fish and was paired nicely with the lobster broth.  I loved the green mussel touch because you don't see them too often and it made me wish they had a whole entree focused around it.  Despite having so many ingredients throw together, the dish was actually very simple but constructed well. Half way through I switched to the seared tuna which was a very classic sesame crusted rare tuna steak served with braised cabbage and pea shoots.  Again, it wasn't anything too complex or sophisticated but it was a very solid and nicely cooked rare piece of tuna.  I would have liked more of the ginger soy glaze on it or perhaps a soy dipping sauce since the edges of the fish were a little dry (I guess I'm just really used to sashimi tuna which is much moister in texture). 

Overall, it was really pleasant adult meal.  While I wouldn't call this a really high end establishment by NYC standards, I can see how they are a bit more upscale than a traditional seafood shack by the water in a beach town where it is ok to roll in with shorts and flip flops.  Total bill:  $99/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Da Silvano Visited 8/16/2016 3.5 Forks

Da Silvano  260 6th Ave., New York, NY 10014

Da Silvano is fairly well known in New York as a great celeb spotting place in the spring/summer time.  They have a fairly large outdoor patio on a main drag in the West Village and I've heard that Rihanna and others frequent this place but sadly, there were no famous people on the night we were there. 

The vibe and staff are very old school Italian - the decor is a simple classic decor and the waiters are mostly older gentlemen.  They even bring out the fresh fish and langoustines to your table like they do in Europe.  As you would expect the menu here is more on the traditional side and it's very extensive with a whole separate specials menu that's as long as the actual menu.   We started with fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with cheese and fresh mozzarella with local Jersey tomatoes for the table.  Richelle, April and Jenn all got the lobster gnocchi which sounded amazing but I ended up going for the steak tartare ($24.50) because it was one of the few places where I've seen it listed as an entree and not an appetizer.  The appetizers were pretty standard fare - it's hard to go wrong with fried anything stuffed with cheese but the mozzarella was a bit of a let down as it wasn't as creamy or moist as other really outstanding fresh mozz dishes I've had before in the past.  

I was excited for my main entree because it was a really hot day and I was looking forward to eating something that was a bit lighter in fare.  The size of the steak tartare did not disappoint - it was indeed a full sized meal with a ton of tartare and served with some thin slices of toast, fries and a side salad. It was a simple dish as steak tartare should be - no fuss no muss just cut up pieces of raw beef, onions and other seasonings.  I was disappointed that there wasn't a raw egg with it nor was there any horseradish to it, which is generally how I love my steak tartare.  However, the texture of the dish was spot on and I felt pretty full by the end of the meal but not in a gross overheated way.  I guess I'm just super harsh on how I review my steak tartare dishes as I am with any runny egg dish which is why I am giving this place a sub 4 fork rating.  I had a bit of the girl's gnocchi and if I were reviewing on just that dish, this review may have gotten a 4 fork or higher review.  It was a wonderful potato gnocchi with actual chunks of fresh lobster in a mild tomato cream sauce.  They were pillow-y and not too heavy - it did made me regret a little bit that I didn't order it or at least get a pasta dish.  

We left room for a bit of dessert and got the bongo bongo ($10.50) which are beignets filled with vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with chocolate fudge on top.  It was a nice way to end the meal as it wasn't too heavy or rich and it was just 1 beignet for each of us.  It wasn't a mind blowing dessert and I kind of felt like it was a bit of a waste of calories.  I guess if I was going to have a 1,500 calorie meal, I would have gone with a tiramisu.  Where we did blow our calorie count was on wine.  They had a fairly decent wine line-up and we took full advantage of it but be prepared as it isn't really a cheap list. 

Overall, I'm glad I can finally say I came here, although I was sad to not have even a B-list celeb sighting.  I can see that they try hard to keep it old school here although it's not quite really as sophisticated or authentic as some other places I've been in in the city or Italy.  Total bill:  $120/pp with tax, tip and wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Emmy Squared Visited 8/12/2016 4.5 Forks

Emmy Squared 364 Grand St., Brooklyn, NY 11211

I was a bit hesitant to try Emmy Squared since I had such mixed feelings about its sister restaurant, Pizza Loves Emily.  While I loved the brutally overpriced burger there, neither Anuja nor I were in love with the pizza.  But I was so glad I tried this place because the pizza here is way better here and now Aarti and I are totally addicted to it. Luckily for me, it's located in Williamsburg but it's far away enough from my apartment that I won't eat it every day because I could totally see myself shoving my face with it every chance I get. 

Unlike the pizza at Pizza Loves Emily, which has thin crust pizza, the ones here are Detroit style, which honestly I have never heard of before.  What I do know what it's like is old school childhood style Pizza Hut pan pizza with a thick buttery delicious crust.  It's not like a Chicago deep dish where it's completely overloaded and the thickness of a library book but it's definitely got bite to it.  Similar to its sister restaurant, you can get red or white pizza - with the white not having any sauce.  It seems obviously but when we tried to order a white the waiter was like "You know it doesn't have sauce right?" and yet somehow I was still shocked by it.  In any case, we ordered 2 red pies - The Emmy ($18) and the Classic with peppers and mushrooms ($15 + $3 per extra topping).  We started with a kale salad ($12) just to make ourselves feel healthy.

The kale salad was a very simple but solid salad.  It was well massaged with olive oil and lemon juice as it didn't have any of the roughness kale can have if it's not dressed properly.  It was served with some dried cherries and pecorino cheese - basic ingredients but delicious.  It was the right amount of greens as a starter for the main attraction.

If you're not hungry or just bored, you can totally get away with splitting 1 pizza between two people as it comes with about 8 puffy square slices.  BUT why would you?  Order 2 and you can always take the extra home.  The Emmy came with mozzarella, banana peppers, onions, ranch and a side of sauce.  That's right.  I said god damn ranch dressing.  It may sound gross but it was wonderful and mind blowing.  Combined with the buttery, crispy crust and dipping sauce, I could see myself getting super fat eating this every Sunday during football season.  The banana peppers were super mild but added some really nice crunch and tang to each bite.  It was an excellent use of a lesser known pepper. The classic with the basic toppings of mushroom and peppers was also really delicious too. Definitely not as unique but there's something really comforting to me about a really great slice with a few veggie toppings that just hits the spot.

Aarti and I couldn't stop raving about this place.  Although I do have 2 gripes and frankly should have dropped the review down by 1/2 a fork but it's been so long since I've given a 4.5 fork rating, I decided to be generous.  One, the A/C is practically none existent here.  It's been a brutal few days of heat here in NYC and it should almost illegal to have your restaurant feel like someone is just blowing lukewarm air on your neck.  Second, the service was really not up to snuff.  While our waiter was nice enough, we barely saw him.  I had to flag him down for everything:  to take our drink order, to order our food, to get our bill and to pay our bill.  It's no doubt a very busy restaurant but he never really checked up on us during the meal and I find it unusual that a place that must need to turn tables over quickly would ignore us so much.  Regardless, I still love this place and you should too.  Total bill:  $47/pp with tax tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Chandler's Restaurant and Lounge Visited 8/6/2016 4 Forks

Chandler's Restaurant and Lounge  1 Ponto Rd., Carlsbad, CA 92011

Our last group dinner in San Diego was, of course, arranged and planned for by Vivi (event planner extraordinare).  While I generally am not huge fan of restaurants in hotels, they can be good options in cities that aren't flush with a plethora of fancy options like NYC, SF or even Chicago.  Similar to the Poseidon, Chandler's is all about the location and views.  It's got a lovely view of the beach and palm trees, so get there right before the sun sets.  Vivi had reserved the back section along with the fire pit, so we started the night with some cocktails by the fire while watching the sunset.  It doesn't really get any better than that. 

Once we were warmed up, we started with a few pre-ordered appetizers:  ceviche, burrata and heirloom tomatoes, crispy calamari and shrimp, and a cheese plate.  These were the exact appetizers I would have chosen to try if I had ordered on my own  - this is when you know you are in good company!  I went straight for the ceviche and it was surprisingly well done.  It was a combination of halibut, prawns, bay scallops, cucumber, hearts of palm, red onion, sweet peppers and lime with the perfect amount of acidity.  It was also a decently sized dish, so I could have seen myself eating it as a main entree too.  Next I tried the burrata and heirloom tomatoes and that was a winning dish too. What I love about eating in California is the abundance of delicious heirloom tomatoes.  It's one of the best things to eat in the summer time and pairing it with a smooth creamy burrata is one of my a favorite things to eat.  The calamari was a standard dish although I was a bit disappointed that the pieces they used for it were on the small side and the shrimp was more like heavily breaded popcorn shrimp.  I didn't end up trying the cheese plate but it looked like a nice spread of artisanal cheese, crackers and fruit.  There was actually 2 orders of everything so after noshing on all of this none of us were really starving for dinner.  

I ended up getting the ahi tuna poke with quinoa appetizer as a main because I had really just been overeating this entire trip and felt like I needed to slow it down and cleanse my palate a bit.  The tuna was raw sushi grade tuna served with rainbow quinoa, thai chili aioli, cucumber, seaweed, lime and ponzu.  It was exactly what I was looking for - light, refreshing and simple.  The fish had a nice clean taste to it and overall it felt like a really healthy dish to have after a weekend of stuffing my face with chips, churros and tacos. 

While I don't know what the San Diego/Carlsbad restaurant scene is really like, having sunset cocktails and dinner at Chandler's isn't a bad choice.  The menu isn't anything mind blowing or super creative but you can easily find something delicious and satisfying to eat while enjoying a cocktail or two.  Total bill:  N/A - graciously covered for by friends

Photo Credit:  Yelp