Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at The Headquarters

Sunday night we had the privilege of attending the ribbon cutting ceremony for The Headquarters at Seaport District. It was a great event that showcased the restaurants and retail occupying San Diego's Old Police Headquarters and really celebrated the SDPD history of that location. Yes we did have our photos taken in a jail cell with actor inmates and our drinks were served by bartenders dressed in SDPD's old tan uniforms. It was very very cool.

It's open! It's finally open!

There are many fabulous restaurants occupying The Headquarters and our first stop was Pizzeria Mozza. We got inside and my husband made a reservation for next weekend and I went straight to the counter to watch the cooks using the pizza oven. We were served refreshing spritzers, savory pizza, and their famous butterscotch budino. People! You need to try their budino! It's a thick velvety pudding topped with a caramel sauce and rosemary pine-nut cookie. 

I snapped an action shot of the pizza oven on overdrive.

Fennel and sausage pizza, really fresh. 

This is THE budino. Try it. 

Our next stop was Puesto. We have eaten at their La Jolla location so we knew what to expect, delicious tacos and drinks. That's exactly what we were served. What was new to us was the space and the design of Puesto. It's great! It's industrial and contemporary and the perfect spot to visit with your friends and family. There are many stylish sitting areas, inside and out. 

Just one of the sitting areas.

See the black and white floor? That's tile. Pretty cool.

Tacos al pastor and chile relleno. 

I've never eaten at Seasons 52 but have been wanting to. I thought I'd wait for The Headquarters location to open. Last night their staff was offering desserts. My husband tried the cannoli and I jumped at the pecan pie with vanilla mousse. OMG... So good. I'm looking forward to returning and trying their full menu where they proclaim all items are less than 475 calories. I've heard nothing but good reviews and can't wait to come back. 

Cheesecake Factory is one of the big anchor tenants at The Headquarters. Of course it is. They are famous for their big delicious entrees and their desserts. Guess what I sampled? Rich, creamy, dense chocolate cheesecake. Because The Headquarters is a historic building, the Cheesecake Factory had to do some custom design for this very special location. I must say that I think it's their best one. 

I was sad to see that Eddie V's won't be open until Februrary 2014. However, that is perfect timing for our wedding anniversary. ;) Even though their space isn't ready, the staff from Eddie V's was out in full effect offering succulent scallops for us to try. Delicious, and I can't wait for the grand opening.  

Delicious bite

In addition to all the restaurants, The Headquarters has specialty food shops and retail like Kitson, The Sunglass Hut, Venissimo Cheese, Geppettos, Starbucks and more.We loved it all. 

Venissimo Cheese

The night ended with a special performance by The Temptations and a sky full of fireworks. It was quite the evening and I hope that you will be enjoying The Headquarters at Seaport District. You'll have to see the transformation for yourself. The restaurants, the retail, the plaza, the fountains, everything. Enjoy! 

Fireworks over Puesto

Baked Eggs Over Chorizo and Potatoes

Back to reality... I just spent a really fun weekend at a friend's gorgeous cabin home overlooking Lake Cuyamaca. We played games, we drank tons of wine and champagne, we ventured into Julian, and overall just had a perfect little weekend.  It was a really good group of couples, no drama, everyone just getting along.

Here are the ladies, tasting at Orfila. I enjoyed the 2008 Old Vine Zin and the 2012 Element 119 Pinot Noir.

I picked up these goodies at the Julian Cider Mill. This morning I added the apple butter to my son's peanut butter sandwich. I'm hoping he eats it all. He's been a terrible eater lately.

Before going, we divided up the meals. Let me tell you what a treat this was. We did this when we went camping too. Each couple was responsible for a meal and by doing that, we get to taste what other people cook. One of my favorite things in the world is eating a home cooked meal, THAT SOMEONE ELSE PREPARED. We had Mike's famous lasagna, garlic bread, breakfast burritos, we had meatballs, buffalo chicken dip, nachos and more. Such a treat!

My turn to provide a meal was Sunday morning. After consulting a foodie friend of mine, I decided to make baked eggs over chorizo and potatoes. I found the recipe on Food and Wine's website. This recipe was pretty spot on and I only changed a few things to make it easier to prepare.

Browning the potatoes

Chorizo and onion mixture

The finished product

The perfect bite!

This recipe serves 5 and will take about 45 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients
3  16 ounce cans of whole potatoes
2  10 ounce Mexican pork chorizos
10 eggs
1/2 large sweet Mayan onion
10 tortillas

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Chop up your canned potatoes and set aside.
Heat your pan over high heat and cut open the chorizo. Break down that chorizo and move around. It's done when the stringiness is gone and it's brown.
Chop your onion and add.
Cook and stir the chorizo and onion mixture for 5 minutes and empty it into a separate bowl.
Put your chopped potatoes into the pan and season them with salt and pepper. Cook them until they brown up, about 5 minutes.
Add the chorizo mixture to the potatoes and combine.
In a 9x13 pan (I lined mine with foil for easy clean up), add the chorizo and potatoes.
Using a spoon, try to make little dents for your eggs and crack your eggs into the dents.
Bake for 10 minutes. It's done when the whites of the eggs are opaque.
Enjoy with tortillas.

Our Family Staycation at Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Let me clear the air and admit that I haven't posted on The Good Life since June. It's October people and I'm finally going to write something down, upload photos, and post.  I just need to get back in the habit and I already know what I'm going to post next.

Many months ago, we stayed at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. It's a lovely hotel with great views, sleek rooms, fantastic service (you'll see when you read about my son's bee sting), a pool to die for and good food and drinks. If you're a San Diego resident and looking for a weekend staycation, I highly recommend staying here. It's one of my favorite places in San Diego. And if you don't live in San Diego, like maybe you live in Reno, Nevada or Bismarck, North Dakota, plan your next trip and make a reservation here.

We requested a corner room and here's why, THE VIEW. We were able to look out at  Embarcadero Marina Park South, the convention center, and the Coronado bridge. Seeing these views feels like vacation. 

Heavenly salt water pool

 

 

While relaxing at the pool, we were able to enjoy the view of the beautiful San Diego Bay and Coronado. 

My poor boy was stung by a bee. The silver lining was the attention we received from the staff. When he started screaming in pain, two staff members were there immediately with a first aid kit. My husband removed the stinger and they gave us something to clean his owie. Then they gave my son (they asked me first) a chocolate dipped Rice Krispie treat and a chocolate chip cookie. I'd also like to add that one of the staff members stayed near us for at least 15 minutes to make sure my son didn't have an allergic reaction to the bee sting. Thankfully he didn't.

This is the toddler splash pool. Fun! Behind it is the water slide with a giant TV playing Sponge Bob.

What hotel stay isn't complete without a little dessert room service?  That's carrot cake and an ice cream cookie sandwich.