Another 10 Day Dining Review with Pics! Completed!

[DLFan123]

After our meals (and boxing up half the food), we knew we shouldn't have dessert. But that didn't stop us!

Besides the typical Italian desserts, they had a special, Snickers Crème Brulee. We chose that:


For us, although this was good, it was a bit of a miss. The crème brulee was nice, but baked in were bits of snickers bar, including bits of peanuts. I'm not sure if you've ever had cooked peanuts, but I have, and I'm not crazy about them. They get a little gummy...

Then this was served with whipped cream and Hershey's syrup. (We watched our server applying the syrup.)

It wasn't bad. It certainly was sweet and decadent, but I think I would have been just as happy with plain crème brulee (actually, probably happier). We were so full when we left here, and we headed back to the Beach Terrace Inn feeling satisfied.

There had been a bit of an issue with the cleanliness of our room on our arrival, so when we got back to our room, we found this:


Not the worst way to say you're sorry...

We didn't open this right away. I don't particularly like cabernet, so we decided to wait until the next evening, and we planned to stop at a local liquor store to get something bubbly for me while DP could enjoy the cab.

Next up, the hotel's breakfast spread plus lunch/dinner at Harbor Fish Café.

 

[pumba]

your photos and reviews are fantastic...I agree...I have to purchase now too ..guacomole and sour cream...have to have those two if I want any type of nachos or chips or chimmichunga...my favorite stuff....thanks for California style photos.

 

[DLFan123]

The next morning, we were up to the sounds of the waves, and after a cup of coffee on our ocean front balcony, we headed to check out the complimentary breakfast spread:



They had several kinds of breads, as well as some pastries and yogurt.
There was also some juice and cucumber-citrus water. At another station, they had a selection of coffee and teas.


Some fruit...



There were tables and chairs set up on the veranda, but we chose to sit on the rocking chairs facing the waves.

We noticed these cute succulents on the tables:


So charming and adorable!

We both chose to keep it pretty basic, wanting to hit the beach before long:



This was my plate. I love raisin toast! The Danish was nice and soft, too. The fruit was good.

DP chose this:


I believe her pastry was filled with fig. It was much tastier than mine, and I thought I might go for one of those the next morning.

They also had a cereal station and some hot oatmeal that I didn't photograph. All in all, it's a good breakfast, similar to "club level" breakfasts at WDW, and more than we needed to start our day.

Coming up next, dinner at Harbor Fish, a famous Carlsbad dive.

 

[pumba]

wonder if her fig pastry was like fig squares..or raisin squares...whatever it is ..IT LOOKS DELICIOUS...thanks again

 

[vettegirl]

Wow waking up to the ocean and free breakfast, sounds like my kind of morning

 

[DLFan123]

Wow waking up to the ocean and free breakfast, sounds like my kind of morning

Yes I could go for that kind of morning right now. The breakfast really was great, most especially because having it reminded me a lot of CL at WDW!

 

[DLFan123]

wonder if her fig pastry was like fig squares..or raisin squares...whatever it is ..IT LOOKS DELICIOUS...thanks again

Actually, it was a prune filling. My mistake! I was just thinking of fig newtons at the time. But it tasted a lot like a fig newton, now that I think of it. It was really good.

 

[DLFan123]

We spent the day on the beach, collecting seashells, walking along the coast and swimming in the ocean. It was a perfect day.

For lunch, I think we just snacked on chips and sodas from our room. Just the kind of thing you want when you're relaxing on the beach!

For dinner, we knew what we'd be having. Every year in Carlsbad as a kid, DP and her family would eat at Harbor Fish Café, a local favorite and somewhat famous dive right along the beach. It's also a great place to watch the sunset, but we had other plans for sunset this evening.

We headed over to Harbor Fish about 5:30 so that we could eat and walk back to our own little beach spot in time for the sunset later.



Here is a photo of their menu in case any of you would like the address or phone number to make a visit!

It's really a dive kind of place, with only outdoor seating, rolls of paper towels on the tables, and no frills at all.

For that, I think it's a little expensive.




Compared to Disney food, though, it's really not too bad. The portions are good, and you could easily just order one item, but of course we always get really excited and order WAY TOO MUCH FOOD!

This evening, I was feeling like something light and refreshing to kick things off.

DP and I decided to split a shrimp cocktail:


This was so delicious. The shrimp were tasty and fresh!

For my dinner, I wanted the jumbo fried shrimp and fries:


These were most likely the same shrimp I had eaten in the shrimp cocktail, and they were just perfect! The batter here is really good. They explained to me there is a fried shrimp meal, which includes smaller shrimp breaded and fried. Then there is *this* meal, which includes the fresh caught jumbo shrimp that are battered. I will always choose batter of breading, so this was perfect for me. The fries are fine. They are just fries. The cocktail sauce here is good!

DP chose a fish a la carte:


Yummy as always, she proclaimed! She loves the fried fish at HFC. I think it is probably her favorite ever.

Along with an order of fried clams and fries:


She actually agreed to order this to share with me, so it's no surprise it was sitting in front of me in this picture!

If there is anything I think you could skip eating at HFC, it would be the fried clams. I'm pretty sure these were just frozen, pre-breaded fried clams. They were chewy and overcooked, too.

Overall, our meal at HFC was delicious, and we will most certainly be sure not to miss this spot when we are in Carlsbad!

 

[DLFan123]

After dinner, we headed back down the beach to our hotel to watch the sunset. We'd decided earlier to watch from the pool deck overlooking the beach, to avoid getting all sandy and also to have a little more privacy. What DP didn't know was that I'd been carting around a surprise for her, all over Southern California. To explain requires a little back story, not a food review, but indulge me here.

DP and I have been together for many years now. We've never been one of those same-sex couples who felt it necessary to have a ceremony for the sake of ceremony, so even though we knew we were committed in the same way as those couples who do, we've constantly been mistaken for two friends on vacation, two friends at the grocery store, single women living as roommates and without partners. On vacations, we've selected king sized beds for our rooms, only to be told at check-in, by a cheerful but misunderstanding staff person, "We've got two queen beds for you instead. You'll be more comfortable that way!" Growing weary of this misunderstanding, DP and I had decided a while back that we'd like to get rings for each other, to demonstrate our commitment but also so that people would see the rings and maybe understand that we are a couple (without us having to explain each time). Knowing how much DP hates shopping (and how much I love it!), I decided to pick out a special ring for her and present it to her as a gift on this trip. I had a great experience shopping at a fine, family jewelers in Denver (thank you Jennifer at Oster!), and when I was shopping, the jeweler I worked with said, "If you are getting a ring, why aren't you having a wedding?" This led me down this whole new world of ideas...the thought of a wedding was so special and exciting, and it was legal (again) in California, and with a lot of national momentum, would most likely be legal in Denver sometime in the next year...so with the hand-made ring I'd chosen in hand, I started really thinking that I would not only like to give DP the ring, but would also like it to symbolize our decision to *finally* have a legal ceremony and get married!

After carrying that ring around from hotel to hotel, I'd decided the most perfect place to present it to my DP would be on this particular leg of the trip, at sunset, by the beach. We had the wine given to us by the hotel, and we'd saved that for this evening. Because I don't care for cabernet, we stopped to grab a bottle of sparkling wine for me.

At the liquor store on the main street, we chose this:

 

[DLFan123]

(This photo was taken in our kitchen back at home, because the wine came in little three packs and of course I didn't drink all of it that evening.)

What is so funny is that the guy at the liquor store apparently doesn't get a lot of requests for sweet white wine, and when I asked, after suggesting a bottle of Fireball first, he finally suggested this. This is perhaps the sweetest wine I've ever had. I wouldn't really call it wine. It had the alcohol content listed, and it basically is like non-alcoholic wine.

DP and I were laughing at our foolishness.

We settled in to our lounge chairs with our glasses of wine, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset:


It was a really nice evening. Only problem was, the opportunity I'd been waiting for never presented itself. Just as I was about to pull DP's new ring from my pocket (never mind how nerve-wracking it was carrying around a ring of this value in my pocket!), a man carrying a giant iguana showed up, of course drawing a huge crowd, and our romantic evening on the beach watching the sunset became a science-class show and tell for all of the beach-goers who were of course very excited to learn all about iguanas. The moment and opportunity was lost, DP sipped her cabernet and I sipped my grape juice/sparkling wine, and the next thing we knew, it was dark.

And time for a snack! First we made a stop by the room so I could sneakily place the ring back into our in-room safe, and we headed up the street to the Cold Stone.

DP chose this:


Pistachio ice cream (with a side of Lake #3 and Yellow #5). It was good!

I chose this:


It's been so long, I'll admit I don't even remember what this was. It was good though. It was mostly likely chocolate chip cookie dough with chocolate sauce.

We both enjoyed our snack, finishing most of it off with a second bottle of sweet sparkling grape juice in our room. The next day, we were headed down to San Diego. DP had no idea how frustrated I was, having to carry that ring around to yet another destination. I'd pretty much decided I would just bring the ring back to Denver and give it to her there, because I was certain that there wouldn't be another good opportunity remaining. After all, the next hotel we would be visiting was a historic property in Old Town San Diego, rumored to be haunted, and although we were both very excited about staying there, it wasn't exactly something that I imagined to be very romantic.

Up next, San Diego, some more great local seafood at Anthony's Fish Grotto and I finally give DP the ring!

 

[DLFan123]

The next morning, we were up early to eat breakfast. Again, we had the hotel's complimentary morning spread.

We started with our usual, coffee:


Gotta love those pineapple tables!


This day, DP chose a different pastry:


She enjoyed the fruit, but she said the pastry wasn't as good as the prune pastry from the day before.

I chose a Danish again, this time with a different fruit filling:


This was raspberry. We both noticed the pastries today seemed a little drier. I think they were leftovers from the morning before. Still, free breakfast just sitting there waiting for us is really nothing to complain about.

We headed out from the Beach Terrace Inn, checking out and sad to leave the lovely town of Carlsbad. We made one quick stop on the way out of town, at a lagoon where we did some hiking:


Did you know that Carlsbad is well-known for their wonderful lagoons? They are apparently quite the habitat for lots of local flora and fauna, each their own ecosystem and home to lots of species of birds. We enjoyed a little trek at this giant lagoon, and then we hopped back in the car for the 10 mile drive south to San Diego.

 

[DLFan123]

When we arrived in San Diego, we stopped at one of my favorite places for lunch, Anthony's Fish Grotto. There is the nicer table-service restaurant adjacent to the grotto, and then there is the grotto, which is where we typically eat. There are outdoor tables with a great view of the bay, and you just order your food at a walk-up window, then they call your number and you go to collect your food. This is hands down my favorite destination for seafood, and I like the selection of mostly fried food at the grotto versus nicer, grilled items at the restaurant. There is just something about their batter!

One of us ordered while the other secured a nice little table by the windows:



Some views of the bay:



The restaurant was crowded today, as usual.



I just love San Diego!


DP decided to branch out a bit and go with the fish tacos, which were served with a side of rice and beans:


She really liked these. The tartar sauce and cabbage went perfectly with the fish. There was also a bit of sour cream on these. I heard no complaints and DP was quite pleased with her selection.



The beans and rice were pretty plain, nothing to write home about. She felt they were unnecessary, but they had just come with the tacos.

I chose the combo fried fish and shrimp:


These were perfectly delicious as always! I absolutely love the fried food at Anthony's! The shrimp were just the right bite-sized shrimp.

These come with a side, but apparently I decided the fish and shrimp was enough fried food for one lunch. I chose the pasta salad as my side:


This was really good! It was macaroni salad with a cream-based dressing, herbs, and some bay shrimp and imitation krab meat. I loved this!



Here is a receipt so you can see what we paid. Much cheaper than Harbor Fish!

As always, Anthony's did not disappoint. This is always a must-do for us when in San Diego. The seafood is always fresh and delicious, and we love the ease of dining here. Just a warning though, the atmosphere can be a little frenetic, sometimes the tables can be a mess. It definitely is a dive like the Harbor Fish Café, but it is totally worth the stop.

Up next, a much nicer dining experience at the old town Cosmopolitan Restaurant.

 

[DLFan123]

Good morning everyone. It is my goal to wrap up this dining review in the next couple of days. But first, I've got another non-food review segment. So If you're here strictly for the food, skip this post.

After lunch, we spent some time at the Maritime Museum in the bay, then headed over to the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town to get checked in. This is it:



Very charming and unique!

We checked in with the "innkeeper" of the property, then were escorted upstairs to our room.

This was the veranda outside of the rooms:



Each room has a little table outside the door, and we were told our breakfast would be served on our table the next morning.

This was our room:



We were given a brief history of the property, and we learned that all of the furnishings at the Cosmo are antiques. Plus there are no modern conveniences like telephones or TVs.

Right away we both fell in love with the Cosmo!

 

[DLFan123]

After getting settle in the room, we headed to check out the Old Town Historic State Park. We walked just adjacent to the Cosmo and found the Casa de Estudillo. This is a museum, former site of inspiration for a very famous book about a young woman's marriage, and thus had become somewhat famous in the early 20th century.

This is the courtyard:


It was like a smaller, more intimate (and secular) version of the Mission San Juan Capistrano. It had that same feel to me...

We stopped by the old general store to pick up a cold sassafras tea:



This had a very interesting flavor. Even though we didn't really enjoy it, drinking it made us feel even more thoroughly transported back in time to the 19th century. Not only had we fallen in love with the Cosmo, but with the entire Old Town state park.

We did a bit more shopping, soaking in the flavor of European meets southwestern culture.

It was a hot day, so eventually we headed back to our room to cool off. On our way back up, we discovered a "secret" corridor that led to the inner veranda of the Cosmopolitan. From there, you could look down into the boutique hotel's courtyard restaurant:



I'm not sure any of this could have been more charming to us.

Back in the room, and aware of the fact that the room lacked modern convenience, including a safe (for DP's ring), I made the decision right then and there to give DP her ring. After all, we were immersed in what was our perfect place for a wedding. DP had even said herself, "Wouldn't this be the nicest place for a wedding?" when we arrived to check in. (Although I'm not thinking she was thinking of us, exactly...)

We saw the place with new eyes after I presented her with the ring. She loved the ring and agreed we should have a wedding, and we set out to determine if the Cosmo could deliver the level of service and taste we'd expect from a wedding venue, plus to figure out if they could accommodate a ceremony over at the Casa de Estudillo and a reception in their courtyard. The answer to all of these questions was yes, and we were on cloud 9.

Up next, a wonderful experience in the Cosmopolitan's restaurant. (Back to the food!)

 

[DLFan123]

We headed downstairs for dinner at 6. We had made a reservation on check-in, but I think they can almost always accommodate walk-ins at this restaurant, except maybe on the busiest of nights.

We decided to start with a cocktail.

I chose the strawberry margarita frozen with sugar:


This was so good, and it was pretty heavy on the tequila. I didn't really mind, since our room was just up one flight of stairs.

DP chose the mojito:


She really liked this. She declared it much better than her mojito from the Cove Bar.

Is anyone else having trouble with the disboards or is it my computer? Every time I try to post, it seems like something gets really bogged down. The "Upload a File" button quits responding to me.

 

[DLFan123]

Here is a menu shot to give you an idea:



We decided to start with an appetizer. We chose the spinach dip with housemade potato chips:



OMG this is heaven in a skillet. The dip caught us by surprise because in addition to spinach and cheese, there were mushrooms in there. We both love mushrooms, so we were thrilled. The potato chips are the best I've ever had! This was by far the hit of the night for us both.

They served bread to us, accompanied by a homemade fig butter:



This was really good. The fig spread really elevated it. It was also pretty sweet to look around the garden of the courtyard and observe all the fig trees in bloom. It just made the fig butter seem extra special.

For my meal, I chose the parmesan crusted shrimp scamp, which was served with ravioli:



This was very rich, very tasty. There was nothing wrong with this, but by this time, I was starting to feel very full!

DP chose the nut-crusted fresh catch, which for this evening was mahi mahi:



She was quite impressed with this. She is pretty fussy about her fish, but she absolutely loved this. It was served with a bean salsa and roasted potatoes underneath. She gobbled up every bite, even though she, like me, was pretty stuffed by now.

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the Cosmo hotel and restaurant in Old Town San Diego, so much so that we'd be back to eat there multiple times over the next year!

 

[DLFan123]

Even though we'd stuffed ourselves at dinner, when we got back to our room, we just had to sample some of the homemade candy we'd purchased earlier in the day at the Cousins Old Fashioned candy store.



This one was my favorite:



It was something with peanut butter:



We went to sleep full and happy. The next morning, we were awoken at the time we'd requested by a little tap on our door. We could hear a voice say, "Your table is ready now."

We went out onto the veranda, still in PJs, and we saw this:



Pretty much the most charming thing ever! The coffee was hot and waiting for us. There was a basket of hot scones, homemade marmalade jam, apple and orange juices, as well as butter, cream and sugar.



I don't like marmalade, but these preserves were divine!



The scones look totally unimpressive, but let me tell you...OMG. They were the best scones I have ever had. (I don't really like scones at all, except the ones at Jolly Holiday Bakery, but these are better than those.) This was hot, it had a nice crispy shell, and was soft inside. It went perfectly with the jam. We were totally impressed and pretty happy with our nice light breakfast.

Up next, a snack at the Maritime Museum and apparently we ate another meal at Anthony's!

 

[superme80]

I love your report! Old Town San Diego is a favorite of mine. Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

 

[DLFan123]

I love your report! Old Town San Diego is a favorite of mine. Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

Thank you so much! Yes we love San Diego. To give you an idea of how late this review is being wrapped up...we already got married! So I need to get this finished so I can start my next Disney food review about all the food we ate on our honeymoon (because if you decide to finally have a wedding, you also decide you deserve a honeymoon!).

 

[DLFan123]

After we finished up the quaintest breakfast ever, we headed over to the Maritime Museum in the harbor. Because it was Labor Day weekend, they were having a festival, and we picked up a shaved ice from one of the street vendors:



This was a repeat of a favorite snack we'd had the year before. The last time, the ice was shaved perfectly, nice and light and not too frozen in icy chunks. This wasn't quite as good. It was cold and refreshing, though, which was perfect for the heat wave in San Diego at the time.

After our snack, we took a ferry tour. We saw this guy during the tour:


He was my favorite part! He was so cute, just rolling around and sunning himself.

After the tour, we found ourselves back at our favorite spot, Anthony's!

I decided to start with something new:


A bowl of nice, creamy clam chowder!

This was really good. It was perfectly creamy with lots of soft clams in it. It wasn't filled with too many potatoes. It is much better, I think, than the clam chowder at Disneyland (which is still really good).

We also split this appetizer:



Although the shrimp were good, this wasn't nearly as good as the shrimp cocktail at Harbor Fish. The cocktail sauce at Anthony's is more peppery, and it almost reminds me of hot sauce. Because of that, I don't really need to have the shrimp cocktail there again.

We also split a tuna melt for our meal:


This was really very good! It may just look like the type of tuna melt you can get at Village Inn, but the tuna salad was much better than that! The fries are just frozen fried potatoes, I think. They were fine.

After we had our fill of heat and seafood, we headed back to the Cosmo to cool off.

While there, we polished off the cousins candy.



This was a caramel filled piece.



And this was filled with walnut cream.

Both were good, but the peanut butter piece from the night before was still the stand out.

Up next, dinner at Seaport Village.