San Diego Best Attractions

The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma is a boutique hotel decorated in vintage swanky 60′s decor. They host a variety of events in the bar/pool areas, including movie nights, co-working events, meetups, bingo, and holiday events.

On October 20th, they hosted their annual pumpkin carving contest. They provided the pumpkins and the tools, pumpkin carvers provided the creativity. They had Frankenstein projected on the big screen over the pool and specialty cocktails being shaken up for the night.

There were about 30 guests transforming their gourds into everything from intricately detailed patterns to cats to traditional faces. One man even brought his power tools. The winners were a mustached pumpkin face, an angry bird, and Snookie (complete with cocktail in her mouth). Prizes included a one night stay at the Pearl and gift certificates to the restaurant.

If you haven’t been to the Pearl, I highly recommend checking out one of their events. Check out the event calender here: The Pearl

Tonight was the Smartest Man Alive event by SmartWater at the La Jolla Strip Club. It was a wonderful event. Executive chef James Stephenson hosted the event. He taught us how to make grilled veggies, a specialty Caesar salad, and surf & turf. We learned how to cook a steak, how to grill lettuce for the salad, how to marinade, how to chop basil, and how to pair wine. Valley of the Moon winery was there to teach us about the wine and how to test it. Rock 105.3 radio station was there giving away prizes and SmartWater sponsored the event.

La Jolla Strip Club is an interesting restaurant concept. It is a chophouse with grills where you grill your own steaks. They also have a huge selection of vodkas at the martini bar and every martini is only $7.

Visit their website: www.lajollasteak.com

I had the pleasure of being able to sample some of the gourmet cookie sandwiches from The Cookie Sandwich Co… OMG!!!! I tried the s’more, the red velvet, the peanut butter, and the carrot cake and they were all delicious. The s’more flavor is my favorite. They are a nice size and you definitely can satisfy your sweet tooth with just one. They don’t have a shop but they ship anywhere and they cater. The cookie sandwiches are really pretty and come individually wrapped. Some people give them away as party favors since they make good gifts. They have been featured in all kinds of magazines and TV shows and even have celebrities ordering them. They are a local San Diego company and the owner is really cool, too.

You can find out more info and order here:  Cookie  Sandwiches

Point Loma Seafoods is one of my favorite lunch spots. It is a little place with fresh fish right on the bay with beautiful views of the downtown skyline. It is a bit pricey but everything is freshly caught.  They have sandwiches, fish plates, soups, salads, and sushi. They also have a large selection of wines and smoked fish. It’s a great place for getting together with friends or even a business lunch. One of my favorite things to get is the crab sandwich. It has a good amount of real lump crab meat on fresh sourdough bread and their tartar sauce is the best. No fake crab meat in their sushi, either.

Right now they are in a temporary location right behind their normal location because they are building a whole new restaurant. When you order you just walk right up to the counter, there is no line, and then you get a number for them to call you with when it is ready. Then you pick a table and wait. I have tried the seared ahi salad, the crab and shrimp sandwiches, the petite shrimp salad,  the seaweed salad, the California rolls, the smoked salmon, the chicken strips, and the clam chowder. Everything was very fresh and yummy.

If you want a casual place with nice views where you can enjoy a bottle of wine and some fresh seafood, this is the place. Visit their website for more info: Point Loma Seafoods

View from Point Loma Seafoods

I wandered into Tequila 100 (Alambres?) at the suggestion of my friend. They have free karaoke on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and since I love karaoke I was quick to agree. It is not a very big place. They serve Mexican food and drinks. Much to my delight, when I checked into Foursquare I saw that not only did I get free chips and salsa, I also got $2 drinks all night!!!! Hell yeah! Cheap drinks and karaoke is a great start to any place.

There weren’t that many people there when we first got there around 10pm but that was fine with me because more people equals less chances for me to sing. We started to notice that pretty much everyone who sang had a fantastic voice (which I actually think is lame since I don’t sing very well but whatever) and great choice in music. My friends sang Sinatra and Bob Marley. We heard classics from Alanis Morissette, Vanilla Ice, and Dr. Dre, as well as newer music from Bruno Mars and Pink. They definitely have a great selection of music.

By the end of the night everyone was dancing together, high fiving, and acting like old friends. This is now my new favorite karaoke place!

Cafe Sevilla Restaurant and Nightclub has a new home on 5th Avenue. The layout is more open but the space is about the same size as the old location. I was there for one of their grand opening parties. It was supposed to start at 8pm but apparently they were having issues in the kitchen and didn’t let anyone in. I was a bit miffed about this but quickly forgave them when they handed me a drink and a chicken skewer as I walked in the door. I never had to wait for a drink. The Sangria was delicious and I liked the mai tais that were flowing during the party.

I got to sample a lot of the food. The chicken skewers and paella seemed a little dry (but maybe that had to do with the issues in the kitchen?) but the rice had a lot of different meats and seafood in it. I really enjoyed both flavors of empanadas and the brava potatoes. The sauteed mushrooms and gazpacho were yummy, too. I would definitely come back here to eat.

On the main floor there is a lively bar area where they had a live Flamenco band that was fabulous. They took requests and they played Gypsy Kings for us.  Upstairs is a nicer, more private dining area and downstairs they have their signature salsa dancing area. They have salsa dancing lessons Thursday nights at 8:30pm.

My friends and I had a blast at the grand opening party. If you’re looking for a nice place to take a date for live music or salsa, this is definitely the place.