Viva Viva Pops!

To improve upon something as perfect as a popsickle, now that's a company after my heart! Viva Pops has been serving up frozen deliciousness on a stick since the summer of 2008. Whether you are enjoying their delicious frozen confections at one of San Diego's local farmers markets or from their shop in Normal Heights these innovative flavors packed full of fresh local seasonal fruits are just the treat for a hot summer day (or chilly day eaten in your car with the heater on)!

Take me out to the ballgame take me out to the crowd...

Buy me some gluten free beer and a hot dog...wait that's not how it goes, or is it!?



It's true! It's true! It's true!!! Petco Park in San Diego has a gluten free food cart! Nestled in a corner near the Omni hotel entrance to the park the all gluten free cart offers hot dogs and hamburgers on the yummiest ever gluten free buns, pretzels, hummus and veggies, and yes, even gluten free beer!



Boy was I ever a happy camper! I think this was my first time ever having a hot dog and a beer at a ball game, it felt like an American summer time rite of passage. One thing is for sure this gluten free gal is going to be attending quite a few ballgames this summer!

Deliciosness on wheels

After years of drooling over the fabulous food truck scene in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland (swoon!) San Diego has at last hopped on the bandwagon. The past few years have brought with them a number of scrumptious new mobile food providers, many with regulars and raving fans that follow the trucks just to get a taste of their daily deliciousness. As part of my job I have had the pleasure of sampling and getting to know many of these gourmet restaurants on wheels (I know, such work! ;-) It's hard to pick and choose but for your dining pleasure I will share two of the gems I have most recently found myself frequenting.

Miho Gastrotruck



Whether serving lunch in a business park, dishing up dinner at the Whistlestop, or popping up to share their mouthwatering creations at events around the town, Miho has taken food truck cuisine to a whole new level of delicious in San Diego. They specialize in hand crafted street food and they master this beautifully by using fresh ingredients sourced from local farms and food purveyors, and making many of their sauces and condiments from scratch.



Their menu changes weekly and varies by season, which in my opinion speaks very highly of their creativity and brilliance in the kitchen. As a longtime fan or Homi as they call it, I have tried many different dishes and never once has one made me feel anything less than completely enamored with their ability to combine ingredients in such a delectable fashion.




Tabe



Tabe has taken two of my favorite cuisines and managed to combine them in a way that leaves my taste buds hollering for more. Using some of the most delicious flavors found in Asian cuisine and melding them with Mexican they have created a delicious new twist on street tacos.

One of my favorites are the spicy pork tacos, pork marinated in a spicy Korean sauce then grilled and served up soft taco style or atop a bed of lettuce for us gluten free folks (on occasion they carry corn tortillas too, just ask!).



They also have an amazing take on the So.Cal classic, carne asada fries. Fresh cut fries topped with cheese, their yummy tomato salsa and sour creme. Made Tabe style by seasoning the fries with their custom blended Asian spice mix and melting the cheese atop with a blow torch (so cool!).



There are so many more to list, like Joe's on the Nose and their amazing horchata latte. Oh and Corner Cupcakes and their creative offering of gourmet cupcakes like buttermilk bacon and chocolate stout! Sadly, I do not yet have any photos to share from these, guess that means someone is going to be going out food truck sampling again soon! Stay tuned!

For the love of a lovely gluten free lunch

Once upon a time when I was a full time office manager working in Solana beach and this little bloggy blog was still brand new I use to write lovingly about one of my favorite lunch spots, Waters Catering. So much has happened since then, moving to a new office then to a new job, in a new part of the city that was not within lunch break distance of my dear Waters on hwy 101. But wait, just when I thought all hope to frequently dine at this most delicious of restaurants was lost I remembered there was a second Waters Catering location only a hop skip and a jump away from my office! Hurray!

As always I had my favorite sandwich, the turkey panini on house made gluten free focaccia bread (swoon!), a decadent chocolate peanut butter bar, and an Orangina.

They also had these delicious cinnamon crisps for sale, so yummy!

Cinco De Mayo Fiesta

I have never really done anything festive for Cinco De Mayo and so my dearest friend Kate, whom I have been friends with since we were toddlers, decided that at age 30 it was high time we celebrated this festive holiday properly.

We started off the evening at El Camino Super Cocina in Little Italy where we…

Had our picture taken with a Zonkey! (though I think he was really a pony so that would make him more of a Zoney I suppose). Nonetheless he was super cute and I felt like this definitely qualified as proper Cinco de Mayo festiveness.

Unfortunately, El Camino was way too packed to sit for a proper meal, which was sad because their food is amazing!! Last time I was there their nightly special was baked chile relleno, yes it was baked not fried and not breaded meaning completely gluten free and very much swoon worthy as far as deliciousness goes.

Before heading out we squeezed our way to the bar for a celebratory toast with tequila served in itty bitty boot glasses (so cute!)

Even though we were sad to not be eating at El Camino we were not that sad because instead we got to go to my favorite pizza place in San Diego.

Pizza Fusion

Gluten free crust topped with tri color peppers, mozzarella and the most delicious pepperonis I have ever tasted. I could not have picked a better meal for Cinco de Mayo or any night of the week for that matter.

They also just happened to have a new gluten free cider on the menu.

Fox Barrel Black Currant Cider. Now I am not typically a huge beer or cider gal but this stuff may have just chanced that. The flavor of the currant really comes out in the most perfect subtlety sweet not at all bitter way, I think I have a new favorite beverage to pair with pizza!

We may not have stuck to the typical Cinco de Mayo theme as far as celebrating goes but I must say I think we did it up just right.