When Rudy told me he would be in San D for a class and that I should come spend the night when his class was finished I was excited. San D is one of my favorite places to be. I loved the idea that I could share my favorite places with him Then I found out that Seaport Village, which is one of my very favorite places, was located right behind his hotel and we could access it from there. His hotel was also very close to the Gaslamp District, which is an area full of shops, restaurants and art galleries. Score.
I suggested that we go to the Gaslamp District for dinner. To the Old Spaghetti Factory. I have been to The Old Spaghetti Factory many times. When I was married to CS we never took a trip to San D that did not include a dinner there. Back in the day it used to have an old Trolley car inside. I made sure that my kids got to eat in the Trolley a couple of times. It meant a wait time much longer than the norm but they loved having their spaghetti in the Trolley. My sentiment about The Old Spaghetti Factory isn't the reason I wanted to have dinner there with Rudy.
The real reason I wanted to show Rudy The Old Spaghetti Factory is because CS and his new wifey choose this place as the ideal spot for their wedding reception. I guess he loves the Factory way more than I do because I would never want to have a wedding reception there.
We returned to our room to freshen up after our walk out by the ocean. After a brief appetite-whetting interlude we headed down to speak with the Concierge. Once we had rough directions we headed out for a nice walk to the Gaslamp District. We found the correct street and after a stop at Chuck Jones gallery (from Looney Tunes fame) to take in visions of Dr.Seuss, DC Comics and the Roadrunner/Coyote we crossed over and were soon seated for dinner.
The Old Spaghetti Factory is a nice but slightly noisy and busy restaurant and sadly our beloved Trolley is no longer there. I laughed as I looked around, at the thought of CS having his reception there. Even in a private area it is still a very busy and very noisy place.
We ordered our dinner and were soon happily eating our salads and enjoying the loaf of fresh bread. My choice for entree was the Semolina Pasta topped with Sicilian Meatballs which consisted of Two large roasted beef meatballs delicately seasoned then covered with Marinara Sauce. Very Yummy. And you should have seen the size of those meatballs. {That's what she said}. Rudy chose the Spinach Tortellini with Alfredo Sauce, which consisted of Hat shaped pasta, stuff with a delicious blend of meat and cheese. Both Entrees were very good. mmmmm
After dinner we wandered upstairs to the bar to take a peek at the actual bar. The atmosphere was nice up there. Rudy commented that it would be a great place to go and watch a game. I enthusiastically agreed. The bar itself was quite cool. Literally. The top portion of the dark wood was a river of ice where one could set their drink to keep it cool without watering it down by putting ice into the drink. I loved it.
We left The Old Spaghetti Factory on a mission. We had decided to go for drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe. I had actually never been to a Hard Rock Cafe so I was quite happy to go check one out. We took the scenic route {which of course is code for the blonde got us lost. heh! Remember the first installment of my San D adventures? Where I freely admit that I need someone to tell me where to go, but nicely. It is so true whether I am driving or walking. I am directionally challenged. :-) } For future reference the Hard Rock Cafe is nowhere near the Hard Rock Hotel. Go figure.
Rudy was surprised to find out that I had never been in a bar for the sole purpose of having a drink. As shocking as that may be, it was indeed the truth. I can no longer make that statement. We ordered the overpriced and watered down drinks in the Hard Rock shot glasses. I had the Cran-A-Kazi, which is Vodka, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry juice. It was yummy but heavy on the lime and light on the Vodka. Rudy had two B-52’s, which was Kahlua, Baileys and Grand Marnier. My second drink was a lemon drop. Oh dear lord that was yummy. It was so yummy that my mouth is watering as I type. mmmm.
We saw many interesting pubs and restaurants as we strolled along. Even as full as we were, from our dinner, the sights and smells of the varied cuisines caused us to pause and savour the deliciousness of it all. I look forward to a return visit so that we can go check some of them out. I could smell the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop before we saw it. What wonderful chocolaty smells danced down the street to tempt those nearby. We even happened upon a shop that had windows covered with paper and a sign stating you must be 21 to enter. Well, we all know what kind of shop THAT is. I declined to go check that one out. You know, since we didn't need to get a room.....because we already had one. ;-)
Rudy was surprised to find out that I had never been in a bar for the sole purpose of having a drink. As shocking as that may be, it was indeed the truth. I can no longer make that statement. We ordered the overpriced and watered down drinks in the Hard Rock shot glasses. I had the Cran-A-Kazi, which is Vodka, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry juice. It was yummy but heavy on the lime and light on the Vodka. Rudy had two B-52’s, which was Kahlua, Baileys and Grand Marnier. My second drink was a lemon drop. Oh dear lord that was yummy. It was so yummy that my mouth is watering as I type. mmmm.
We saw many interesting pubs and restaurants as we strolled along. Even as full as we were, from our dinner, the sights and smells of the varied cuisines caused us to pause and savour the deliciousness of it all. I look forward to a return visit so that we can go check some of them out. I could smell the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop before we saw it. What wonderful chocolaty smells danced down the street to tempt those nearby. We even happened upon a shop that had windows covered with paper and a sign stating you must be 21 to enter. Well, we all know what kind of shop THAT is. I declined to go check that one out. You know, since we didn't need to get a room.....because we already had one. ;-)
6 comments:
yes, we added to our collection of shot glasses for which there is no room in the cozy house :-) It was a silly extravagance really cuz you don't get to "keep the shot glass" you pay for the shot and the glass just as if you had stopped at the merch counter. It is a special reminder of her first shot for a shot's sake even if it isn't something you would do all the time.
Oh, the smells along our walk (I used the iPhone to steer the blonde back in the right direction). I seriously need to get back there and check some of those menus mmmmmmm
The river of ice down the center of the bar was "cool" indeed and the bar had plenty of comfy looking furniture and a fireplace and lots of tv screens. It would be fun to check it out.
Seeing the art and painted cells from Road Runner was very interesting. One of my faves was a picture of Batman surrounded by many of his adversaries.
an appetite whetting interlude eh? Is that what its called now? Kinda like hors d'oeuvres? heh
~R
The Old Spaghetti Factory. My high school grad "after party" was held there. More apporpriate I think than a wedding reception. Pretty cheesy! no pun intendedn bwa ha ha.
We don't have one here in my town but in my home town there is one. I have wanted to take the girls every time we went there but someONE - we won't mention HIS name was never game. In the end during the family reunion trip to Calgary we went to an Old Spaghetti Factory - I note the link only gave the US locations... must go rectify that. For me it was always the mizithra cheese on spaghetti that I would eat. Wow... Blondie... what a blast from the past that was! thanks.
Hard Rock - we have one of those here and during the trip to Niagara Falls went there for lunch and the over priced drinks. I had beer - the girls didn't want the souvenir glasses given what we'd spent on souvenir glasses at the fancy schmancy overpriced restaurant overlooking the Falls.
I'ev only been in San Diego once and I really liked it. Very different vibe from LA or San Francisco.
t
I do love ya, just take all those "love me nots" and throw them away.
*muah*
aw gee.... thanks Rudy.... wink wink sigh.......
T
tee hee. Isn't he just dreamy??
*sigh*
~ b
LOL
silly girls, I was talking about the daisy
word ver = cards
and I got one from my funny little honey in the mail today!
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