Archive: Dec 2014

Happy New Year! `Tis the season to look back on the preceding year and make resolutions for the following one.  But, as news story after news story tells us, we’re doing it all wrong by focusing on the negatives instead of the positives. Anyway, as you may already know, we don’t really believe in resolutions around here, because they’re so easy to break – only 23 percent of people who make resolutions keep them!  Instead, we tend to follow the research that indicates good habits are easier to pick up if they’re folded into our everyday lives slowly, over time, and with lots of rewards. However, I suppose in this instance we’re going to make a resolution after all. Really, it’s the same one we always make, and it’s pretty easy to keep. Best of all, our resolution contains its…

Spotlight on… Café La Rue! We've been talking about some of our favorite places to get eats as well as drinks lately.  Right now, it's Café La Rue's turn!   Café La Rue is a relatively new place in an old haunt – the bar and bistro reopened last year at La Jolla's historic La Valencia Hotel, which is known as "The Pink Lady," after closing down for a makeover and taking over the space of an iconic bar called The Whaling Bar – traces of which still live on in its décor and some of its drinks. Café La Rue has also updated its menu, favoring simple foods but with a European flair: their dishes include smoked cheddar bratwurst – made with IPA beer cheese – and pork belly confit poutine.  Delicious!  Even their french fries are simple yet superb: they're…

The holidays have barreled down on us like a freight train and suddenly, it’s almost 2015.  Are you prepared for the parties and gifts?  How about dinners with family and friends? Prepared or not, there’s very little that can’t be improved with the proper application of delicious wine and beer, so here are some of our suggestions to help you add to your holiday spirit.  Enjoy! First of all – what do your winter holiday plans entail? If you’re looking for last-minute gifts, the following beers are timely and delicious.  If you don’t celebrate (or are just boycotting the holidays this year) we think that the best thing you can do is treat yourself, whether it’s celebratory or “just because.”  The best way to do that, in our opinion, is to sample some of the many legendary San Diego beers…

It’s officially time for the Christmas countdown! Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you can’t help but get caught up in the holiday spirit – lights are twinkling against our gorgeous California sunsets, the malls are full of specials (and people!) and there’s just a certain feel in the air as the days get shorter and cooler. It’s also a great time of year to start switching up your wines.  This cooler weather is not only welcome, it lets you consider completely different tastes and flavors!  Light and fruity, for example, is nice enough in the heat, but what you really want during a December downpour is a good, bold red or a hearty white. Luckily, the jamminess and spiciness that chilly weather really demands is readily available from California wines!  Here are some good picks for sitting inside and…