food

Do you remember back in the late 80’s, the popular, yet difficult to find character, Waldo, in the red-and-white striped shirt? My children loved trying to find Waldo in the book: Where is Waldo, by British illustrator Martin Handford. Waldo, was an inspiration for me when creating my San Diego winery tour company. Let me…

Restaurant Week has arrived! It’s one of San Diego’s best events, now in its twelfth year: all over the county, restaurants of every stripe participate in prix-fixe menus and specials. That means that if you like to eat well (and who doesn’t?) you can not only get some of the best value for your dollar…

We are proud to announce that we are now members of the prestigious 500 Club! What’s that, you’re asking? We’re tickled pink to tell you. We’re just bursting at the seams with pride, in fact, because what that means is that we have now received more than 500 five-star reviews from the TripAdvisor community.   Sure, this may come across as bragging, but the truth is we know that we wouldn’t be able to make our trips wonderful without the people who come along with us. Sampling fine foods and delicious beers and wines is a wonderful thing, but without people to share them with, the pleasure is dulled.  We’re so happy to have such wonderful company along for the ride, quite literally.  When we’re on the train watching a glorious sunset over the Pacific Ocean, our bellies full of the best…

Oh, hey! It’s nearly July 4th already?  How did this happen so fast?  It feels like just yesterday that we were waiting up to see in the new year, and here it is Independence Day. We love the Fourth of July.  It’s nice and warm, the day is long and punctuated by food and cold drinks, and at the end of it we get fireworks!  Usually, we put up a guide to pairing wines and beers with your barbecue foods, but this time, we’ve scoured the web to find ways for you to work your favorite drinks into your favorite summer recipes. If you’re grilling beef, accompany it with a porter or stout reduction sauce to simultaneously tenderize it and bring out the smoky tanginess of the beer.  Reductions are super easy and really delicious – all it means is…

San Diego Restaurant Week is almost here! It should go without saying that we love San Diego's food scene.  We may be San Diego Beer and Wine Tours, but tasting beer and wine without knowing what foods to pair them with takes at least half the joy out of the whole experience! That's why we always offer food on our beer and wine tours.  When you correctly pair, it brings out nuances and dimensions to your drink – and your food – that you never knew existed. It's like a voyage of discovery with every meal! San Diego's craft beer scene has been extolled and admired as one of the best on the planet for years, and with good reason.  Its wine scene is also gaining attention, too, as more people realize how wonderful it is.  But the food scene…

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…

Well, we all made it through Thanksgiving! We might be sporting a slight sugar hangover and some residual turkey sleepiness, but we’re now back in business and raring to take you out on a tour.  We know you’ve been scrambling to find some great deals (we know of some great ones ourselves) and doing your best to find your loved ones the perfect gifts this holiday season. But we’re not here to talk about Black Friday. We’re not even here to talk about Small Business Saturday or even Cyber Monday, even though we love them too! Here’s what we really want to discuss: It’s been hot around here this week. You’ve spent the past few days rushing around looking for deals. Your feet must be so tired, and, you poor thing, you must be so hungry and thirsty! Luckily for…

It’s almost holiday season. Well, actually, since holiday season starts right after Halloween these days, we guess it IS holiday season! This the time of year that we tell all of you how thankful we are for all of you.  We couldn’t be in this business without you, our fellow beer, wine,nd food aficionados, and all the good things you bring into our lives. We’re also thankful we live in such an amazing corner of the world, where fine, locally-produced food and drink is available everywhere we turn! Since we know you appreciate good meals and drinks just as much as we do, we thought we’d share some tried-and-true suggestions with you to make your Thanksgiving Day as delightful as it can possibly be. First, to the food.  Do you have too much to drink hanging around the house? Is…

We know we're called San Diego Beer and Wine Tours, but we don't just deal with beer and wine. In fact, we never have. We understand that beer and wine without wonderful food pairings is like having peanut butter without the jelly, ice cream without the sprinkles, yin without yang – you get the picture. All of our tours, as a matter of fact, include food tastings to go with your beverages – the equivalent of a full meal. We don't just tour the finest wineries and breweries in San Diego. Our tours are filled with the best food this town has to offer, no matter what you're in the mood for! It's a great way to savor the best gourmet, farm-to-table fare while you sip without having to commit to the price of a full meal. Plus, you get to…

We don't just take our wines and beers seriously around here. We also take our food seriously. After all, a delicious meal is at least half the equation when it comes to some serious pairings! We don't make restaurant recommendations lightly for that very reason – we eat so much food that it takes quite a lot to impress us. That's why it's incumbent on us to let you know about one of our very favorite restaurants in San Diego, Fresco Trattoria & Bar. This little gem (actually, there are two: one in Carlsbad and one in Bonsall) is everything you would want in Italian food. Its owner, Leone D'Arcangelo, was born and bred in Sperlonga, Italy, and knows his cuisine like the back of his hand. He also insists on nothing but the freshest of ingredients to make his…