American Pizza Mfg. for delicious home-baked pizza

Neighborhood: La Jolla, near Wind and Sea Beach

Price: $

Vibe: This is not a dine-in restaurant, but if you stop in to place your order, they’ll offer you a small glass of wine while you wait

I wasn’t sure about this new take n bake pizza joint that opened up in La Jolla during the pandemic, but I am so glad I gave this place a try! Located right up the street from my favorite neighborhood beach (Marine Street) on La Jolla Blvd. this wonderful little spot is perfect for your next pizza night at home. It’s super easy to place your order online and is usually ready in about 15 minutes to pick up and take home.

I’ve heard some naysayers claim they don’t want to have to “bake it themselves” (the nerve!) but trust me, once you try the crunchy delectable crust, you will be a convert! I now crave this place ahead of any other “already baked” pizza restaurant in the area.

10-15 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees and voila, dinner is served! The pizzas come on parchment paper that you drop right onto the oven rack (no pizza stone or baking sheet required) and the salads are just delicious.

Here’s what we like to order at American Pizza Mfg,:

The Edsel - wild mushrooms, truffle oil drizzle, parmesan sprinkle. We added prosciutto, YUM!

The Flyer - you can’t go wrong with fresh mozzarella and spicy pepperoni.

Fresh garden salad with organic greens, grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, chevre, garden peppers and balsamic dressing makes my heart happy!

The finished product…..

American Pizza Mfg.

7402 La Jolla Blvd.

La Jolla, CA 92037

Sushi Nekosan for your next sushi craving

The Nekosan roll is a MUST try

Neighborhood: Downtown La Jolla

Price: $$

Vibe: Casual and charming local spot, with a sidewalk patio that’s great for people watching, or sit inside at the bar and watch the sushi chefs do their thing

We live in the Pacific Beach, and while there are a lot of sushi places in the neighborhood, I’ll admit, there aren’t many that I would go back to again. With the one exception being Sushi Ota (of course). But we are not planner-a-headers, and we typically decide we want to spontaneously grab a bite to eat about 30 minutes before we head out. Therefore, Sushi Ota is usually not an option unless we do take out. So, I decided to start yelping around La Jolla to see what sushi options they had available. This is how I found Sushi Nekosan, which has become far and away my absolutely favorite sushi restaurant in San Diego (Sorry, Ota).

This wonderful little neighborhood restaurant is right on Wall Street, a couple of doors down from the Burger Lounge. “Neko” is the Japanese word for cat, and this totally clicks when you see the decor on the walls, and the little soy sauce holders.

They have some of the most inventive, bright and mouthwatering rolls I’ve ever eaten, with a specials menu that constantly offers a variety of fresh, seasonal sashimi, rolls and all kinds of goodies. I absolutely love the outdoor patio, which is tiny and sprawls along the sidewalk, makes me feel like I’m in Europe and makes for such a charming dining and people-watching experience.

I’ve been to Nekosan many times and here are some of my favorites — but don’t worry, there is not a bad selection on the menu.

Yellowtail sashimi

Spicy tuna roll

The Nekosan Roll is a must try. It doesn’t get better than this deliciousness!

Baja Lemon Cilantro Roll

Sushi Nekosan

1119 Wall Street

La Jolla, CA 92037

Sometimes it’s better when you make it. Recipe ideas for entertaining or just for you.

Rare Society is your next meat party

Neighborhood: University Heights neighborhood, San Diego

Price: $$$

Vibe: Modern, fun ambience with great decor - this place has a great vibe that is somehow upscale and homey neighborhood at the same time

We stumbled across Rare Society when we realized that we forgot to make a reservation at another restaurant for a birthday celebration, and we could not have been happier with our backup restaurant option. Sometimes mistakes turn out to be the best surprises! Located in University Heights in the old 100 Proof location (before that, it was S&M Sausage and Meat), Rare Society is an upscale steakhouse serving mouthwatering steak and seafood dishes, in a totally unpretentious and casual environment. It’s a “come as you are” kind of place, and while the food says, “fine dining”, the restaurant itself is super cozy and feels like a little neighborhood joint. Brought to us by the folks from the Trust group, this one really hits it out of the park with the food and the vibe, and I’m already counting down the days to my next visit.

The decor is comfy and chic and makes you kind of want to hang out all night

We had a group of 3 and got seated in a cool leather booth with a view of the bar. The restaurant atmosphere was warm and bustling, but not too loud to enjoy the conversation with your tablemates. The wallpaper and tiled ceilings, with gold mirrors adorning one of the walls, were all in great taste and really added to the atmosphere of this neighborhood steakhouse.

Because this was a Food Club birthday situation, we did not hold back on the ordering and decided that we were going to splurge and try as much as we could possibly fit into our bellies. And we did good.

Oysters and champers

We started with some champagne and oysters on the half shell, because why not? The waiter offered some great recommendations that we probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise - most notably, the simply named “bacon” dish, which was so good we didn’t even get a picture of it whole. A delicious slab of pork belly, slow cooked in a sweet and tangy BBQ-like sauce, it fell apart with a fork and was the perfect foreshadowing of the meats to come - delicious and perfectly cooked.

Our failed attempt at picture of the bacon, it went too fast!

Next course was the Wood Grilled Maine Lobster, which was taken out of the shell, chopped and tossed with garlic, parsley butter and breadcrumbs (oh my!) and placed back into the shell. The sauce was rich and paired perfectly with the sweet lobster. We had to order the Parker House rolls, cooked in a skillet and smothered with butter just to sop up what was left of the sauce.

Wood Grilled Maine Lobster

Parker House rolls

For our main course, we ordered the steak sampler called “The Associate”, and I highly, highly recommend this for a group of 3 or more! It’s a chef’s choice sampling of the steaks, and ours came with the tri-tip Wagyu and the Denver Wagyu (okay, now I get the hype around Wagyu, wow) and the prime “bullseye” ribeye. Each steak was cooked and sliced and served with the suggested sauce pairings, it was a really great way to sample each of these delectable meats. Served on their own Rare Society-branded lazy Susan which made it easy to share/fight over the different offerings. We had to try to Mac n cheese and Caesar salad as our sides, which were good, but the proteins were the shining star of the night - as it should be.

Steak sampler with pairing sauces

Because this was a “birthday” food club we HAD to order dessert, so on the recommendation of our server, who did not steer us wrong all night, he suggested the butter cake. Wow, so simple yet so divine!

Butter cake with sour cream ice cream

This was one of the best steak dinners I have ever eaten. One of those meals that we all texted about the next day, and I feel like I got to relive again just by writing this all down for you. If you haven’t checked out Rare Society, you must. Go now.

Rare Society

4130 Park Blvd.

San Diego, CA 92103