Southern California Foodie Diary // San Diego to Orange County

Taking a break from fashion week posts for a moment, I wanted to share some snaps and good eats from our brief stay in southern California last week. Each time Nick and I visit, we have a long list of spots to try (mostly drool-worthy screenshots from Instagram saved on our phones!).

I got a few questions on this scarf from my packing photo…it’s actually a poncho wrap from LOFT. I really wanted it to work as it has a beautiful color scheme, but had to return as it’s several inches too long on me and tough to alter (perfect for someone a few inches taller). Stores really need to start offering their ponchos / capes in shorter lengths too!

My favorite area to eat at in San Diego has to be Convoy Street ~ it’s an Asian food-lover’s dream plus has all the novelty desserts one could desire! We popped into Square Bar Cafe for one of their signature cereal-studded ice cream cones and crepe cakes. The crepe cake doesn’t compare to Lady M, but the red velvet ice cream was rather good. This spot seemed to be most known for their milk teas and other beverages which you can get to-go in these nice copper-top glass jars. We were all sugared out this time, but will have to go back for those.

Nick wanted to try a different taco spot from our usual TJ Oyster Bar or Tacos El Gordo (both soo good) so we ventured to the more modern Tacos Perla. They were out of almost everything so we didn’t get to try many items. As a condiment-phile, one thing I did love though was their array of 6 house-made salsas & sauces ranging from mild to super hot, with some creative flavors like a creamy carrot habanero.

China Max dim sum is a tradition whenever we visit Nick’s parents. The ambiance is nothing to write home about, but the little dishes are good, and I love the full picture menu for minimal confusion! One of my favorites there might be the wide rice noodles filled with roast pork (pictured below). This is also located on Convoy St, so dessert afterwards is just a hop & skip away!

I keep seeing the rolled ice cream trend all over Instagram but hadn’t tried it myself. Bing Haus was right down the street from dim sum and was in their soft opening stages, so of course we had to try. Each individual order of ice cream starts out in liquidy form and is poured thinly onto a frozen pan, then gets scraped into rolled-up ribbons. Both the cookies & cream and matcha green tea bowls were delicious, although I didn’t taste much of a difference between rolled vs. regular ice cream.

Alongside Pacific Beach in a strip mall of sorts, we came across this little acai bowl spot called Rum Jungle Cafe. The acai blend was a little icy and not the best I’ve had, but it did fill me up and I loved the presentation inside a fresh pineapple (all the fruit gets scooped out and served off to the side).

Each time we drive from San Diego up to the LA area, an absolute must is to try a different poke bowl spot along the way. This time we picked Calipoke for their array of free toppings and it did not disappoint. I am still waiting ever so patiently for a good poke bowl spot to come to Boston – it’s astounding to me we don’t have one, because any good sushi place should basically be able to offer it! I hear one might be opening up in Davis Square this fall…it’s a ways outside the city, but I’ll take it over nothing!

I also tried to take Nick to Brodard’s but of course we went on the one day they’re closed, and he was so bummed. I feel like every one of my Vietnamese friends from around the country know of their famous spring rolls with crunchies inside!