A Day at the Beach…

 

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Food and Supermarkets: Italy and the U.S.

In Siena, there is a small supermarket, Conad, which we frequented when we were in Italy. It was on the bottom floor and you rode the escalator down. They had a pretty good selection of food, including tortillas and even sour cream, both of which came in quite handy when we were craving Mexican food!! There was a frozen food area which has a variety of food, including frozen pizzas. This particular pizza caught Reed’s eye one day:

Not sure if this is an indication of anything, but there were only two of these left in the case.

Not only did this pizza have corn as a topping, but also hot dog. Hot dog, you say, we actually saw a number of pizzas, particularly in Parma and Lucca but also at Pizza Land in Siena that had hot dogs and/or french fries with a drizzle of ketchup as a toppings. Yum!

Any thoughts?

We have been back for awhile but almost every day that I go to the supermarket I think back to our supermarket experiences in Italy. One thing that always sticks out in my head is the problem with shopping carts. I hate that people always leave stray carts in the middle of the parking lot or better yet, against someone’s car! In Italy, you had to insert a coin (1 Euro or 2 Euros; so $1.50 or $3) into the cart in order to unlock it and use it. Once you were done, IF you returned the cart you were able to take the coin out and go on your way. I think of our whole time in Italy, we only saw a cart in the parking lot once. You better believe we returned it and pocketed that Euro! I really wish that grocery stores here implemented that type of policy.

Another habit that we developed there was bringing our own bags with us. In Italy, depending on the store, you were charged 5 to 10 Euro Cents per bag that you used. Here I cringe as people walk away with 10 or 20 bags, sometimes each bag with only one ingredient. Money just might motivate people to be a little more conscious.

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Reed and Twenty/20 in the News

The local news channel 8 here in San Diego featured Twenty/20 Grill in a segment

Watch the video featuring Reed here

“Hotel Serves Up Local Treats”

With a view of some of Carlsbad’s more inviting locales, 20-20, the restaurant at Sheraton Carlsbad Resort, is something to be seen and sampled.

“The terrace is wonderful. It’s sun-shiny, which is nice. They’ve got umbrellas so you don’t burn up. As long as there’s no haze, you have a slice of ocean,” San Diego magazine restaurant critic David Nelson said.

“Very impressive burgers here, which I think is a good lunch dish that everybody enjoys. They’ve got some other nice sandwiches, like El Horno, which is an Argentine skirt steak.

“If you want a more formal entrée, they have a Waikato chicken, which is flavored in the island way, served with spinach and tomatoes and a little lime. And then there’s a very, very nice pasta, which is served with crab and just a little olive oil and white wine,” Nelson said.

Twenty-twenty’s dinner menu also offers some solid choices.

“Among the specialties are charbroiled lamb loin, which is served with a roasted red grape juice and croutons made from warm potatoes, and there’s even a wild berry salad on the side, so this is different. There are day scallops that are pan-roasted and served with an oven-fried tomato risotto.

“A third choice for an entrée would be the global ocean sea bass, which is served with house-cut pasta, which means that it’s freshly made pasta and oven-dried tomato,” Nelson said.

With a locally flavored menu and great views too, there’s more than meets the eye at 20-20.

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Balboa Park: A cultural highlight in San Diego

With my sister in town for a few weeks, we decided to enjoy our proximity to San Diego and head head downtown a few times.

Balboa Park is one of the country’s largest urban parks with 15 museums, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo! The origins of Balboa Park go all the way back to 1868 when 1,400 acres of land on a mesa overlooking the “New Town” (the current downtown) and the Pacific Ocean were set aside. Throughout the early 1900s, there were many plans created for the development and beautification of the park. In 1910, roads were created throughout the park, many of which still exist today.

Balboa Park circa 1910:

(Image from the Balboa Park Organization Website)

It was also during 1910 that the park’s name was changed from “City Park” to “Balboa Park” after a city-wide naming contest. The name was chosen Harriet Phillips, the winner of the contest, because the Park offered a wide view of the Pacific Ocean and explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean.

The Park was the site of the 1915-16 California Exposition which commemorated the opening of the Panama Canal. The exposition created a major impetus for the creation of the Park as it is seen today with a number of the Park’s current buildings, including the Spanish-Renaissance style buildings along the El Prado pedestrian walkway being built at this time.

Poster commemorating the 1915 World Fair at Balboa Park:

(Image from the Balboa Park Organization Website)

The park is a great place to visit while in San Diego with so many attractions……

…..and one of my very favorite restaurants ever: The Prado at Balboa Park. Check it out next time you are in San Diego!

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