Nikas Culinaria

Drum roll, please - I am baaaak!

I have been out of touch on all my blogs and pretty much in real life (except for DailyKos and twittering). Sorry to be so slow posting here - hope it gets better right quick.

So, I just got back from San Diego for a conference that I was running and I found myself without a camera (didn’t want to lug it) but still wanting to shoot. So I was reduced to shooting with the dinky camera on my mac laptop, go figure. (keep this in mind as you look at shots in this post, please!)

I stayed at the Hard Rock hotel the first night.

Was a mind warp considering that I am not hugely into music and this place is 100% about music, the scene, rockers, groupies, and living the “style”. My life, well, its diametrically opposite. I wake to the sound of roosters and goats and then I run off to work before the kids awake to return later in the evening to more relative quiet and exactly 0% celebrity.

I SWEAR I saw Britney Spears get out of her limo and walk through the lobby.

It happened with no fan fare - and with quite a posse, talk about lots of staff.

I knew that supper was NOT going to be at NOBU (oh the torture) here in the hotel - I had to plunk down $250 MORE money at registration here - they require this deposit because of “the nature of their clientele” according to the young woman at the registration desklet.

I gave her a dead fish stare but didn’t go into just how absurd the thought was of ME trashing my room. I could not hear much in the registration area anyways - VERY loud music and also this ginormous video wall behind the registration area that was enveloping us in glaring intense LED light that flickered and strobed and overwhelmed my poor jet lagged self.

I took a stroll through the gas-light district and observed: that the restaurants off of 5th ave had a New Orleans restaurant dive vibe (hard to explain unless you have been to New Orleans and wandered the streets), it felt like Melrose in LA - lots of pretty people on the street and cruising, quite a few homeless begging and zero people seemed to see them.

I got take out from a place called Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cantina - had a key west sort of vibe inside, welcoming in a boozy sort of way.

I ordered a lobster corn chowder and turf and surf taco combo - delish but WAY too much food!

This lobster corn chowder was DREAMY and very rich. This would have been enough for me!

The next morning I awoke at my normal time which meant 4 am in San Diego. Snagged breakfast downstairs in the hotel at a place called MaryJanes Coffee shop. Great food - scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, applewood smoked bacon, and a biscuit. They had real strawberry jam, nice touch. Very friendly staff. Sat and listened to Bob Dylan and watched the various people flow through, young guys, older business types, firefighters.

I shot this delish breakfast that was WAY too much food - again! - (which I had to take some to go and even then could not finish it) and also a bit around the restaurant. Its just a tiny slice - what you don’t get is the loud music, loud patrons, flat screens at many of the tables. Its a nice place to caffeine up and get charging for the day.

The ambiance = just off the stage at a rock concert.

Here are a few scary shots of the hotel room - great room, poor shots.

(Shower)

I stayed at the Hard Rock one night and then it was on to the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Beautiful hotel but I would recommend that you boycott this hotel until the owner “Papa Manchester” repudiates his obscene, VERY vocal and well monied offense against gay marriage in California (Proposition 8). If you like what you see re: photos but can’t stomach his position - be sure to let them know you chose a DIFFERENT hotel.

(Google street view of the entrance to this hotel)

(Very lovely lobby - this is just a tiny slice of it)

(My room in the sky)

(My view - just fantastic)

(Slept like a baby)

I had no choice but to stay here - my work booked it. Its a fantastic hotel - simply divine service and I slept like a baby. I would recommend it but …. well you know.

So now, I am home and I have a pretty serious blog-backlog!

I will be working my way through that, several reviews of some great cookbooks and food books coming up.

Here is a pic that I will be sharing at my Humble Garden blog with some news. This is a sneak preview.

(4 little chickies in a clump)