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San Diego Brunch Staples

June 15, 2014 //
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Brunch is my favorite meal of the day. Granted, since I work full-time it’s usually reserved for the weekend, but if I could enjoy a leisurely mid-day meal full of sweet and savory belly-filling items and bottomless coffee, I would. Alas, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I can make this ideal event a treat a few weekends a month, so says my schedule and my wallet. If you’ve dined with me, my tastebuds aren’t the cheapest. I am a sucker for ambiance so long as the food is on par as well.

That said, an ode to two local spots I find myself returning to every month for all of the reasons above and more:

  • Claire’s on Cedros, Solana Beach: I’ve ordered the green scrambles to the creamy benedicts and sweetened carbs (french toast, pancakes, or Claircakes, made with Cinnamon) and have never been disappointed. If I’ve got an extra fiver I’ll add a vanilla latte. On sunnier afternoons  I’ll request a table out back. The restaurant feels like a cozy cafe and is set in an intimate, eco-friendly bungalow. Everything in the place is either upcycled, repurposed or energy efficient and built to make a minimal impact on the environment. They even have electric vehicle parking stalls right out front.
  • Snooze, Hillcrest (and now Del Mar): I have to tip my hat to my best friend, a former Denver transplant for introducing me to this breakfast-only joint. As a chainlet in the Mile High City, its San Diego locations are just as busy, but I don’t mind. The complimentary coffee is strong and the wait is worth it. I usually rotate between their homemade corned beef hash or the breakfast pot pie, though they’ve also got a selection of fun pancakes (like red velvet!) and an extensive Bloody Mary menu. With the Hillcrest location’s roll-up garage windows, high ceilings and fun pod-like booths, I could loll around Snooze for hours.
Snooze

Snooze, Hillcrest.

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Categories Brunch, California, San Diego, Travel Tips

The Art of the Extended Business Trip

May 23, 2014 //
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As a working professional in the U.S.,  I accrue up to three weeks in paid time off. Some peers aren’t so lucky; they only get a solid two. Compared to my peers in Europe, who get a blessed five weeks of holiday, two weeks a year to get away from one’s desk sounds pathetic. What’s a typical 9-5er to do?

More often than not, extending your business trip can be affordable, especially if the company you work for is already footing your return ticket. You’re already in a new (or at least different) destination, so why not make the most of it.

Whether I am able to build in a few extra days to a business trip or not, my goal with any trip I take is to squeeze as much of an authentic experience out of my time in a destination as I can and to treat every trip as an opportunity to explore. When I’m in a new city, I almost always:

  • Hunt down a local coffee shop for a local a.m. jolt. I will admit, I’ve cut it close on business meetings because I refused to enter the corner Starbucks
  • Avoid chain restaurants unless it’s a regional chain or a chain I haven’t yet experienced. (This travel rule, born from a Pacific Northwest road trip I took several years ago with some high school friends, has stuck with me ever since)
  • Dine at the bar to chat up the bartender for a local perspective, and my bar mates for some interesting conversation
  • Maximize my downtime between meetings and events to get outside and walk around, even if it’s only around the block

You might also have the flexibility to travel beyond your work city. For example, I stretched a three-day conference in Houston to include a road trip to Austin for another few days before returning home. Within that span, I was able to chow down on some good barbecue (no not Franklin’s, but it was still delicious. Lesson learned: Get there EARLY), enjoy my first country dance and music at The White Horse and float starfish-style (I mean stand up paddle) down Lady Bird Lake while the UT women’s rowing team muscled their way past our lethargy. Another perk; I was lucky to have a friend join me for the jaunt!

With another business trip on the immediate horizon (Hey Tampa!), I’m also looking forward to checking out some interesting activities I’ve been browsing on Instagram, which is something I recently began doing to supplement the planning process for my international trips.

How do you maximize your business trips? And if you’ve got any recommendations for a quick stay in Tampa, let me know in the comments!

Hanging out at The White Horse, Austin after a three-day conference in Houston. (Love those overalls! Are those Oshkosh?)

Hanging out at The White Horse, Austin after a three-day conference in Houston. (Love those overalls! Are those Oshkosh?)

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Categories Business Travel, Passing Through, Travel, Travel Tips

Ten Things I Learned in Panama

May 20, 2014 //
2

A collection of insights I’ve gleaned after a week-long trip to Panama. In no particular order and some less practical than others, and nearly all involving food. Here it goes:

  • Eat your ice cream fast or the the sun will zap your treat quicker than you’ll have time to slurp up the slush.
  • There is no bus schedule. Headed to El Valle de Anton? Hail a taxi to the Albrook bus terminal (or maybe take the new Metro), look for your destination plastered on the row of windows, hand over your cash and board the vehicle with your desired destination and wait till the vehicle is full before departing.
Our rapidly melting treats from Granclement in Casco Viejo.

Our rapidly melting treats from Granclement in Casco Viejo.

  • For shorter shuttle service, $5-$7 will get you a cab ride almost anywhere within and around the city
  • The free zone, Colon: part holding area for goods on their way to Latin America and the Caribbean via the Panama Canal, part mega strip-mall at mega-appealing prices. For example, a pair of the latest Nike’s = $50. You’re welcome.
  • The Guna Yala people, the indigenous folks that call the San Blas islands home are some of the friendliest and good-humored people I’ve met. They are proud of their specks of paradise; I couldn’t help but crack an endearing smile when one of them, our boat navigator shouted over the roar of the waves as we whipped past, “Es mi Isla!” Quite literally, that was his island. (They are also quite adept at navigating the waters slightly inebriated)
San Blas, Panama

San Blas, Panama

  • Maybe this is a universal truth, but a mojito tastes best outside with the sun beating down and the humidity at an all-time high. Also, if you are in Casco Viejo and are in the mood for the refreshing beverage, the mojitos are better at the little place wedged between the Red Lion pub and the Italian restaurant.
  • According to our driver in Colon, Panama is one of the only countries where you can watch the sunrise over the Pacific and see the sunset beyond the Atlantic.
  • The local fruit is so sweet, and so delicious. I was skeptical at first (I too grew up in the tropics), but fruit cup I had at a fruteria in the El Cangrejo neighborhood made a believer out of me
  • Is it just me, or is Panama City severely lacking in dark beer options?
  • Air Conditioning is. a. must. Lesson learned.
Fruit stand on the way to El Valle de Anton.

Fruit stand on the way to El Valle de Anton.

 

Note: I traveled to Panama during the tail end of its dry season and was fortunate to spend a lot of time outside and travel quite easily through the mountains to get to San Blas from Panama City.

 

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Categories Panama, Travel, Travel Tips
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