vinbladh's swedish fusion cafe

another addition to the burgeoning restaurant and cafe scene on park blvd. in university heights is the inviting vinbladh's swedish fusion cafe. we drove past it last saturday on our way to check out the wait at park house eatery, which was of course ridiculous (the wait and even bothering to check it out). so we walked up the street back to vinbladh's, past the cool patio and into the small yet cleanly-designed swedish interior of the cafe.

we had missed breakfast, which looked to be primarily open-faced egg sandwiches, so i settled on an open-faced roast beef sandwich with feta cheese, and jay had the cold meatball variety. each were only $7 and came with some tasty potato chips and cucumbers. the sandwiches were a pleasant suprise - unique flavors and not too filling - a represented a new swedish dining experience for me in san diego. i liked the cozy atmosphere of the place too, with plenty of architecture magazines on hand to peruse for design ideas.

another benefit - vinbladh's is open until midnight for that quick snack before your night out at bourbon st. across the street.

winter in san diego

after our lunch at cafe one three and a walk through the cactus garden at balboa park, we hit the beach to enjoy the warm weather. it was a beautiful afternoon there with lots of people on the mission/pacific beach boardwalk for february. not bad for wintertime, although it is pouring here today.

cafe one three

the new cafe one three on park blvd. takes over the spot where the sugar-free dessert place, indulgence, used to be. with temps near 80 we figured we'd hit the patio we'd seen there to enjoy some al fresco dining. but without umbrellas to block the sun, we actually had to move inside - too hot to eat. the interior is tastefully done with dark furniture, but the walls could use some more art. and the kitchen is exposed, so i could see the massive meatloafs they were putting together for dinner.

unfortunately we were limited to a brunch menu that leaned heavily on egg-based items. jay and i usually skip breakfast-only places since we both have stomach issues with eggs, and most everything else is dairy based, which i can't do either. i ended up with a fried egg-whites sandwich (i'm ok without yolks) that was unimaginative - the bread was pedestrian (hello, bread and cie?) and the entire thing was something you could make at home, certainly for less than $8. we informed our server that the potatoes were cold, which i heard another customer tell their server, too. jay's biscuits were apparently good though. overall, not much to bring us back for another visit (maybe for dinner), but much of the above could just be due to growing pains, given the newness of the place.

tractor room

we had dinner saturday night at the tractor room in hillcrest. it's the new restaurant from the owners of the hash house down the street. there's a great hunting lodge vibe to the place, with deer heads mounted on the walls, very dark lighting, and a black velvet curtain as you walk in. we sat on the deck out front on a warm february evening.

wild boar spring rolls were our lone appetizer, and they were delicious. our friend david had more of the boar meat in his stew, which was also fantastic. i had a massive lamb shank with bbq sauce, and salty green beans with almonds on the side. and jay had a huge burger with tasty fries. my union hall cocktail, with various orange-based vodkas and citroen, was good. service could have been better, but this is san diego after all.

it was interesting to see the somewhat older crowd in the place - we had thought it would be more of a hipster vibe, which seemed to be congregated around the bar. looking forward to going back for brunch and sampling the extensive bloody mary menu.

vision for the waterfront?

county supervisor ron roberts and state senator steve peace have outlined a plan to transform the waterfront of san diego. a big surprise in the plan is to move lindbergh field's airport terminals from harbor drive to pacific highway - to clear waterfront room for parks, and to link it directly to the rail line. i love the idea, but wasn't terminal 2 just built 10 years ago? with the city being broke, i guess we'll just have to dream. but it's still nice to see someone with the vision (and balls) to propose this kind of thing, and even to close part of harbor drive! don't tell the overweight tourists who can't be bothered to walk to the waterfront when they can park their rental car there - the one they rented from the waterfront car rental lots...