Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Restaurant Week and a Costa Rican Christmas!

Now that the holidays are officially over, what do I have to look forward to?! Ah, yes... Restaurant Week! That, and My Big Fat Costa Rican Christmas. More on that later.

If you are unfamiliar with said event (Restaurant Week, not my family Christmas), it's when various restaurants construct a prix-fixe menu and you pay a fee of $10-$40/per person (depending on the restaurant) and you get to try a complete meal: appetizer, entree and dessert for a ridiculously great price! It's definitely a great opportunity to try that restaurant that you've been dying to go to, that would ordinarily be out of your monthly budget. I think this year, I'm going to try Pamplemousse Grille and/or MARKET Restaurant + Bar.

I had the opportunity to sample Pamplemousse at a charity event I attended, er volunteered at, but "attended" sounds like I was rubbing elbows with San Diego's elite. MARKET is the sister restaurant of Banker's Hill Bar and Restaurant - my culinary interning Alma mater! Both restaurants are conveniently located in Del Mar. If I play my cards right, I could kill two pigs with one bird. Take a look at the list of participating restaurants and get out there and bring our local eateries some well deserved business!

More information on San Diego Restaurant Week

Onto my BFCRC. Every Christmas, I usually start out by spending time at my Mom's house and make my way to my Dad's side of the family, who, by the way, is Costa Rican. This year, I didn't have the opportunity to visit my Costa Rican family, led by my loud-and-proud-five-foot-tall Costa Rican aunt, even though I spend a MINIMUM of once a week at her house watching Caso Cerrado. She has a turkey that she is chomping at the bit to cook so naturally, we're celebrating Christmas all over again - complete with a tree, gift exchange and a heaping side of guilt.

Stay tuned for that. It promises to be an entertaining Christmas!

P.S. How many times did I say "Costa Rican" in this post? Slowly but surely, I am becoming my aunt's favorite niece.