San Diego Part 4: Mission Bay

On the fifth day of our San Diego honeymoon, we headed north for the day to the San Diego Safari Park. We walked the entire park and saw lots of animals, but getting close up to lions and kangaroos were two highlights.

As far as food offerings go, it was standard theme park fare. I did appreciate the coffee options and I'll never turn down a churro. It was a hot day, and the plentiful food stands and carts all offer free water bottle refills, which was great.

After spending the day at the Safari Park, we checked into our hotel for the rest of the trip, on Mission Bay. It was a perfect place to relax for a few days.

We dined nearby at Dan Diegos Pub. They serve all the Irish pub classics, along with an extensive beer list. The fish and chips really hit the spot, and I enjoyed a nice oatmeal stout.

To top it all off, some nice people at a nearby table decided to pay our bill!

We spent most of day six relaxing at the pool. This included lunch from the bar. 

For dinner, we went to Andrés Restaurant, a Cuban and Puerto Rican restaurant located close to our hotel. I'm not sure I had ever had Cuban food before, and I greatly enjoyed it.

We started off with a plate of appetizers, which included fried plantains, empanadas, and fried yuca (cassava). I had definitely never had yuca before, which is amazing given that it is a common staple food in the Caribbean, South America, West Africa, and other places. The fried yuca was a bit like a french fry, crispy on the outside, but creamier on the inside. 

For the main dishes, we went for variety. The photo above shows, from left to right, macitas de puerco (crispy pork), rice and beans, plantains, pernil de puerco (roast pork), and yuca. The photo below shows, from left to right, pollo alla plancha (grilled chicken with onions), rice, plantains, and ropa vieja (shredded beef stew). 

The chicken was a bit of dark horse here. Given a choice of meats, chicken breast tends to be pretty low on my list, but this was done fantastically. I also learned about mojo de ajo in this meal -- a condiment made from olive oil, citrus, and garlic that was served with most of the dishes. The version at Andrés also includes bacon. I was hooked from the start, and I've started making it at home.

It so happened that it was free flan night, which I'm always happy to partake in. There are only two days left to cover, but lots more great food coming up!