[Guest Post] Islands Restaurants Media Preview Dinner - La Jolla

When I think of Islands, I think of endless fries and their Big Wave with cheese. I was fortunate to be invited by the Los Angeles PR firm, Murphy O'Brien, to a media dinner at the Islands in La Jolla to try new menu items before they are released to the public. I asked my friend and fellow foodie, Crystal, to attend in place of me. I now present to you, Crystal's guest blog post... ENJOY!

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Hello new friends, Crystal here!  I am guest blogging for Janice and I hope you all are ready for a delicious post!

I have recently had the pleasure to attend Islands Restaurants Media Preview Dinner that took place at the La Jolla location. The purpose of this media dinner was to introduce new seasonal dishes and drinks by inviting local food bloggers/social media gurus for a taste run. I was given the lovely opportunity to go in place of Janice. I must admit that I ate enough for her and I both.

My guest and I started the evening with three new delicious (and potent) cocktails at the bar. The drinks are absolutely perfect for the warm summer evenings. Islands promoted these bad boys with a tagline that read: "Drinks Strong Enough To Knock Your Flip Flops Off”

[left to right:

Jager Bay, Paradise's Mai Tai, Maker's Wedge]

I was loving the fact that the mai tai is only 149 calories! It is a great drink that will leave you feeling giddy in the summer breeze but will keep guilt out the door due to the low calorie count. That mai tai is a sure winner in my book!

We had the Pointbreak Sliders as appetizers. This simple slider was a culmination of the perfect flavors; concentrated and flavorful, with bursts of gruyere and bleu cheese, and bacon that has been rendered in balsamic vinegar and finished off with a port wine reduction. Tomatoes and lettuce were served on the side, and in my opinion, the taste of the burger was much more prominent without the veggies.

After a round of drinks and sliders, we migrated to the dining area to get more comfortable. Entrees were up next, and although my tummy was already satisfied, I could not pass up the opportunity to taste their new figure-friendly dish, Chicken Beach Bowl.

Being a health-conscious individual, I was curious to see how this new dish would taste. The Chicken Beach Bowl consisted of grilled chicken, topped with fresh grilled pineapple, sweet red bell peppers, crunchy snow peas, water chestnuts, red onion, broccoli and diced scallions in a hoisin sauce, served over fluffy brown rice. At only 576 calories, I was the least bit guilty as I stuffed my face with this delicious and healthy meal.  We had a choice of either grilled chicken or mahi mahi with the Beach Bowl.

Dessert time rolled around and I decided to go all the way. I am normally not a 'dessert kinda gal' but I started off strong and wanted to finish strong. What better way than to end it with a frothy, sweet, moussy chocolate sundae? The sundae is not a new menu item, but it was a great way to end our dinner.

I would to thank the La Jolla Islands location for hosting this wonderful event and introducing us to their new items. Also, thanks to Jenny and Maggie at Murphy O'Brien for planning the dinner on behalf of Islands Restaurants (and for the awesome goody bag!).

The new cocktails and the Beach Bowl should be available on the menus at your nearest Islands location.

As a little tidbit to end my post, word on the street is that they will soon be catering to football fanatics once NFL season rolls around. Can’t wait to see what they’re going to cook up next!

Way to go, Islands!

Nazca Grill - Clairemont

When my friend, Shaye, told me about the Peruvian dish, lomo saltado, I knew I *had* to have it. The combination of grilled steak, french fries, and tomatoes over white rice sounded, well, just lovely. Right??

Although Shaye recommended another restaurant in Pacific Beach (The Latin Chef is on my list), my Japanese-Peruvian friend, T, suggested that Nazca Grill is where to find her favorite Peruvian food in town.

We were the first to arrive for lunch on a weekday. The restaurant was dark, but inviting because of the friendly staff who greeted their first customers of the day. We ordered our drinks. My friend T ordered in español and they returned with our drinks, including this one for her....

Chicha morada is a traditional Peruvian drink made of purple corn. I did not have a taste, but it appeared to be tangy and sweet. There were no ice cubes in it either.

T ordered two appetizers for us to share, starting off with the papa a la huancaina, potatoes in a cheese sauce. We were surprised that this was a *cold* dish. The potatoes were boiled and sliced, like the hard boiled egg that sat on top. The sauce was not your average 'nacho-type' cheese sauce and was thinner and lighter. The dish was really simple and good.

The yuquita frita, fried yucca, was crispy, light and amazingly delicious! The yucca was topped with shaved pickled red onion that gave the yucca a touch of acidity. They also served a side of that same cheese sauce for dipping. Yum! I seriously could have eaten this all day.

I ordered the lomo saltado - the dish I have been wanting to eat for a long time. The steak was tender and moist, the fries and rice soaked up the sauce, and every bite was heaven. There also was crunch from the sauteed onion; I ensured that I had a little onion with every bite. So delicious, or should I say, "Delicioso"?  T also ordered the lomo saltado and our friend, J, ordered the saltado de pollo, which is the exact same dish with chicken.

For dessert, T ordered the alfajores, which are sweet 'cookie-like' sandwiches with a dulce de leche, caramel-y, center and dusted with confectioners sugar. They were very light. Our friend, J, tried breaking one in half, resulting in a crumbly mess on the table. When I took a careful bite, the alfajor crumbled to pieces anyway. Still, it was a sweet finish to our Peruvian experience.

There are so many dishes here I would like to try, like the bisteck a la parrilla con tallarin verde (grilled steak, noodles, spinach-basil cream sauce), pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken), and arroz chaufa (fried rice).  The next time T is in town from the east coast, we are definitely going!