San Diego Mom - Carmel Valley/Del Mar

We had a babysitter last night, and spent a few hours here.  The Cask Room is a gem.  If you like wine, a comfortable loungy atmosphere and the possibility of good food and desserts (we didn’t sample this time) in a downtown location.  Man, this is the place.

We had a really nice evening on our own, but I’m eager to share the place with friends and am hoping to do a group evening here too.  The wines in the flights were ample, and flexible (I loved being able to select whatever wine from the menu I wanted) delicious, and the setting was relaxing, not too crowded and very comfortable.

The food menu choices of Tapas look great, and the desserts are from extraordinary desserts so my guess is they are pretty good.

I wish Mike and Stephanie the owners great success.  They did a beautiful job and I’m looking forward to returning.   

The Cask Room web site is here: http://thecaskroom.com/ 

If you haven’t been to a seaside concert in the summer in San Diego you are missing out.  This is by far our favorite thing to do. 

Our favorites?  The Del Mar ones as there is magic in listening to the music, sitting comfortably on the grass, while watching the sunset over the water.  Order your pizza from Del Mar Pizza on 15th St. early and pick it up on your way down to the grass.  Nothing better.  Bring sweaters as it gets cold.

Prefer another beach or venue?  San Diego has a ton of these concerts all summer long.  Make a note to check some of them out with your kids and dance the night away together.  Or get a sitter, and bring a glass of wine and chairs for an ideal date night.

http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/features/258/index.html 

I just stumbled across this site and its pretty impressive!  This link gives some amazing date night ideas for San Diegans.  I can’t wait to try some of them!

http://www.nearhere.com/dates/ 

Among the suggestions are things like: the Gondola cruise in Coronado (I’ve done this, very fun to see the georgeous homes along the water in the long gondolas), Irish folk lessons in Balboa park to making chocolates in Chuao in Carlsbad.  

This is also a great site for other topics:

They provide an amazing list of running trails, tennis courts, outdoor side trips from town for hiking, surfing, and more.   

The site’s owners Terry and Dave do a good job of providing reviews/descriptions and invite others to join in.  The site has a ton of potential.  I highly recommend bookmarking it and visiting often to check on what’s new.   

This is a beautiful spot for concerts in the spring/summer time along the bay downtown.  Concerts range from rock and jazz to comedy, blues, folk and international music. You can see the various performers who have been on their stage at: http://www.humphreysconcerts.com/roster.cfm

Check back in March for the 2007 season.  You can purchase a dinner/concert package and dine in the Humphrey’s Restaurant before the show.  I’ve only eaten there for their brunch,which is amazing, and is coupled with Jazz.  The food is excellent, the dining room with the music inside is a small fun venue.  I highly recommend it. 

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is the Summer Pops series of the San Diego Symphony.  The venue is beautiful located just behind the Convention Center by the Bay, on the Marina Park South peninsula.  The series runs July-September.

http://www.sandiegosymphony.org/summerpops/index.php 

You can sit up close at a table with wine and food service or further back as you like.  You can also order a meal to be ready for pick up and take it to your seats.  This is a great option for couples who have one who hates the traditional symphony in a theatre setting.  You get to enjoy world class music but in a more relaxing, open air environment. 

If you don’t want to head downtown or to Hillcrest or beyond into LA for shows, music or otherwise we do have a local venue that is supposed to be pretty good. 

We haven’t made it there yet in spite of several opportunities to see a few singers we really like who came there. 

The Belly Up is located in Solana Beach in the Cedros District (a long strip of a road that offers great shopping by the way for more unique furniture and art and a few good restaurants.) So, literally 5-10 minutes from Carmel Valley you could take in a decent show in what I’m told is a cozy venue. 

Here’s the link to their info: http://www.bellyup.com/

Each year, some pretty good restaurant choices in San Diego join in on Restaurant Week.  in 2007it will be January 7-12th, 2007.  Here are the participating restaurants: http://www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com/

Over 125 participating restaurants throughout San Diego County, each offer a special fixed-price, three course dinner menu for just $30 or $40* per person (beverages, tax and gratuity not included).  A great deal.  We haven’t made it yet to participate, but we’re hoping to this year.

Don’t forget to make reservations early as you can imagine getting into the popular restaurants that week is rough.  For those of us in North County, the following restaurants are all participating in 2007:

$30

Addison
Americana
Arterra Restaurant at the Marriott Hotel Del Mar
Epazote Oceanview Steakhouse
Market Restaurant & Bar
Pacifica Del Mar
Pamplemousee Grille