Sear & There

An avid fan of Brian Malarkey and my desire to experience fresh new restaurants led me to this mysterious buzzed about spot for dinner a few months ago.  Everything was absolutely phenomenal.  The cheddar puffers to start, the famous shrimp & grits for round two, a delicious filet for the entree and the King Sundae complete with caramel and bacon to slide into home.  This meal, combined with the company of girlfriends and Italian wine made for one of the best dinners I have ever had.  Ever.  Led by many return visits and more "best dinners ever".  The staff is always great, the bar is glorious, and the crowd is full of successful young professionals eager to loosen their ties and let down their hair.  These components are what has kept Searsucker on top of their game and always busting at the seams with newcomers, return visitors and religious followers.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to the first round of Searsucker's soft lunch opening.  All meals seemed boring and anticlimactic in comparison to what was  to come.  And I soon found out why.  The renowned modern farm table decor, order upon entrance, and table number techniques gave it a casual vibe perfect for a quick lunch, with all the benefits of an upscale eatery.  The attention is in the details... simple serving dishes, familiar flavor combos with a bold twist, and an ambiance that is as much like a cozy home as it is a chic restaurant.

The menu was daring and delicious.  I ordered the steak and egg sandwich since I love breakfast at any time of day, and my friend Brian ordered the Crabcake Club, otherwise referenced as the C3.  Both were rich with flavor, beautiful in presentation and surprisingly prompt to the table to be devoured.  On top of the insanely flavorful sandwiches, the desserts they carried out were even simpler visually but vibrant in taste.  The chocolate dessert, which Malarkey's dubs "the most insane Twix bar you have ever eaten" is beyond rich.  The delicate lemon bar is a zesty breath of fresh citrus air.  And the carrot cake ice cream sandwich (pictured below) was definitely the crowd favorite.  The experience was a whirlwind of different flavors and scents in a hip homestyle setting and truly was the most memorable lunch I have had downtown.

"The idea is to get those with 30 minute lunches in and out in time to enjoy a gourmet lunch and make it back to work on time," stated General Manager Chris Puffer.  And with a perfect mix of fabulous food, modern country decor and the excitement of a wide open kitchen, this is just the place to be transported to on your downtime from the office, or anywhere else for that matter.

 Brittany & Brian gearing up for the meal

 The Steak & Egg Sandwich

 The Flank Team @ Searsucker

 The AMAZING Carrot Cake Ice Cream Sandwich

Made of Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice!

Strangely enough for a SoCal native, fall is my favorite time of year.  Football, leaves changing color, holiday parties, and MOST importantly the coveted annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.  Each year, the lingerie trend setter puts together a fashion event of epic proportions.  Complete with 5 themed runway sets, international superstar performances and behind the scenes interviews with supermodels like Marisa Miller and Alessandra Ambrosio, the VSFS is a collection of the most beautiful undergarments and boudoir pieces showcased by none other than the stunningly beautiful cast of Victoria's Secret's Angels.

This year, the performer chosen was none other than the sweet sexy Katy Perry, who's chart topping album blew her "I Kissed a Girl" single out of the water.  With hits like "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream" filling the commercial airwaves, it will be a breath of fresh girly-pop-air after last years performance by the synthesized sensation the Black Eyed Peas.  Joining her on-stage this year will be Senegalese singer/songwriter/producer Akon.

One thing missing from this year's festivities will be Heidi Klum, arguably the face of Victoria's Secret since Tyra and Gisele's departures from the runway show.  What a shame, since she has the most bangin' body of all the moms!  In fact, in 2005, just two months after giving birth to her baby, she returned to the runway with a fierce figure and her loving husband Seal to welcome her on-stage.  Just two years later in 2007, Heidi continued reigning the runway and joined Seal on-stage for a romantic duet that gave chills to the entire viewing audience.

This year is bound to be fantastic still, even without our German Princess guiding the way.  Some secrets of the show:  Adriana Lima will be making her post-baby debut by sporting the $2m Fantasy bra; the theme of the night is "A Thousand Fantasies", complete with sequins, feathers and insanely intricate wings only one could dream up; keep your ears peeled for Katy Perry's cover of Blondie's "Call Me".

Tune in 10/9c on Tuesday Nov. 30th for all the eye candy!

USB Fashion Show

Last week, my buddy Max Zien returned from a business trip to Hong Kong bearing gifts for all of us girls. Being the thoughtful gentleman he is, he got us each something fitting for our individual personalities. For the far east traveler, a lucky buddha statue. For the princess, a one of a kind ring. For the foodie, a wine cork from the Hong Kong Food & Wine Festival. The latter sound like home girl was gypped. But in reality, this young lady got the most unusual gift of all... what we thought was a simple souvenir turned out to be a USB flash drive in disguise!

This incident, combined with my new career move and obsession with Mashable, has led to a slight infatuation with geeky gadgets with fashionable twists. Don't act so surprised! Fashionistas can be nerdy too, especially the ones who intend on being successful in their career. And these curious USB plug in's aren't just for fashionista's... there is a flavor for everyone!

For the photographer:



For the Rancho Santa Fe trophy wife:



For the paleontologist:



For the wino (Thanks Max!):



For the kids:



For the rappers:



For the New Yorker:



For the pescatarian:



For the groom:



For the cops:

Halloween opens the flood gates to Electronic Music Festivals in San Diego

As San Diego grows in size and population, the lines between the norm and the new become more and more blurred. New scenes and phenomena are making their debut in San Diego now that the Finest City is being recognized for it's counterculture and hipster crowd. One of the most notable shifts in trends appearing in San Diego recently is the Electronic Music scene, which is more often associated with Miami or Los Angeles.

With large scale electronic music festivals popping up in Miami (WMC), New York (Electric Zoo), Los Angeles and Denver (EDC), it is to be semi expected that San Diego, next on the big city list, would follow suit. To me, San Diego's laid back vibe doesn't exactly correlate with the techno scene, bu with ever evolving collaborations filling the radio waves, I cannot say I am shocked. Although few attempts to bring a large scale electronic show have happened in the past year (Reset @ Sports Arena), it wasn't until the disaster at EDC happened last summer that artists started scouting out venues outside of Los Angeles for the Southern California stop on their concert tours. For those of you who did not see or hear the news following the Electric Daisy Carnival at the Coliseum this year, videos starting flooding the airwaves of underage concert goers getting trampled and stories of young girls overdosing on ecstasy starting surfacing. This catastrophic end to a usually peaceful festival caused an uproar in the electronic music scene, fueling rumors of future festival cancellation and casting a dark shadow of the electronic music scene as a whole.

To say that the electronic music scene is misunderstood is an understatement. The elements that comprise electronic music are drawn upon from all arenas of existing and futuristic genres of music, and have opened a lot of doors for mainstream music to engage a subculture that has only just been discovered in recent years. For a city like San Diego, who seems to be late catching on to trends related to anything but extreme sports, to recognize the existence and prevalence of this subculture is pretty awesome. And to celebrate it's revelation to the masses, San Diego hosted it's first Electronic Festival to date.

Heaven and Hell, put on at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, was the most hyped up concert event at the venue all year. Mimicking EDC it's big sister to the north, Heaven and Hell incorporated 3 stages, 6 internationally acclaimed DJ's, and 8 local artists up and coming on the scene. Previous Halloween raves have been attempted at different venues in San Diego, but the move to the DM Fairgrounds allowed the all night concert to reach a level it had never experienced before. With headliners like Dada Life, Hypercrush, Wolfgang Gartner and Fedde le Grand, those that were concerned Southern California would be wiped of the house music map were pacified and pleasantly surprised. Although I will admit the on stage light shows were seriously lacking relative to EDC, the sound was good, the crowd was pumped, and you couldn't help but feel an air of familiarity with the Sahara tent like structure filled with sweaty bodies bouncing to the beats.

Notable performances include Johnny James, a local favorite once comprising half of Istatic; Dada Life's rendition of Swedish House Mafia's "One", and of course Wolfgang Gartner's spooky jam "Undertaker", which was previously borrowed by the folks over at Monster Massive for their preview video. The smaller scale of this event (relative to the giants like WMC and Coachella) was nice, allowed for much more intimate interactions and if you were a local in attendance, some chance run in's with unexpected old faces. It would probably be in the Fairgrounds' best interest to keep this event for the long run... the only other action they get during the off season is the Rodeo and Annual Gun Show. How charmingly white trash! Step your game up San Diego, keep the beats coming!!!

Disturbing the Peace

Although I haven't gotten to enjoy as many summer concerts as I expected or would have liked, last months Ludacris show at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach was one of the best shows I've seen in a while.

For those of you who haven't been or read any of my previous pieces on this venue, the Belly Up Tavern is not only a perfect image of San Diego's live music scene, but the Belly Up has been continually voted “San Diego’s Best Live Music Venue” by several publications including the Union Tribune, The Reader and San Diego Magazine as well as heralded as one of the hottest clubs on the west coast by Rolling Stone Magazine. The laid back look and feel is complete with surf memorabilia and giant stuffed shark hanging from the rafters, with lots of tasty beers on tap and the yummy Wild Note Cafe just next door.

Ludacris is a unique artist for this eclectic venue, chart topping the pop and hip hop Top 100 on a regular basis, appearing in multiple major motion pictures, and a half dozen hit albums under his belt. With such a large array of hits over a 10 year period, it is no wonder that his performance, sponsored by Miller Genuine Draft, was essentially a catalog of all of his most popular songs (at least those of his devoted fans). To Luda's pleasant surprise, fans front and center in the crowd donned old tour t-shirts and righteously propped up old album covers for Luda's autograph.

Ludacris went back in time to the very beginning, and took a cognac laden stroll through his musical career. Starting with his classic anthem "Southern Hospitality", he performed his party jams, R&B influenced hits, and more recent tracks. All the while, Luda promoted his new liquor Conjure Cognac by giving a quick press bit and pouring heavy drinks for the crowd. Recently, Luda appeared on Jay Leno to promote his newest business venture, demonstrating that "Conjure is a collaboration between the [himself] and the famed cognac house Birkedal Hartmann" (www.cognac.com).

Music (and smell, arguably) are the most potent nostalgia inducing agents, and this concert proved that. Hearing all the party hits from high school really took me back, and was a little glimpse into a time period I had forgotten for a minute. Even more, viewing the show from the upstairs balcony in one of the most timeless and killer venues in the country made the experience even that much sweeter!

I'm HOWLing For You

In light of my obsession with music festivals and my allegience to Team Jacob (sorry bout it), I would like to do a highlight piece on one of my near and dear friends' new pet projects. With the inspirations of love and lust for life, in the glistening heat of South Beach, social butterfly and up-an-coming designer Tini Courtney has found her creative niche.

H.O.W.L., aptly standing for Handle Only With Love, is a business of love and labor for both Tini and her boyfriend/partner Jason Masik. The perfect pair of free spirited minds, the couple have created a unique and highly sought after steez that blends together high profile materials with whimsical notes of vintage Native American culture. Typically rocked in the contemporary layering style, H.O.W.L.'s chic and crafty pieces such a dreamcatchers, wrapped pendants and earrings capture the eclectic embrace of nature in fashion. "We live for the inspiration that consumes us by learning about the Earth, different cultures, and anything with a story behind it" say creators Tini & Jason. This language is universal, for the unique healing powers of each stone used and the time, love and energy put into each handcrafted piece truly speak to all people.

These one of a kind pieces can be found at a variety of stores in Miami (try Nightowl for more fun, spooky sexy stuff) or visit the H.O.W.L. website to view custom pieces and contact these two brilliant designers for some charms of your own!

Below, Alessandra Ambrosio sporting one of H.O.W.L.'s pieces at Coachella, one of my favorite designs featuring bullet adornments, and the dynamic duo H.O.W.L.ing about town...