Cali Day #7

Today we drove from Newport Beach through Laguna Beach and ended up in San Diego. We stopped in a cool Main Street kind of area in Newport for lunch at a place called the Panini Cafe. We both got great sandwiches. I ordered a veggie hummus panini on multi grain bread. It was really unique though because it had roasted eggplant, hummus, pesto, tomatoes and MINT. The mint was an amazing addition. It just popped with great flavor. Here’s a pic but it doesn’t do it justice. I also had their house made lentil veggie soup.

The Panini Cafe in Newport Beach

We have been anticipating the great food in San Diego for a while. Many people have suggested we go to “Old Town” and go to an authentic Mexican restaurant. There were many in this area, and I’m not sure I picked a true “authentic” restaurant, but it was very good. I wanted to order a tamale because I have maybe only had one in my life. I recently watched Alton Brown make them on Good Eats so I wanted to try a good one. I ordered a Baja fish taco (amazing) and a black bean tamale.

Cafe Coyote

I realized tonight that I have only had seafood on this trip, with the exception of one hotdog at the ball game. I haven’t done this on purpose, it just happened. The seafood here is amazing though and always available. I’ll think about trying something else in the next couple of days. What can I say though?! I love fish and shrimp!