Menu Planning

Tonight our dear friends Chris and Kelly Reynolds are coming over for dinner. We have had many lovely dinners with the Reynolds fam, like when we experimented with Thomas Keller, or when we had an 8 course Valentine's Day.

Tonight's meal is a little different. Nothing super experimental, although there are a few new items that will be first attempts. Tonight, you see, we say farewell to these dear friends. I wish we were just saying "Bon Voyage" and could welcome them back in a few weeks, but no, that is not the case. Tonight we say goodbye to living within 15 minutes of each other, to watching embarrassing TV shows together every week, to singing (screaming) along to old-school mix tapes while stuck in traffic... to a great couple that was willing to try all sorts of new things with us -- from stinky cheese and mussels to Kelly letting me run alongside her for her first half marathon.

To Chris and Kelly: We will miss you dearly, but boy are we gonna have fun tonight! And with that, I present this evening's menu. Double click to make it big enough to actually read.

Finally Becoming a 'Regular'

*image courtesy of www.sdurbankitchen.net*

I, like most of us, have always wanted to be a 'regular' at a restaurant I love. When Glenn, Matt and I would go to C-Level for what we dubbed "Month-End Dinner" -- I thought that would be our place. Didn't happen. I think it's too big, so even though some of the servers recognize us, there are far too many sections to be seated in and far too many servers to get to know one or two of them well.

Enter my new favorite 'casual but still delicious' eating establishment in San Diego -- Cucina Urbana. I had kind of been sick of the San Diego food scene, with the exception of Market, and frustrated that the one place I loved would cost me $300 every time I ate there. THEN I read something about Cucina Urbana, saw that reservations were hard to come by (always a good sign), checked out the menu online (everything is under $20! what! i must go!) and turned 28. The turning 28 piece is relevant because Matt and Jessica took me out to dinner for my birthday, and let me pick anywhere I wanted to go... naturally, I had to pick this hot new place I was dying to try.

It was a week before we wanted to go, and the only reservation they had available for the date was 9:45pm. I made it. For some reason I decided to check OpenTable the day of our reservation, and someone must have had a last minute cancellation because a 5:45 slot had opened up! I promptly switched times, and boy am I glad I did, because Cucina Urbana is a place you want to be able to spend hours.

In the *heart* of Banker's Hill -- aka right between Little Italy and Balboa Park -- Cucina Urbana is fresh and modern, but also cute and cozy. They have a bar and common tables for those who weren't lucky enough to secure a reservation, as well as tables along the walls and throughout the restaurant. The space is filled with decorative pillows, low-hung chandelier-like lights, and vintage magazine and poster prints. Jessica, who has the most discriminating atmosphere taste of all of us, instantly fell in love.

We took our seats and our waiter, Gabriel, introduced himself to us. He described his favorite dishes in each section of the menu, explained that sharing everything is his favorite way to go (sharing food! my love language!), and recommended a wine in the under $30 range he said would be excellent for what we wanted. ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!?!?!?! It was my turn to fall in love. Not with Gabe, as we now know him, although he is our favorite server and we have since requested him and learned more about his life and loves, but with the place as a whole.

In true birthday fashion, we ordered half the menu. I have my food soul mate, Matt Hughes, to thank for this. "Why wouldn't we get 5 appetizers, 4 entrees, a bottle of wine, and dessert?" My sentiments exactly. It's not gluttony, it's enjoying life and the abundance God has blessed us with.

The stars of the evening were the gnudi (not quite as good as Spotted Pig's, but still delicious and better than this attempt), the goat cheese and apricot spread (which, unfortunately, they have removed to make room for new spring flavors), the fried squash blossoms, the pork chop, the black cod, and the ravioli. Yes, we did order more than what I just listed out.

Since this fabulous birthday treat of an evening, I have had the pleasure of returning to Cucina Urbana 3 more times. Every time has been equally exciting, and every time I have tried something new. The burger is out of this world -- in a category of its own as far as I'm concerned. The dessert menu is boring, or so you would think by reading the descriptions, but I tell you it rivals Extraordinary Desserts as most delicious sweets in San Diego. The service is always excellent, especially when you have the pleasure of sitting in Gabe's section. And the ravioli, perfect pillows of pasta that pair excellently with pinot noir. Tried to include more P's in that sentence but I didn't want to push it.

Cucina Urbana

505 Laurel Street

San Diego, CA 92101

www.sdurbankitchen.com

Vocalize Your Dreams

I have been thinking about the future, about my dreams, about what in the world my goals are a lot lately. I know my over-arching goal in life is, and has always been, to have a positive influence on people, helping to mold and develop them into the best leaders they can be, and thus help them grow closer to Christ. As for a goal for what I want to "be" or "do" or what not -- I am 28 and still uncertain.

Earlier this week I was reading Jasmine Star's blog (a photographer in Orange County), and was challenged by her three-step approach to moving forward in this area. Here is what she said, with my commentary beneath each step.

1. Set your goal

This seems simple enough, but the more I think about it, the more confused I get. What in the world is my goal? Is my goal to make a living writing about and experiencing foods around the world? Is my goal to work my way up in College Student Affairs and help students grow? Is my goal to be a stay-at-home whatever? Is my goal to be a leadership consultant to small businesses, churches, and other organizations? Setting a goal is a much more difficult task than simply reaching into the hat and picking one.

2. Vocalize your dreams to your trusted allies.

This completely makes sense, and yet is utterly horrifying at the same time. I like that she says to share your dreams with "trusted allies" and not just "vocalize your dreams." There is such vulnerability in saying your dreams out loud, even to people who are close friends. I know when I started this blog, and as I continue to dream about its growth, nervousness creeps over me when I think about telling people what my hopes and aspirations for it are. I mean, what if it doesn't happen? What if they think my ideas and dreams are lame? What if I fail?

This last question is one that haunts me in almost every area of my life. What if I fail?

Failure. Nobody likes it, nobody wants it, and yet we are trapped in mediocre lifestyles because we are so afraid this thing, failure, will take over. Another thing Jasmine Star said in her post was that it was better to fail at something you love than to succeed at something you hate. Ick. The thought of this gets to me on a deep level and totally challenges the things I am doing and ways I am living every day.

3. Create an action plan to make things happen.

This, step 3, seems like the fun part. And the easy part. Once I figure out my goal and vocalize my dream, what is left to lose? All I can do is win, and creating an action plan almost always ends in some sort of win, even if it's just the fact that I MADE the action plan! Of course, this step doesn't come until you've gone through the harder stuff, and of course there is still the chance your dreams will be crushed and you will fail... but I have have have to trust that, even if I fail, I will be the happiest in the long run if I pursue what I love.

I will keep you posted on the further development of these thoughts, as well as some of my dreams (is the entire world wide web a trusted ally? probably not...) as I slowly narrow them down and give them each their own name. Until then, here is a fun picture from a photo shoot I did several months ago for my *new* blog ... courtesy of the fabulous Bronson Pate!