Taste of Mama Sparkles - New Seasonal Salads at Boudin SF!

*Click the Columns tab to see an explanation of Taste of Mama Sparkles.

I've always been a huge fan of sourdough bread. And Boudin Bakery seems to do it best. I mean, just look at this crab. Who wouldn't want to devour that in one sitting?!

Seriously tasty bread. So, I knew that Boudin had fantastic bread...which also means that their sandwiches are the bomb because of the bread. But, I hadn't tried their salads before. I've never been a huge salad eater. Perhaps it's because of the all the sad, pale iceberg lettuce and wilty cucumber and tomato combinations out there. They just don't taste that great. I like a little substance to my salad, which surprisingly is kinda hard to find.

I was willing to give Boudin's salads a shot though - because if they can make delicous sourdough bread in the shape of a crab, they should be able to make a decent salad, right? Luckily, my suspicions were absolutely correct!

At the San Diego blogger event, Chef Alan (who is awesome by the way), presented four salads to us. Each one was totally unique, and there was not one hint of iceberg lettuce, wilted cucumbers or pale tomatoes to be seen.

Instead, we were treated to spring mix, baby spinich and crunchy romained lettuce. These salads were packed with yummy things like chicken, green beans, goat cheese, beets and mangoes. As a "salad hater" I just could not get enough! These are the salads we got to try:

These are the Mango & Red Quinoa, Bacon, Blue & Beets, Forbidden Rice & Chicken Sesame and Lemony Couscous salads. I loved them all, but if I had to choose a favorite it would be a toss up between the Mango & Red Quinoa and the Bacon, Blue & Beets salads. The mangoes were super fresh with just the right amount of quinoa, red grapes and goat cheese. The house-made citrus vinaigrette was delicous! And how can you go wrong with bacon, blue cheese and beets? The answer is, you can't. This salad was jam packed with hearty goodness, including chicken, green beans, spiced walnuts and ranch dressing.

Needless to say, I will be back very soon for more salad AND for some crab bread! If you try any of these seasonal salads, let me know what you think!

What about you? What's your favorite item at Boudin Bakery?

Souplantation

I love Souplantation! I've always been skeptical of "all you can eat" buffet restaurants because even though they are kid-friendly and you get to eat a lot of food, they have never left a good impression on me. They're usually crowded, with food that's been sitting out for too long, and even though I can eat as much as I want to I never do. I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth, quite literally. So when we got an invitation to go out to Souplantation with friends, I reluctantly agreed. To my surprise, I was so impressed with the restaurant that my husband and I now look forward to going once a month.

First of all, the food is GREAT. We're talking fresh salads of every kind, a variety of made-from-scratch soups, a choice of healthy pasta, and delicious baked goods. Throw in some fresh fruit and some ice cream for dessert and we're good to go. For less than ten dollars per person, it can't be beat. It is also incredibly kid-friendly and has a pleasant staff. They usually will bring you free cookies and offer to refill your drinks. Even though the restaurant can get pretty crowded, they are super efficient and you never have to wait in line for very long. The tables are appropriately spaced so that when there are a lot of people eating, you still feel like you have your own private family space. My baby loves it too - he likes to chill out in his high chair and observe all the different families...it keeps him entertained the whole time! The restaurant never gets old because every month they have a different theme where they create special menu items (this month the theme is "Flavors of Mardi Gras".) This is one buffet where I always go back for more!

Have you eaten at Souplantation? What are some of your favorite kid-friendly restaurants?

Extraordinary Desserts

Photo by kimberlykv

One of my favorite places to eat in San Diego is a divine restaurant called Extraordinary Desserts. They have the most delicious cakes, tortes, fruit tarts, cookies and over 30 flavors of fresh ice cream. All the desserts are displayed in elegantly glass cases, inviting you to drool over them. One thing that makes it even better though is while it may not look it, it is actually quite kid friendly. My husband and I have taken our nine month old with us multiple times, and each time it's been a pleasant experience. The restaurant itself is pretty loud, so we didn't have to worry about him making too much noise. Each time we went, we were greeted with smiles and promptly provided with a high chair. Our son enjoyed looking at all the colorful desserts and even met a few other baby friends there. What's more is that it has a great adult atmosphere, making it perfect for a romantic date WITH your child!

Another reason we love to go is not only for the desserts but for the variety of cheese they offer. It's so relaxing to go and sample the different cheeses (more on our cheese tastings in an upcoming post.) Their sandwiches are also wonderful. For those of you whose mouths are now watering and don't have the good fortune of living in San Diego, keep checking their website. They are working on providing some of their desserts through their online store. Oh, they also make a mean white hot chocolate - worth it for the trip alone.