adventures in dining with bite san diego!

a few months back a friend posted a groupon on her fb wall for a walking food tour of san diego, asking if she had any takers in organizing a trip together? being the foodie i am, i jumped at the offer. so thanks to the organization of a few gal pals we purchased some tickets, set a date and booked the tour. let me tell you, some of the best decisions are made on the spur of the moment and this was one of them!



so excuse some of the blurry photos, i forgot my camera and resorted to my iPhone, which is always hit and miss.

our first stop was royal india, where we met our very knowledgeable tour guide eddie. as we enjoyed our first treat of samosas and other indian delights, eddie started with some history of san diego and all the fun facts it has to offer.

our first course...

we then ventured out into the city on foot, after all, exercise it the best way to work up an appetite!
can you believe this used to be considered a sky scraper back in the day? our next stop on the trip was croce's, opened by famous singer/songwriter jim croce's wife after he passed away, fulfilling their life long dream of having a place together.

we were treated to their fiery and fabulous chili bacon bloody mary's. i'm not going to lie, this drink can cure anything that ales you. they make their own chili bacon infused vodka for this cocktail and it is every bit worth stopping in for.
the girls enjoying the cocktails and yummy firecracker shrimp, while listening to great live music.
back out on the street, we headed to a little gem of a pizza place in the keating hotel, called crust. this place will make anyone who has longed for a slice of what new yorkers call real pizza, think died and went to heaven. they employ their own full time baker and it shows, the crust and bread are perfect and the flavors of pizza, tantalize the taste buds. being italian i am skeptical about fruit on my pizza, but i tried the pineapple, capicolla, and jalapeno pizza and was happily surprised by the sweet and spicy flavor on the perfectly crunchy crust! other flavors including the cheese and pepperoni standards, were pesto and gorgonzola and artichoke and chicken! all fabulous!




the pizza, tom working the oven's and the wonderful hand made breads.
out onto the sunny streets to continue our sight seeing, while heading to our next destination. our guide eddie pointed out great buildings, along with fun history of the growth of san diego through the years. the next stop was karl strauss for some much needed refreshments after the long walk.




we enjoyed a tour at karl strauss while sampling great beer. i am not a big beer drinker, but i really enjoyed their lager and their raspberry ale!
here's our tour guide eddie posing for a pic with our rowdy group!













next my personal favorite place, little italy. our final savory stop of the day was indigo grill, where we enjoyed chips and scallop ceviche with fresh homemade guacamole.











on to the best part of any one's day, at least i know it's the best part of the day for me, DESSERT. what better way to finish off a great day of food, fun, and laughter than with a delicious cannoli.


a great bakery and restaurant right in the heart of little italy is cafe zucchero. i'm telling you, your italian nona would be proud to serve these little packages of heaven.
it doesn't stop with these, the bakery cases are loaded with mouth watering pastries and even some creamy italian decadence, gelato. check out these pics, to get you off your chair and into your car heading south!
all in all, this was a great way to spend the day with friends. we enjoyed wonderful food and drink and eddie was beyond great! i would recommend this tour to anyone with a taste for culinary adventure and history. bite san diego wraps all this into one beautiful package. next stop, i think we might have to try their coronado tour next! you can check them out on the web at
http://www.bitesandiego.com/