San Diego 2012 - Part II: Hello OB!

We awoke to a slightly overcast first day in Ocean Beach (hereon out referred to as simply OB), eagerly ready to begin our "beer-cation" in our favorite U.S. city.  But first, breakfast and fitness were on the agenda.  I perused Dano's bathroom library and came across a recent issue of San Diego magazine, which coincidentally enough was a "Best of San Diego" issue and featured plenty of restaurant listings for OB.  We settled on a restaurant with a Mexican and vegetarian flair - Rancho.  We soon found that it was conveniently about a minute away from Dano's.  Upon entering, I'd remembered we'd eaten there once for dinner with Dano on a previous trip to San Diego, and the food was very good.  The menu boasted quite a bit of vegetarian and vegan selections, including vegan carne asada!  They also have a nice looking salad bar with fresh vegetables and dressings.  I opted for a breakfast burrito special, and it was tasty and filling.

Next, it was off to Robb Athletic Field to join the local gym.  Brewslut and I have been working with a personal trainer for about two years, so we felt it necessary to seek out a local gym so we wouldn't come back to PA out of shape.  We decided to join for an entire month since it was only $25 versus $5 per day, as we figured we'd go more than five times.  (We were correct... we went to the gym seven times during our visit.)

Pleeps is happy to be back at Pizza Port OB!

But enough of that.  First on the beer agenda was a visit to Pizza Port OB, the first of ELEVEN visits.  You see, I got it stuck in my stupid noggin that we should go to Pizza Port OB every day of our trip and have at least one beer during each visit.  It sounded like a reasonable goal for the trip, right?  I opted for the Middle Man IPA, while Brewslut chose the A.B.L.E. Stout.  I also got the OB 125th Anniversary Pale Ale, brewed in celebration for, well, OB's 125th Anniversary.  Both were excellent and got the trip started on the right foot.

A plethora of beer at Pizza Port OB!

Brew system at Pizza Port OB... right in front of the bar!

Next, it was over to one of our favorite spots, South Beach Bar & Grille, up on the Newport Ave. strip.  This place has the best fish tacos on the planet!  See below if you don't believe me.  Yes, they taste even better than they look!  They are even better when you add a side of rice and beans and wash it down with a fresh Ballast Point Sculpin IPA!  Plus we hit during Happy Hour, so the Sculpin was only $3.00 and the Wahoo tacos were $2.75 each!

Best. Meal. Ever!

Afterwards, we made a quick stop at the Olive Tree Marketplace, where they have quite an extensive beer selection.  I picked up a six pack of Deschutes Inversion IPA to share with Dano, while Brewslut picked up a few bottles of North Coast Old Rasputin.

For dinner, we settled on the OB Noodle House and treated Dano and Mags to dinner and drinks as a thank you for letting us crash for the duration of the trip.  Dano had taken us there on our last trip, and not only was the food bangin', but the beer selection was stellar as well!  I decided to go with the dry chow fun, which was pretty damn amazing, and paired it with Port's 6th Anniversary IPA, which was perhaps the best anniversary beer of theirs I've had thus far.  This year's offering was a citrusy, tropical fruity, juicy, lip-smacking DIPA.  After dinner, we retired to Dano's to chill for a bit, drink some of the aforementioned Deschutes IPA and hit the sack.

 

Stay tuned for Part III... coming soon!