Belly Dancing at Birdhouse
Tucked in Costal 101 is Birdhouse. A Turkish restaurant that we begin to frequent after our neighbor Lerzan introduced us to gyros and belly dancing. On Friday and Saturday nights, this cozy restaurant has 2 belly dancing shows. The kids love it! Be ready to see your kids practicing belly dancing in front of the mirror.
Janine specially LOVES the belly dancer and imitates her every single move. (Free lessons?)
The food is okay. I especially like the appetizers! My personal favorite is the gyro.
Virgin at Jack’s
On our 2nd wedding anniversary, I decided to surprise my husband by taking him out. Is it my faulty memory or have I never really taken my husband out for the 4 years that we’ve been together?!? It sounds pretty bad but hey I make it up in other areas.
After much internet and magazine scanning, I decided it was time for us to try Jack’s in La Jolla. I even contacted Chef Roland of La Folie in San Francisco to ask for some suggestions. La Folie was our favorite special occassion restaurant. It was were I first tried foie gras, truffles and caviar. Chef Rolad recommended Mille Fleurs in Rancho Sta. Fe and George’s in La Jolla. However, I decided not to make reservations in both restaurants because of the mixed reviews. Mille Fleurs sounded snotty, overly expensive and not everyone was happy about the food. George’s didn’t have foie gras. Thus, Jack’s.
I made the reservation 2 weeks early (yes, I used to be a Girl Scout!). They were only open from 430-830 on Sundays. We needed to be at the La Jolla Playhouse for Carmen the Musical at 7pm and the show ends at 930. I made a 430 reservation specifically asking if dinner will be serve by then. The girl who took my reservation said yes. A week before our anniversary, I got a 20 usd gift certificate from Jacks through email. I replied saying thanks and added that I made reservation s already for 430. Then, I got a reply that dinner is not served until 530?! Infuriated, I wrote back about my conversation with the person who took my reservation. Then comes an email thread from the resto’s owner Bill and followed-up by Chef Tony?!? I was at the brink of cancelling my reservation because it was all too confusing for a simple reservation but with the owners taking attention I decided to set aside my annoyance and still try Jack’s.
They didn’t let me down. The Sonoma foie gras was exceptional. Melts in your mouth! My entree was the Spice Crusted Sea Bass in Soy while Carsten opted for Duck Breast. It was pretty good. My only regret is that I couldn’t eat it without ruining its presentation. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay longer and have dessert. I guess that means we’ll have to come back. Oh and they have a wonderful deal where VIP members get free entrees on Sundays when you order 2 entrees and 2 drinks. Great dinner for 25% the price of last year’s anniversary dinner. Reasonable pricing and delectable food, what more can I ask?
