Searsucker Restaurant - San Diego

Celebrity chef Brian Malarkey of Top Chef fame, dishes out tasty bites and drinks from this hip, loud and jammed packed bar and restaurant.  There aren't many times when there is a roped off line to enter a restaurant, but here it is the place to see and be seen.

The music is almost deafening loud in the bar area, and conversation must take place at an almost shouting match level.  Despite that, finding room to maneuver around the bar can be quite a task.

Cheddar Puffers

The Cheddar Puffers are a cross between a savory cream puff and cheese bread found in Brazilian BBQ places like Fogo De Chao.  Unfortunately, they were slightly underdone and the real cheese essence wasn't emanating to the forefront.

Crab Cake

The Crab Cake Jumbo Lump "Carb Free" & Tabasco, is filled with large pieces of jumbo lump crab meat.  There is no bread crumb filler, but has way too much mayo for my taste.  Topped with salmon roe for a briny little burst of flavor and to add some textural contrast, this dish just wasn't to my liking.

Pork Belly

The Egg & Bacon "Pork Belly" is purely porkaliciously good.  The pork belly is super tender and falls apart with the slightest nudge.  Topped with a perfectly poached egg, whose yolk adds to the richness of the sauce is just over the top heaven.  There is a hint of citrus to the dish to help cut down on the richness of the dish, but it was just a little too strong which seemed to just slightly detract from the dish.

Duck Fat Fries

The Duck Fat Fries & Tomato Jam are a pure winner.  What could be wrong with crunchy confit potatoes?  The fries are cooked to a perfect golden brown with a great crunch.  The taste of the duck fat does shine through.  Topped with bread crumbs and aged hard cheese, this is a definite winner.  The tomato jam is on the slightly sweet side, and wasn't to my liking.  I don't think the tomato jam was necessary as the fries are already bursting with flavor.

Hanger Steak

The Hanger "Butcher Steak" was very tender but somehow lacking in that real beefy taste.  The watercress and arugula salad with bleu cheese adds a nice salty, pungent kick to the dish.

Culotte Steak

The Culotte "Top Sirloin Cap Steak" is just the opposite of the hanger steak and bursting with a strong juicy and beef flavor. Topped with tired looking arugula and french fried onions, the dish is a winner.

Jalapeno Chorizo Corn

The Jalapeno-Chorizo "Corn Off the Cobb" unfortunately sounds much better than it tastes.  One would expect a lot of flavor and heat from this dish, but both were lacking.  The corn was fresh, but seemed to be lacking any real flavor.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta

The Buttermilk Panna Cotta has a great subtly sweet, tangy flavor and is somewhat refreshing.  It comes with an apple compote, mango compote and pistachio sauce.  The apple compote was reminiscent of apple pie filling, while the mango compote was slightly lacking in that strong topical taste one would expect.  The pistachio sauce just seemed to subtle and got lost among the other components of the dish.  The dessert came with an odd cookie type things that sort of tasted like frozen raw pie dough.  It was shockingly salty and tasted of raw flour.  A definite deterrent to the dish.

King Sundae

The "King" Sundae is an apparent homage to Elvis Presley.  Consisting of peanut butter ice cream, honey bacon caramel, bruleed bananas, chocolate covered peanuts and whipped cream this is new school thinking on an old school favorite.  Although the components on their own sound great, somehow they didn't seem to come together into a cohesive dish.  There was another component to the dish which I couldn't put my finger on, but it had peanuts in it as well.

The menu seems to have more winners than losers, but after a small sample, it appears that sticking to the smaller plates is the better option.  The food is better executed and has more flavor.

New King Restaurant - Amsterdam

Winding through the maze of the Red Light District in Amsterdam, sits New King Restaurant.  While most people don't go to Amsterdam, particularly the Red Light District, for food New King Restaurant has quickly become a favorite, and one that I make sure to hit whenever I am in town.

Wonton Soup

The Wonton Soup may be some of the best that I have ever had.  The large bowl comes with 12 wonton that are busting at the seams with pork and shrimp filling, and large pieces of shrimp are seen through the almost translucent wonton skins.  A large bowl could easily make a meal by itself.

Salted Fish Fried Rice

The Salted Fish Fried Rice, while very good could be improved if larger pieces of fish were used instead of smaller flakes in my opinion.  A good amount of scrambled eggs are mixed throughout the dish, along with vegetables such as peas and green onions.

Fried Fish in Black Bean Sauce

The Fried Sea Perch in Black Bean Sauce is a large fish smothered in a tangy, salty and slightly sweet sauce.  The fish is cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside, while still moist and juicy on the inside.  For the size of the fish, the price is also very good.

While Nam King is somewhat of a small restaurant with a wait at almost any time of day, this is a must stop if the area and Chinese food is on your radar.


New King Restaurant
Zeedijk 115-117
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Best Rate Guarantee Success - The Westin San Diego

SPG has a generous Best Rate Guarantee, in which they offer an extra 10% off or 2,000 Starpoints if you are able to find a better rate than what it advertised on their website.  Although the 10% off is less than competitors Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott, the 2,000 Starpoints can be of much more value, especially if you are a frequent traveler.
 

At a recent stay at the The Westin San Diego, I was able to find a better rate, and was able to obtain an extra 2,000 Starpoints as well.

The best available rate on SPG.com was $242, but I was able to find a rate of ~$123.  Not only did I get the room for almost half price, a savings of $119 before taxes, I also managed to bank an extra 2,000 Starpoints.

With the current "Better by the Night" Promotion of double points, an extra 250 points for booking online, or 500 Starpoints for booking through their iPhone or Android app, and the current Foursquare promotion of 250 points for checking in, I managed to snag 2,724 points for this stay, or 21.8 points per dollar spent. 

 

As a Starwood Preferred Guest, you can either earn 2-4 Starpoints per dollar spent, depending on your “status”.

 

As you can see, an extra 2,000 Starpoints may be the equivalent of a $1,000 “spend”.  The lower the rate, the higher "Starpoint per dollar" you are achieving.

Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel

The Sheraton Mission Valley SanDiego Hotel is centrally located in San Diego, and conveniently located across the street from the Mission Valley Mall and right off the freeway.

The hotel is located about 10 minutes from Sea World, 10 minutes from the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park, and 15 minutes from downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter.

The hotel’s parking lot is rather small, and there are two parking areas, one directly in front of the hotel, and the other just off to the side.

As you enter the hotel, the front desk is slightly to the right.  Check-in was sort of confusing and a mess.  Although there were lines in front of each front desk agent, people would cut in front of other people and the front desk agents did nothing to control the situation.  People would also cut in front of other people to ask questions, or deal with other issues, which was also an annoyance.

There appeared to be a body building contest in town, along with a volleyball tournament.  It seems like the hotel should have been bettered staff, as there were only two front desk agents working at the time of the check-in.

After making my reservation online, I was sent an email asking if I wanted to upgrade to access to the Club Lounge for $20.  This is a real bargain, as access to the Club Lounge provides a continental breakfast, snacks and drinks throughout the day.

Unfortunately, there was no notification anywhere on the website or from the Front Desk Agents that the Club Lounge was being remodeled and had been moved to a very tiny meeting room.

Oddly, when I checked in I was asked if I wanted one bed or two.  I had reserved a King bed, so I thought it was sort of a weird question.  I told the Front Desk Agent that I wanted a King bed, which is what I had reserved.

I was given a room on the 14^th floor, and upon arriving at the room noted the sign of the outside of the room that I had been upgraded to a suite.  If I had told the Front Desk Agent that I wanted two beds, did this mean that I would not have been upgraded to a suite?

Room

Upon entering the room, there is a large dining table with a small wet bar area to the left.

Entry & Dining Room Table

Living Room

Wet Bar

Past the dining table, there is a couch and TV with large windows and a sliding glass door that opens out to a huge balcony that runs along the perimeter of the room with mostly great views of the freeway.

Balcony

Balcony

View from Balcony

The bedroom is rather large with a sitting area, TV and another sliding glass door that opens out to the balcony.

Bed

Sitting Room, Desk & TV

The bathroom is huge with double sinks and a towel rack.

Bathroom Sinks

Oddly, despite the bathroom being rather large, there is a hower/tub combo with a toilet in a very small area.

Shower/Tub

Toilet

The room is rather beat up with large stains on the carpet and peeling wall paper.  I was told at the time of check-out that they are in the process of renovating all of the rooms and Club Lounge.

Once the renovation is complete, I would expect the Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel to be a much more inviting property.  Hopefully, staffing issues will also be addressed.  Given the desirable location, I would definitely stay here again in the future.

Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam

The Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam hotel is one of the iconic buildings as you exit Centraal Sation.  Located right next to the Thomas Cook and the Heineken buildings, the Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam sits almost at the gateway to the Red Light District.

The Park Plaza Amsterdam is easy to spot, just look for the planters in the revolving door that sits at the entrance of the hotel.

The lobby is clean and fairly updated, but is sort of small.  The check-in desk is to the left, and was very fast and efficient.

As you enter the room, there is a small entry way with a closet.

To enter the "bedroom", there is a small step down that could be somewhat hazardous if drunk, or intoxicated in some other manner.

Bedroom

The king room is very small, and the bed takes up almost the entire space.  Oddly, there is a small desk right near the bed.

Bed & Desk

To the right is the bathroom, which is rather small.  There is a small sink, with a shower/tub combo.

Bathroom

Sink

Bath Amenities

Near the foot of the bed, there is a small sitting area with a dresser and TV sitting close by.

Sitting area, dresser, TV

The rooms are somewhat tired looking and are in need of renovation, but with the its great location, I don't see much money going into improvements until absolutely necessary

View from room

Rooms were ~$350 a night when I stayed there, but thanks to the Club Carlson "Big Night Giveaway", I was able to book this room with 50,000 Club Carlson points.

Best Rate Guarantee Succes - Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel

SPG has a generous Best Rate Guarantee, in which they offer an extra 10% off or 2,000 Starpoints if you are able to find a better rate than what it advertised on their website.  Although the 10% off is less than competitors Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott, the 2,000 Starpoints can be of much more value, especially if you are a frequent traveler.

At a recent stay at the Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel, I was able to find a better rate, and was able to obtain an extra 2,000 Starpoints as well.

The best available rate on SPG.com was $129, but I was able to find a rate of ~$112.  Not only did I get a savings of $17 before taxes, I also managed to bank an extra 2,000 Starpoints.

With the current "Better by the Night" Promotion of double points, an extra 250 points for booking online, and the current Foursquare promotion of 250 points for checking in, I managed to snag 2,724 points for this stay, or 21.8 points per dollar spent.

As a Starwood Preferred Guest, you can either earn 2-4 Starpoints per dollar spent, depending on your “status”.

As you can see, an extra 2,000 Starpoints may be the equivalent of a $1,000 “spend”.  If you can find rates around $100 per night, you are in essence receiving over 20 Starpoints per dollar spent, a great way to increase your Starpoint balance for future award stays.

Phils BBQ Restaurant - Point Loma

Phils BBQ is probably the first thing that comes to mind when BBQ is mentioned when in San Diego.  Featured on many shows and publications, like the recent series of Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America on Travel Channel.

The El Toro is a huge mound of char-grilled tri-tip topped with their super tangy and slightly sour BBQ.  The BBQ sauce is vinegar based, so it does have a slight, but distinct sour taste.  While pretty well balanced, it is a little too tangy for my taste, as I prefer Texas style BBQ sauce which is tomato based.

El Toro Sandwich

The Beefy Ribs are huge and loaded with meat, which is unusual as most beef ribs have very little meat.  A full order includes 5 ribs, which is way more than most people can eat in one seating.  A full Beefy Rib dinner comes with two small sides, or one large side.

Beefy Ribs

The Baby Back Ribs have a dry rub based, then topped with more of the tangy BBQ sauce.  The baby back ribs tastes like it may have some butter on it, as it is very rich.  The baby backs are fall off the bone tender, and are definitely porkalicious.

Baby Back Ribs

Phils is also famous for their onion rings.  Although good, they are pretty oily.  Given the choice, I probably would not order them again based on this visit.

Onion Rings