Going BIG in San Diego, Part I

We had a BIG weekend with lots of things to celebrate — a friend's birthday, a reunion of college buddies and 7 years of E+J — and there was no better way to spend it than in San Diego under a BIG blue sky with some great friends.

We started our adventure in Ocean Beach. Not much has changed since we were last there about 5 years ago — it's still the same laid-back, slightly crunchy beach town.

BIG Burgers
We were in OB for a late lunch at Hodad's, where both the burgers and the lines are huge.

A typical wait — luckily, we had somehow missed the lines that day

The funky surfer beach shack interior and San Diego's version of Sriracha

We started with a mountain of hot and crispy Frings, a mix of fries and onion rings.

They don't kid around with their burgers. They were piled high with a generous patty, tons of sweet, mild onions, crunchy pickle slices, thick slices of tomato and a handful of lettuce.

BIG Bacon

There is major bacon craziness here. Not just a couple of slices, but a giant disc that was pretty much its own patty.

It's no coincidence that Hodad's is on Newport and Bacon

BIG Shake

We ended the meal by splitting a ginormous vanilla shake crowned with a huge hunk of ice cream. They probably don't use any milk in this thing — just lots of hand-scooped, old-school Thrifty ice cream.

Like sleepy beach towns, no-frills milkshakes and dating anniversaries, some traditions are definitely worth keeping!

Read more about our BIG weekend...