Happy Anniversary! | Sabina's

We're so happy to celebrate one year of wedded bliss!

It's been an eventful ride that began with our wedding day, and continued with craziness like illness, career changes, finances, and a roller coaster house hunt (that's not over yet!)...as well as some wonderful family and friends, travels, accomplishments and, of course, food.

But those ups and downs seem like just a shadow of the tremendous blessing that is married life, because, at the end of the day, the best thing ever is simply the magic of being together.

So it was only fitting to celebrate in a simple, low-key way...with a visit to our friend Sabina. 

Sabina's is a verrrrry quirky little hole-in-the-wall that we discovered a few months ago. The first time we went, we didn't quite know what to make of it. It doesn't look like much more than some sort of small, mismatched cafeteria. Sabina serves as hostess, waitress and chef, while her husband buys the groceries and occasionally waits on tables. The food is nothing fancy, but made with lots of love. 

Service is notoriously slow, so the regulars come in, grab a menu, and seat themselves. It's not unusual to grab your own drinks, utensils and condiments too.

The meal always starts out with pickles, a dollop of sour cream and some chilies, shortly followed by some generic sliced white bread wrapped in a paper napkin. 

You can choose from a handful of soups, which come out piping hot.

The modest selection of entrees has a rustic, Eastern-European comfort food kind of vibe. Your choice of sides is either rice pilaf or mashed potatoes. We've tried a number of dishes at Sabina's, and they're all good. The best way to end your meal there is with a sour cherry crepe. 

It was unusually packed during our last visit...Sabina and her husband seemed a bit overwhelmed. So much so that one of their regulars stayed around to volunteer his help after he finished his meal. 

After our meal, we went to some open houses, cleaned the apartment, cooked dinner on that annoying electric grill, and shared a bottle of prosecco from our honeymoon with our friends A+B. 

We were just any other couple spending any other Sunday together...the perfect way to mark year one. 

Going BIG in San Diego, Part II

After a BIG burger pit stop, we finally got to our destination — Coronado.

We can't confirm whether the Del is haunted, but it's definitely creeeeepy.

When this is right outside your doorstep, though, how bad could it possibly be?

Then again, we did have a mystery visitor in the night...but we think it was friendly.

BIG Brunch
Our mornings started with an overwhelming brunch buffet.

This isn't even half of the selection

There was so much going on that we mostly just grabbed an omelet and then called it quits...except when we felt like taking a BIG risk. Here, we present to you the prime rib breakfast taco.

Was it good or was it bad? You'll just have to try it to find out.

BIG Fish
Lunch was back in Ocean Beach, where the fish tacos at South Beach were ENORMOUS, as were the shrimp.

BIG Birthday
We celebrated two birthdays at Saturday's dinner, so Island Prime was more than appropriate with their huge double-cut pork chop and baseball cut steak.

Go BIG and Go Home
On Sunday, we concluded our visit with a San Diego must — carne asada fries from Lolita's.

This plate of fries topped with two cheese, guac sour cream and meat could've easily fed four, and yet, somehow, it was almost finished by two. Yikes! BIG mistake!

BIG Laughs
Not only was the food supersized — so was the fun.

 Giant Jenga

Thanks, SD and friends, for a BIG, beautiful weekend!