Category: Food & Drink

New Eats: Soda & Swine, San Diego

April 25, 2017

One of my favorite things to do is try a new restaurant and I am so lucky to live in San Diego where there’s always a new, surprising local restaurant for me to experience.

Sitting at the bar at Soda & Swine
Recently I got to try a great new-to-me restaurant while at Liberty Station in Point Loma called Soda & Swine. This open, mid-century style restaurant was such a surprise in the best possible way. The atmosphere is the perfect mix of fun and sophistication with a corn-hole game outside and  a custom-built, glass-topped Foosball table that actually spans the room and accommodates multiple games at once.
For starters, Soda & Swine has some amazing cocktail and snack options. We chose to go old school with gin and tonics because they actually carry my favorite California gin from St. George, which I previously posted about here. We also ordered their spiced crispy chickpeas. I could have eaten all of these by myself, but I grudgingly shared.
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Gin & Tonic at Soda & Swine with St George Gin

Soda & Swine actually specializes in meat balls and baking (they bake their own bread!), but they do have vegetarian and vegan meat-less ball options with different and unique sauces! I enjoyed the bovine (beef) slider with traditional marinara and soft fresh bread. My man got a meatball pot pie, which was just as amazing as it sounds with a flaky crust and filled with their mouthwatering pork meatballs!img_4098
I recommend sitting at the bar if you get the chance to go with just one other person; the bartenders are really great and can give you great suggestions!
PS: There’s also a location in North Park!

Ruth’s Chris Gin and Tonic

August 2, 2016

Anyone who has ever had a drink with me knows I’m a big fan of the classic gin and tonic. My mom’s go to cocktail has always been a Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic. It must have grown on me, because I adopted it sometime around my 21st birthday. There’s something about the herbaceous flavor of gin that tickles my taste buds.

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That being said, when my brother told me about this cocktail he had at Ruth’s Chris, I had to try it and wanted to share! It’s a new twist on the classic. They call it a “Royal Street Gin and Tonic”, but since I will not be using an English gin, this name seems a little misplaced. Let me tell you a little bit more about the gin I’m using.

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I recently discovered St. George’s Terroir gin while I was living in Los Angeles and it’s such a winner. It has a really unique flavor meant to reflect the flavors of California. It’s made using local Douglas fir and California bay laurel. There’s also a hint of citrus in there! Another reason to love it that I hinted at is that St. George is distilled in Alameda, California. I’m always looking to try quality locally produced and American products! Lastly, I’m such a sucker for their bottles. The clear glass and barrel shape, green old west type print and California bear really appeal to me. The first time I purchased it, I bought the smaller size and I use it as a flower vase.

Now on to how we copied this drink!

You’ll need:

  • 1 sprig of fresh rosemary ( I’ve used dried muddled rosemary once, but trust me, it’s not very good! We happen to have a rosemary shrub in our yard and it’s extremely fragrant!)
  • 1 oz St. George Terroir gin
  • 1 splash of The King’s Ginger liqueur (Ruth’s Chris recipe calls for Domaine Canton)
  • 1 teaspoon whole pink peppercorns (we used Morton and Basset
  • tonic water
  • ice

This is the easiest cocktail and it is so beautiful! I can imagine serving this at holiday parties because it’s so festive looking! Simply combine your gin and tonic over ice and add your splash of ginger liqueur. Stir, top with pink peppercorns and garnish with fresh rosemary.

See? Easy!