Wine Steals

Wine Steals is located on the eastern edge of Hillcrest, as the area begins to morph into North Park. On University Avenue, a few blocks west of Park Avenue, Wine Steals is a wine bar that also offers wine tastings and an array of tapas style food items. Glasses range from about $5-7.

Wine Steals is typically pretty crowded. They are going for a very European approach to drinking and dining. Many tables are large enough for multiple parties (depending on size, of course), and the wine bottles, which are also for sale, are the primary decor.

You order your drinks and food at the bar, take a number, and they bring it out you. The bartenders are typically quite knowledgeable, and they have a good selection of wines to choose from. The bartenders are friendly and will offer suggestions, even take your wine back if you aren't satisfied.

Yet for all their good efforts to be European, I think they have fallen short of what they strive for. The music is a bit too loud, the crowds a little too rambunctious. While the wines are quite delicious, the bread is a little stale, the cheeses nothing to write home about. Of course there are plenty of bars in Europe that have only mediocre food, but there is something more subtle than that. I suppose the best way to state it is to say it is slightly less civilized.

That's not to say it is a bad place. I would certainly return; it's just a matter of adjusting your expectations. It's an American Wine Bar, not European, and not Wine Tasting.


Wine Steals
1243 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 295-1188

Hours
Mon 4-10 pm;
Tue-Wed 2-10:30 pm;
Thu 2-11 pm;
Fri 2 pm-midnight;
Sat 11 am-midnight;
Sun 2 pm-9:30 pm

Hillcrest Cinemas

Located in the heart of Hillcrest, in the shopping center between University Avenue, Washington Street, 5th Street, and 6th Street, Hillcrest Cinemas is a great urban movie theatre showing independent films. It is part of the Landmark Theatres, the nation's largest theatre chain dedicated primarily to exhibiting and marketing independent film.

There are five screens. The seats are just your normal theatre seats (not the big cushy ones), but they are in good condition and have drink holders. They typically show all the well-known indie films, as well as others that aren't getting as much publicity; they typically have a good offering.

Along with a great array of indepedent and foreign films, the Hillcrest Cinema snack bar is a step up from your normal theatre. They serve hot teas and espresso drinks, chocolate bonbons, Italian sodas, vege dogs, and various other alternative snacks. Generally their food products a higher quality than your normal theatre.

To see a list of currently showing films click here.

Hillcrest Cinemas
3965 5th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 819-0236

Aqua Gardens Day Spa

The number of day spas in San Diego is fairly high, and it is rising. San Diego is finally becoming a sophisticated city. This means good news for people who like to live life well, and enjoy fine things, like good restaurants and spas. And it also means that more people will be bale to afford these things as more good restaurants and spas move to this city.

Aqua Gardens is a little over a year old, near the corner of 4th and Washington Street in Hillcrest. They do not have a parking lot, only street parking, so arrive early to ensure you find a spot on time. They will make change inside if you need it.

They offer a number of specials, the majority of them exclusively for first time customers. You can call to see what they are currently offering. I am a big proponent of using first-time customers specials (or any special discount). This means you can try a new place without a risk of feeling like you lost the money if the atmosphere or treatment wasn’t right for you. If it is right for you, then you can make a conscious choice to continue to invest the money to go there and receive treatments as part of your wellness plan.

Aqua Gardens offers a wet and dry sauna, and a pool, all available free of charge when you receive a treatment. You can also pay a day use fee to use these facilities without receiving a treament, though it is rather highly priced, though other treatments are average.

The staff is very friendly, and the owner is often at the reception desk. He is very willing to accommodate requests and even changes at much later dates than many spas. They use Young Living Essential Oils, a very high grade of essential oils. The bathroom is well stocked with plenty of towels and products. But there is only one, and it is the only changing room, which can be problematic if many others at the spa at the same time, though because it is a very small location you will often find yourself there a lone or with only a couple others. It is in a remodeled house, which also adds to the charm. They offer you tea or water when you arrive and depart. Overall it is a pleasant experience, though for me nothing extraordinary.

UPDATE: Aqua Gardens is no longer in business.

Hillcrest Farmer’s Market

The Sunday Morning Hillcrest Farmer’s Market is on of the best Farmer’s Markets in San Diego County. It used to be held in the parking lot of the Department of Motor Vehicles near the corner of Park and University, on the east edge of Hillcrest. However, the market continued to grow and the surrounding parking wasn’t ample, so now the market is held on a long block of Park Boulevard, and the parking lot has returned to it’s usual purpose.

At the market there is a huge array of natural, organic, and always-local produce stands, selling everything form tropical fruits to Mediterranean delights, to heirloom varietals, to the basics. There is a mushroom booth, a nuts and grains booth, and a tea booth, as well. There are also a great number of prepared foods, to eat at the market or to take home. There is granola, olives, specialty olive oils, artisan cheeses, samosas, agua fresca, and many more.

My personal favorite prepared food booths are Gourmet Tamales from Carlsbad, and Guanni Chocolates from Fallbrook. The tamales are $2.50 each, which at first seems expensive, until you see how huge they are. One tamale is a full meal, and then the price seems fair. But when you bite into them you realize they are actually a bargain because the ingredients are incredibly fresh and high quality, with flavors like spinach feta, potato cilantro, and poblano in sweet corn. Guanni chocolates provide a similar experience, except sweet instead of savory. Again they seem expensive when you see only the price, but they are delightfully enormous, and when you bite into the decadent flavors you feel like you should be on a credit card commercial oohing and aahing over how priceless this chocolate experience is.

The market also hosts a number of craft booths, which range in products and quality. I would prefer that these booths be limited to hand-made goods by local artists and craftsmen, but the yare not. This means that some booths offer locally made products, but others offer goods imported. Some of these imported goods are nice products, but I think that these products are not appropriately sold at a farmer’s market. Still, the range of products by local artisans includes handmade books, beautifully crafted scarves, clothes such as skirts, shirts, and dresses, and jewelry.

The must-tries include the heirloom tomatoes and watermelon, the fresh herbs, the exotic fruits, the chocolate, and tamales. Bring your grocery list, because the farmer’s market is one of the best places to stock up on all your basics. You can’t beat the freshness, and the prices are great, too.

Two San Diego Chocolatiers: Guanni and Chuao

San Diego chocolate lovers can boast about being the home of two top-notch gourmet chocolatiers: Guanni (Goo wan ee) and Chuao (Choo wow). Both these artisan chocolatiers use the highest quality South American cocoa, fresh fruit and other all-natural ingredients. Neither includes artificial flavors nor preservatives. The results are delicious, decadent, delightful chocolates.

Guanni is truly a one-woman show. Mariella Balbi creates the flavor combinations, makes the chocolates, and sells them herself at three farmers’ markets locations in San Diego. The chocolate making lineage goes back three generations to her great-grandmother, but all of her recipes are her own. She began Guanni chocolates in July 2003 and it is named after her three sons, Gianni, Guanalvaro and Ian. Balbi, originally from Lima, Peru, specializes in South American and Peruvian flavors. Her “Criollo” chocolate takes its headlining flavors from Peru’s traditional milk desert with cinnamon and vanilla, Manjar Blanco. Another Peruvian inspiration is Balbi’s “Pisco,” named after and created with the national drink of Peru, a grape brandy. Balbi’s top seller is “Cassis,” dark chocolate enrobed raspberries and cream of cassis ganache.

Balbi’s chocolates are made fresh every week, and she exclusively uses organic ingredients. They are low in sugar and high in antioxidants but still divine, making them an indulgence you can feel good about.

Chuao chocolatiers Michael Antonorsi and Brian Vandenbroucke use Venezuelan cocoa beans, but mix styles and flavors of the actual chocolates to include a number of traditionally French flavored chocolates with those of South America, as well as other parts of the world. Chuao is named after the region in Venezuela famous for producing high-quality cocoa beans.
An Asian influenced Chuao chocolate is their “Zen,” a ginger ganache infused with green tea in a dark chocolate shell. The “Tiramisu” is inspired from the famous Italian desert, with mascarpone cheese and coffee liquor butter cream. “Le Citron” blends lemon pulp with caramel and hint of mint, all covered in milk chocolate.

Artisan chocolatiers now outnumber independent drugstores in the United States, and the number is growing as consumers learn to appreciate the difference between grocery store chocolates and the higher-quality artisan chocolates. Just as vintners choose only prize grapes for their wines, chocolatiers search the world over to obtain the highest quality cocoa for their chocolates. And much like fine wine, which has gained popularity in the past few years, so are fine chocolates gaining respect and notoriety for their distinct flavors and qualities. These two chocolatiers are highly recommended to chocophiles, and to those who claim not to be chocolate lovers: watch out, you just might be converted.


Guanni Chocolates
www.guannichocolates.com
guannichocolates@san.rr.com
858.337.6805
Sold at San Diego Farmers’ Markets and select boutiques.
They also deliver; place orders by phone or email.

Hillcrest Farmers’ Market
Corner of Normal St and Lincoln (DMV's parking lot)
Sunday from 9:00 till 1:00 pm
www.hillquest.com

Chuao Chocolatier
www.chuaochocolatier.com
Info@chuaochocolatier.com

Chuao Chocolatier
The Lumberyard, Suite C-109
937 S. Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92025
1-888-635-1444

Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday 11 am. - 6 pm.
Sunday 10 am. - 4 pm.