San Diego Part Four: Rainy Day Eating and Shopping

We had a great, slow day yesterday. Throughout the day it rained steadily in La Jolla so we were scratching our heads trying to figure out what to do with the day.

Whenever I go places I like to make a checklist of sorts of things to do so that I do not forget and one thing that is always on my list in California is to hit up In-N-Out Burger. This legendary spot is home to one of the biggest secret menus I have ever encountered. Yes, from working for McDonald’s I do know of some semi-secret menu items that are more cult classics than officially secret menu items; at In-N-Out Burger there is the actual (not so secret) secret menu.

We knew about the secret menu last year when we visited, but we did not really order from it. It left us wondering what all the hype was about. With our low-carb lifestyle we appreciated the “Protein Style” burgers wrapped in a lettuce leaf rather than in a bun; but we did not know about “Animal Style”. So, when we visited yesterday we took full advantage of the secret (ish) menu with our orders.

The menu you see at In-N-Out Burger.

I had the “3x3 Protein & Animal Style” burger. This burger was so much better than my last In-N-Out Burger! As you can see these burgers are not photogenic, but some of the best food is not charming to look at. This picture is actually way better eye candy than the mess that came after a few minute. The burgers left saucy goo left at the bottom of our tray and on our hands, but it was worth it!

Next time you are in California you have got to stop at In-N-Out Burger! If you eat fries make sure you try them “Animal Style” too!

In-N-Out Burger was just a quick stop on our way to shop at an outlet mall on the border of Mexico. I was pretty happy with my haul, I bought a beautiful Banana Republic dress for $30 from $100 and a bunch of gym clothes for cheap at Adidas. With the exchange I spent about $100. Kevin also bought me a beautiful birthday gift at Coach.

Not pretty, but very tasty! 

On the way back we were treated a show on the I-5. The rainy day turned into a torrential down pour. We watched the lines form to get to the border crossing; it extended way past our exit to La Jolla (a good twenty minutes at least of our at pace driving). Storm drains were so backed up that the interstate was flooding, we watched a beautiful Mercedes hit a lake of water and stop full on (bye-bye engine). Sports cars lined the highway, we saw a couple of accidents and people pulling off simply because they could not see. It was like a white-out on Canadian roads but with water.

We pitied everyone trying to get away to Mexico for the weekend, typical wait times for end of work day on a Friday are minimum 85 minutes, I bet it was MUCH longer yesterday.

We had a little bit of time back at the condo before our supper reservations at The Hake. We had show-and-tell with all of our new things and then drove down to the restaurant. The rain was still drizzling normally we walk to and from supper.

After a great supper at Whisk and Ladle on Sunday, the Hake had a lot to live up to. Whisk and Ladle is a La Jolla favourite, it always delivers. I tried beef cheek for the first time there on Sunday and it was amazing. Embarrassingly, I had never eaten an olive before either and tried olives for the first time from their cutting board. Lets just say I enjoyed the beef cheek much more than the olive.

The Hake was fabulous! They had a wide range of seafood and land dishes. I tried hamachi for the first time and I loved it. I am a big fan of calamari and octopus as well. I had a little bit of everything, I ordered the rib-eye lettuce wraps to start and the calamari and shrimp appie as my main. It was amazing! I would recommend it if you can’t get a reservation at ‘George’s at the Cove’ above (perfect for a rainy day!).