True Food Kitchen: Delicious Food and Kid-Friendly Atmosphere {San Diego Restaurants}

Move over Nordies Cafe, I think I’ve found my new lunch spot at the Fashion Valley Mall.

True Food Kitchen, the brainchild of Dr. Andrew Weil, is a new restaurant chain that follows the principals of Dr. Andrew Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Food Pyramid. It’s health conscious meets eco-friendly and the results are amazing and tasty food!

When we arrived we were greeted with a wide open room filled with smiling faces, both the diners already seated and the staff at the restaurant seemed excited to be there. And while we didn’t have to wait at all we noticed the cucumber basil water offered to guests who might not get seated right away. I’m pretty sure we’ll be enjoying this yummy water soon when we return with my husband because this restaurant is going to be packed in no time!

I requested a booth to help corral the kids and make it easier for them to enjoy their meals without having to resort to using high chairs and was seated in a perfect corner booth that gave the kids both room to play a bit and eat their food.

I was excited to try a few different things on the menu but first my son had a specific request. As soon as the waitress asked us if we needed anything he ordered orange slices. No looking on the menu, no checking to see if they actually had orange slices available. He had a craving for orange slices and wanted some to start his meal.

I was so pleased when I heard the hostess say that grabbing orange slices and quickly realized how easy it was to meet the demands of a stubborn 3 year old. They had fresh, organic produce ready and available to serve for every meal and even offered fresh squeezed juices and cocktails. A chef easily sliced up an orange and had it over to my impatient son in no time.

When a restaurant caters to my 3 year old like True Food Kitchen did, it makes me want to come back again and again and invite friends and family along with me.

We ordered a starter of shrimp pot stickers (my favorite!) since Daddy wasn’t there to veto the spicy dish and asked for a few minutes to decide on what we wanted as our main course. I was excited about the menu options and honestly wish I could have chosen more than one dish. Luckily this location is super close to the house and in the mall so I can come back and enjoy more yummy meals in the near future.

I finally decided on what we would have and settled on a Teriyaki Brown Rice Bowl to split between myself and my daughter and ordered a Almond Butter, Banana, and Strawberry sandwich with carrots for my son. He actually ordered for himself for the first time. I was so proud.

To check out the other selections for lunch time check out their lunch menu here

When the food arrived at our table it took all the willpower I had not to dig in right away without taking pictures. But I couldn’t stop my son for grabbing a carrot stick and biting before I snapped a shot.

The three sticks they gave him were gone in no time and as soon as the waitress came around again he quickly asked for more carrots before I could stop him. This time they brought out a whole plate of whole, organic carrots in various shades of orange and purple for him to gnaw on. He was in heaven!

Once we finished our meal we were given the dessert menu. It was so hard to choose but we finally decided on a flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. I requested the ice cream on the side so the kids could dive in on their own.

Little did I know that my daughter would take “diving in” to a new, literal level.

She wanted nothing to do with the ice cream and instead enjoyed the chocolate cake with Mommy. She has such a sweet tooth!

From the atmosphere, open and relaxed, to the food, organic and sustainable, to the amazing service I can definitely say that we will be coming back to True Food soon. And while the pricing is a tad higher than what we normally pay, we’d gladly shell out a bit more for their food.

If you’re in San Diego and looking for a fun, kid-friendly, delicious place to eat head on over to Fashion Valley and check out True Food. You won’t be disappointed!

What tasty options would you want to try for lunch from True Food?

Disclaimer: Our meal at True Food was complimentary. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.

Daddy’s Birthday – A Night of Entertainment {Restaurant Review}

It was Joseph’s birthday yesterday and we wanted to celebrate! Joseph decided he wanted to try out Benihana for dinner. I knew from a friend that if you signed up for their birthday club you got a free meal. I signed up for my birthday but forgot and we didn’t end up going. After our fun night last night I’ll definitely be using it next year!

After we were done ordering our food E got festive and turned his menu into a hat with Daddy’s help. He wanted to be just like the little boy who was also sitting at our table.

This is E’s “mmmm” face. He was eating my soup and saying “mmmmm” as he slurped it down. I find it hilarious that he closes his eyes to enjoy his food when he likes it.

See what I told you? Closed eyes as he’s sipping the soup. Such a funny boy! But he ate 1/2 of mine and 1/2 of Daddy’s so we weren’t going to say anything.

We had fun watching the chef make our meal. I think E liked watching him crack eggs the best. He loves cracking eggs and “helping” when we cook or bake.

Do you see what he formed the veggies and rice into? It’s Pacman! I wasn’t fast enough with the camera but the chef formed the rice into a Pacman and made it look like he was eating the vegetables just like the game.

And his second creation with the rice was non other than Mickey himself. He even made Mickey talk to us. Talk about creativity with food!

We just ordered the chicken fried rice for E because we knew he wouldn’t finish a whole plate of anything. He loved it and ate a big portion of it. Daddy and I, of course, split the rest to indulge a little since we stuck with the steamed rice (it’s lower in points!).

As he was eating his rice he was continuously saying “yumyumyumyum…mmmmm”. He definitely let us know he was enjoying his dinner.

Our food being cooked up. Chicken for me, fillet for Joseph and veggies for both of us.

Now normally you start with shrimp as an appetizer but one person from the other family sitting with us was allergic so the chef waited till the end to prepare the shrimp. After he cut the tails off he flipped them into his coat pocket with his spatula. It was pretty fun to watch. He even got one into his hat.

Miss M was jealous of all of our yummy food and decided to start noming on Daddy’s plate. She seriously had her mouth on the rim and was happy as a clam. Daddy didn’t even notice at first.

After we were done with dinner they cleaned up. I was definitely impressed with the stacking skills of this server! Look at all of those dishes and how well he balanced everything.

We of course sang Happy Birthday and Daddy got a yummy sundae. By this time in our dinner E only wanted to cuddle with me and was on my lap. However as soon as I mentioned sharing Daddy’s ice cream he was off my lap and back in his high chair! Tired, nope, not too tired for ice cream.

As you can tell from the pictures we really loved our night at Benihana and will definitely go again. The birthday club discount was definitely worth it! Maybe we’ll try lunch next time…

Birthday Celebration – Hob Nob Hill {Breakfast Review}

We just went to Hob Nob Hill for breakfast this morning in celebration of my birthday and I was definitely over impressed with the service we received. We used a voucher we bought off of Sign On San Diego’s daily deal website ($15 for $30 worth of food) to try it out but will definitely be back for more.

Our waitress, Stacy, was quick to bring our drinks and take our order. She even brought some complimentary apple muffins to the table since she knew from her experience (and from being a mom herself) that children get a bit restless if they aren’t fed right away). Shortly after that our food arrived. We were pleased with the speedy service and the quality of the food.

My one problem was with the special I got for breakfast – a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and side of sausage. I assumed that fresh strawberries meant plain cut up strawberries on top of the waffle. But my strawberries had a sugary glaze on them. Being on WW I was already splurging as it was on the waffle… I didn’t need extra glaze to add to the calorie content of my breakfast! But it was amazingly good. The waffle light and fluffy and the strawberries were fresh. Joseph enjoyed his waffle special with eggs and bacon (well… he didn’t make a peep the whole time he was eating and continued to polish off his plate so I’m assuming all was good).

E enjoyed his breakfast as well. Kids get their choice of eggs, pancakes, or french toast and the meals come with a side of applesauce or potatoes, toast or muffin, and bacon or sausage. We also got a nice side of fruit for him. And being a picky two year old we assumed he’d hardly touch his food. We were wrong. He ate at least 1/2 of everything on the plate!

And on top of the great service throughout our meal, at the end of the meal we asked what the cost of a cookie was since our son saw the cookies on display when we first arrived. Her response was that they were free for adorable little kids and she grabbed one right away for my son. We left a large tip to let her know we appreciated her going above and beyond our expectations.

Can’t wait to try out lunch and dinner!

Review on Yelp!



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