Coffee Keeps Me Young

It's that time of the Quarter Again!

What time of the Quarter you ask?

MIDTERMS!

So naturally college students here at UCSD and all of the other colleges/universities on the quarter system are lounging around in bum clothes, downing espresso shots, and losing sleep while surrounding themselves with books and lecture notes and listening to podcasts.

Not an overreaction

But luckily for me, I have two awesome friends that showed me the best study spot I have ever come to know: Young Hickory

And to be honest I don't even know if I should be talking about it on such a "public" place because its very underground and hipster as some have described it, but you know what, I have been so productive there and love it so much I MUST BLERG (Translation: "mispronunciation of the verb "to blog") ABOUT IT.

That's my friend! She's probably gonna get really excited that she is in this post

                                     

These are some shots of the interior which is really cool, the chalkboard is really well designed, and the music is very relaxing but still just gives off a cool college vibe (super cheesy I know but I don't care).  The place is not very small and has a lot of tables, but it does tend to get pretty packed ... but it's only probably because it is such a great space.  Also, the workers/baristas are very kind and helpful and if you walk in looking distraught seeking a table, they tend to help direct you to an open table so that's nice.

And so yea that's the environment, but you're probably wondering about the coffee right? You know, since it is a coffee shop and all haha

The coffee is delicious and the food is on the same great level.  My usual is a Vanilla Latte and an Acai Bowl which comes out to a nice $12 and I probably have made that purchase every single time that I have been there, and I probably need to be more adventurous in trying out new things there ... but what I get is just so good

$12 of delightful satisfaction

My friends showed me this place at the end of last quarter during Finals Week (my other favorite time of the Quarter) and I ended up going literally 4 days in a row.  I have never been so productive in my academic years.  The first day I went we were there for a good chunk of time and I was able to crank out most of my 10 page Visual Arts Paper that I originally had no motivation or no idea where to start.

(Me before finding Young Hickory)

(Me once I found this haven)

The next few days were also JUST as productive and it is officially my choice location for studying. And ANOTHER cool thing is that you can open a tab!  Now some of you may think this is not a big deal but I have never done this before so when they first asked me "Would you like to open a tab?" I tensed up and had no idea what to do and said "No Thanks" but man did I regret it.  I have never done anything so foolish again haha and now every time I go I open a tab and I feel so legit it's cool like now I am just ranting about it but I felt like an adult doing my thing just drinking coffee and keeping tabs open and what not... But then I get my tab back and turns out I downed 3 Vanilla Lattes, an Acai Bowl, and a Brownie woops

But anyway, back to studying

A lot of people are different, and so if you are still a student and can't seem to find that one place that really allows you to get those juices flowing in your brain, try out a new spot.  Try getting away from your friends if they distract you.  Try bringing them with you if you don't like studying by yourself.  TRY SOMETHING NEW - you'll never know what the results will be, I did not expect to have this place be so great and now I love it 

P.S. I am going back there this weekend to study 

 (There is something so satisfying about this gif)

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Wingin' It

MORE FOOD!

I kind of meant to not just talk about food on this blog but since it basically is an ultimate passion of my life (yep, just called it a passion), and since it says its part of my life on the header of my blog... Deal with it.

So the other day one of my friends was like "Yo ever since you talked about wanting Buffalo Wings I have been craving them so lets get some chicken wings" ... 1. of course I talk about food enough to make my friends crave certain foods and 2. Hell Yes was I down for getting some wings.

She yelped a place for Chicken Wings and we ended up deciding on a local sports bar/wing spot called DIRTY BIRDS!  You can find it on 4656 Mission Blvd in PB (Pacific Beach) in none other than San Diego!

And of course, since we are super cool and super smart (and super broke), we went on a Friday which is their HAPPY HOUR CHICKEN WING DAY where all chicken wing baskets were HALF OFF!

Here's the MENU! I made it extra big so you could see all the different delicious flavors they had.  And yes, those are the prices and we paid HALF for it! 

[5 piece for $3.50, 10 piece  for $6, and 20 piece for $11]

Needless to say that when I got the menu I was a little bit more than just slightly overwhelmed with all of the options and all of the possibilities.  I didn't quite know which ones I wanted and all I knew was that I wanted wings now.

CHECK OUT WHAT ME AND MY FRIENDS DECIDED AND DEVOURED

This was mine! - Dirty Ranch & Teriyaki

This is what my friends got 

(Left) Garlic Parmesan

(Right) Honey Mustard & BBQ

My favorite was of course the DIRTY RANCH - It was basically buffalo wings with ranch already on the wings which is what I dunk my buffalo wings in already so it was perfect for me

We definitely will be coming back to DIRTY BIRDS sometime soon because we got a lot more flavors to try out and a big appetite to appease.

Taco Tuesday? Tacos Every Day!

Funny story.  When I went back home my friends and I were eating some Mexican Food and they made the comment how they wished they had some good legit Mexican Food near their campuses (they study in Washington & New York) and I agreed with them not really thinking it through to which they were not happy.  "YOU GO TO SCHOOL IN SAN DIEGO LITERALLY ONLY A FEW MILES FROM MEXICO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" ... woops

It was then that I had realized my friends and I HAD had some Mexican Food like Vallarta's Carne Asada Fries but had yet to find a traditional taqueria and taken advantage of being so near Mexico to have real good Mexican Food without having to bring a passport with us for a meal.

So yesterday some of my friends and I needed some comfort food and found this great Mexican place that was delicious and magical and all that we needed and will be going there a lot more often I just know (and hope). Not only was the food good, traditional, and cheap... it was FAST!

I mean as soon as we passed the place while looking for parking we knew we made the right choice driving to this restaurant.

Mmmmmm $1.95 tacos

Maria's Mexican Cocina is the name of this delicious Mexican restaurant in Downtown San Diego that my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed!

        

First off they kicked us off by giving us some chips and salsa AND even some Queso Fundido which is basically like a cup of melted cheese delicious for dipping and its like some NACHOS for appetizer with no extra charge.  I also ordered an Horchata to test out just how authentic the place is and it was delicious! Not too cinnamony and not artificial.  It was Good!

For our main dish I got a plate of fish tacos and my friend got a chicken tamale and they were both amazingly delicious.   The fish tacos were fresh and crunchy and super savory.  I actually do think I enjoyed my friends' tamale a lot more than mine but they were both really good.  The tamale was fresh and homemade and not super filling but just right .... she finished the whole thing and is a very small individual so the fact she finished it says a lot about how good it was.

So in summation, my friends and I will be enjoying a lot more authentic Mexican Food more often - and I am excited! NOTHING IS HOLDING US BACK TO EAT MEXICAN FOOD!

Burger Hoedown

I am so sorry to everyone! I did not realize it had been so long since I had posted in my blog I have just been so busy with school and work and what not but hey! on the brighter side, I am here and posting about FOOD!

I'm not sure about you but my posts about food are my favorite because they get me all excited and hungry and hopeful that someone will randomly bust into my room offering delicious dishes but it never happens.

Hodad's is the topic for today and it is me and my friends' favorite place for burgers.  But the thing about these burgers, is that we can never seem to go to Hodad's without completely stuffing our faces and ending up ordering delicious french fries and onion rings and chocolate shakes as well

Located in Ocean Beach, CA and Downtown San Diego, CA this awesome burger joint has even been featured on FOOD NETWORK: ON THE ROAD.  I have so far only been to the one in Ocean Beach and whenever I go it is always with a big group of friends which I think makes it so much more fun since we all munch off of each other's sides and take sips of each others milkshakes too.

The only thing I do have to note is that no matter what time you go (it seems), there is always a line outside the door that seems like it would take forever but with good company and a tall person to shade you from the sun, it goes by fairly quickly AND it is totally worth it.  Also, if you wanted to you can just walk in with your group, order at the counter, and take your food to go.  This is what my group of friends did when we were a literal group of 18 and we just took all of our burgers and junk food and walked about 2 blocks down and sat in a nice grassy lawn by the beach.

Recommendation include EVERYTHING ON THE MENU, I am actually a bigger fan of the onion rings than I am on the fries but then again it is up to you really. 

 I also have to mention that the staff there is awesome.  They all have the same style of having some form of facial hair, a trucker hat, tattoos and A KICK ASS PERSONALITY.  But seriously, they are the most chill servers around never wanting to cause problems and always keeping the customer in mind.  If there is anything wrong with your order they are quick to fix it and are always joking around.  Ask for a sticker and you can easily get one it is great!

So go ahead and wear some loose pants when you go because you are NOT going to want anything tight around your waist when you eat there.

A Little Bit of Cliffs

Being a part of UCSD and especially Muir College means that you have to go visit "The Cliffs".  Above Blacks Beach in La Jolla is, well, these CLIFFS where just about every student goes at least once before graduating UCSD

Let's be honest though, going once is not enough for this place has SO MUCH beauty and is always different. Clear Skies. Misty Breeze. Sunrise. Sunset. Paragliders. You just never know what you are going to find when you go visit The Cliffs

Hey look at that! More flowers from my photography archives.

I especially like these pictures because I had picked the flower and didn't think too much of it but once I turned it over I found it had this awesome beautiful purple to it like no other and from that found my new model

I especially like this one above because it kinda looks like the flower is like, 

*boop* "hello there beach I wish I could go visit you but I am up here"