The Thanksgiving Letter: Read It, Love It, Feel Normal About Yourself

Photo: iGourmet

Thanksgiving's a special time of year, full of family, friends, and food. Most importantly, we count our blessings, especially the ones that have to do with crazy family members inviting us over for food. By now, most of you (and the world) have read The Thanksgiving Letter.

If you haven't you should go read it now.

Loving Local: Eating Out & About In San Diego

Cottage Oatmeal pancakes with blueberries and bananas
at The Cottage in La Jolla. Photo: Kara DeFrias

Since moving back to San Diego, John and I have set out to hit up as many locally-owned restaurants as we can. We've been so committed, in fact, that I can't tell you the last time we ate at a chain for dinner.

This is great for a couple of reasons: one, we get a great feel for our fair city's great little neighborhoods (University Heights, North Park, South Park and Rancho San Diego anyone?), and two, we know we're getting the freshest, tastiest dishes -- with many of the ingredients coming from local San Diego farms.

A few of our favorite local haunts and their neighborhood (click the link to visit their site):

• Cucina Urbana (Bankers Hill). Our go-to place. The vibe's great, the food's wonderful, and the service is uber-friendly yet professional. There's just so much to look at when you walk in! Their dining area boast funky decor and different eating areas -- high, long tables, more traditional four tops, a cool bar area. Seriously, just take in all the visual candy, from floor to ceiling, when you arrive. Fav dish: Lasagna al forno.
• Pacific Coast Grill (Solana Beach). When we used to be in North County, we lived here on pretty much a weekly basis. They've got the best happy hour on the coast - apps are 40% off, they don't skimp on the portions, and they pick about 8 of their dishes for only $7.95. It's a real steal. Fav dish: the Calamari is the best rings calamari I've had, with a sumptiously spicy dipping sauce.
• Parkhouse Eatery (University Heights). Speaking of calamari, it's what keeps us coming back to this former house turned restaurant. It's served as lightly dusted pieces of perfection (think somewhere between steaks and tenders). They also boast great happy hour deals. Fav dish: Calamari, duh.
• Urban Solace (North Park). Chef Matt Gordon serves up classically southern comfort food with a local flare at this popular eatery. Our favorite thing is to go to Sunday Brunch and get a bunch of apps/side and eat family style (even if it's just the two of us). Fav dish: Duckaroni (Mac 'n Cheese with Duck Confit, Blue Cheese, Roasted Garlic, Arugula, Scallion).

Strawberry infused milk, creme brulee and PB&J cupcakes
at Cups Organic Cupcakes in La Jolla. Photo: Kara DeFrias

• Omelette Factory (Santee). Right across the street from our house, this place does a mean omelette. Reminiscent of classic East Coast diners, without that scary sticky floor and creepy waiter. You always know you're going to get good food at a great price. Fav dish: Biscuits and gravy with a side of buttery hash browns.
• The Food Trucks. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this latest San Diego trend. The best of the best: TabeBBQ. Fav dish: Tabe Asada Fries (even better when it's wrapped in a tortilla...a la their OMG Burrito off their secret menu).
• Amarin Thai (Hillcrest). You can get a better deal (and Tom Kha Gai soup) at pretty much any one of the other 2,000 Thai places in San Diego; the service is "meh"; and the location's a bear for parking, so let me cut to the chase. Fav dish: Four words: garlic salmon fried rice.
• Leucadia Sushi (Leucadia). Sure, Sushi Deli's got a wider selection, but this little place on the West side of the PCH is just fun. The rolls pass by on conveyor belt on color coded plates so you know how much it is, and you're able to try a wide variety. Fav dish: Pink roll (salmon, crunchy, crab, avocado wrapped in soy paper).
• Savannah Grill (Rancho San Diego). We found this place while scrolling Restaurant.com for new restaurant deals, and decided to give it a try. It's a bit of a drive, but turned out to be well worth it. The steaks are top class, especially their surf and turf special (farm and sea starts as low as $45...use the Restaurant.com link in the right rail for a killer deal on a gift certificate for this place and dinner costs next to nothing). Fav dish: Filet Asker (9 oz. Filet Mignon topped with asparagus, jumbo lump crab and Bearnaise sauce).

Want to see more local places? Check out my list of San Diego eateries on Twitter (if I'm missing any, let me know!):
http://twitter.com/californiakara/san-diego-eats

So those are my favorite local eateries. What are yours?

How to Put on a TEDx Show in 10 Easy Steps

Photo: Travis Houston.

Last Monday, we put on our TEDxSanDiego to 325 people at Anthology in Little Italy and 27,330 worldwide who tuned in via the live telecast.

Never heard of TED, or TEDx? From their site: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

In the spirit of sharing, here are a few of my thoughts on why the day was so successful, from my perspective as director of the show (there are a million other things that go into a successful show...but this is just about the production itself). If you're inspired to put on your own TEDx show, I hope they help you in planning:

Our set piece. Photo: Travis Houston.

1. We treated TEDxSanDiego as a show, not an event. It became apparent early on that our TEDx was going to grow beyond just a few people getting together to watch a speaker or two. Our curator, Jack Abbott, and co-founders Chuck Longanecker, Andrea Kates, and Adrian Hong, put together a fantastic vision for the day, and I was lucky enough to execute that. Once we saw how big it was, there was a conscious decision to treat this as a show, not just an event, and that came through in the production quality and execution. We utilized confidence monitors and countdown clocks, and put together a production staff that included a show director, tech director, talent relations manager, stage manager, and presentation manager, to name a few. Also, having worked on the Oscars and Emmys, I know a good show is a well-timed show, which brings me to...