East vs. West: Sol Food + GIVEAWAY!

This week's East vs. West is very special. I am talking about one of my very favorite places and there is also a GIVEAWAY! Yay! As a request from one great reader (thanks, Britt!) Abby and I decided to highlight one of our favorite lunch spots where we live. Dai and I were visiting my sister in San Rafael (about 15 minutes north over the Golden Gate Bridge), and decided to stop at Sol Food on our way home for a late lunch because no trip to Marin County is complete without eating at Sol Food, this lovely bright green building.


Sol Food is a Puerto Rican Cuisine restaurant that specializes in only using organic, gluten-free, locally grown products. Their menu is quite extensive and unique, though I always get the same thing! That's what boyfriends and husbands are for right? They get new things and you can try them, but still have your go-to favorite as well. It's a wonderful system.



The decor is colorful, vibrant, and full of character. One of my favorite parts of the restaurant is the long table with barstools that run along the windows that slide completely open. It is the nicest place to enjoy a meal on a breezy day. Sometimes we even bring Marly and he sits happily at my feet, between the pavement and the restaurant.

They make wonderful drinks, like this limade that Dai always gets. Plus they all come in a mason jar, so I am a happy camper.

Plantain chips! With a perfect sauce. I don't like cooked plantains very much, but in chip form they are awesome.


While Dai prefers the limeade, I am all about their mango-orange iced tea. It is simply the best. I could drink it every day and wish Sol Food were closer to home so I could just stop in for a drink!






I always, always get this glorious steak sandwich. It has thinly sliced steak, carmelized onions, avocado, swiss cheese, and a sauce I could just bathe in. It is just so wonderful that I hardly have any words for it. You just need to come here and try it for yourself!


Dai got rotisserie chicken with rice, black beans, salad, and plantains. His was also very good! The chicken was so tender and moist, and all of their classic sides are just great and complimented it well.

The steak sandwich is also very good with some of their homemade hot sauce on it! I still need to buy a bottle of this stuff to put on everything at home.

Pretty dreamy, right? I know you already have that Southwest tab open so you can see when the next flight to the Bay Area leaves so you can make it here for lunch. I just know it. At any rate, I have loved sharing with you this unique place! I will be dreaming of that steak sandwich and iced tea tonight...

I think this is my favorite East vs. West post yet, and it only gets better with this awesome giveaway we have for you as well! I decided to make my package a surprise to build up the suspense, you know, but you can find out what Abby is giving away over at her blog! I am really excited for this giveaway and for a lucky winner to get our east and west coast themed packages!

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Adventuring: Mt. Tam & Sol Food

Friday was such a BEAUTIFUL. In fact, this whole past week has been lovely. It has really been feeling like spring around here. As opposed to that Nemo stuff that went on on the East Coast last weekend. I am thanking my lucky stars that I live in sunny California.

So, with a sunny, fresh day and a holiday weekend ahead of us, my best friend Kaitlin and I set off on an adventure over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Marin. We took the winding road up and around the mountain, soaking in breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, and the entire bay, as well as the fresh air of spring around the corner.

We took a nice little trek up the hill once we got to the walking trails and ate apples at the top. We talked openly of random things and we wondered how many people were listening to our gibber-jab.

Aaaaand because no trip to Marin is complete without a visit to Sol Food, we topped the day off with mango-orange iced teas in mason jars and a yummy late lunch.

Is there a better day than one with lovely views, delicious food, nice music, and good company?

I don't really think so.

Lately on Instagram...

1. Me and my buddy in the car // 2. I will keep going to the pediatrician until they tell me I can't // 3. Bro-in-law's shorts

4. Sol Food! // 5. My favorite baby // 6. Spoiled dog

7. Empty dog park // 8. Cookies Rule Everything Around Me // 9. Feeling like a 50's housewife

10. New glasses! // 11. The hair salon // 12. Babysitting.

Oh how I love weekends. I love getting to spend time with friends and family, exploring the city and eating good food.

This weekend I went to dinner with some friends, got my hair done, went to San Francisco with my dad and his fiancé to take photos of them, ate a great italian place in the Castro, got some new glasses in SF, went to church, and worked at Lucky!

Wow that seems like a lot now that I write it all out! Crazy that next weekend will be even busier...

Anyhow, it is always funny returning to school and work after a haircut. I feel unrecognizable sometimes, but I like it & love all the compliments I have been receiving about my new hair :)

Here's to a good week!

I spent most of this weekend sick, but I didn't get to rest until yesterday. And even yesterday I was forced to go into work. Friday night was spent doing spontaneous things, like driving an hour away at 9pm for dinner at Sol Food (my favorite little Puerto Rican restaurant), and then stopping in Berkeley on the way home to wait in line for 30 minutes for a fresh baked cookie ice cream sandwich (I got snickerdoodle with salted caramel ice cream!) at a place called C.R.E.A.M.. Now, I didn't realize this before, but Berkeley is a sketchy place guys. This cookie place is in the university area, and you'd think that it would be nice since Cal is such a famous and highly regarded school. But it's not. As we waited in line on Telegraph Ave., a group of homeless stoners picked a fight with an older homeless black man right in front of us. I guess they were fighting over rights to play music in front of our line that wrapped around the building? I don't know, but one thing led to another and the black man ended up kicking the group's dog. He kicked the dog. You do not ever kick an innocent, sweet dog. Ever. 

Anyway, now you are probably wondering what kinds of weird places I go to in my free time, so I will get on to what you really want to see: the cookie sandwich.

On Saturday my sister and brother-in-law came to visit for the afternoon/evening on their way to visit my other sister. It was good to see them and my three nephews and niece. Remember them? From the birthday party we had on the bay in San Diego? They loved just hanging out in the garage with my dad and getting into all of his tools. Marly had a blast chasing after them on their scooters and we went for a  swim in the evening. This week is Matias' 3rd birthday, so we celebrated a little early with a cake.

I only snapped a few photos this weekend, but I really love this one. It is so sweet. 

What did you do this weekend? :)

Sol Food

Boy was I needing a pick-me-up today after work. It can be so draining. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than taking a nice drive through the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge? Along the way we stopped at a place called Pacific Puffs that seriously has the best cream puffs I've ever had. Hands down. We also went to Sol Food, a wonderful Puerto Rican food restaurant. I got the usual steak sandwich with orange-mango iced tea in a mason jar. And plantain chips! Ah so wonderful. I've been meaning to go here for a while. Even though it's an hour away, it is so worth the trek.

Mr. Mar loves the drive and visiting with all the people outside the restaurant. Usually he gets to sit just inside the restaurant through sliding glass windows at my feet at the bar stools and woo all the people and wait for me to drop things. Today we weren't able to do that, but he still had a good time outside!

I am so happy to have some more time off of work this week. Even though it is summer, I have felt like I have hardly any time to do what I want. I've got to make the most of my time before school starts!