We’ve eaten at a couple new (to us) restaurants lately. Both dinners were enjoyable and yummy, and we will likely return for more someday soon. So many restaurants in San Diego, so little time!

Alexander’s - If you’ve been to The Linkery, then you’ve certainly seen Alexander’s right across the street. We really enjoyed our Thursday night dinner at this North Park pizza place. Love the white decor, cozy candles, and friendly service. I’d highly recommend the Gourmet Special pizza - full of salty creaminess, herby heartiness, and a delicious crust. We freezed the leftover slices right away, and they made a great weeknight dinner a few days later.

Most fascinatingly, we had a celebrity sighting at Alexander’s. It was Uli from last season’s Project Runway! I love celebrities, but I’m not willing to live in Los Angeles, so the Uli Sighting was a nice little after-dinner treat for me.

We also got the mushrooms as an appetizer, and we could take or leave them. I make stuffed mushrooms a lot at home, and I felt like theirs need more kick and flavor.

But we got some interesting wines with honest suggestions from our fun and amiable waiter. You should stop by Alexander’s some time, if you haven’t yet given it a try.

The Ritual Tavern - My husband has found his new favorite restaurant. He’s notoriously choosy, and the only thing he could find wrong with The Ritual was the taste of the water. Oh yeah… the thing my husband is most picky about it water; he hates tap water. But that’s a story for another time..

The decor is really cool at Ritual. It feels like you’ve stepped into a European pub or beer hall. It’s a little bit Gothic and dark, but not overly so.

We loved the beer and wine list, the Beer Battered Vegetables (the carrots were the best!), and our entrees. I got their Signature Shepherd’s Pie made with Niman Ranch lamb and beef. The flavors were so homey and comforting. It made me want to run home and try making the dish myself so that I could have that feeling and taste those flavors all the time!

And my husband went nuts for his Lamb Sirloin with cherry port reduction sauce. He thinks this was the first time that he had the cut of lamb sirloin. This dish got two thumbs up and not a drop of food was left on his plate.

Gelato for dessert was the perfect creamy touch. And I thought it was really cool when we got leftovers, the waitress gave us the option of receiving a plastic bag or not. I appreciate that because I hate using unnecessary bags. I’m so glad that more restaurants are aware of ways that they can use fewer resources.

Next time, we are craving to try the Fish And Chips and their Burger at Ritual Tavern.

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Hope you’re eating well around town, too!

~Beth