Cooking Tips:

For fresh pasta, we go to Assenti's Pasta. They have a large variety of different types of pastas that does change daily. Sometimes they will have carrot flavored linguine, and or chipotle flavored linguine, red bell pepper linguine (E's favorite, but not always in stock) but the main stays are penne, lemon-saffron fettuccine, egg pappardelle (Red's favorite), rigatoni, tri colored pasta, just to name a few. Plus all the pre-made sauces, homemade of course like spaghetti and Alfredo. They have a mini-grocery store of Italian supplies, like all the cheeses (parmesan, mascarpone, mozzarella, ricotta), salami's, sausage, canned goods from Italy, olive oils, cannoli shells, and even their own homemade tiramisu. They even won best pasta back in 2001 from the San Diego Reader. (Little Italy, Downtown San Diego)

Across the street is Mona Lisa, an Italian grocery store. It's a great store, filled with Italian delicacies. Lots of dried pastas, canned tomatoes, olive oils, wines, rices, just about every thing you can think of. Plus they have a deli for lunch meats like salami, and of course cheeses. They too took an award back in 2000 as Best Italian Grocery.

Down the road at 3555 India Street, Suite B San Diego, CA 92103 is Gibaldi's Bread. It's in the same parking lot as Meals on Wheels. They don't have a website that I'm aware of or I'd link to it. The bread is awesome, a throw back to the bakeries from back east. We think it's the best in San Diego. Pretty simple products, not tons of choices but not need for them. Somewhere around 1 or 1:30 PM the loaves come out. Seriously just delicious. Assenti's Pasta carries their rolls in their store so you could just go there to get it.

Love cheese? Like to try them out and get recommendations? That's why we're glad we found Venissimo Cheese. The one we go to is in Hillcrest. It's a tiny store but jam packed with cheeses from everywhere. They even have a monthly cheese chat newsletter to keep you up on their newest arrivals. (Little Italy, Downtown San Diego)

Another wonderful choice in Hillcrest is Bread and Cie, Bakery and Cafe. I sent my cousin there and she said the bread tasted just like what she had in France, so it's pretty high praise. They have lots of types of bread, plus a cafe for sandwiches and specialty items. My favorite is a daily special they had awhile back that was a cucumber sandwich. Messy to eat but so-o-o delicious! (Hillcrest)

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention Whole Foods.They have two locations in San Diego; La Jolla, Hillcrest. They have wonderful meats, and some of the best poultry around, great wines and cheeses with lots of gourmet and organic choices for all types of foods. E used to work there so it's a pain in the arse to go with him due to the meet and greet we go through when we shop but I just love the store so I grin and bare it. The staff is very responsive and everyone goes a step above in trying to help with whatever is needed. (La Jolla)

The newest gourmet grocery store to go in my area has been Bristol Farms. They not only have a large selection of gourmet foods but also a restaurant, pizza shop, coffee stand, flower vendor, so they really have all needs covered in one location. They have a crazy selection of sodas. Remember Moxie, well they have it! (La Jolla/UTC)

One of the greatest sources of fresh produce is the local Farmer's Markets. These markets offer fresh seasonal produce that help support the agricultural resources we have locally. We think the Hillcrest one on Sunday mornings is the best, but we also love the Sunday afternoon one in Solana Beach, and of course the Saturday afternoon one in Del Mar. Each offer different specialties, some have non-certified vendors too for home accessories or even jewelry. It's nice to wander around and get cooking ideas just from seeing what's for sale.

Looking for cookware, or cooking classes? Go to Great News! Discount Cookware and Cooking School in Pacific Beach. They are jam packed with cookware, cooking items, and cook books plus they offer cooking classes. Some are hands on, others are just sit and learn style, but either way it's a great resource. When I got my convection oven I took a class to learn the proper way to utilize it. Recently, we both took a sausage making class. Which led to the making of the hottest chorizo enchiladas ever. So hot I'd chalk them up to disaster since it was near impossible to eat them. (our addition of extra spice, was perhaps not a good idea) The regular sausages were wonderful though. The staff is very helpful and will even place special orders on hard to find items, and their cooking teachers are very instructive.