I just discovered this regional feature after five months in here (Really quick upstairs, aren't I ?), and I thought I'd throw this out as my first query: Is there another place such as "Extraordinary Desserts" (2929-5th Avenue) around town to impress a date after dinner, movie, or drinks ? A date took me there after dinner once, and I've been taking dates there ever since, who come away very impressed usually quipping something such as, "How'd you discover this place? I Loved it!"
Like the name implies, the place offers a limited selection of very rich chocolate desserts, cakes, and other rich pastries and baked goods, along with some very good lattes, coffees, and other goodies in their shop. A bit pricey if you asked me, and still well beneath what one would find in Paris France, but women seem to eat it up, er, love it, that is -- I mention CHOCOLATE desserts didn't I ? It's their weakness after all.
So again, does anyone out there know of another such hole-in-the-wall place on the periphery of downtown to impress a date and open until midnight on date nights such as Friday and Saturday ?

... I get more compliments from women for two particular colognes I wear semi-frequently over all the others I wear, and in the same sense get high props for the aforementioned place, as well as Peohe's in Coronado, and Fillipis in Little Italy over all the others. Any other suggestions ? Yes, I've been to George's At The Cove, and the Marine Room, et all.

Thanks

Michele Coulon Pastries in La Jolla.  

Karen Krasne really kind of has a niche with ED, especially in the Downtown/Hillcrest area.  You could go to a nice restaurant (like, oh, lets say California Cuisine, or Parallel 33) and just
order dessert and coffee or a dessert wine or port or whatever...or you could go to a nice coffeehouse.  However, hers is the only place in the central San Diego area with that class and that availability.  Having said that, Karen studied baking in Vienna, and her stuff has the heavy tendencies that Austrian bakers do.  

Michele Coulon, on the other hand, is Belgian (her parents ran The Belgian Lion in OB), and her food is a bit lighter.  Plus, it is a cafe as well, so it has other things.  The only thing is that I think it is only open late on Friday and Saturday in the summertime.  Call and check... (858) 456-5098.  It is located at 7556-D Fay Avenue in La Jolla.

There are also several nice wine bars in the Downtown/Hillcrest area.

PiquedinSoCal,

Thanks for the tip. I have been looking for the place like that to take my date.  Can you tell me what source of colognes do you wear that you received compliments from ladies.

Thanks,

SD,

Thanks for the up and up on those places. You -- dare I say it(?) -- have come through with a mouth full. Wow, you get out and about, don't you, SD ?

... Uh, you did leave out their respective progeny's ages on your report, though.

Yes. Yes. That's exactly what I was looking for -- places that are a leap from a Starbucks or Denny's which are not only clean, are somewhat trendy, have good ambience and product, are moderately priced, and well, "hidden" from the masses in a sense. I don't do very many "expensive" dates or dinners that often, so I'm not too concerned about those. I reserved those for special ocassions and/or events. Yes, I think I've heard or read about Karen Krasne, but you lost me on the part about her having "a niche in ED". What or who is "ED" ? Is "California Cuisine" that place in Hillcrest which seems always crowded, and where is "Parallel 33" ?

Unfortunately, I've never been urbane or epicurean enough to know about wines, but I'll keep them in mind should I date someone in the near future disposed to el vino.

Thank you once again!

Piqued

Loveboy,

I use about 15 colognes, and it's actually three particular colognes which seem to get the most interest from the dates.

Of course, your mileage might vary, as many fragrances frequently have a disposition to interact with one's own body chemistry, but I get more compliments first and foremost from one called "Azzaro" hands down, which unfortunately, most department stores don't carry anymore. Liz Claiborne's "Claiborne" pulls up a close second, followed by Claiborne's "Sport". Many women also seem to enjoy "Curve" by Claiborne (No, I don't work for Claiborne) also, but that one is becoming as ubiquitous as Polo once was. Remember how it seemed everyone was using Polo at one time ? Yuk!
You can purchase most, if not all of the aforementioned, from those perfume vendors now common in most major malls. I personally get most of mine at Angel's Beauty Supply in Mission Valley (In the K-Mart shopping Center next to Ross[?]).

Extraordinary Desserts is open till midnight on both Fridays and Saturdays, so if you find yourself in downtown at say 11:00 pm on one of those nights wanting to wind down with a great cup of coffee and pastry, drive north on Fifth Avenue towards Hillcrest and it will be to your right, right across from what use to be "Mr.A's". Your chocolate loving date will be beholden to you beyond the satin sheets that night.

Au Revoir!

What ever happened to Mr A's? I worked there before and got chewed out by Mr. Alesio himself over nothing. He died a few years later. Across the street was a Chinese restaurant; is it still there?

It seems that the more 'trendy' and pricey the place is, the worse the food is. I personally like Bully's (Mission Valley) for their prime rib and onion soup; never been disappointed. I heard their other menu items are so-so.

Another fave is some Dragon (Chinese) restaurant in Hillcrest. It's open until the early morning and the quality is consistantly above average to top-notch. It really does look like a hole-in-the-wall. How does the Marine Room rate these days? It's been over 10 years since I've sampled them.

Another great dessert place is in Kensington on Adams Ave across from the Ken Theater.  I think the name is Just Fabulous.

Glad to be of service.  

California Cuisine is on University just east of 10th Avenue in Hillcrest, and is usually busy, yes, but as it gets later, it clears out some.  Parallel 33 is in Mission Hills at Washington and Falcon (I think...one block east of Goldfinch).  Same scenario as CC regarding busy-ness.

You use 15 different colognes?  If that is indicative of the effort you put into your dates in general, no wonder you have a good time.

All at once.

"You use 15 different colognes?  If that is indicative of the effort you put into your dates in general, no wonder you have a good time. "

Yes, and I usually utilize them collectively on the same evening ... You wouldn't believe what a fruitfly magnet they are. I have fruitfly girlfriends of all persuasions hanging off each arm.

Seriously, I generally only use four or five on a consistent basis. Isn't that number (15) par for the course for most men ? I mean, one wouldn't restrict themselves to the same three shirts every week, same shoes, same socks, et all, would they ? Variety. The spice of life.

My favorite womens' fragrances I believe are "Tommy Boy", and this one I just recently inquired about called "Micheal's". Ambrosia to the olfactory senses, and aphrodisiactic(sp?) piques to the head -- the both of them.

-- Modified on 6/4/2004 1:13:47 PM

Obviously not at the same time, smart ass. :P

I like cologne, but I have two or three I use myself.  However, I often don't use any, so that has been enough for me, and my GF's have told me as much.  That is a decent number for the women I have dated as well, as I tend to enjoy some variety but like to stay faithful to the things I love (which are usually two or three things! If I dated a woman who used 15, that would be okay...as long as I didn't have to replace them frequently!

Between the colognes and the chocolate, you SHOULD have the fruitflies buzzing!

across from the library that is a restaurant too?

The Green Tomato is right across the street from the Ken, and they have a nice bar area, as does Kensington Grill.

About five years ago, Bertrand Hug who owns Mille Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe bought majority ownership of Mister A's (the Alesio family owns most of the rest), and renamed it Bertrand at Mister A's.  It did well for a while, although I have no idea how it is doing now.

The Vietnamese place that was across the street is no longer there.  They built a huge condo tower on that lot.

Bully's East is "okay", but I think the Del Mar or La Jolla locations are better.  J.D. in Mission Valley cuts too many corners in his operation.

The Golden Dragon in Hillcrest is one of the old time Chinese places in San Diego.  The place still looks and feels like it is in the 60's.  The menu is that old style as well, and the place does have some charm, but the problem is that the building is old and they are known to be somewhat unsanitary.  I saw roaches there the last time I ate there, which was probably 10 years ago.
That group also owns the Twin Golden Dragon on Friars Road by Mission Gorge.

The Marine Room is sailing along, as Bernard Guillas is one of the "celebrity" chefs in San Diego (along with Jeff Strauss at Pampelmousse Grill...which got the #1 rating in SD from Zagat this year, jusst above El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn... Ed Moore at Thee Bungalow, and a few others), and they coast on his reputation, the view, and the pretty good food.  However, I think there are more interesting places in town.

Over 10 years?  Clicker, I could have sworn in another post that you said you were a younger guy.

The "Fifth and Hawthorne" at Fifth and Hawthorne (nearby to Mister A's) is also very good. It's the only thing I miss about not working downtown.

I know the guys who own 5th & Hawthorn (no "e"... we'll save the "e" for Nathaniel...and forgive me correcting you, as you are one of the 'wise owls" of TER and a personal favorite).  They are the nicest restaurants operators in the city, just great, great guys...so down to earth.  They have spun off two restaurants with ex-employees... Banzai Cantina that uses to be on India Street by El Indio (anyone remember it?), and The Green Tomato in Kensington, which I mentioned in another post to this thread.  

5th & H caters somewhat to the theater crowd at night, and may be populated mostly by older folks a lot, and they have had the same menu for quite a while.  However, it is one of my favorite places in town, probably for the same reasons you like it.

Hmm! Must have been thinking of the Scarlet Letter - yeah, that's it the Scarlet Letter and not the street address Fifth and Hawthorn! (LOL). It's embarrassing because I worked across that street for so many years. I guess it's really true that one tends to see what one wants to, and not what's really there. Guess that affliction extends beyond just George W.

If you go back to the mid-'80's, the earlier incarnation of this restaurant was "Jillys" - I think named after the owner's wife.

Really a gem with reasonable prices, and not widely known. Particularly liked the art-work in the bathroom, showing a very interesting murder scene.

-- Modified on 7/29/2004 1:05:51 AM