02-21-2017 12:03 PM
Hi LucioV,
My Australian ignorance of Sicilian beverages let me down on that one.I'm purely a craft beer drinker anyway.Of course like everything I come across that I don't know about I googled amaro averna and discovered it was invented in Sicily in 1868...wow that's a golden oldie!We get spoilt with the craft beer here in Southern California.....there are 130 craft breweries in San Diego alone producing unbelievably tasteful IPA's and other varieties.It's a boon industry along with coffee roaster cafes.I will try and get some photos together to illustrate some of our home grown food and beverage trends.I just reviewed a fast casual restaurant called The Crack Shack in Encinitas which specializes in fried or grilled chicken...they only source local organic free range chickens which are delivered fresh never frozen.My review of the business 2 weeks ago was the first on Google of course and has been viewed many many 1000's of times.Of course I used my blitzkrieg method and took a zillion photos inside and out.I am so well known as a prominent Google local guide in my area that I was invited by the director of The Crack Shack to take as many photos as I wanted before they had officially opened to the general public.I took my wife,daughter and grand-daughter there for lunch as a paying customer a few days after they opened and our grilled chicken G-Bird sandwiches tasted succulent.Google The Crack Shack in Encinitas and you will see my photos & my review.Talk to you soon.
Cheers,
Zed star.
02-21-2017 12:10 PM
When i will be in California, on september, we definetively shall meet, Zed! 🙂
02-21-2017 12:24 PM
That would be real cool LucioV.....I know the chef/owners of a few pretty good Italian restaurants.Have you been here before mate?I have lived here in Southern California since 2007 when my wife and I moved from Brisbane,Australia to be near my wife's family.Brisbane is my home city and my wife is a Southern California girl.We met in Australia in 1998 when my wife took a senior managerial post there with the huge American heath care company she stills works for now.So give me a heads up on what your California trip plans are before you leave home and we will meet up for sure.We have always wanted to visit Italy...and we will but our bucket list is very long.
Cheers,
Zed star.
02-21-2017 01:43 PM
I've been in San Francisco two years ago, but only for 5 days!
02-21-2017 02:33 PM
Aaaah....one of our favorite cities...we were there last April in fact just after I finally agreed to join local guides.I think I started with 150 points from photos I had posted on our last visit to Australia in 2013.My wife's son lived in San Francisco for many years playing in rock bands.We have been there quite a few times on personal & work related trips....it's a foodie city like Melbourne,Australia.We will be off to New Orleans for a few days in early May for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival....some big music acts playing there such as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.So I'm guessing if you were in San Francisco not long back then you probably visited the Googleplex in Mountain View.......maybe as a selected local guide for the Local Guides Summit.Having been a local guide for only about 9 months I am not aware of how long the program has been running.I guess you have been a local guide for a fair while.I like to think that I have grown Google maps' footprint in the surrounding area where we live in Solana Beach,California.We have loads of beaches very close to us so it is a huge tourist destination for Americans from the East coast most of the year.
Cheers,
Zed star.
02-21-2017 02:58 PM
Ahaha, no, i visited Googleplex by myself, before being a Local Guide!!!
Looks like you are really involved in the music scene! I hope to see you somewhere and enjoy some artist while we drink a beer!
Have a nice day!
02-21-2017 03:23 PM
Lucky you!...I only knew it existed a couple of years ago and there hasn't been an opportune time to visit the Googleplex so far.I will do my best to win the local guides summit contest this year now that I am a level 5.Yes I am big into the music...I used to be a promoter when I was younger.A new band I like very much is called Billy D & The Hoodoos.......they have a couple of albums on iTunes and Amazon.They are based in Oregon up the coast.We will see them perform live soon I'm sure.They are a very good blues/rock band.And for sure we will catch some live music and have a real good beer.There is a music venue 5 minutes down the road near the beach called the Belly Up...The Rolling Stones performed a private concert there 2 years ago...we weren't invited sadly but it is a super music venue and gets great acts from all over the world.Take care LucioV..it was a lot of fun chatting with you.
Cheers,
Zes star
02-25-2017 03:55 PM
Some serious photography skills there TraciC.......you must be armed with a pretty decent camera phone or you carry a big camera bag everywhere you go.
Cheers,
Zed star.
03-09-2017 02:52 PM - edited 03-09-2017 07:33 PM
Well, I do not mean this is a "best food photo" but this is what my wife was expecting me home this evening with. I am not even sure what it is so let's call it "some stuffed stuff". I only know one thing: it's delicious!
Edit: and it's an enormous portion, too!
03-09-2017 03:38 PM