YSBSD: Day 1
What does YSBSD stand for? Yelp Spring Break San Diego, that's what! If you haven't been following me on Instagram (@missmisschelle) or Snapchat (missmisschelle), you've definitely missed out on all of the cool and fun events that I attended with Yelp! But don't fret - I will be writing detailed blog posts covering each day and also filmed a vlog of my entire trip so that you guys will be able to catch up easily with what went down in San Diego!
Now, at YSBSD, there are three types of events you can attend. There's your UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event), CMYE (Community Manager Yelp Event), and Official Yelp Event. Typically, UYE and CMYE expenses come out of your own pocket, but Official Yelp Events tend to be free. Official Yelp Events almost always serve free food, drinks, and Yelp "swag" (aka goodies) and are most popular among Yelp Elites. UYEs and CMYEs are sometimes free and these are organized by the community or Yelp Community Managers. Feel free to see the entire YSBSD itinerary here.
Day 1 of YSBSD started off with my group and I waking up at 4:30AM in the morning. Yep, you can already guess that we all crashed near the middle of the day, hah. However, the fun and positive vibes of YSBSD kept us awake and we managed to stay up till midnight before knocking out in our AIRBNB at Imperial Beach.
Arriving to a gloomy San Diego morning around 8:00AM, my group and I decided to drop by a popular brunch place called Snooze. Apparently, on a busy weekend morning, the wait at Snooze tends to average around 1-2 hours. Luckily, on a Thursday morning, we were able to be seated within 15 minutes. I love how this restaurant has a complimentary self-serve coffee station for all of their guests - this sure helps us not snooze at Snooze! As for the food, I ordered a Corn Beef Hash that tasted way too salty for my taste buds, but my friend's benedict entree was delicious so I'd definitely recommend ordering the benedicts! If I was hungrier, I would have totally ordered the Pancake flight - that's 3 different pancakes served in miniature form! You can't get that back in the Bay Area, that's for sure.
When you're with Yelp Elites, you never really stop looking for the new "hot spots" to dine at. Thus, after breakfast, we were on the search for dessert...before lunch time, haha! One spot you HAVE to visit if you're ever in San Diego is Extraordinary Desserts. The presentation of their desserts is over-the-top extravagant and they use real flower petals to elegantly decorate their cakes, pies, and other sweet treats. In the past, I tried the Bread Pudding and enjoyed every bite of it. This time around, I ordered the Creme Brulee and this one did not disappoint at all. I do advise to split the desserts with a friend, as these desserts are both "extraordinary" in size and appearance. This place is definitely a sweet tooth's heaven.
At 12:00PM, my group and I attended a UYE at Ballast Point Little Italy. At this event, complimentary light bites such as cheese and crackers, chicken wings, and more were served. If you were a beer fanatic, you could purchase a beer flight for just $5! I really liked this place because the exterior looked equivalent to your ideal beautiful outdoor patio. Also, Ballast Point Little Italy had comfortable lounge chairs that surrounded a fire pit, making this event a more cozy and intimate experience. Nearing the end of the event, we each received a complimentary Ballast Point Little Italy glass to take home.
Since one of my friends and I don't drink alcohol much, we left the UYE a little bit early to explore Little Italy. It's a small and beautiful town that reminds me a lot of Downtown San Mateo. Certain shops we stopped by include iDessert and James Coffee Co. And oh my god, the Horchata Latte (pictured on the right) from James Coffee Co. was the best I've ever tasted and I'm wishing that I could have one right now as I type this blog post up! For you coffee lovers, I'd definitely bookmark James Coffee Co. if you ever stop by Little Italy.
Following our Little Italy exploration, we headed to YSBSD's first Official Yelp Event, the Welcome Party. At the Welcome Party, we were handed our Yelp lanyards, which basically served as our week passes to get into any other event throughout the week. Food trucks were available to purchase food at this event, but we strayed towards the open bar instead, heh. With good music, free drinks, and fun games (Connect 4, Giant Jenga, Bean Bag Toss, etc.), YSBSD was off to a great start!
To finish off the night, a couple of us headed to Puesto, a delicious and popular Mexican restaurant with a very modern interior. Since I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, the quality of the dishes here exceeded my expectations. I mean, people have always told me that they come to San Diego for the Mexican food and I can see why now. I fell in love from first bite with the Baby Octopus tacos, as it carried the perfect texture, sauce, and freshness. As recommended by our waiter, I enjoyed the Esquite very much. Your girl loves corn, and this side comes with grilled corn, chile, lime, queso, and crema. Um, YES please!
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Romper: AMI Clubwear | Brown Sunglasses: Papaya | White Sunglasses: AMI Clubwear | Rings & Bracelet: Thought Blossoms | Sandals: Rainbow Sandals
Much Love,