Anyway, it was surprisingly a very nice ceremony, if a little on the long side. I didn't check the time when it started, but it was set for 10 am and we left for the reception practically at noon.
The reception was at the Bahia Hotel on the fifth floor, which meant that we were treated to gorgeous views of Mission Bay. The ballroom had one wall that was entirely windows that overlooked the beach--so very pretty. Since we didn't get breakfast, I was absolutely famished. They had hors de'oeurves of various cheeses, crackers, fruit, and bread at a couple of buffet-style tables and had a couple of hot selections passed around. They were all carnivore friendly, so I didn't get to sample them. I did, however, stuff my face full of strawberries. I happen to love them more than any other fruit, so every chance I get, I nosh on 'em. I don't think I could ever get sick of them. That and peaches and plums. Good stuff. I pretty much like fruit in general, but one of the best things about summer is the strawberries, peaches, and plums.
Because the ceremony was so late, the reception was likewise late. I knew the times would be off, this being an Asian wedding and all, but this one was particularly bad. Thankfully, they started serving pretty quickly after the wedding party was introduced.
Jim and I were seated at Table 13, named "Apollo 13" (all of the tables were named after movies, bands, etc. coinciding w/ their numbers --to be expected with both of them wanting to be in the entertainment business). We were with B's friends, and they were all very nice. And married. A bit awkward, but oh well.
Our salads came out quite quickly, and from the menu description, I was excited to eat them. Unfortunately, they were wilted and not so very good. It was a greens, gorgonzola, candied pecan, and cranberry salad--very similar to Marie Callender's, or so I thought. The pecans were not candied, but rather coated with something spicy that didn't go at all with the rest of the salad. The champagne dressing, that was served in bowls meant to be shared, wasn't bad, but quite frankly, if your lettuce is wilted, there's nothing that can be done to rescue the salad. I ate Jim's, and he ate my bread, which was an unremarklable stale roll.
The entrees weren't a whole lot better. I had a grilled veggie plate with mashed potatoes that could have been amazing, but somehow they managed to overcook my portabello mushroom into a tough, chewy mess and the rest were underdone. I really shouldn't have eaten it, but I was still hungry, so I gave it my best effort. Jim ended up eating most of my mashed potatoes, which were entirely unspectacular. His entree was salmon and filet mignon with veggies and mashed potatoes, and it was visually just a mess. The salmon looked anything but fresh and the beef looked like it came from Sizzler.
Of course, we were among the lucky ones who actually got our meals. If I was the bride, I'd have been pissed at the service because it was horrible. They ran out of entrees and there were literally tables of people who had to wait 30+ minutes for their meals! Our table's plates were completely cleared and they were still serving lunch at that point. I would feel sick at the thought of paying $30 a head for that kind of crap. I mean, it's wedding food. For the most part, you expect sub-par stuff, but at the service should at least be good. There IS a reason why you give a head count list to the caterer, right? The upside to those who had to wait for their food was that it was at least fresh, which ours wasn't.
Thankfully, there was some redemption in the dessert, which I really enjoyed. It was called a truffle, but I've never seen a truffle like that before. It was a white chocolate heart filled with cream and drizzled with raspberry sauce. Sooo tasty! I could have just eaten that for lunch. Plus it was way prettier than anything else that we had been given.
I know I'm probably going to fry for what I did, but we left early. I know! I'm a terrible person. The thing is, I'm not all that close to B and I've never even met L. In fact, other than B's cousin P (who didn't even remember my name even though we were surfing buddies back in Hawaii), I didn't know anyone else there. I was hoping that there would be some old kung fu people at the wedding, but it didn't happen. So I really wasn't feeling the whole using up the entire day for his wedding. We stayed until 3, and they hadn't even started the party part yet--no cake cutting, bouquet tossing, or anything. They were setting up for some sort of video of the couple and I saw a good opportunity to duck out because people had gotten up and were milling around. I take full responsibility for our rudeness.
After we left, we went back to our hotel, which we learned was the Bahia's sister hotel and changed. We decided to walk down Mission Beach, which was fun. The weather wasn't ideal, but bundled up, I was fine. Jim stripped down to board shorts for some of the time, but it didn't stay warm for too long. We made it to the park and walked around for a bit just taking in all of the sights. I've never been there before, so it was special for me. We went past this pizza place that looked and smelled amazing, but neither of us was all that hungry. If I had known about that pizza, I never would have eaten the wedding food! Jim was on a mission for shave ice, which we ended up not getting, because he couldn't find the place he used to go to.
We got back to the hotel in time to watch the sunset from our balcony. The clouds partially cleared up, so we were able to get a decent view. Afterwards, we dressed for dinner at the Paradise Grille, a place that citysearch named one of the top 10 restaurants in San Diego.
We found the restaurant with no trouble at all and were promptly seated near the bar. Jim ordered a martini made with Midori, hoping that I would like it. I did not. It was very strong and not at all tasty. But their bread, which was lightly toasted foccacia, was amazing. Jim ordered a bowl of soup, which I sampled and liked.
For me, I was all about the polenta entree, which sounded so yummy. Jim went with a burger and fries. Service started out terrible, and that put me in a not so good state of mind. But all was forgiven when I sampled my dinner. The polenta was nothing special, but combined with the pesto and veggies and cheese, it was amazing. The downside was that it was also really, really filling, so I didn't quite finish my plate.
Jim's burger was "nothing special." He felt that the restaurant was overrated, and I was inclined to agree. I gave it extra points for the creative vegetarian entree, but it's not a place I could really rave about. Besides, the entree was way too decadent for anything other than a special occasion meal.
By the end of dinner, I was so exhausted from the last couple of days that all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. Just call me Grandma.
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