Meet Arielle & Ian | Food bloggers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Arielle & Ian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Arielle & Ian, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
(Arielle) I grew up in a small town in South Carolina, right on the border of North Carolina. Ian grew up outside of Pasadena (in La Cañada), but has lived in San Diego for over a decade. We met through my cousin and his friend, who is now her husband, about seven years ago. We were doing a long distance relationship before I moved out here about five years ago. Being from a small, southern town, my experiences with different cultures, food, and lifestyles were very limited. One of our goals with my moving out here was to help broaden my horizons and introduce me to different foods and new people. Ian started a list of things to show me that were totally San Diego- restaurants, sites, and experiences and we slowly started working through them. We update it each year with new things to try and places to see. We love growing together, traveling, and undergoing new experiences.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Both of us have different careers outside of the blog. We often like to refer to ourselves as professionals by day and food bloggers by night. We actually started the blog as a fun way to let out some creative steam and share some of our amazing experiences with others. We started from just a simple blog and a small Instagram account to now a larger following. We always joked that if we got one free food item from it we would feel like we made it, and now we have! I think what sets us apart though is as much as we joke about it, we don’t do it for free stuff or followers or fame. We do it because we genuinely think people should know about all the good stuff San Diego has to offer! There are so many new places popping up all the time and we consider it our job to check it all out. It’s easy to get stuck in your routine and just eat your favorites all the time, but we don’t want to miss out on any new opportunities there are in this great city. One of the things we are most proud of is our ability to find great new spots “before they are cool.” We are constantly checking out new establishments and posting about them. We generally find that after we do that, a lot of the bigger bloggers and influencers end up going to the same places and posting almost identical things! Of course, they get a lot more internet fame from it, but again, that’s not what we are here to do. We do jokingly like to call ourselves “microinfluencers”’ for that reason. One of our main goals is to promote small and locally owned businesses in our area. We think it’s really important to help support your local economies.

One of the lessons we have learned is that it is important to take on creative projects because you love them and they make you happy, not because you are trying to accomplish a goal. This is a labor of love for us, and more importantly it is something we enjoy doing and we want to keep it that way.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, this is a fun prompt for us! We actually have a blog called “Three Day Weekend in San Diego.” We also love hosting people and showing them around our fun city. Although, our guests always complain that we eat too much while they are here!

One of the places we always take people when they visit is Liberty Station in Point Loma. We love going to the food hall and letting everybody pick exactly what they want to eat from all the food stalls. While we are in the neighborhood, we often take the trip up to Cabrillo National Monument for the views. The views in La Jolla are also something we try to see. Especially during baby seal season! We are big fans of the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. It’s a great way to spend the day, especially with a cold craft beer in hand! Speaking of local beers, breweries in San Diego are an absolute must. We are very fond of Belching Beaver, Thorn Brewing, Pariah, and Poor House Brewing Company in North Park. Speaking of North Park, it is a mecca for good food. We usually like to take people to The Friendly, Cantina Mayahuel, Antique Row Cafe, Chris Ono, Nomad Donuts, Dunedin, Gelati & Peccati, and so many more. Pomegranate is our favorite spot for a nicer meal. We never would have guessed our favorite restaurant in San Diego would be a Russian-Georgian place, but it is amazing. Blind Lady Ale House is also a good spot- amazing pizza, beers, and the best Belgian frites we have ever enjoyed. And we have enjoyed them a lot. Mexican food is a requirement to visitors. Especially taco shops- they are a way of life down here. Old Town is a fun tourist attraction that we like to frequent (even as locals). Surprisingly, some of our favorite tacos come from a mercardo called Pancho Villa. We also have an excellent birria truck that parks outside of the liquor store in South Park – Sabor A Birria. One of our favorite spots was recently named best bakery in the US by Yelp. It is a tiny bakery in downtown called Izola. Amazing croissants! San Diego is also home to some delicious cocktails, though we are not much for the party scene of downtown anymore. Our regular haunts include Kindred, Polite Provisions, and Coin Op. Ian also loves a trip to Triple Crown for a more dive-y feel. And no trip is complete without a drive across the bridge to Coronado to look at all the houses we love, but could never afford. Throw in a really expensive drink from the Hotel Del Coronado, and you are good to go!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We definitely have a lot of friends and family who are always willing to go new places and try new things with us. Ian’s brother, Sean, and his new wife, Tara, are often our dining companions. They have sponsored many new experiences for us as well. We get most of our recommendations through word of mouth and highly respect our network of friends and family too!

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