Darling it’s better under the sea
From Tom Ham’s Lighthouse Restaurant in San Diego 

I was on a family trip in San Diego for my mom’s birthday, and we decided to hit up the lighthouse. It’s one of the top restaurants in San Diego (and an actual functioning lighthouse), known for their seafood, so I was excited. I hadn’t had octopus in a while, so I was interested to see how they would serve it. Here’s me pretending to be an octopus.

The restaurant was located right on the water as if I was on a boat. Even the inside was decorated like a boat, I was scared I was going to be shanghaied by pirates! 

The view of the water was beautiful. Definitely make a reservation early in order to get a window seat. Now I bet you understand why I felt like I was on a boat. It was like I was on a voyage to a deserted island where everyone just eats excellent seafood all day. They even made sure to give the food an islander feel. They put an orchid on every dish ordered. It gave the food a very islander feel. I know it was added for garnish, but orchids are edible you know. As of that day, flower meat should have been added to my list of meats eaten.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they plucked my octopus out of the sea just moments before they served it to me. It looked and smelled so fresh. however, the tentacles were a little burned, but it’s hard to grill those little guys along with the fat body. The octopus itself has a very consistent taste, chewy but not too surprising. I thought the chef did a great job matching it with the eel sauce and salty fried asparagus.

For dessert I decided to try the chocolate lava molasses chipotle ice cream. Whaaat?? That’s why I got it- what a strange combination, my curiosity got the better of me. Would I eat it again? NOPE. The first taste is egg-like, but then the strange spicy chipotle flavor kicks in. All I could think of was foods I put chipotle sauce on, like burritos, tacos… foods I don’t like mixing with my ice cream! I couldn’t take a bite without making a face. But then I got the nice friendly graham cracker vanilla flavor and all was well in my mouth again.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at this restaurant. The service was the best ever, and on our to-go box they made sure to include the date and a little message. How cute is that! If anybody is in San Diego, be sure to try this gem out. 

Conclusion: I feel like too many people have octopus in the calamari state and are scared to try it by itself. It’s yummy and fun to eat! 

You should eat it because: Octopus is a lean seafood, so you don’t attain too much fat from eating it. Also, octopus contains taurine, an organic acid that acts as an antioxidant and can protect against some of the stressful effects of exercise. So after swimming miles to catch some octopus, you can eat it and be stress free!

Read earlier posts in the series:

• Meat 12: Kangaroo
• Meat 11: Quail
• Meat 10: Scallops
• Meat 9: Jellyfish
• Meat 8: Alpaca
• Meat 7: Turkey
• Meat 6: Deer
• Meat 5: Sea Urchin
• Meat 4: Beef (stomach)
• Meat 3: Elk
• Meat 2: Lamb
• Meat 1: Duck
• Meat Dasha!