There’s nothing I love more than visiting the San Diego Zoo
and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. My
husband and I are members at the zoo, and we try to visit at least a handful of
times each year.
Last week, we stopped at the Safari Park on our way down to San Diego. It was around 1:30pm on a Thursday when we
arrived, and a lot of people, particularly large groups from schools, were
leaving at that time. Which was perfect
for us. Our mission was to go to the
opposite end of the park, go on the tram safari and head out. My husband picked up a map and saw a posting
saying that there were lion cubs available to view. There’s nothing cuter than baby big cats, so
we decided to check that out as well. We
asked a worker where the lions cubs were, and she pointed us in the right
direction. They were currently out for
exercise, and the sign said to come back at 2pm. Perfect.
We were hungry from the 2 hour drive down from L.A. anyway, so this was
the perfect opportunity to grab something for lunch.
I saw a sign advertising a Farmer’s Market salad at
Thorntree Terrace. We looked at the map
and realized that were standing about right next to that restaurant, so we
wandered over and looked at the menu. I
had been craving pizza, so we decided to order a Margarita Panini as well as
the Farmer’s Market Salad. We were given
a buzzer that would go off when our order was ready.

In the meantime, we found a table outside on the
terrace.
It was a very pleasant,
tropical setting with thatched hut umbrellas, heaters (if it were cold out,
which it wasn’t) and tropical plants.
My
husband said it reminded him of Hawaii.
I think that most of the Safari Park is an African theme, so I think it
was supposed to be more African than Polynesian, but regardless, it was
tropical and pleasant.

It didn’t take long for our food to be ready.
I was impressed with the size of the
salad.
It had fingerling potatoes,
cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, shredded cheddar cheese
and avocado on it.
There was honey
mustard dressing on the side.
I wasn’t
impressed with the taste.
Somehow I
expected the potatoes to be warm, but they were cold.
It was weird eating cold potatoes.
The dressing was almost gluishly thick.
The flavor was okay, but I think there was
too much honey and not enough mustard in it.
I liked the cherry tomatoes dipped in the dressing though.

My husband and I both liked the Panini better than the
salad.
It came on ciabatta bread and was
topped with fresh basil, sliced tomatoes, and marinated mozzarella cheese
accented with sun-dried tomato garlic pesto. It was served grilled and came
with a side of chips.
It definitely
satisfied the pizza craving.
If I’m
hungry the next time I’m at the Safari Park, I will definitely order the
Margarita Panini.
My husband and I shared the salad and the Panini. That was plenty of food for two hungry
people. Even though we liked the Panini better
than the salad, I think it was a more balanced meal eating some lettuce with
our meal and not just loading up on carbs.

It was a really pleasant lunch.
Even though the prices are on the high side
for what you’d get, it’s not as bad as if you’re eating at a park like
Disneyland.
I was impressed with the serving
sizes, considering where we were.

After lunch, we went on to see the lion cubs, go on the tram safari, watch the full grown
lions, and see the cheetah run.
All that, and we were back on the road by 4pm. It was a great afternoon at the Safari Park!
Happy eating!
No comments:
Post a Comment