5 Ideas for Fall Entertaining in San Diego

As part of its corporate social responsibility mission, San Clemente, California-based Ocean Minded organizes year-round community beach cleanups to encourage an eco-friendly lifestyle. Upcoming events include the Tijuana River Action Month Finale at Goat Canyon in Border Field State Park in San Diego on October 11 and the Surfrider Regional Cleanup at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California, on October 18. Participants are encouraged to bring their own reusable bag or bucket and work gloves.

The Wild Thyme Company's new Thyme Table Challenge is a hands-on battle of culinary wits between coworkers. The competition can be held on site or at the San Diego-based catering company's commercial kitchen. Each team of employees is asked to make a dish using the same basket of unknown ingredients, with all dishes forming a cohesive meal. At the end of the challenge, both sides dine together on the cooking collaboration.

Entertain clients with breakfast and a view. Starting in November, San Diego Zoo guests can enjoy a buffet breakfast while watching the koala colony munch on theirs in the Queenslander House. A traditional hot breakfast will be served in the shaded venue from 8 to 9 a.m. before the park opens. The morning activity starts November 15 and continues every Saturdays until December 27; tickets cost $45 per person for adults and children.

As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, Pacifica Del Mar is offering a three-course tasting menu, highlighting guests' favorite dishes both old and new, such as sugar-spiced salmon and slow-poached Maine lobster. The menu is available until the end of the year for $25.

Holiday party planning has kicked into high gear, and rental companies are getting more requests for backlit bars, such as the industrial steel one in malachite from FormDecor. The bar comes in a wide selection of seasonal designs. Delivery is available throughout Southern California; pricing is available upon request.