Monterey County

As I am in Monterey County for spring break, I felt inclined to write this post. Growing up in this area, I have developed some local favorites. If you are ever in this neck of the woods, you have my personal recommendations on the following places (and trust me, I'm picky.):

Salinas:

• Bagel Corner (breakfast and lunch)
• Gino's Italian (overpriced, but their blackened chicken fettuccine is unbeatable.)

*Both of these establishments happen to be owned by the same family. Get the Artichoke Bisque at either location. Really. Get it. I'd be shocked if you were disappointed.

Carmel Valley:

• Baja Cantina (lunch or dinner) (GRILLED CHICKEN ENCHILADAS!!!!!) (I come here every single time I am on the peninsula. Just do it.) 
• RG Burger at The Crossroads (lunch or dinner)

Carmel-By-The-Sea:

• Katie's Place (breakfast/brunch) (Last time I was there it was cash only. Be prepared for that. In fact, I'd just be ready for cash only in general in CBTS)
• Tommy's Wok (Chinese food. I have dreams about Tommy's.)
• La Bicyclette (B,L,D- I've only been for breakfast. French food. The sweet and savory is fantastic!)
• Bruno's Market! Walk to the back, go to the deli counter and get a sandwich. MMMM. Take it down to the beach and have a picnic. Or go support some local theater at Forest Theater- dress warmly, pack wine, enjoy your picnic!

Okay. There are a bunch of cafes and bakeries in CBTS. One of them has amazing Raspberry Sorbet, and my other favorite has the black & white cookie things... they also serve dog cookies. I've seen many a customer accidentally order one and get chuckled at.  Be careful. And get a Black & White. I wish you luck in this search. I'll give more detailed information if I ever figure it out. Heh. 

Monterey:

• Rosine's (Off of Alvarado. B,L,D) (special order the Heavenly Squaw for lunch. Rye bread, turkey, sprouts... mmmm. They took it off the menu but I still insist they make it for me.)
• Pizza My Heart in Del Monte Center (I swear it's the best Pizza My Heart in existence)

Fancy Pants Restaurants:

• Roy's at Spanish Bay
• Mission Ranch (get the Crème brûlée) 

Prepare for a big bill. But worth it. 

I think that's it for now.... Feel free to comment below to let me know your local favorites or ask for different recommendations! 

Birthday Celebrations, pt. 2

My, my, how time flies.

It's already been a week since the events that I'm about to tell you about. I'm on spring break now... it's boring so far. Grr...

My (step)sister, nephew, sister's boyfriend, and stepbrother came up to visit and celebrate my mom's birthday! I love when my monkey comes to visit!

We played with new toys.

Got attacked by a Grammy-Bear. 

Flew airplanes

 

Ate birthday cake! 

Had to have time-out on the boat. 

Drove the boat (and honked the horn) with Grammy! 

Choked down some hot dog. 

And napped back to the dock.

It was a lovely weekend; I miss my boy so much!  Can't wait for the next visit! 

I'm on a boat.

Momma got a Pontoon for her birthday and we went to test it out on Sunday!

(Apparently) We launched off of the main channel of the Delta. 

With our beautiful birthday Captain! 

(Note to self: by Mom a Captain's hat.)

It really was a gorgeous day today.  I had a jacket and jeans on, only because it was cold when we were moving. We didn't float around today; my understanding is that we needed to run the engine and burn off some old fuel. 

We stumbled upon a bunch of sailboats- maybe some classes going on? Nevertheless, it gave me a great chance to get some nice pictures. 

And because it wouldn't be Stockton without something questionable:

We enjoyed a nice meal at Garlic Brothers before heading in for the day.  Nice start to the season!

I had a wonderful time with Momma and Stepdad!

It was a great weekend to play with my new camera. 

For the love of Chocolate

 Birthday Momma and I took a chocolate dessert class at Sur La Table in Los Gatos. It was a great opportunity to break in my new camera! 

Let me tell you: Oh. My. My. My.

We started with breakfast in Livermore, at The Riata.  Mimosas were enjoyed, as well as my Eggs in a Basket and Mom's Eggs Bene.

I found it highly amusing that I had just read a recipe for Eggs in a basket the previous night and here I was eating it.  Eggs over easy, cracked into a slice of texas toast with a hole cut out of the middle.  (The Riata dipped their bread like french toast which I don't think is common for this dish, but it wasn't bad!) Cook on one side, flip, cook, serve. Hash browns on the side!

 We booked it from the restaurant and motored to the store (the service was slow, and we still had a almost an hour to drive). We arrived in the nick of time and we set off to concocting.

The Menu:

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate Espresso Pot de Creme

Chocolate Soufleé with a Vanilla Bean Anglaise

Deconstructed S'More.

GAH.

Before I do pictures, I want to say I had a fabulous time with momma! We don't have extravagant dates like this very often anymore, and I do love that we got to have this time! Chef Sarah Smart was a riot (PLEASE be my best friend, Sarah!) and her sous chefs, Kevin and David, were very cool.  I don't know if I was actually good at cooking or if Sarah was just extremely complimentary, but I'll take the ego boost I got.

The soufleé was the standout star of the day, hands down. Though, the homemade marshmallow fluff was delectable.

 

 

She looks serious. It's a ruse. 

 

        

    

 

Happy birthday to the most amazing Momma in the world! Here's to many more adventure's like the ones we had this weekend!