Restaurant 1833 - Monterey, CA

I have read about Restaurant 1883 for quite sometime. I have heard the Pimms Cups were refreshing and the cheddar Biscuits were amazing. What I didn't know was that the restaurant was haunted! The house, one of the oldest adobes in California, was owned by John Stokes, a deserter from the British navy who masqueraded for years as a pharmacist and physician. His charade allegedly killed many people. The story is said that a ghost by the name of "Hattie" still frequents the home she passed away in... Spooky!

This was the Pimms Cup I was talking about: Pimms No. 1, Lemon, Cherry Vanilla Bitters, and Ginger Beer make up this concotion. It is perfectly sweet and makes you feel like your drinking a bubbly soda. A little alcohol and lots of fun.

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits served with Maple Chili Butter. As good as the description and worth the weight of the entire menu. I suggest just going and ordering these and cocktails, all night long.

A pan roast of Mahi Mahi, leeks, mushrooms, mussels and potatoes. Did I love it? No. Was it good? Yes, ok. I am not sure I would order it again. Just on the fence about this one.

Deconstructed S'more. I told the waiter that my dessert looked like a melted snowman and he barely grunted. That is one thing that I have not mentioned that bothered me that night. There was a table of young adults (us) and he kind of looked like he was disappointed to see us. I mean, this was a nice restaurant and he surely must be good enough to work there but I fetl like we were slighted in the fun department. Normally a good waiter has a good sense of humor. That is all I am saying...

This was our group for the evening. The guests of honor were Susie and Robert and we treated them to a  Goodbye Party! They are moving to South Carolina for work and a new beginning, how exciting! Best of luck to them and thank you Kate for arranging the evening. You are wonderful!

Mrs. DeLish's Cupcakes - Monterey, CA

Kathy and I had a great day! Cupcake Sampling is absolutely wonderful... My Mom's favorite was the Vanilla with Coconut frosting and mine was the Brown Sugar with Maple frosting. They were fantastic! Fun!

Domenico’s - Monterey, CA

After the day at the Portola Spa in Monterey, yes I went to the spa again, we declared ourselves famished. Just steps from the Monterey Wharf we decided to try somewhere we had never been before! So welcome: Domenico's On the Wharf.

Our beautiful view on a very clear day in Monterey.

An appetizer of Calamari, yes please. I like to dip it in both the tarter and cocktail sauce. It makes for a pretty tasty experience.

Fresh baked bread! Baked in house I am sure because it took them so long to get it to our table! Ha. But no really, it was very delicious.

I sampled probably enough Chowder on the Wharf on our walk down Restaurant Row but I wanted more! This is the stuff dreams are made of. Not the best Clam Chowder out there but definitely a contender.

Amanda ordered a Caesar Salad and I thought it was beautiful. She enjoyed it very much and I was lucky enough to get to eat the Anchovy - I love salt!

Guess who ordered the Crab Cakes?! Ok, ok. Enough guessing... it was ME! My plate looks a little sad right? My crab cakes had bell peppers in them! Although I love bell peppers just not in my crab cakes. Was I in crab cake love? Mehh...

Oh Elena got a special! It was Calamari stuffed with cheese and sausage and all that fine stuff that goes into lasagna. That is what it reminded me of. She let me try a bite and it was ok - not something I would have ordered but certainly tasty.

Domenico's: I have to be honest, you kind of let me down. I had high hopes because you sold us on the wharf on your fantastic views, you wonderful food and all that jazz. But you made this a 2 hour lunch without being really necessary - it was a Monday afternoon, after the lunch rush. Our waiter was in and out - bus boys randomly walking around. There was no need for the lengthy lunch but at least I was there with good friends and had a good time catching up with each other.

The Clement - Monterey, CA

I went to The Clement Hotel located on Cannery Row for an IMPOWER Luncheon today. They served this amazing Squash Apple Soup with Creme Fraiche and a Cinnamon Crouton. Sounds weird on paper but believe me, it worked! Very tasty.

Monterey Fish House - Monterey, CA

I have heard so much about this place. Mostly it has been, "Great food, but the seating is limited and you will always need a reservation." What does that tell me as a food blogger? That this place must rock! I mean people return because it is delicious, that is awesome! So after a trip to the Del Monte Mall I made my 7:30pm reservation at the Monterey Fish House.

Waiting for 7:30 to roll around... We got there a bit early, so we watched the Oyster Shucker get down to business!

Jennifer going over the menu.


The bread was brought to the table immediately and it was delicious.
Nice and soft.

Oyster on the half shell with lots of Horseradish and Cocktail sauce!

Yum! It tasted like the ocean

Here we go: lots of food posts! A special, Robert's Swordfish in Lemon Butter sauce! Don't mind if I do! It was amazing! Capers are magical little things. I love the salty taste they bring to the table.

Love! The Honey Almond encrusted Mahi Mahi! The Marsala Wine sauce with mushrooms were absolutely fabulous! The sauce was so good in fact, that I dipped the rest of the bread in it - just so it wouldn't go to waste!

Jennifer influenced this order. It might as well have been hers! Ha! Dungeness Crab in a garlic, white wine, crab butter sauce served over house made linguine. The crab was ate slowly but surely ;) The broth was amazing.

Jennifer had been drooling over these Spotted Prawns all afternoon from when we looked up the restaurant online. She knew when the Specials were read that this is what she wanted. After ordering it though she came to conclusion that the dish was more work than pleasure. Having to extract the meat out of the prawns I guess was not worth it!

All in all, I was very impressed by the Monterey Fish House. The place was packed! I am shocked they stay in such a small location. If they had a bigger restaurant I am sure they would still stay busy - and everyone would be more comfortable. There was a table literally 2 inches away fro ours. We heard everything in their discussion and I am sure they heard everything in ours! The food was delicious, a tad pricey but for good seafood it is worth it. I will return.

Isabella's Italian Seafood - Monterey, Ca

One weekend morning, about a month ago, I was lazily lying in bed watching public access television. I know, that sounds lame but I got engrossed in a television show called, "Coastal Cuisine" featuring Tene Shake. I am familiar with the Shake family through a friend of mine who bought cattle for Tene's father, Shabu Shake, past owner of the Old Fisherman's Grotto. I loved the show, and developed a craving for seafood. Fast forward a month and here I am planning a trip to Isabella's Italian Seafood, one of Tene Shake's signature restaurants.

The front of the restaurant

The actual Isabella!

One of the tables upstairs.

Isabella's is located on Fisherman's Wharf in historic Monterey. Go directly to the Whale Watching dock and you will find yourself standing in front of the two story building. The restaurant offers spectacular harbor views from every table, outdoor dining and a quite atmosphere for fine dining. The host brought us to a quaint table upstairs where our meal was about to be enjoyed.

The house, Pinot Noir.

The bread and oil.

Fried Monterey Calamari

We asked for a house glass of Pinot Noir and it was tasty. I don't normally leave up the wine selection to the house, but today I didn't feel like making a wine selection. The bread was brought to the table and I was intrigued by its corn bread like texture. It tasted kind of like cake but was not sweet... very interesting. I liked it very much. The oil and balsamic dip was a nice compliment to the slices of bread. A complimentary appetizer was brought to our table! That was so sweet of them. It was a half pound of Monterey Calamari, which they claim is their specialty. It was fried and served with a side of tarter and cocktail sauce.

Clam Chowder

Crab Cakes

Isabella's Pasta

Deep fried Cheesecake

Now on with more food... I ordered a small cup of Clam Chowder because I just love the stuff! It was funny, earlier this week I had clam chowder from a can, Progresso's, and you just don't know how bad soup is from a can when you have the real thing! It was a small cup, kind of a teaser but it is so rich I was fine with the size. For my entree I ordered... Crab Cakes! Doesn't my plate look beautiful? They didn't have any filler, all crab meat and fried golden brown. Perfect crust! The mango sauce it sat in was delicious - the right amount of tang. Robert ordered the "Best" thing on the menu. The Isabella's Pasta - named after Tene's Italian mother. This impressive plate was filled to the brim with lobster meat, crab meat, jumbo scallops and jumbo shrimp sautéed in a Gilroy garlic cream sauce tossed in fresh spinach fettuccini. Wow! That dish is well worth every penny, it was fabulously luxurious - fit for a king! And last but not least, we were both brought a deep fried Cheesecake creation. It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

I am so happy I made the decision to visit Isabella's Italian Seafood. While at the restaurant I even saw Tene himself wandering about talking to customers and encouraging his staff, exactly what a successful restaurateur should be doing! I wanted to ask him to take a picture with me but, I chickened out. I don't normally talk prices on my reviews but, for this meal the bill came out to $67 and that blew my mind! That is so reasonable for the quality meal we had. I will return to Isabella's and I cannot wait to try Lattitude’s at Lovers Point, also one of Tene's signature restaurants. I did notice that the wharf was particularly empty, so take advantage of the currently low market price of lobster and cure your seafood craving today! Two thumbs up for sure!

One more thing... I saw this pirate wandering the wharf and he asked if I wanted to take a picture with him so, I did! ;)