Sake for 1 cent... not even!

I've been to Yama Sushi three times now. It's located in the Del Monte Shopping Center in Monterey (Bldg A Ste 92). I'm definitely not a picky sushi eater. Throw some spicy tuna in my roll, add sriracha on top, give it a hokey moniker - I'm yours.

These are some photos from the first time I went with a few coworkers and friends. 

They've got the sushi makers over yonder making all the rolls. They are so nice! Once, when on my way out, one ran up to me and did that "pound" thing (modern high five). He's so with it.

 So about the title of this post. This place is fairly new and has been advertising 1 cent sake Mondays - Thursdays. Also, their sushi rolls are 50% off! All the time! That means I can order the Lobster Delight or Victoria Secret or Fuji Mountain or ... or ... or ... all for half the price! Pretty sweet deal.

This is the sake fountain. It's kind of like a soda machine, but for sake!

They've got lots of seating, but it does get packed!

My group!

Fishwife, Seaside

On Saturday, July 17th, my mom, sister, and I ate at Fishwife (789 Trinity Ave, Seaside). We drove there after the scary, slightly dangerous Toyota Camry ride through Fort Ord's mountain bike trails (NOT recommended). I chose this place because it's on my "Best Of" list. Fishwife won the title of "Best Restaurant in Seaside." I beg to differ.

Yelp

The three of us decided to each order a plate and share. I don't get why people don't do that everywhere.... obviously a better idea to try three things instead of just one. We chose:
1. Line caught Sea Bass ($14) grilled, with sauteed spinach & tomato on a bed of rice on a bed of pineapple cream sauce - really? on two beds?
2. Fishwife's Combo Wrap served with a small salad ($13) with sauteed scallops, shrimp, and crab in a lobster sauce rice and beans; wrapped in a flour tortilla
3. Fish/Calamari n' Chips ($?) - their lunch menu won't download on their website so can't get you the info about this dish.

The Monterey County Weekly boasts that locals can get their fix of "the true gift from the Pacific - seafood" at Fishwife. They laud the fish sandwiches, gumbo, chowder, and seafood salads. As you can see, we did not order any of those. Instead, my pick - the fish n chips - was probably worse than a boxed, frozen, back-of-the-supermarket-shelf-variety! My mom's sea bass was delicious, and Nicole really liked the sauteed spinach. I thought the spinach tasted like BOOZE. Maybe that's why Nicole liked it? JK Coley.... She also really enjoyed her seafood wrap. I liked it a lot too, but it was basically a $13 seafood burrito. Hope that means it's loaded with REAL crab. AHEM. Oh, and tip: get it with the Turtle Bay Taqueria hot sauce (their sister restaurant is right next door and stocks the good hot stuff).

I want to give Fishwife another try, maybe for dinner? It won best Seaside restaurant for a reason.  Yup, there was good service (only two occupied tables at the time though), but I just don't think their lunch menu really delivered.

Monterey County's Herald newspaper notes that Fishwife's cuisine has a "Caribbean accent featuring fresh seafood and pasta." Supposedly the daily specials highlight "local fresh catch and seasonal fish including sanddabs, wild caught salmon, mahi mahi, halibut, and swordfish. The chef uses only the freshest produce from the Salinas Valley and offers delicious housemade desserts daily." - Same info is listed on the company's website.

Considering it is in Seaside, this restaurant has a lot of potential. After looking at the menu a little bit further, I'd probably choose an appetizer and one of the Fisherman's Bowls (daily special of fresh catch served in a bowl of rice, black beans, Caribbean cabbage drizzled with a ginger sesame vinaigrette and garnished with fresh vegetable, fresh salsas and golden-fried tortilla spears) - and split both with a friend because the bowls are all $16 - $19. 

Have you ever seen fish n chips breaded like this??
It's a cornmeal breading - not what I was hoping for....

Calamari - best part of my dish!

Inception!

Last weekend I drove back to San Jose with my mom and sister. Nicole and I met up with Kyle, Jeremy, and Kim and watched Inception at the AMC theaters in Santa Clara. We opted for the IMAX screen, which I highly recommend. Before the movie started, Nicole and Kyle and I grabbed food at one of shopping center's restaurants. 

We did not choose sushi, or sub sandwiches, or Jamba Juice, or In N Out burgers, or pasta from some Tomato place. Instead we went with World Wrapps a fairly local chain that began back in SF circa 1996 (Yelp)...

Notice the world map? That's not the only part of this place that is "worldly" - their menu is pretty diverse too, with Thai chicken, Bombay Curry chicken, Teriyaki chicken, Argentina steak, Spicy Caribbean sole, Samurai salmon, Tequila lime shrimp, etc. Diverse flavors? Check. Vegetarian options for my sister? Check. You can even get your wrap served naked in a bowl with some rice. They have smoothies, salads, and bento boxes too.

I was really satisfied with my Thai chicken shrimp wrap that had Thai peanut sauce, jasmine rice, ginger slaw, cucumbers, green onions, and sesame seeds in a spinach tortilla.

We went to the 7:45 pm showing, and stood in line for a bit to ensure we got some decent seats. Check out this crazy line for the late showing! Inception was reeeeeallly good and I'm glad to see that there's a vampire-free movie out right now that's able to attract such a big crowd. Go Leo.

Mills-Monterey! Day 3

After a loooong night at Mucky Duck we woke up with unpleasant physiological effects, to put it nicely.

We began making cupcakes for the day. We went with a yellow buttermilk cake. Simple and delicious. We paired the cake with two different frostings - raspberry buttercream and hazelnut buttercream, made by combining raspberry puree and Nutella (respectively) to an Italian Meringue buttercream base.

Once the cupcakes were frosted, Kerry got to work decorating them with sprinkles. She is a pro decorator.

We got into the car and headed to Vanessa's grad party in San Jose. She had a lot of family and friends over for a BBQ. She graduated from San Diego State University in June! Congratssss!! Vanessa, if you are reading this, where are the pictures that your mom was snapping?

Kerry and I had to leave to go to my Aunt Cori's house for a birthday BBQ/pool party. My cousin Collin's birthday the previous Monday and my 23rd birthday the previous Wednesday. Mills and I went swimming and then Nicole showed up with a beautiful French braid and she went swimming. Katie was splashing all over the place - oh the joys of being under 10.

Kyle came too! I got to be with some of my favorite people!

We had delicious salmon, tri tip, salad, veggies, etc.

For dessert, Cori had a chocolate/mint chip ice cream cake for Collin and a decadent chocolate cake for me. Don't forget that we also brought a bunch of cupcakes! Needless to say the options seemed endless...

After we ate, we played around on the trampoline. It was Katie's first time playing "crack the egg" and she LOVED it. She kept asking us to crack her. She also gave us nicknames. Slappy (Kerry's nickname the night before) became Kirby. I asked to be Sonic. Kyle was dubbed Ganondorf. And Katie was Zelda (yeah?) - all characters from Super Smash Bros.

On our way out of the Bay Area we went to Psycho Donuts. Kerry and I both OD-ed on sugar the whole weekend, but we were going to at least get donuts for Monday morning because Psycho Donuts are so effin AWESOME.

HOWEVER, they decided to close early! We left a note for them expressing our sadness and then they sent me a tweet on Tuesday apologizing! Can't wait to try out the Stone Cold Psycho Psandwich! Donuts and ice cream. Kind of scary thinking about how much sugar that would be BUT let's get real - it's ICE CREAM AND DONUTS. Can't pass up something like that.

When we got back to my place we crawled into bed and slept like babies. Trampoline workouts and long car drives are truly exhausting!!

Sister Sister

Tonight I drove up to San Jose to hang out with Nicole. I saw her Monday night after camping (also in SJ) but I guess I just can't get enough time with her before... dun dun dun...she goes all the way to San Diego :'( for college TEARZ.



When I got home we began baking. (Boo Radley has an order for cupcakes this weekend!!) On the menu is a fruity, decadent Sangria cupcake. Also being served is a moist chocolate Guinness cupcake - probably the most requested cake flavor!


For dinner we drove to Pasta Pomodoro. I love their bread and olive oil-green dipping liquid thing (pesto-y?) ... While Nicole and I discussed her college future, incl. classes, social ish, and how much she will miss me, we waited eagerly for our angel hair/pesto/shrimp/sun-dried tomato dish and butternut squash ravs. Yum. Yum. I am excited to eat our leftovers tomorrow at lunch!! (aka a nice break from frrrrozen meals thank gawd)




Next up: our dessert of choice - froyo! We went to Whimsical off Curtner and endulged x2! Finally we drove back home and continued baking...




Nicole is such an amazing kitchen helper I'm so lucky to have her with me, especially when there's a lot on my plate (har har). I don't say it enough but thank you so so so much Nicole!

The cuppies turned out great! I'll get some pictures up soon hopefully! Night!

ps vanilla beans are so cool! Must find a cheaper place to buy them!

Location:Desert Flame Dr,San Jose,United States

Fuse Lounge Happy Hour

Via Monterey County Weekly's website, I heard of the happy hour offered Wednesday and Thursday nights at Fuse Lounge Cafe at Carmel Mission Inn (3665 Rio Rd, Carmel). Get ready for this: complementary gourmet seafood buffet with adult beverage purchase.

Natalie, Sarah, and I ordered beer, each $5. Then we made our way over to the spread of seafood dishes. Have a looksie:

 

Seafood risotto and angel hair pasta with calamari. 

There were a bunch of old people there that day because the Carmel Chamber of Commerce was having an open meeting or something like that. We decided to sit at one of their booths, mostly because it reminded of us of the VIP areas in Veags. I'm sure all the chamber people totally wished they were us. Tyler joined us for dinner and our after dinner festivities. 

From there we headed to Ocean Avenue in Carmel for some Cottage of Sweets treats! Read more here...

"Best Restaurants of 2010"

Best Restaurants of 2010. - Monterey County Weekly

MCW, one of my favorite local papers, just finished their "Best Of" review of everything in Monterey County. I know that I'll come back to this post when I'm looking for a restaurant that won't disappoint. Below is a quick rundown of the best in each category:

New Restaurant of '09: Mundaka
Restaurant in Monterey County: Marinus  **oh snap! That's where my roommate works! Yay for him!

Restaurant more than 10 years old: Rio Grill

Restaurant in Big Sur: Nepenthe

Restaurant in Carmel: Cantinetta Luca

Restaurant in Carmel Valley: Cafe Rustica

Restaurant in Marina: Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse

Restaurant in Monterey: Montrio

Restaurant in North County: Phil's Fish Market & Eatery

Restaurant in Pacific Grove: Passionfish

Restaurant in Pebble Beach: Roy's **might have eaten here before with my mom, I'll try it again though!

Restaurant in Salinas: Gino's

Restaurant in Sand City: Sweet Elena's Bakery

Restaurant in Seaside: Fishwife **what no Baan Thai?

Place for a Business Lunch: Tarpy's Roadhouse **been there, can't remember a thing about it...

Best Breakfast: First Awakenings (Pacific Grove)

Cheap Eats: Chipotle (Monterey) **what about Tommy's in Marina?!!

Chinese: Tommy's Wok (Carmel)

French: Fifi's Cafe & Bistro (Pacific Grove)

Italian: Little Napoli (Carmel)

Japanese/Sushi: Crystal Fish (Monterey)

Korean: Orient Express (Seaside)

Mediterranean: Petra (Monterey)

Mexican: Peppers Mexicali Cafe (Pacific Grove) **tried going here but they weren't open, now I'm sad for missing out!

Middle Eastern: Amir's Kabob House (Monterey)

Thai Food: Thai Bistro II (Pacific Grove)

Appetizers/Small Plates: Esteban (Monterey)

Outdoor Dining: The Forge in the Forest (Carmel)

Vegetarian Menu: Tillie Gort's (Pacific Grove)

Steakhouse: John Pisto's Whaling Station (Monterey)

Family Restaurant: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (Monterey) **my other roommate works here! Both of their companies got on the list!!

Seafood: Monterey Fish House (Monterey) **definitely going here! top of my list! apparently you need to call wayyyy in advance though

Best Clam Chowder: Old Fisherman's Grotto (Monterey)

Best Splure: Ventana (Big Sur)

Best Wine List: Sardine Factory (Monterey)

Best Romantic Spot: Pacific's Edge at Highlands Inn (Carmel)

Sheesh, those took a long time to link! But this is my official MUST-EAT LIST. 

I solemnly swear to eat at every place and tell you all about it!

Lopez Restaurante

After a long day of sightseeing and bike riding, we decided that Mexican was the way to go. We headed back into Monterey and ate at Lopez Restaurante (635 Cass St, Monterey). We found the place on Yelp - it had some good reviews that lauded the chips and salsa. Have I mentioned that I have a chip problem? They are my [second] ultimate weakness. (The first is Dr. Pepper.) If you really want to weaken my resolve, put some jalapeno chips & Dr. P in front of me. I will be putty in your hands.

Parking was extremely easy to find, despite the downtown location. The place was pretty empty when we walked in. They must read the yelp reviews, because the "dim lighting" was non-existant. I could easily read my... um... colorful menu. Their menu was distractingly colorful, but I thought it added to the charm. We sat in a huge booth and quickly our server was at our side with a huge basket of chips and a cup thingy of salsa.

NOM NOM NOM NOM. I love chips and salsa.

I ordered "Camarones a la Diabla" - Juicy shrimp seasoned with our own special blend of herbs and spices, cooked in a spicy red sauce with Gilroy garlic, grilled onions, and grilled bell peppers. Served with your choice of corn or flour tortillas. ($14)

Kyle ordered the "Vegetarian Fajitas" - Fresh sauteed onions, bell peppers, and carrots topped with fresh avocado. Served with pico de gallo, sour cream, fresh guacamole, and your choice of flour or hand-made corn tortillas. ($11)

Our waiter was very funny! He kept smiling and apologizing for the wait time (there was NO wait time). And we had a humorous napkin exchange.... My only complaint for the place is that my grilled veggies were LITERALLY swimming in a cup of oil! On my plate! Go ahead and cook those in all the oil you want, as long as I don't have to see it! It's just better not to know. However, they gave generous portions and continued refilling those yummy chips and salsa! Needless to say I was happy, and REALLY full.

New Home & Turtle Bay Taqueria

Turns out someone already put a hold on the duplex that my roomates and I were in love with. So, we had to relook at places in Seaside. I was able to convince my sister Nicole to come down to Monterey with me. It was really nice to finally be able to share the car ride down! After looking at a few places, we settled on a duplex that had carpet in the living area, something that we were trying to avoid. This place was just too good to pass up in other areas though. Close to work, young people, good location, neigbors that didn't have kid toys EVERYWHERE. The current plan is to take off your shoes when entering the front door to keep the carpet clean. Also, if we ever have people over for drinks we will try to limit the drinking to stain-free areas.

After picking out the new place, Nicole and I went to downtown Monterey and looked for a place to get lunch. We settled on Turtle Bay Taqueria (431 Tyler Street). We ordered the "Seafood Combo" burrito wrap that they describe as "a meal in your hand - a party in your mouth" for $8.95. We also ordered chips & salsa for about 2 bucks. Nicole and I split the burrito wrap in two. She ate hers fork and knife and I ate mine the old fashioned way - in my hands. I wouldn't say that the burrito was stuffed full, but it was enough food when split in half. While we did ask for the seafood combo, I thought it was too fishy smelling. The place was packed!

I'm already done, ha!

They make their own salsas and had a salsa bar! They had a fire-roasted habenero chile salsa called X'NIPEC (left, below "38").

When leaving, I saw this sign. Basically if you show up on your bike on Thursday then you get 15% off your order (excluding alcohol). I can't wait to take my new bike (named Lukefrancis) and my tandem (named Murray) there!

After we ate we walked around the downtown area. I found a crepe place that I want to try (Nicole wouldn't go because of a bad experience with crepes at Disneyworld. Poo.) Then we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Note to all: do not go to the aquarium on December 28th! It was packed! I'm sure it was a fire hazard in the seahorse exhibit. Too many people! Good thing I've got a season pass and can go whenever I please. We stopped for dessert (Nicole got some fro yo and I got a peanut butter truffle and two sour belts) at different spots in Cannery Row. Sweet tooth satisfied, we headed home!