The Whole Enchilada, Moss Landing

There are three "Whole Enchiladas" in southern California. One is on Yorba Linda Blvd. But that one has nothing to do with this one. They offer a combo punch card, get 9 entrees and the 10th is free. 

This Whole Enchilada is different. Located at Highway 1 and Moss Landing Road in Moss Landing, this restaurant has a WHOLE lot going on. HAH. Wow, bad bad joke. Sarah and I were hoping to go to the Thai Seafood place in Moss Landing two weeks ago. When we got there, though, we saw a sign informing us that the place was closed Mondays... there was only one other restaurant in sight, The Whole Enchilada. This coastal cuisine eatery is open from 11:30 am to 9:30 pm weekly.

"The catch of the day is right off the local fishing boats and prepared in the authentic Mexican coastal style. You've never tasted tamales like ours, fresh sweet white corn tamales filled with chicken and topped with our cilantro cream sauce. Oaxacan tamal filled with fresh albacore or chicken, wrapped in a banana leaf and drenched in a rich, dark mole salsa. Check out Tamale Wednesday and try them all." 
- Whole Enchilada's website

Both of us ordered the Camaron Chon ($14)

House made corn tamal on a banana leaf, filled with prawns, spinach & cheese. Topped with a cream cilantro lime sauce & guacamole. Served with a side of rice and beans. 

It was amazingly delicious and they gave a very generous portion! Seriously it was exploding with prawns. There were about three on top and I was like "okay cool, here are the prawns" but then, as I forked into it, more prawns were mixed in to the mushy gooey tamale innards. Their tamal (tamale? why no e?) was probably one of the best tamales I have ever had. Not kidding.

The B&R side was a LOT bigger than than I thought it was going to be!

Waiters bring by a "salsa pitcher" so you can refill your own salsa bowl! What a clever idea...

The owner/chef guy came by and made sure we were enjoying our meals. Nice touch!

Their bar offers up fresh fruit margaritas (they even have cucumber ones!) and many different flavors of Tequila. On Sunday afternoons there's live jazz and blues music next door at Moss Landing Inn. 

Such a fun bar, makes me want to be a mermaid!

So what's the deal with Moss Landing? The tiny town is overshadowed by the giant towers of the Moss Landing PG&E plant. A few decades ago, most townies were employed by either the power plant or were fisherman. Now there's mostly antique shops, a Monterey Bay Aquarium research institute, and small yachts (can there be a small yacht?) in the Moss Landing harbor. Back in 1864, Moss Landing was a whaling station established by Captain Charles Moss, a sea captain from Texas. 

Unknown fact: the last Sunday in July, Moss Landing hosts the Annual Antique Street Fair. TODAY was that fair! 40th annual, no doubt.

The rest of the menu features quesadillas, nachos, and enchiladas - of course. They also get local and offer up some Castroville artichokes (either steamed or deep fried)...

Next Moss Landing restaurant stop: The Thai Seafood place

And after that... Phil's Fish Market & Eatery, known for their cioppino. Even Bobby Flay can't top Phil DiGirolamo's cioppino making abilities - he lost to Phil on a Throwdown.

Hiking Fort Ord

Even though my coworker warned me of ticks on the Fort Ord trail, I still took my mom and my sister on the Jim Wrona Loop. Jim is one of the guys in my running group at work and he discovered this loop a while back. Lately it has been the only trail we go on - hopefully we'll switch it up tomorrow! Here are some lovely pictures from the hike. Spending an hour walking around with my mom and sister gave us a lot of time to catch up free from distractions. :)

The wild turkeys were out again today! I think I see at least one wild turkey every other day. Today they had their turkey tails open. That was a first...

    

One of the many LOST hatches in Fort Ord. This is the lavatory hatch. There are tons of abandoned buildings on the trail, all from when Fort Ord opened in 1917 as a field artillery target range and maneuver area. The 7th Infantry Division was the primary division based at Fort Ord. They were first activated for service in WWI, but their actions in WWII were the most memorable. They fought against the Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater. Division units practiced boat loading at the Monterey Wharf and amphibious assault techniques at the Salinas River in CA. (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

  

Happy trails...

Red’s Donuts: Monterey-Seaside donut dynasty turns 60

Red’s Dawns : The Monterey-Seaside down-home donut dynasty turns 60. - Monterey County Weekly

Ever been to Red's Donuts? Me neither. But a LOT of people have. 60 years worth of people! Owned by Matthew O'Donnell (his sister Kathy helps), are celebrating 60 years of donut sales from their Alvardo Street location. I don't know if my sister will remember this, but when we first came here (I was looking at potential places to live), we drove down Alvarado Street and I pointed at Red's Donuts, made a comment about how quaint it looked, and then proceeded to take a picture of it:

Matthew and Kathy's dad Herman "Red" O'Donnell, opened shop in 1950 in downtown Monterey. The Seaside location opened in 1964 and relocated in 1986 to it's current location on Fremont Blvd. Red's sells about 300 DOZEN donuts each day. If you would like to read more about their family, business, and the glazed beauties, follow the link to the article above.

Pros: friendly atmosphere, they obviously know what they are doing, tradition, about 20 donut varieties, $0.70 donuts, $7 dozen, old-fashioned prep methods, no machinery, "each wad of of dough is hand-rolled and cut into the shape." Want an early donut? Go to Red's at 4 am.... I know one of these days I'll get a bag full of donut holes or one of those twisty ones. (When I do I'll update my thoughts!) MMMMMMMM!!!

433 Alvardo Street Location:
Mon - Sat: 6:30 am - 1:30 pm
Sun: 6:30 am - 12:30 pm
(813) 372 - 9761

1646 Fremont Blvd Location:

Mon - Fri: 4:00 am - 3:00 pm

Sat - Sun: 4:00 am - 2:00 pm

(813) 394 - 3444