Monthly Archives: May 2013

Lunch at Mezzaluna in Half moon Bay

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Troya and I met my parents at Mezzaluna for lunch in Half Moom Bay this weekend. Instead of exchanging holiday gifts this year we both decided to take eachother out to a restaurant of the others choice. My mom had been hearing about a couple of places in Half Moon Bay for a while and wanted to check one of them out. After a little research we choose Mezzaluna based on their long standing reputation. Set in the northern part of Half moon Bay by the harbor, the location is great. It was a very busy weekend day but parking was still easy. I had never been to that specific part of Half Moon Bay and the surrounding establishments definitely will be reason alone to come back. Set in one of the older buildings in the area, the inside in not what you usually expect from an older Italian establishment. It is very bright and clean with lots of windows. In the main dining area about half of the tables are located next to a window. The menu is very classic Italian. We reviewed the wine list on-line and were intrigued by some of the selections of Italian wines, but decided to play it safe and bring some of our own. We settled on a 2010 Pinot Grigio from Taft Street Winery in the Russian river. Usually not a big Pinot Grigio fan, but when we tasted this one it was quite different. Not as dry and tart as a typical Pinot Grigio, still with the clean floral flavors, it was pretty unique and we thought a perfect lunch wine with Italian food. We were not disappointed as the wine paired well with all of our food selections.wpid-wp-1369249290729.jpg
We started with Carpaccio di Salmone, smoked salmon with peppercorns lemon and dill and Charcuterie, the cheese plate as well as the Anipasto Italiano with grilled and marinated vegetables. All were good, with some interesting selections on the Anipasto plate, but the only thing that really stood out for me was the Carpaccio de Salmone. Very well balanced flavors of the smoked salmon and spices, and not fishy at all. Given it was my first time here and it was a classic Italian place, although they had a several intriguing selections on the menu I stuck with my “go to” in these situations and chose the Linguine with Clams. This is the dish that I use as a litmus test for new Italian restaurants. I was very happy! The pasta was fresh and perfectly cooked. The clams were abundant with perfect flavor, and the sauce was just as I like it. Troya had the Carbonara, angel hair pasta with fresh eggs and pancetta. She was very pleased but has had better. I thought it was very good. This dish can be tricky to get right and can be too heavy and greasy if the ingredients are not in the right proportion. My parents shared the special of the day, black pasta with squid ink sautéed with scallops. Both Troya and I almost got this as it sounded wonderful, but in the end we glad we did not as the pasta was a little firm and the scallops a little rubbery and fishy. It the end it was a very good lunch pared with a good wine and great company. I would definitely go back, I am interested in trying their pizza, but it is not a place that I would list as a destination.
On our way home we stopped at Highway 1 brewery, a new place a little north of Davenport. It was a great little brewery in the middle of nowhere. We tasted the beers they had on tap that day. All were full of flavor and hearty, but a little strong on the hops and a bit rustic for me.

Nice digs, decent beer….service sucks

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On our way back from Half Moon Bay we stopped off at Highway 1 Brewing Company. (Sidebar) The bathroom was huge!
Nice little spot with decent beer, nothing that I loved……but I am a wimpy girly beer drinker so for real beer lovers it’s probably pretty good. The service was horrid. The girls behind the bar moved at snail speed. Doc and I were going to stay and share a beer after our tasting flight but none of the bartenders came around so finally I asked for our check and we left. Good spot if your a hard core IPA lover and have a ton of time to wait for service; otherwise keep on driving.

Carmel trip goes bad…….

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So Doc and I decided on a last minute one night getaway. While researching where we should go that was not too far I found Carmel Valley Ranch. It’s rated very well on all the major sites so I decided to call them directly and see what they had to offer. I spoke with Moses, one of the “reservations consultant”. He was extremely pleasant and helpful on the phone. He found me a great “midweek” special. Still, being the upscale facility it is it was not cheap to say the least.
We started out our travels stopping at Scheid tasting room in downtown Carmel. If you recall in our last Carmel excursion we loved this place. Natalie was our host and she was very nice and friendly to speak with. Of course the pinots were great and we found a new “table red” called Triple Layer Red 09 that was fabulous and reasonably priced at 28$ a bottle.
Next stop was Wrath. You may recall this is another must try if you are in Carmel that we discovered on our last adventure. Michelle was our host and she was a delight. Very friendly, knowledgable and inviting. We tasted some delicious pinots including a new favorite of mine called San Saba 2010. Fabulous!
I had decided that Doc and I should definitely eat in since our room was supposed to be amazing so we headed to The Cheese Shop to pick up an array of tasty treats for our evening in. Dan was our cheese connoisseur who was great! He took us through a cheese exploration and helped us pick out quite an assortment of delectable cheeses.
On our way we went, plenty of fine wine and cheese to enjoy at a stunning resort. We were greeted by friendly staff and took in the amazing views. We were carted to our suite where we were pleased with what the room had to offer. A big spacious beautiful living room with a huge bathroom and a nice sleeping area with a king size bed, fireplace and balcony. We put our champagne and cheese in the fridge and headed back out to explore. We hit the hot tub that was spacious with beautiful views of a golf course and nature. We enjoyed a delicious cocktail (or two) and two small plates of appetizers. The appetizers were very good. We headed back to our room via a nice walking path. We decided to eat our snacks in the living room when around 9pm I got up to floss my teeth after getting a few pieces of salami stuck when I noted in our trash can in the bedroom were remnants of what was obviously a good time (well multiple good times) had by some couple. I was seriously dumbfounded that a resort of this status would not thoroughly clean their room. Doc called and housekeeping was there shortly to take the garbage away. A manager called back and asked if we would like to move to another room. Being after 9pm after our belongings had been put away we declined. A little while later the manager called again and informed us that our room would be comped. I emailed Moses letting him know of my disappointment. By then our entire romantic evening was toast. We got up the next morning and received another phone call from a different manager apologizing again and reiterating our stay would be taken care of by them. We did have a delicious breakfast and got to see some wild turkeys running around the property.
So, all in all it was a beautiful facility but was such a disappointment to find something so gross in our room that has just left a bad taste in our mouth. The staff was very helpful and the managers did do the right thing by taking care of our bill but I don’t think we will be returning to their establishment. If we do, we will definitely update you on how it went the second time around; but like I said for the cost of staying there nothing like that should EVER happen.