Recos for Carmel/Monterey, Point Reyes area, and Mendecino/Point Arena
Hi Chowhounds,
We're taking a trip up the coast the last week in October, and would love some recommendations for great food in the areas we're staying.
Our itinerary is:
- Carmel for 2 nights
- Point Reyes area (town we are staying in is Olema) for 2 nights
- Mendecino for 3 nights
We love fresh, seasonal and local food - and this part of CA has a ton of it! Just tell me where to find it! :) We LOVE oysters and seafood too.
We were hoping to make a stop in Big Sur at the Post Ranch and Big Sur Bakery, so any places of equal caliber in these areas would be great to know about.
Any suggestions for a nice grocery/natural foods store would be great too.
Thanks in advance and looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!
By SarahM
on Oct 12, 2009 06:57 PM
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Such lovely choices for your trip---well done!
I stayed a couple nights at Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay last Thanksgiving-time, might be worth a stop. Driving south towards Cowgirl Creamery Land/Pt Reyes from Nick's, we stopped at the Marshall Store (in Marshall) for The Most Memorable Oysters I've Ever Had. Order inside, they bring them out to you. Choose the chairs outside along the water, in front of all the cars parked for the same reason you're there. It might be windy cold but they'll give you a blanket. They do have more protected seating on their deck, but then you can't have a beer with. ANYWAY: have 6 raw, and 6 barbecued (minimum). The lump of shallot/butter/stuff they throw on the barbecued ones means you'll need all the sourdough they give you--and then some--to sop it all up. Then you're on your own, but trust me, you haven't experienced a north CA oyster until you've had these. Dude that runs the place has serious & worthy oyster history, ask him :)
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The Pt. Reyes area is covered on the SF Board, you'll need to post and/or do a search there for info. If you're heading up Hwy 1 to Carmel be sure and check road conditions, storms can cause road closures during the rainy season.
Nielsen's Market in Carmel, 7th & San Carlos. For oysters try Flaherty's. Passionfish in Pacific Grove for seafood and great wine list at just over retail.
Mendocino is a large county, where will you be staying?
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Wow, great recos so far, thanks! And appreciate the heads up on road conditions.
I will check out SF board for Pt Reyes, and we are staying in the Point Arena area of Mendecino, but will obviously have a car and don't mind a short) drive. I've heard there are some good restaurants in Point Arena proper, but no one can seem to give a name.... Keep the recos comin!
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Hi everyone. If you have suggestions in the Point Reyes area, please post them on the San Francisco Bay Area board, here: http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/1 A link to that thread could be posted here, so all can find it. Thanks very much!
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Much storm damage to Big Sur area, you may need to travel 101 inland. Check here for updates. http://bigsurkate.wordpress.com/
Hope you get to make your Hiway 1 trip. Don't miss Big Sur Bakery! Deetjens is fun too--quanit and funky, but solid food. Skip the food at Nepenthe.
In the Carmel/Monterey Bay area, I like Sweet Elena's Bakery, about 10 minutes north of Carmel in Sand City. Excellent French pastries. I've linked to their Farmer's Market page, which shows you the local FMs and where Elena's sells. http://sweetelenas.com/markets.php
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here's links to a couple fo "seafood in Monterey" threads:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/657163
Passionfish in Monterey gets many many rec's; here's a link to many threads about it:
http://www.chow.com/restaurants/1987/...
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A friend told me about a place called Mundaka in Carmel - a Spanish tapas style place. I couldn't find anything about it on the boards, anyone know anything about it?
And, does anyone have thoughts on driving from Carmel to Big Sur at night? I was thinking of driving to Big Sur Bakery for dinner one night, but wasn't sure if the roads were too windy and dark to make the trek at night.
Thanks! Really appreciate all the recos and tips! :)
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I haven't eaten there or known anyone who has but here are the directions...
"Mundaka is on the East side of San Carlos street between Ocean Ave and 7th Ave. Mundaka is located in the Carmel square shopping center between Nielson’s Market and Wells Fargo bank. Look for the blue and white awnings and Ron’s Liquor store. We are in the back right corner of the square".
They have a site you can check.
I would *not* drive from Carmel/Big Sur at night for at least 3 reasons; it's very curvy and narrow, you would miss a view to remember and should wine/cocktails be a part of you dinner plans...don't.
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The upper part of the road btn Carmel and BS is pretty tame. BUT Always good idea to check local road conditions in case of rocks on Hiway 1 anytime, as a precaution.
If you 're going tobe in the area on a Monday night, and feel adventurous, there is the Cachagua Store in the upper Carmel Valley hills.. Dinner Mon night only. Locally-sourced fresh, fresh food.
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