Barbara and I joined long-time friends and traveling partners Chris and Larry Frank at their beach home in Morro Bay for a night, prior to our departure to Half Moon Bay and the Ritz-Carlton Resort. Along the way we stopped for dinner in Buellton at the Hideaway, the restaurant made famous by the movie "Sideways."
Each year for the past four years, Barbara and Chris (the retired chief executive of the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce), purchase at the WACE Foundation Auction a two-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay Resort. This year they purchased two, two-day weekends with gift certificates for six restaurants. Try eating at six restaurants for four meals. We couldn't and ended up gifting our cards to two of the valets at the Ritz-Carlton.
On Saturday night, we dined at Mezzaluna, which is a fine dining restaurant with a good wine selection.
On Sunday, we had an early lunch at Sam's Chowder House restaurant. The Lobster Roll was not to be missed, and the fish and chips were excellent and could have been shared by two. We had appetizers and found the best clam chowder in Northern California at the Princeton Seafood Co., where our attentive waitress, Krista Stone, was eager to brag that "this is where the locals eat." Then it was off to dinner at Café Gibraltar, which served up organic Mediterranean Cuisine. The scallops and swordfish were excellent.