Carmel-by-the-Sea
Boyfriend had last Friday off so we took a little weekend road trip up to the quaint town Carmel-by-the-Sea. The weather was quite fantastic for the most part and when it wasn’t, we were indoors at the Monterey Bay Aquarium so it worked out.
Our first night there, we decided to venture out to the town and follow our stomachs. We had no particular cravings so we decided to check menus and decide where to eat on a whim. After checking out various restaurants including Vietnamese, Italian, Californian cuisine, Mediterranean and Japanese, we ended up at Christopher’s Restaurant which calls itself “Carmel casual.”
Our starters were actually our favorite parts of dinner. Not to say our main entrees weren’t good, it’s just that the appetizer and salad we chose were pretty exceptional.
This looks really weird in the picture because all you can really see is the dressing but we started out with a Wedge of Iceberg Lettuce: creamy pancetta dressing, gorgonzola and croutons.
We chose the Butternut Squash ravioli with brown butter, parmesan and fresh sage. It was muy excellente!
For his main dish, Boyfriend went with the Niman Ranch Pork Osso Bucco. (I didn’t even know what Osso Bucco was… actually, I still don’t know.) It had saffron risotto, gremalota and pinot noir jus. Gremalota? I haven’t a clue but it was good.
I went with “Christopher’s Risotto” which had rock shrimp, wild mushrooms, baby artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus and white truffle oil. I have come to the conclusion that almost anything with white truffle oil will taste good. There were TONS of shrimp in my dish and I was so full from our starters that I had leftovers to take home.
On Lincoln, in between 5th and 6th Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA (as a side note, I think it’s adorable that there are no street addresses in Carmel. For instance, the address for our B&B was 3rd and Junipero.)
P.S. I know this is a food blog but can the California coast look any more beautiful than it did during our drive back to LA yesterday?!? It was absolutely gorgeous and it took an hour to drive the first 17 miles because I kept wanting to stop at every vista point to take pictures!
Tags: California coast, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Christopher's Restaurant
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For the Love of Food 
March 11, 2008 at 12:23 am
I think we should have ordered just a ton of starters. The appetizers were really good. I think my main dish was a let down after having such awesome food to start. The pork actually tasted a bit bland when compared to the starters and the saffron risotto it came with. The coast was breathtaking.
March 11, 2008 at 12:32 am
the ravioli looks amazing… and the coast does look pretty in your pictures. 🙂
September 21, 2008 at 9:12 am
We’ve been up and down the coast of CA. numerous times and never tire of it’s beauty. Definitely must try this restaurant so thanks for the heads-up. I’m what you’d call a cheap date…I’d rather have the appetizer’s than a main dish so this restaurant is a must to try. Thanks for the tip.