Carmel-By-The-Sea

Monterey Bay is one of my favorite places in California. With its myriad beach towns ranging from laid-back surfer to over-the-top luxury, and activities from surfing to the world-class aquarium, there is something for everyone. On this trip in July 2009, we stayed in Carmel, or more accurately, Carmel-by-the-Sea. I have mixed feelings about this town. It is gorgeous, there is no debating that, with its story-book houses and sugar sand beaches. It is also blue-blood, upscale, snotty, and self-absorbed to a degree that I find both amusing and irritating. Rarely will you see so much money in one place, so much excess, so much self-indulgence. And for the record, that is NOT me – I am more the sandy floor, beach shack type.

One of our favorite restaurants in Carmel (CBTS) is the Flying Fish Grill in the oh-too-precious downtown area. This is an Asian restaurant like you’ve never experienced, and I suppose you could call it Asian Fusion. I just call it delicious. Now, I know I've said this is not a food blog, and I am going to break that rule for this posting...just because I feel like it.

Wine we drank:

Matchbook Dunnegan Hills Syrah 2005

A very nice nose that hints of fruit and spice, and was not particularly strong. The wine was medium-bodied with notes of blackberry, cherry, white pepper, nutmeg and a hint of cloves. The finish was smooth but a bit hot, and I thought the wine would improve even more with age. I gave it a 7 out of 10.

What we ate:

Yin-Yang Salmon: Alaskan king salmon that was farmed and surprised me with a flavor very close to wild. The Yin-Yang was the sauce – half a white sesame sauce and half black sesame, both creamy, delicious, well-balanced, and with a lovely sesame flavor. The snow peas that accompanied the dish were perfectly steamed, crisp, bright green and very fresh. Delightful!

Angel Hair Pasta with Caviar: I called the sauce on this “caviar dream sauce”, as it was light, creamy, and contained a perfect balance of caviar to create little bursts of heaven in my mouth. The sauce components (soy, lime, light cream) were lovely and well-balanced. The pasta was rice noodles that were perfectly cooked to al dente and complemented the sauce without taking anything from it.

The total cost of the dinner was $83 before tip, including the wine – a tremendous bargain considering the location and the food. Flying Fish is one of the reasons we return to Carmel over and over!