A Culinary Visit to Mendocino

A few weeks ago as one last hurrah before the new baby makes his debut, Hubs and I decided to drop A off with the grandparents and take a trip up the California coast for a couple days. In the past when we’ve traveled north of the grandparents we’ve ended up in Sonoma, Napa or the Anderson Valley and done a big wine tasting trip. But since I really can’t to a lot of drinking right now since I’m seven months pregnant, we decided to take two days in Mendocino to relax and eat good food. Our culinary excursion started with Café Beaujolais, a little French bistro that’s been around for ages.

They had everything you think of when you think of French food. There was foie gras, duck, a delicious steak and of course amazing desserts. For a classic restaurant that’s been around for ages and is at the top of everyone’s list of places to eat while visiting the little coastal town, I wasn’t that impressed. Don’t get me wrong the food was delicious, it just wasn’t amazing. The duck was standard, the chocolate lava cake was standard… everything was pretty much standard except for the foie gras.

The appetizer was amazing. Why did I order the controversial appetizer? Well other than the fact that it’s a classic French delicacy, foie gras will no longer be available in the state of California as of July 1st due to a law that was passed back in 2004. So, since the time is almost here when I will no longer be able to indulge in this masterpiece of cooking, I felt it was my duty to take one for the team. And I’m so glad I did. Out of the whole meal, this was by far and away the best part.  It was light, rich and just melted on the tongue. And the sweet sauce that they drizzled over it coupled perfectly with the salty goose liver. If that was to be my last experience with foie gras in the state of California, I was completely satisfied.

The next day we had breakfast and dinner at the MacCallum House Inn, which was also where we stayed while in Mendocino. The breakfast (which was included in the cost of our room because the inn is a bed & breakfast) was perfect for a cold day on the coast. My husband started his day with the special omelet and I had their whole grain banana pancakes with pecan butter and vanilla ice cream. That’s right, ice cream, because A)I’m pregnant and B)if a place offers ice cream for breakfast and you’re on vacation, you take the ice cream. Let me tell you, that homemade vanilla ice cream made those pancakes. They were already sweet, but the ice cream combined with the pecan butter made those breakfast cakes taste like a delightful dessert that I could easily have had in the evening with a nice glass of port. We each ordered coffee and their fresh squeezed orange juice which has to be some of the best O.J. I’ve ever tasted. It was the perfect way to start the day.

While breakfast was delicious, dinner was… oh my god! It was absolutely out of this world. Here’s one thing you need to know if you’re having dinner at the MacCallum Restaurant. The menu in the dining room is different from the menu in the bar/cafe. But here’s the good news, since it’s all the same kitchen, the dining room is more than happy to serve you anything off the bar menu. And that was very good news, because the two things Hubs and I wanted were both part of the bar menu. I had the fried chicken plate and Hubs had the fettuccine special which was fettuccine and meat balls in a bourbon cream sauce.

The chicken was moist and tender and the crust was oh, so crispy. The mashed potatoes were also amazing, which is saying something because I’m not a mashed potato person.  Hubs’ meatballs were way too spicy for me but the bourbon cream sauce was out of this world. It was so good, I actually recreated his meal at home when we got back. We finished off the evening with what was supposed to be a banana split with homemade ice cream, but since they had just run out of bananas, we ended up having a hot fudge sundae instead. It was awesome. The sundae was easily big enough for at least two people to share as it came with several scoops of ice cream, a lot of fudge and caramel and a ton of whipped cream. Somehow we finished it, and it was worth every… single… calorie.

The final place we ate was the Ravens Restaurant at the Stanford Inn. The Ravens had been recommended to me for their phenomenal food. There’s just one thing, they’re 100% vegetarian. I am a confirmed carnivore. If there’s no meat, I don’t eat there. But several people had recommended this restaurant to me. All of whom were also carnivores. So after confirming that they were just vegetarian and not vegan, I decided I could do breakfast there because at least they still had eggs and milk. After all, while I do enjoy a good piece of bacon or sausage with my eggs, I don’t need it. I can easily forgo the meat for breakfast. So Hubs and I made a reservation and went.

You can imagine my chagrin/horror when I discovered that Ravens was in fact a vegan restaurant. That means no milk, no eggs, nothing at all that comes from an animal. I wanted to run screaming for the door because every time I’d ever been to a vegan restaurant the food was horrible. It was dry or stale or seriously lacked flavor. In my opinion it wasn’t food. It was cardboard.  But we’d made a reservation, so I decided the professional thing to do would be to stick it out. I am here to tell you that it was one of the best meals I have ever had. The food was delicious. It was fresh because most of their fruits and vegetables come from their very own garden. The waffle I had was moist on the inside and crispy on the outside and the breakfast burrito Hubs had was out of this world even though they didn’t use a single egg to make it. They used tempeh which I was surprised to find tasted just like real eggs. My latte, which was made with rice milk was so much better than those I get from Starbucks. In other words, I was blown away. The food was just amazing. And the location was beautiful.  If you’re a vegetarian looking for a nice, relaxing getaway weekend, I can’t say enough of about the Stanford Inn. I might even consider staying there in the future.

All in all, we had a wonderful time up in Mendocino, even without the wine tasting.  By the time our trip was over we were both new, well rested people all ready for the impending excitement headed our way in the coming months.