California has a bit over 800 miles of coastline if you consider the general outline, more than 3000 miles if you follow all the bays and inlets. That leaves lots of room for beachfront dining. My SO attended the SFN meeting in San Diego and I joined her at the end so we could visit friends north of La Jolla and in Irvine. We’ve hit 3 beachfront restaurants for lunch in 3 days.
First up was Pacific Coast Grill in Cardiff. A friend who migrated from MIT to Scripps many years ago lamented the loss of East Coast Grill in Cambridge but consoled himself at Pacific Coast Grill. So now I know what he was referring to. The food at PCG is not nearly as adventurous as the late lamented ECG, but it is on the beach and serves a large assortment of fresh seafood and California-fresh produce. SO and I shared a Dragon roll, quite a generous roll with Hamachi and tuna. For mains we both had the seafood Cobb salad with generous amounts of Dungeness crab and shrimp, bacon, avacado, and super fresh greens. Lovely setting and a nice assortment of margaritas.
Next up Poseidon in Del Mar. Also on the beach, also seafood-focused. Here we shared a sea bass ceviche, nicely prepared with just the right amount of contact with citrus (not too short, not too long) and zatar-dusted naan triangles with eggplant zaalouk and beet hummus. I had a blackened mahi-mahi sandwich on a fresh potato roll that hit the spot. They had some inventive mocktails and we both enjoyed a strawberry-ginger concoction. Also a delightful spot on the beach. We were behind a man-made sand dune that was apparently a temporary fixture, sand being staged for beach restoration. But we could see over it to the waves.
Today we walked the beach at Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach, and hiked up the bluff to Crystal Cove Shake Shack. This was truly a shack, unlike the Danny Meyers versions. My SO had a burger and fries, I had lightly seared ahi tuna on a grilled wheat bun (served with ginger herb slaw, fresh spinach, tomato, and sriracha mayo). The shakes (we both had black cherry) were fabulous, worth a drive themselves. So thick the large-diameter straw was barely servicable. Fortunately they also provided a spoon. This was not directly on the beach, but on a bluff overlooking the beach, and also a lovely spot…this one more rustic as it only had counter service.
I’d visit any of the three places again in an instant. The California coast is spectacular, but the reminders of its ephemeral nature are everywhere - beach replenishment, attempts to stabilize bluffs,…
Not sure what tomorrow has in store. At 9 am is my first ever attempt at surfing, a two-hour lesson. I imagine I’ll be hungry afterwards whether or not I succeed in getting up on the board.
