The Volcano Union Inn, Volcano, CA

The Volcano Union Inn
Volcano, CA

I read about the small town of Volcano, CA in the Sunset magazine. The location of the town, Gold Country, and the size of the town, teeny tiny, both intrigued me. I was not let down. What an amazingly cute town. I'd have a hard time even calling it a town; it is more like a bend in the road, literally. Below you will see some pictures of the Inn and the town. Enjoy. I highly recommend a visit.
 

The welcome mat of the Inn. Too cute.

Photo of the Volcano Union Inn from across the street. The upstairs porch is accessible to the people staying at the Inn. It was a great place to read a book and watch the few cars go by.

Here is a view of the sidewalk. Wow. On the right here is a general store and just a little ways away is a great saloon. Really, a saloon.

Here's the general store.

There I am just relaxing. We were waiting for our room to be ready. In fact the Inn doesn't open its doors until a certain time. Check that out before you go.

Local history. Can you read it?

Here is the town's cute little park. There is a quiet stream that runs along the far side of it. Toward the right of the park is an out-door theater where the local actors put on seasonal shows. During the winter months, the performances take place indoors.

Hard to see: stray cats that kept us company as we enjoy reading in the park.

I loved the hand-drawn emergency exit escape route posted on our door.

Geoff using his ipad on the patio.

Yup, the patio. A great place to watch the townsfolk. In the evening you can watch the crowds come to the summer performances and others come to the pub for dinner.

They had fresh fruit available to the guests of the Inn in their community area. This was the BEST peach I have ever tasted! Nothing like fresh produce in Northern CA!

My whiskey sour in that saloon I was telling you about. I'll post that on this blog in the future. Warning: If you go to the saloon, please don't wear a darling green Banana Republic light weight sweater. You'll stand out like a sore thumb! Jeans and a t-shirt are all you need. Really!!!

Starting off our dinner with wine, of course.

Night time view of the cute, charming, adorable Inn.

The Penguin Cafe, Laguna Beach, CA

The Penguin Cafe

981 S Coast Hwy

Laguna Beach, CA

Welcome to the Penguin Cafe in Laguna Beach. After a great walk on the beach early in the morning we were dying for a cup of coffee and some BACON! We stumbled upon the Penguin Cafe. I love its no-nonsense esthetic. If you want blue Formica and swivel stools, you found the place!

Must have coffee!

The portions of the food were terrific and the waitresses were super nice. The place seemed to get very busy as the morning progressed, so get there early.

It was fun to see so many locals arriving for their morning routine of coffee and breakfast at the counter. You can tell this is a real neighborhood place.

I love blue Formica counter tops! Really

Stop in and try it out. It is a nice alternative to the tony eateries of Laguna Beach. Try their pancakes and anything with bacon. You won't be disappointed. After eating, walk on down to the beach and enjoy the waves and all the people walking their dogs early in the mornings. Enjoy everyone!

So much food. Did you see the size of Geoff's plate?

Cafe Crush #1. Over six feet tall. Cute!

Where can you find a good diner with a counter these days?

I love the silly penguins painted everywhere.

Full!

The Deck, Laguna Beach, CA
627 Sleepy Hollow Lane
Laguna Beach, CA 92651 

While visiting Laguna Beach recently we stayed at the Pacific Edge Hotel. The hotel was written up in Sunset Magazine a couple of times, so what the heck, we checked it out.

The hotel itself is fine. I would most definitely ask for a room with an ocean view and one that is on an upper floor. As it was, our room, with a slight ocean view, was fine.  But enough about the rooms.

My favorite part of this quick visit was the extremely convenient eatery right next door. The Deck is, as you would guess, a deck right on the beach. If you enter from the street just walk down the stairs and you'll run into the hostess station. If you enter from the beach you'll have to walk through the deck and up to the hostess station, up one flight of stairs.

The happy hour is great after a very relaxing day at the beach watching countless families. 3:00 starts the happy hour, and if you get their early enough (at 3) you can snag a great table right on the deck's edge.

We leisurely enjoyed our happy hour drinks and ordered happy hour items off their menu and easily passed two hours. The wait staff if fun. They all look alike. They wear black shirts and sunglasses. I'm not sure how planned all this is, but in a way it is stepford chic!

We visited in late December, right after the Christmas holiday. I imagine that this whole area can get extremely busy in the spring and summer months. Having said that, we had an amazing day sitting at the beach, getting full sun and totally relaxing.

If you stay at the Pacific Edge Hotel, as a guest you'll usually get a small discount on your Deck bill (it seemed to depend on our waitress).

Food: Each item we had from the happy hour menu was great. The portions were enjoyable, not too big or too small. We went through each food item, all accept the hamburger and the salad.

View from our table overlooking the beach and setting sun.

Was that one or two glasses of wine?

Gotta love oysters on the half shell. While at the beach!

Bistrot du Coin 

1738 Connecticut Avenue, NW

OK, not the best picture, but yum!

Washington, DC 20009
Tél: 202 234 6969

While visiting Washington DC this past summer Geoff and I stumbled upon this amazing and delicious French restaurant. It was so good, we ended up visiting the restaurant twice in two days. We even had to wait in line for quite awhile, but it was so worth the wait.

Ever since having fresh mussels plucked directly from the sea while visiting Normandy one summer I have been a freak searching for the same taste sensation.

I ate them too quickly, forgot to take a picture.

Each time I try mussels at a restaurant I am disappointed. Well...NOT THIS TIME! My god the mussels here are amazing. Not only that, but you can have them prepared in nearly 12 different ways (look at the menu)

Really, if you love mussels prepared in an authentic French way, you must go! Run!

In addition, the atmosphere is fun, very energetic, and yes, very loud and very crowded. Having said all that, it is still worth the noise and the crowds.

We were there during the summer and the interior temperature was quite warm, so plan your visit accordingly. I imagine in the spring the outdoor seating is just amazing.

Please check it out. It is one of my favorite cafes! For Reals!

Scott

Too Cute

Buvette Gastroteque
42 Grove Street
Between Bleeker and Beford
NY, NY

OK, anything Huck recommends....You HAVE to go and try it. I completely trust my friend Huck and so should you.

I have not been to Buvette Gastroteque, but honestly, I will get there. I trust Huck that much.

So go and check it out. Take a million pictures and send them to me. It sounds like a great place and I thank Huck so much for finding, yet again, another amazing place to dine and enjoy life.

You're the best!
Go and check it out and let me know.

Enjoy,

I'm hungry!

What's not to love?

Scott

The Grand Deli
595 Grand Ave
Carlsbad, CA 92008

I love the decor. I want to go!

Thank you Joe P. for finding this gem! If you happen to be in Carlsbad, CA stop by and check it out. 

Send me more photos. Joe reports that the deli is a complete throw-back to sandwich shops of the past.

I like the photo he sent.

Check it out and post your comments here. 

Thanks a million Joe.

 

Beach Grass Cafe, Solana Beach, CA
Plaza 101
159 South Highway 101
Solana Beach, CA 92075

People watching score: 8 out of 10
(some cute surfing dudes to see)

Thank you to Christoper S. for this recommendation. We spent a great night in Carlsbad and on our way down the coast to sky dive south of San Diego we wanted to have a blog worthy breakfast. Boy were we surprised by this cafe.

To start things off, the cafe looked relatively normal. The outside of the cafe didn't have that funky, fun feel that I usually seek when looking for a cafe. I quickly changed my mind when I took a look at the menu! Seriously, you have to check out the menu.

There were so many great things to try I am sure we'll be back again on our next trip to the beaches of southern California.

Stop by and try out their menu. You won't be disappointed.

I had the veggie has breakfast with egg whites. So very good.

Geoff had the turkey hash breakfast.