Pescadero, CA

The stop in Pescadero was entirely for lunch at Duarte’s. Way back in Portland, Scott recommended that we try the artichoke soup, and all of the guidebooks/food blogs/etc. love it. Our experience met expectations, big time. The town itself is not much worth mentioning. One main drag, lots of stuff catering to tourists, including a few antique shops and restaurants.

Duarte’s is clearly the main attraction. The place has been in one family for several generations, with consistently great food, as awarded by the NYT, Zagat, Roadfood, and others. We got a bowl of the artichoke soup, a shrimp and cheese sandwich, and a crab melt. All very simply presented and of great quality. Ingredients super fresh, perfectly seasoned, and really good. Our no-nonsense server, the several people in the kitchen, and the rest of the patrons made for a great atmosphere. Our seats at an old school lunch counter gave us the perfect vantage from which to observe both the kitchen and the dining room. Not cheap, but a great meal.

From Pescadero to Santa Cruz, where we stopped at (a very nice) Safeway to use the bathroom and get a discount iced coffee from Starbucks. A quick tour through the town and a valiant effort to see the boardwalk and the beach. Massive Fourth of July traffic made it impossible, so we pulled a quick U and got back on CA-1.

Passed pretty quickly through Monterey and Carmel. Wanted to see Pebble Beach, but not badly enough to pay the $9.50 entrance fee. It is a bit strange that we’re willing to drop a lot more than that on lunch, but are not at all down with fee-for-sightseeing. The scenery here is incredible, but very similar to what we have spent the past week looking at. I think the major difference in this area is that the weather is a bit warmer than in Oregon/Northern CA.

The same is true of Big Sur. The seascapes are incredible, with cliffs that jut right out of the water, rock outcroppings, and beautiful crashing wave scenes. Not that we’re jaded or less than impressed, but our week on the coast and the thick traffic and throngs of fellow-sightseers (many owing to the Fourth of July weekend) made it slightly less attractive.