And the food is pedestrian at best. With easy BYO here in CA, why not go somewhere with good food and BYO?
OK, Merrill, we’re not having this conversation again. Something about passionfish rubs you the wrong way, but almost everyone else I know enjoys it. For the record, Yao has probably eaten more stars, and drunk more great wine than almost anyone I know.
I prefer Luca in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Great Italian food and BYOB.
I recently had a nice meal and wine at Casanova in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Aubergine is very nice fine dining (expensive). Also in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
I will second Luca, been 7-8 times and always found the food and service very good.
The OP should check out the YELP reviews. People like the wine prices and variety but many, like I, found the food uninspiring.
Lots of great recs listed. Don’t miss Haye’s Place in Pebble Beach near the Lodge - second best fish tacos I’ve ever eaten. You may want to venture down the coast to Big Sur where Nepenthe and Post Ranch in are not to be missed.
A good friend that visits the area 3-4 times a year had Merrill’s opinion when asked a couple weeks ago. So, not the only one.
We went there once when the Pacific’s Edge was closed for the year because of covid…the food was ok, but I wasn’t a fan of waiting in line for 30+mins, and jammed packed with people…sitting in the walkway, staring at a wall. Given…it was during covid, but the ambiance wasn’t all that great. And cash only gripes.
The Pacific’s Edge(Calif. Market) at the Highlands Inn…is THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH to have breakfast!!! We go there every single morning, and sometimes lunch, and sometimes dinner…by far the best view of the ocean hightop on the outside deck…food is great…breakfast sandwich, eggs benedict…the crisp clean air…the smell of the white cedar burning from the fireplaces at the Inn…THE VIEW THE VIEW THE VIEW! Will be there today! 
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Thank you for that! I’ll check it out the next time I’m in the area ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
It is indeed a spectacular view!
Lunch!
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About how far is Pacific Edge from Inn at Spanish Bay? Google Maps says 25 minutes. Is that about right?
Maybe a little less depending on traffic.
5 or so minutes south of Ocean Ave Carmel just past Point Lobos.
Any dinner recommendations for San Jose?
Back and generally recovered from our trip.
Couple of notes:
Mount Eden is as good as I expected. Only bad thing was being the designated driver. Would’ve loved to have fully participated. Hope to return some day with another driver. I had previously tasted all the wines with the exception of the Tanaka Project Pinot Noir and Rose. We tasted all three Pinot Noir’s from the 2017 vintage. The Tanaka was the clear favorite with Estate and Domaine being split. The Domaine Eden wines are such a good value. We also tasted 2018 Estate Chardonnay, 2018 Estate Cabernet and the 2020 Rose of Pinot Noir.
The views and breakfast at Pacific’s Edge in Carmel Highlands was very much worth the 20 or so minute drive. Views are stunning from the entire restaurant but combining the sounds of the crashing waves while on the outdoor terrace make it really special.
All the food at the Pebble Beach and Spanish Bay hotels was good but nothing amazing. I really enjoyed dinner at Pepoli’s inside Inn at Spanish Bay.
One of the highlights of our trip was dinner at Passionfish with Sean_S. The duck confit was delicious and my wife loved the mussels. We had a really nice bottle of Madson Chardonnay which I had never tasted. Sean was kind enough to gift us a couple bottles of Sandar & Hem which we enjoyed a couple nights later at The Table in San Jose.
Our visit at Ridge was nice but the corporate nature was a stark contrast to Mount Eden’s laid back vibe. One of our friends with us who enjoys but isn’t on the Berserker level immediately picked up on the dill in Geyserville and wanted to know what it was. Thought that was interesting. We paid up to taste 2012 Monte Bello. I thought it was still too young and maybe a bit backwards. Just didn’t seem to have integrated.
Our only hiccup was a missed flight due to unexpectedly having a 55 minute wait to get thru tsa lines. First missed flight of my life. Instead of arriving home at 3:25p local time we got home at 10:30p local time. Made for a very long day!
Golf was better than even my best expectations. Pebble Beach is a special place. The walk with the caddie is just amazing. Played my best round of 2022 at PB.
Great trip. Hope to go back soon!
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It was great to see you Josh. We totally forgot to take any pictures. Passionfish delivers as usual. Great casual California farm/sea to table fare with an amazing wine list. Despite there being many things on their awesomely priced wine list I wanted to try. Josh and Jenny were kind enough to let me steer us in the direction of some great Santa Cruz Mountains Wines.
We started with one my favorite unsung producers Madson Wines. Madson is joint venture between winemaker Cole Thomas (formerly SCMV) and rock star Viticulturist Ken Swegles. Very under the radar but have been growing in popularity the last few years. They make great AFWE wines across the board.
2019 Madson Winery Chardonnay Toyon Vineyard - Racy acidity lemon/lime on the front of the palate followed by great mouthful and some rich barrel character on the finish. A lot of intensity for 12%. This wine sees no new oak but has this lovely richness on the finish. Their Arey vineyard chardonnay is my personal favorite.
Since they were just at Mount Eden and enjoyed it so much how bout a wine from another legendary vineyard literally in the same vineyard as Mount Eden. So 2018 Birichinos Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Cabernet Sauv.
2018 Birichino Cabernet Sauvignon Peter Martin Ray Vineyard - Yummy, bigger and more classical SCM Cabernet than the 2017. Suprising how much intensity you can get on this wine at 13%.
Both wines had super sharp pricing at ~20% over retail. Passion Fish still delivers and it was great to spend some time with Josh and Jenny. My $24 Rock fish entree was far from pedestrian and great value. Sorry to hear of yall missing your flight. I had a 6AM flight out of SJC the same day back to Utah and got stuck in the same TSA debacle. (despite being TSA Pre). Barely made my plane before they shut the door.
Glad you liked the Sandar and Hem. Wait till you try the 2019 Mindego Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir. Serious juice completely sold out. Even I can’t get any more of it.
Until next time,
Sean
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Thank you for providing the notes! Was a great dinner!