Monterey

Did you know you can eat jellyfish? Well, that's a story for another day, but aren't these beautiful?

The next day on our vacation in Monterey we spent a majority of our day at Monterey Bay Aquarium. I can never get tired of that place. So many incredible things to see, and did you know they have a gourmet restaurant with spectacular ocean view there? Portola Cafe is run under the direction of Bon Appetit Management Co. and executive chef Dory Ford, along with executive sous chef Jeff Walker and chef de cuisine Estevan Jimenez. They have a full service bar, serve local wines, organic food and sustainable seafood. Never endangered seafood. It's high class and expensive, but the food is worth the price and excellent service and you can't beat the view.


We were lucky enough to eat lunch here while we were in Monterey. We started with a couple of cocktails. John had a mojito and I had a cosmopolitin. The restaurant is quite kid friendly and provides a menu for them. The mac and cheese is yummy. We also ordered up a dozen oysters on the half shell which were fresh and delicious. The people sitting around us were shocked to see our girls slurping down raw oysters. I was very proud. I also had the pleasure of enjoying abalone that is farm raised locally. It was mild and the texture was perfect, not in the least bit rubbery. It was a treat I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying in years.

They're only open 4 hours a day, so if you feel like splurging on a great meal be sure to show up before 3 pm and enjoy a great meal and a spectacular view.
Bon Appetite!