Quick round up of our trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea from June of 2019. We went with a group of 8 friends for one of my sorority sister’s weddings. The trip and wedding were gorgeous. We stayed at The Coachman’s Inn and would stay there again if we go back. It’s a great value. The location in the center of town is perfect. The rooms were clean and spacious enough. The included breakfast is delicious.We visited Folktale winery. It’s clearly a tourist trap but a beautiful and fun one at that! Two members of our group joined the wine club and I have to say the wine holds up even at home. Half our group did the reserve flight tasting ($40) and the other half did Wine & Food Pairing Flight ($65). We did the wine and food pairing and while I think it’s overpriced, I am still glad we did it. Personal favorites were the sparkling rose and Mission Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir which they refer to as ‘party pinot’. Highly recommend visiting.
Since the US Open grandstands were still being broken down while we were there, the views at The Bench were obstructed. We opted to have lunch at Sticks which had a great view. We ate outside at one of the fire pits and it may have been the most enjoyable meal of the trip. I would say the fare is ‘elevated sports bar’ and Mr. TIBAL claimed they had the best tater tots he had ever eaten. A group of what looked like locals ordered a bowl of just tater tots so I think there might be something to this. After lunch we did the 17 mile drive. It’s $10.50 just to drive but you can be reimbursed for this with a $35 food purchase at a restaurant in the area. Sticks validated for us. We stopped at some of the scenic overlooks and got our best back of the head Instagram pictures. We returned later that evening to see the famous bag piper at Spanish Bay. The lord was on our side and our group got a table right on the course in front of where the (lady!) bag piper ended. The area is mayhem and while I am glad I got to see it, I wouldn’t go out of my way to catch it again because it was so crowded. I preferred the low key lunch experience. On the other hand, it bordered on a religious experience for one of the men in our group.
One day we drove around Big Sur and lived our Big Little Lies best lives. It’s a gorgeous drive with plenty of places to pull off and take it in. We stopped at Café Kevah for coffee on their rooftop café. This was a great choice. By 10:45AM the place was hopping and I can see why – its stunning. We ordered cappuccinos, lattes and a side of bacon and it was perfect. I hear good things about the restaurant (Nepenthe) too but we already had reservations for lunch.We had lunch at Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn. This was my big contribution to the group plans and it was a bust. The food was good but the service was not on par with what you would expect from a place of this caliber. I am not sure if it would have been better if we had been a smaller group (as opposed to the 8 of us). The hotel is beautiful but I am dubious of the service even outside of the restaurant. The views at lunch were incredible and I would have liked to explore the property more but we were pretty ready to leave by the end.
We spent one day just walking and exploring Carmel-by-the-Sea. We split a great bagel, mimosas and coffee at Village Corner. Popped into a few shops, including the famous Cheese Shop. The guys working are knowledgeable and generous with the samples. We bought a few cheeses and headed next door to the Wrath tasting room. We were helped by a young man who just passed his first sommelier exam (congrats!) and was fun, friendly and easy to talk with. I loved the Wrath chardonnay and Mr. TIBAL loved the 2016 Wrath Pinot Noir, Tondre Grapefield. We had a case shipped back.
