While there are occasionally things I miss a LOT about being in school (ex// days with only 2 hours of class, extended lunches, mid-day naps, playing ultimate with the Hellions, and street tacos), one of the things I will never have to miss is football season. The annual weekender is a quintessential part of the USc football experience and shockingly this was only my second one.
This year we were vetted for a big revenge game against Stanford. We all know what happened there and I'm still kindof in #USCDenial so I won't talk about it here. Despite that strange occurrence, it was still a pleasantly eventful weekend and a wonderful getaway from real life.
I didn't go to work on Friday and Charlie and I left in the morning, up the 101, to our first logical stop on a drive north-- Santa Barbara. Lots of ultimate tournaments in SB have conditioned me to love and crave the real Freebirds burritos on Embarcadero, right off UCSB's campus. Really there's not anything out-of-this-worldly about their burritos, but they are always so solid with quality, delicious ingredients that all work together so well. I got my usual: a chicken burrito with rice, black and refried beans, veggies, pico, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, cheese, and lettuce. Basic. But undeniably good.
Farther up the 101 the car had a minor malfunction and the splash shield under the front bumper decided to half-fall off and drag itself on the freeway. We lacked the simple tools that would have been necessary to temporarily fix it ourselves, so we got towed to a local auto shop. Tow trucks are giant and impressive. And it was hot as hell standing on the side of the freeway, especially when huge semis would drive by, blow hot dust and air into our face, and shake the Prius like a salt shaker.
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| Right before our little incident. |
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| Stupid splash shield. |
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| A real Tonka truck came to tow us!! |
We had intended to take some time and explore Asilomar and some other nice views in Monterey-- not quite enough time for a hike or anything which really just means I have a reason to go back :) Same with the Redwoods, but that's a separate story. Arrived in Monterey at around dinner time so we walked around Cannery Row, saw the aquarium but didn't go in, through this rando antique/pimped out car show called Cherry Jubilee, to Fisherman's Wharf. I like this wharf way better than the ones in San Francisco. It's much smaller, more local and homey and therefore less touristey and commercial. When you walk down it's lined with restaurants that all have clam chowder samples to try to entice you to come in. It's amazing how competitive these restaurants are with each other. They know all of the specials each of them is offering and matches, if not one-ups it. When deciding where to eat we literally eliminated an option because they DIDN'T offer a free calamari appetizer. Fosters a pretty awesome, affordable, ocean-view dining experience for all involved.
Ok, so the chowder reviews, in order of tasting so my brain doesn't get too confused:
Crabby Jim's- perfectly creamy and balanced with potato chunks and enough clam to taste but not too salty
Gilbert's- slight sweet corn aftertaste... maybe they use corn starch as a thickener? also, strong celery flavor.
Old Fisherman's Grotto- way way way too thick. I could barely pour this into my mouth. Texture matters! This is the one that was supposedly famous. WRONG.
Crab Louie's- tasted like the ocean, and not in a good way. also, the cream and the clear liquid weren't fully emulsified so it looked less opaque.
Abalonetti- slight lemon flavor-- a welcome distinction from its competitors.
Isabella's- roasted garlic flavor. rich and chunky but a good, balanced texture.
Domenico's- the guy was unattentive and unfriendly. chowder wasn't impressive either.
Our three favorite chowders were Crabby Jim's, Abalonetti, and Isabella's. Abalonetti is the one that got eliminated because of lack of free appy (though we bought a chowder-to-go from them afterward), and Crabby Jim's had a wait so we ended up at Isabella's. It's one of the nicer, pricier options on the wharf but with a homey Italian family story, an award-winning chef, free calamari, and all-night happy hour, we figured we might as well. The starter foccacia bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and roasted garlic dip was good. We ate 2.
Charlie got this amazing-looking spinach fettucine in garlic cream sauce that was absolutely LOADED with seafood. It came with a whole lobster tail, a bunch of scallops, shrimp, and I don't know what else.
I just got an oysters rockefeller appetizer because I was not too hungry after all those chowder samples. Oh, and I had a happy hour margarita. Nom. Side note about the oysters rockefeller-- the oysters were delicate, but the rockefeller topping had bacon in it. I know this might sound snooty but I'm so over bacon in restaurants. They seem to think it's a failproof addition that will improve any dish. Not true. It's often overwhelming and that amount of smoke and salt doesn't enhance a lot of dishes and I think it masks a lot of other flavors. So I try not to order anything with bacon anymore. It's best fried for breakfast with scrambled eggs. Classic. So yeah, oysters rockefeller minus bacon, plus more parmesan (it's an Italian restaurant!!) would be ideal.
Yeah, the actual food was slightly overpriced, but it's comparable with neighboring restaurants and it's to be expected from touristey locations like this. After dinner we meandered to Charlie's aunt and uncle's place. Really nice place in slightly remote farmland that's just civilized enough, and within a few miles of the highway so still pretty convenient. His aunt does pottery and she gave me a garlic-shaped container to bake garlic in! It's so cute, I love it. No picture because then everyone will love it and try to steal it.
Saturday was gameday and we went into Palo Alto after a nice breakfast with the relatives, visited with another of Charlie's uncles. This was my first time meeting him and I'm really glad we were able to spend some time there. I can't verbalize it very well but he exudes such a vibrant energy-- a very warm and open kind of person. And they have a two cats, one is fat, and the other chases and tries to pounce on a red laser dot. Adorable. Afterward we parked and got a bite to eat before heading into the stadium about an hour before gametime. The cute little 'village' they have right off ofcampus with a Trader Joe's, lots of eateries, and plenty of little shops is something USC desperately lacks. That, and an offensive line. Oh wait. Not talking about that. Whatever, Stanford has a tiny stadium and they still struggle to fill it. And their bitch ass student section is eternally shocked at any win they can muster. Apparently any W is worth rushing the field for. Four years in a row. Bleh.
Sunday we went up to Oakland to visit my grandma! Dim sum and come catching-up ensued, though Charlie was slightly less able to communicate with her than I was with his family. Thankfully he loves peggle. Hung out a bit with the gma, packed up a ton of food that she prepared for me (EEEEEEE NOMMMMMMM!!!!! FAVORITE!!), and started the drive back.
Now we're back. Somehow it's Wednesday.
Went to pickup in SM last night. It was really enjoyable and I'm in terrible shape but unlike Rose Bowl pickup where everyone's cliquey and kindof exclusive and you have to wait years to play for a few minutes, everyone was really nice and chill here and still ran hard. Maybe it wasn't actually hard... maybe I just thought so since I currently have the endurance and strength of an obese, beached whale. Even an obese, live whale can swim forever. Anyway. Back to real life, starting to really get settled into a new routine hopefully including both ultimate and orchestra on top of the basic essentials-- good food, sports, income, and Charlie :)
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| Parting picture-- pluots!! |
Rise up and Fight on!
