Thanksgiving, our delightfully gut-busting national holiday is around the corner, and for a few, that means a terrifying experience in the kitchen. Not everyone has what it takes to prepare a large feast that tastes great and hasn’t gone cold before reaching the dinner table. That’s why a brave few choose to opt out of cooking during this Thanksgiving holiday and find a yummy turkey dinner at a local restaurant.
Not all restaurants are open on Thanksgiving, but here are a few worth mentioning:
Whole Foods: If you are staying in one of the lovely vacation rentals offered by Monterey Bay Property Management and want to have Thanksgiving Dinner within your rental, you may want to reserve a fully prepared Thanksgiving Meal from Whole Foods. It’ll be an easy solution that will allow you to celebrate Thanksgiving at “home”. Whole Foods is located in Monterey.
Asilomar Conference Grounds: Offering a Thanksgiving Package that includes Thanksgiving dinner. Asilomar is located in Pacific Grove.
Il Fornaio: The Italian eatery located at the NE Corner of Ocean and Lincoln Avenues in Carmel is offering Thanksgiving Dinner, and reservations are required.
Fresh Cream: With it’s French-inspired California cuisine, located at the NW Corner of Dolores and 8th Avenues in Carmel, just published its Thanksgiving Dinner menu. The menu makes our mouths water with their descriptions of roasted butternut squash soup, oven roasted turkey, sweet potato puree, savory bread pudding stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Wow! Make a reservation at Fresh Cream by contacting 831-250-7943 or dining@freshcream.com.
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa: Offering a 4-course Thanksgiving Dinner from 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM in their Duck Club Grill. The Duck Club Grill is in side the Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row in Monterey.
Cannery Row Brewing Company: Offering Thanksgiving Dinner and beer. They’re new, so it might be worth checking out their Thanksgiving Day efforts. Call 831-643-2722 for details.
Fandango Restaurant: Offering a special Thanksgiving Day menu. Contact them for reservations at 831-372-3456.
Chart House: Is doing something a little like Whole Foods, where they are offering a full Thanksgiving Dinner that will feed 6 – 8 people and it’s all To-Go! Or, you can eat there. Call 831-372-3362 to make your order.
Insider’s Tip: There is a little bar, tucked in the back of its row of shops in Carmel, called Ody’s Tavern, that sometimes serves up Thanksgiving dinner on the evening before Thanksgiving! It’s on San Carlos near Ocean Avenue and the building is light blue. Call them at (831) 626-6821 for directions if you get turned around.
Tonight, Friday, November 12, 2010, we will hold the very first West Coast Swing Dance and Dine from 7:30 – 10:00 PM, for just $15.00–which includes dancing and a special menu! Here’s the story behind it:
Jose Miguel and his family own the American Burger restaurant at 738 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, between Prescott and Irving, across from Gianni’s Pizza. Locals are starting to take notice of this Little-Burger-Joint-That-Could because Jose Miguel has a knack for good marketing that matches the tastiness of his burgers.
For example, Jose Miguel loves to dance, sing, and play music, but he has little time to do it all since he’s busy running a family restaurant. The solution? Bring the dance classes, social dances and musicians to his restaurant!
You may now find Argentine Tango at American Burger on Mondays, Salsa dance classes on Wednesdays, a West Coast Swing social dance on the second Friday of each month (starting November 12), and Latin social dancing every Saturday.
Let this lesson be learned by crafty businesses owners….How can you combine your passions under one roof? Jose Miguel’s solution is this: offer a Dance and Dine package of only $15.00 per person for each night there’s dancing. That means the following: You can Dance and Dine for $15.00 each person on Mondays if you like Argentine Tango, Wednesdays if you like Salsa, Fridays for WCS, and Saturdays for Latin dancing. Brilliant!
Insider’s Tip: Call American Burger at (831) 373-7573 for dance event information and directions. Depending on the dance crowd, American Burger may stay open later if there’s a good number of dancers still on the dance floor.
For those who love to run and walk along our beautiful coastline, the Big Sur Half Marathon is worth checking out. This is the 8th year of the Big Sur Half Marathon and its popularity has grown!
Here’s what to expect if you participate in the half marathon:
- A gently rolling fast course that winds through historic downtown Monterey, along Cannery Row, and proceeds along Pacific Grove’s coastline with incredible views of the Monterey Bay.
- An unparalleled race destination weekend. After the race, take some time to enjoy world-class golf, a Spa afternoon, whale watching, world-class dining, shopping, wine tasting, a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and much more. Visit the Big Sur Half Marathon’s Visitor’s Guide for more options.
- A walker friendly course that welcomes Half Marathon walkers. Other weekend events include the Run Forrest Run 5K and the JUST RUN!®Just Kids 3K fun run, both held on Saturday, November 13th.
Insider’s Tip on Registration: Register early to make sure you get all your ducks in a row before the big weekend!
Insider’s Tip for Non-Participants: For those of you not interested in participating, but wish to hang out near the popular Recreation Trail and Cannery Row, keep in mind the following things: 1) It may be harder to find parking during the event. 2) The trail may be closed to non-participants during the event. 3) You may find more traffic congestion during the event.
Autumn is a fabulous time of year and October hops along with harvest festivals, pumpkin patches and corn mazes for the whole family. The climax at the end of October is, of course, Halloween, the second highest grossing holiday of the year.
Insider’s tip: Even though there are numerous crosswalk personnel, drivers be AWARE and EXTRA careful when driving along Lighthouse that Saturday!
For adults, there aren’t that many events being promoted at press time, but here’s an insider’s tip: Keep an eye out for event postings in the Monterey County Weekly and the Go! Calendar inside the Monterey Herald newspapers.
Many visitors comment on how cool it is here on the Monterey Peninsula. Like Mark Twain is reported to have said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,” and since San Francisco is close by, the same can be said of our area.
Our weather is cool during the summer for several reasons:
1. Our ocean currents run from the Arctic Circle and (North to South) and our water temperature tends to be around 49 degrees to 55 degrees Farenheit.
In contrast, the Eastern seaboard of the United States experiences water currents flowing North from the Equator (South to North) with an added bonus of the warm water originating from the Gulf of Mexico known as the Gulf Stream.
2. We have a deep underwater canyon that begins in the Monterey Bay (at Moss Landing and Carmel) and there is a lot more water depth than eyes on land can see.
To compare, the Eastern seaboard tends to be shallower and can heat up from the sun more quickly.
3. Water currents and wind churn the water up from the depths to the surface, which causes cooler water to circulate up. This makes for very happy marine life because the upwellings bring food closer to the surface.
Now you know why you don’t see Sea Lions and Otters frolicking on Florida beaches.
4. The water’s cool water temperature and wind from the ocean makes the air cooler and creates a marine layer/low cloud ceiling. When that cooler air blends with the warmer air temperature over land, fog is created. Our marine layer usually evaporates from the sun after noon.
We hope this helps explain why our air is cool and why we rarely need air conditioning. It also explains why you should always keep a jacket or sweater handy when you’re visiting the Monterey Peninsula.
No tsunami on the California Central Coast this weekend, and the Monterey Bay is as beautiful as ever! A drive that started at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove, meandered through Pebble Beach, and wound up in Carmel yielded some of the most spectacular scenery ever! 
While the rain threatened but never materialized, the sun fought to break through, eventually putting in an appearance that reminded those of us lucky enough to be here today just how fortunate we are! What a beautiful place!
Pebble Beach will play host to the 2010 U.S. Open Championship. The World Famous golf course will host this prestigious event for the 5th time. Mark the occasion and be a part of this wonderful experience! For all of your housing needs, please contact Monterey Bay Property Management
(831)655-7840
www.montereyrentals.com and look for What’s Hot!
No Tiger, No problem. Rental homes still available all over the Monterey Peninsula, come join the fun at the AT&T Golf Tournament at Pebble Beach on Feb 8th – Feb 14th.
