Honest reviews of Hawaii restaurants and travel experiences from the Santos family in Honolulu, Hawaii. Please join to follow this blog and leave comments about the places you read about.
Click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of each page to continue your adventure. This blog is for fun only. I am not a food critic. Just call them like I eat them. Enjoy!
Email:greateatshawaii@gmail.com
Instagram @greateatshawaii
Since we drove down Highway 1 to Cambria we wanted to drive Highway 101 back to San Francisco. This meant a quick drive through the beautiful Paso Robles Wine Country. The day was perfect with clear blue skies and the colors of Fall all around us. Wish we could have spent the day here tasting wine and enjoying the scenery. We passed so many wineries but did not stop. Next time we will allow time for wine tasting.
HEIDE AND DAD GET SOME MALASADAS
FROM LEONARDS BAKERY IN HAWAII
A VERY SPECIAL THANKSGIVING WITH DAD AND HEIDE CAMBRIA, CA
We traveled to Cambria, CA to enjoy a few days with my Dad and his lovely wife Heide. This turned out to be one of the best trips of our lives. Truly wonderful. The drive to Cambria was beautiful. Traveling down California Highway 1 gives you time to think, reflect and talk about life and how blessed we are. Once in Cambria we always marvel on how beautiful and peaceful the place is. What a different world from Hawaii and the 10-12 hour work days. We settled into Dads house amongst the Pine Trees and chirping birds. So relaxing. Keli put on a show playing the piano and guitar and Dad and me watched some football and talked while Heide and Shirley worked in the kitchen. Heide is from Germany. She grew up very poor at a time when the world was at war. Her house in Berlin was bombed in 1943. Her mother was pregnant with her and they were moved to what is now the Check Republic where they lived with her two older sisters. The sisters cared for Heidi when American tanks and Servicemen rolled into the streets in 1945. It was a difficult time for Germans. They were required to wear armbands like Jews in the interment camps. Living on watery Pea Soup, they lived with diarrhea and her sisters begged and stole small bags of apples to sustain them. The family cried together as they were placed on a train to Regensburg and then to Dresden in open cattle carts. The Russian soldiers were given permission to steal and rape the German woman and simply kill the men. The nightmares of this time still haunt Heidi's sisters. They were placed in a Russian Intern Camp where her mother went from 150 pounds down to 90. Her mom fainted and went into a coma which allowed them to be transferred to a Red Cross Camp back in Dresden. With a small bribe to a female doctor, they were able to get a message to their Grandfather who was able to bring them back to Berlin. Living in a Russian occupied section of Berlin was horrific. Especially during the long cold winters. At night they would try to warm their small two room apartment with their breath. For birthdays they were given a small handful of coal. The family often ate acorn cakes, steal or beg for food and barter for items to survive. The family knew they had to leave Berlin to survive and left separately. Heide and her mom left in 1949 on an American Air Lift that children called the "Candy Bomber". Heide's dad died when she was 10 and after a brief stay in Sweden the family was back together again in Hannover in 1955. Heidi won a scholarship to the best school in town. She learned Oxford English, French and Latin. At 16 Heide met a Turk named Engin. They fell in love and were married. She taught German to Turkish officers and then they moved to Germany to apply for entrance to the U.S.A. Four years later, in 1968 both found jobs in the United States. Engin worked for General Dynamics and Heide for Xerox in Rochester, NY. They moved to California to find a more welcoming place to live. Heide took a job as a Stewardess for Western Airlines. Engin returned to Turkey. In 1976 Heide went to work for Northrop where she remained for over 22 years. This is where she met my Dad who was also working at Northrop. The work romance turned into a 30 marriage that has been a blessing for not only my Dad but our entire family. Heide is a giving and loving woman who always puts family first. She understands pain and what is like to be poor and hungry. This gives her a thirst for life that I love seeing and experiencing.
KELI PLAYED PIANO AND GUITAR
HEIDE COOKED THE ENTIRE MEAL BY HERSELF.
SHIRLEY HELPED WITH THE DISHES WHILE
DAD AND ME WATCHED FOOTBALL
HEIDI'S 16LB BIRD LOOKED AND TASTED DELICIOUS
CHEESE PLATTER WAS GREAT START TO DAY OF EATING
ITALIAN MEATS AND FRESH BREAD - AWESOME!
DAD IS LOOKING GREAT HERE WITH KELI
A THANKSGIVING TO REMEMBER
TRADITIONAL PORTUGUESE KALE SOUP.
THIS WAS REALLY GOOD!
HEIDI'S PRESENTATION WAS BEAUTIFUL
FRESH BIB LETTUCE, TOMATO, MOZZARELLA
CHEESE, BASIL AND OLIVE OIL.
SIMPLE AND DELICIOUS!!!!
FANTASTIC TURKEY DINNER
HOME MADE CRANBERRY SAUCE - LOVED IT!
GREEN BEANS WITH BACON.
KELI HAD THREE HELPINGS OF THIS
MASHED POTATOES WITH PARSLEY, BUTTER,
MILK AND CREME. YUMMY.
HEIDI'S SPECIAL PORTUGUESE STUFFING
WITH LINGUICA SAUSAGE
FRESH DINNER ROLLS
GERMAN CAKES WERE ACTUALLY GOOD.
MIRSIPAN THEY CALL IT.
DAD BEING TREATED FOR CANCER LOOKS
BETTER THAN SON.
THE SEA CHEST OYSTER BAR AND SEAFOOD RESTAURANT MOONSTONE BEACH, CA
When my Dad and his lovely bride Heidi suggested we eat at their favorite Cambria Seafood restaurant just hours after a Chemo Therapy we were surprised. Sounds great if Dad is up for it we said. Turns out this place does not accept reservations. When we arrived just after 5:30 pm. there was a huge line waiting to get in. I have never seen anything like this. Dozens of people in warm jackets lined up in the parking lot. All calm and in good spirits. The lined moved quickly after the doors opened and we were seated at a nice table in the back of the restaurant. Perfect place away from the busy and loud Oyster Bar area. I loved the homey feel of this place. Like being in someones home. The service was great with the waiters and waitress always doing their best to make sure we were happy. Yes were were. Very happy. When you consider the wave of diners that enter the place when it opens, I was surprised that the food came out so quickly. This is a top notch operation with many years of experience. The meal started with some hot sour dough rolls with butter. I ordered a bowl of Clam Chowder. It was thick and creamy but lacked a whole lot of clams. Good flavor. The Clams and Oysters were shucked fresh and were delicious. My Cioppino was FANTASTIC! There was enough in the bowl to serve three people. I barely put a dent in this tomato based soup filled with Calamari, small Scallops, Shrimp, Crab and several types of fish. The broth was amazing. I could have sit there for hours sipping the broth. Best I have ever had. The others at the table enjoyed fresh fish selections. This is the kind of place that I wish we had in Hawaii. I would go back here again and again and try just about everything on the menu.
Just off Highway 1 in Cambria, CA is a beautiful little stretch of beach that I just love. It is called Moonstone Beach and it is home to a dozen or so small hotels, a restaurant or two and that is it. The rest is just beautiful ocean views with a pretty good surf break. Moonstone Beach is literally three minutes away from my Dads home in Cambria. Cambria is paradise to me. Huge Pine Trees and hills along the beautiful California coast. There is a small downtown area just down the road from Moonstone Beach that has dozens of shops, restaurants and boutique stores that feature arts and crafts from local artists. It is post card beautiful. The Pelican Inn was a great place to stay. Free parking, internet and breakfast plus a complimentary wine and cheese tasting in the evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. We missed the wine and cheese both nights here but I did get a look and it was pretty good spread. Our room was very clean and spacious. We did not spend much time here. Just slept and showered. The room had two sinks which came in handy with two girls. I absolutely love Moonstone Beach and would love to stay at the Pelican Inn again and again.
UNOBSTRUCTED OCEAN VIEWS
ENTRANCE TO HOTEL OFFICE AND DINING ROOM
MAIN LOBBY
LARGE ROOM WITH HUGE BED
SMALL DESK AREA WITH EXTRA SEATING
GAS FIREPLACE KEPT THE ROOM WARM AT NIGHT
REFRIGERATOR, MICROWAVE AND COFFEE
BREAKFAST BUFFET IS FREE EVERYDAY!
DINING AREA WITH FIREPLACE
BACON AND EGGS WITH SOME OF THE BEST
SALSA I HAVE EVER TASTED
