Ah, this takes me back to my childhood. A scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream between two freshly baked thick chewy old-fashioned oatmeal cookies, and then dipped in fine dark chocolate. The delicious combination of savory sweetness was declared by all to be “IT!” That how the IT’S-IT Ice Cream Sandwich was born and a San Francisco tradition since 1928. Pick one up, they come in vanilla, chocolate, mint (my favorite), cappuccino, strawberry, pumpkin, and the newest addition, green tea. Head to the beach or sit under the redwoods and savor each bite. We’ve been having gorgeous weather here on the Coastside! Nothin’ says summer than an ice cream treat and you’re never too old for that!
Found at many major retail stores. Visit their factory shop in Burlingame – about an hour from Loma Mar.https://www.itsiticecream.com/
You a soup nut? I am. What’s a soup nut? Someone who loves soup, silly.
I could eat soup everyday and never get bored. It’s a delicious, simple meal that can be tailored to any season, and contain almost any flavors. You could have it just as a meal or before your main course. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to have it along with a ‘dunker’ aka, bread.
Here are 15 mouth watering, hearty, warm winter soups that will sure to hit the spot in this El Niño weather we’re having on the Coastside.
Oh and did you hear? February is national soup month, so you gotta have a bowl. Maybe these soups will turn you into a soup nut, like me. Soups not in an particular order…
1. Lobster Bisque at Seville Tapas
Lobster bisque with EVOOSeville Tapas
Seville Tapas offers over 30 tapas, over 40 “Pepitos” or mini sandwiches, a few platters, soups, and salads, as well as a fun kids menu. Tapas, if you don’t know are small snacks meant to be shared and are designed to encourage conversation among diners. There are many stories surrounding the origin of tapas, but, since the word itself means “lid” or “top” it seems likely to have come from the custom of serving sherry with a small slice of bread, which is placed on top of the glass between sips to keep fruit flies from being attracted to the sweet drink. Anyway, we’re here for the lobster bisque with EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil – the Spanish kind of course). They have gluten-free bread to go along as well! Share the flavors of Spain with the people of the Coastside.
Seville Tapas – 450 Capistrano Rd in Half Moon Bay, Open Wednesday — Monday from 11 am–9 pm (Closed Tuesdays)http://www.sevilletapas.com/
2. Gumbo at Sam’s Chowder House
New Orleans style gumboSam’s Chowder House
From the seafood and meats, to the produce and artisanal cheeses, Sam’s Chowder Houses’ mantra is sustainable, fresh, local when possible and always seasonal. Produce in the fields of Half Moon Bay in the morning often finds its way onto the salad plate at Sam’s by evening. This passion for fine, fresh ingredients is evident from the house-made dressings, sauces, pastas, and charcuterie, to the house-made desserts. Sam’s is committed to the environment and offers sustainably-fished seafood and hormone-free meat items like the hearty and tasty New Orleans style gumbo with lump blue crab and andouille sausage.
Sam’s Chowder House offers stunning sunsets, true oceanfront outdoor dining, and a casual and authentic seafood experience reminiscent of an East Coast style seafood house. Watch the crashing surf inside by the fireplace, dine outside under a cozy heat lamp, or settle into an Adirondack chair near a toasty fire pit on Sam’s dog-friendly patio and enjoy the crisp, salty ocean air.
Sizzling rice soup with veggiesAsian King’s Kitchen
Sizzling rice soup makes crackling sounds when crisp rice is added to the hot broth and chunks of seasonal veggies. Perfect on a cold, dreary rainy day. Delight your taste buds with dishes of culinary inspiration spanning the breadth of Asia. Both traditional and new flavors, complimented with succulent combinations of exotic herbs and spices, come from the pick of fresh meats and vegetables at Asian King’s Kitchen. There is a large menu and special requests may be welcomed.
Chicken curry noodles with coconut milkBangkok House
Bangkok Houses’ objective is to not stray away from the original authentic tastes of Thai Cuisine. Just like the chicken curry soup made with chicken, coconut milk, egg noodle, topped w/crispy noodle, fried shallots, and red onion we’re here for. They achieve this by using the freshest ingredients to maintain the bold flavors that make Thai food so special. Their atmosphere is also as authentic as the food, featuring decorations brought directly from Thailand to help provide unique, relaxing ambiance to your meal.
Bangkok House – 20 Stone Pine Road Unit B in Half Moon Bay, Open daily http://bhthai.com/
5. The Half & Half at Duarte’s Tavern
The half and half soup
What’s the half & half? Half cream of artichoke and half cream of green chile soup. You must have it along their home baked sourdough bread for dunking. The best ever.
A Pescadero landmark since 1894 and a national James Beard Award winner for excellence. Specialties include cream of artichoke soup and cream of green chile soup (that’s why we’re here!), seafood dishes, and their famous olallieberry pie (a’la mode of course!). Using local ingredients like artichokes from their own garden & Giusti Farms, olallieberries from Phipps Ranch and from Watsonville, fresh fish from Princeton & Santa Cruz, beer from Half Moon Bay Brewery, and wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains.
You’re on the Coastside, so you gotta have the New England Clam Chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It’s made from scratch daily with huge chunks of clam in every bite! By the way, the only way to have clam chowder is in a bread bowl. San Francisco sourdough bread of course!
Princeton Seafood serves the freshest seafood, salads, pasta dishes, and other fare alongside their award-winning clam chowder in a fabulous relaxing atmosphere. Their Market features an array of seafood, fresh from the source, for your home culinary adventures. Part fish market, part restaurant, guests have the option to make their selection from fish that were in the water just a moment ago!
Chez-Shea features organic dishes from around the world including South Africa, India, Thailand, the Middle East, Ireland, Mexico, Europe and the United States. It’s always an exciting and healthy visit since all of the ingredients are organic and fresh. They update the menu as the seasons change. This vegetarian Black Bean Soup we came for is topped with salsa fresca and crema fresca. A vegan option is available too! Order it with some of their yummy flatbread.
Zuppa del Giorno, photo: It’s ItaliaPhoto: It’s Italia
Gettin’ tired of the cold outside? Head on over to It’s Italia Restaurant to taste a delightful combination of roasted eggplants, tomatoes, caramelized onions and basil, in this soup of the day! It will warm you up.
It’s Italia opened in 1997 as a San Francisco style trattoria and pizzeria serving gourmet pizzas, house pastas, and creative salads, always with a California Italian flavor. The menu has expanded to include seafood and meat selections from our rotisserie and mesquite grill, artful pastas and award winning pizza, creative salads and antipasti, and an array of house desserts. A Tuscan style courtyard patio with fireplaces and a fountain awaits. A full bar and locally famous bartenders create a lively social ambience nightly. Over one hundred fifty bottles line up on the wine list from Italy, California, France, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand (to go along with the soup, of course).
Daily-less corn bisque soup, photo: Eric WolfingerPhoto: Cetrella
Named for Capri’s fragrant valley with panoramic views, Cetrella offers rustic, worldly and free-spirited Mediterranean and California coastal cuisine. Today, the ties to sustainable farmers, fishermen, ranchers and artisan purveyors remain strong. With an emphasis on accessible fine dining, the menus include seasonal egg, salad and sandwich entrées. Soups, like the dairy-less corn bisque with Thai red curry, coconut milk, ginger-poached rock shrimp, and micro cilantro that’s pictured. Raw seafood, cheese flights, house-made breads and pastas, grilled vegetables, fish, fowl, field and game meats, rotating rustic entrées and house-made desserts. The Bar menu features Spanish-influenced small plates, including charcuterie, a wine country picnic, and wood-oven pizzas. The kitchen adapts dishes for patrons with food sensitivities and dietary preferences, and includes vegetarian and vegan options.
Café Capistrano is a family owned restaurant specializing in Mayan cuisine. Using the freshest local fish, meats and produce infused with Mayan flavors results in light, savory combinations. Not just Mexican, it’s Mayan, with a fresh twist and clear, distinct flavors like fire roasted peppers, lime marinades, fresh fruit, and habanero salsa. Delicious food with unique spicing and healthy fresh ingredients can always be expected at Café Capistrano. The restaurant is in old Victorian house that provides a cozy ambiance. Make sure to get the garlic bread along with your Mexican Chowder soup. Gotta dunk.
The Ribollita soup (the classic Florentine bread soup) includes local kale, swiss chard, kohlrabi, zucchini, carrots, beans, vegetable broth, garlic, EVOO, and parmesan. Have it with some of their homemade Italian bread and a glass of wine. Oh ya!
Utilizing the area’s bounty of local products, Pasta Moon has been serving up daily made fresh pastas, bread, antipasti and seafood since 1987. Always evolving, Pasta Moon’s seasonal menu has something for everyone, whether you want a quick bite for lunch or an intimate dinner for two. Sourcing out fresh and seasonal ingredients is not only part of their job but also a passion at Pasta Moon, where local Farmers and Ranchers inspire them on a regular basis! The menu rotates regularly depending on what’s in season, bringing guests a contemporary Italian dining experience that’s unique and eco-friendly!
Okay, not technically a soup but if you can eat it with a spoon than it is to me! This chili is a special house recipe with three beans, Angus ground beef, spices, and red, yellow and green peppers. Spicy, savory and slightly sweet.
Daddy-O’s takes great pride in creating upscale versions of American roadside-diner classics. They use the finest meats, artisanal cheeses, and the freshest local produce available. Everything, from soup to dessert, is made from scratch in their full-kitchen caboose. Yes, a caboose! Meats and vegetables are fresh, never frozen. And the flavor profiles are original recipes born of an 80-year culinary lineage. ‘Grandpa’s’ motto became their own: “Never compromise your quality, because what you make tells your story and says a lot about who you are.” They never take shortcuts!
Tom yum goong noodle soup with prawnsPhoto: Spice Me Thai Cuisine
Tom yum goong spicy and sour lemon grass soup with prawns, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and Thai spices will sure to warm you up quick. Spice Me offers a carefully selected menu of Thai favorites, served in a lively, bright and cozy dining place. Spice Me’s authentic Thai cooking is characterized by flavor, spice and a wide variety of ingredients like vegetables, meats, and seafood combined with a nice balance of herbs and spices that captivate the taste buds and nourish the senses. Aside from the regular menu, Spice Me creates seasonal dishes to promote Thai culture and local festivities.
14. Butternut Squash Soup at Via Uno Cucina Italiana
Butternut squash soup with gorgonzola, photo credit: Via UnoPhoto: Via Uno
Discover for yourself why Via Uno was named one of Sunset Magazine’s Favorite New Restaurants of 2014 and why locals voted it Half Moon Bay’s Favorite New Restaurant. Enjoy big city taste in small town casual coastal ambiance including a modern-rustic dining room, dog-friendly heated outdoor patio, private wine room, and full bar. Their authentic 6,000 pound wood-fired pizza oven is specially hand-made in Naples as it creates light-as-air pizza crusts. Their menu features Calabrian specialties you’re unlikely to sample anywhere else unless you take a trip to Italy. The produce is hand-selected from Half Moon Bay’s local farms and Old World-heavy wine list features varietals imported from Calabria. Their famous butternut squash soup with Gorgonzola and sage is making my mouth water right now. Savor the flavors of the season…
French onion soup with gruyereThe Conservatory Loung, photo: Ritz-Carlton
Mmm. French onion. Stop by for a bowl made with Gruyere cheese and spectacular floor to ceiling ocean views. The Conservatory Lounge presents Contemporary American light fare that uses fresh, organic, and community grown ingredients. From the signature cocktails to main dishes, everything is prepared to fulfill the appetite and please the senses, all while promoting good health, sustaining the environment, and supporting the local economy. Maybe a round of golf after?
You dream, you search, you plan, and you narrow down the dates for that long awaited vacation you so desperately needed (like 6 months ago!). The day finally arrives with anticipation as you jump out of bed. All you can think about is that photo of the lounge chair facing that gorgeous view you saw on the vacation rental website. In fact, you booked the property because of that photo.
You. That chair. A good book. And some sun.
As you drive to your destination you can’t help but notice grey looming clouds. Oh no! Rain, you think. It’s going to rain and my vacation is going to be ruined! No lounging in the sun with my book. Typical.
Don’t fret!
Just because rain is in the forecast doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy your visit to The Coastside. There’s plenty to do even when Mother Nature has her way. Maybe its nature’s way of saying: slow down, let’s shake things up a bit and be a little creative. So grab an umbrella and let’s go on a day trip.
Coffee And Rain Go Together
Americano with some chocolateSweet nostalgia
Downtown Local in Pescadero offers top-quality Sightglass coffee (a San Francisco artisan roaster) AND Kombucha that’s expertly crafted in an ambient, warm, cozy atmosphere that’s perfect for rainy days. Sit for a bit in the theater they have tucked in the corner while munching on a scone and watch silent films. Soak up some cool, retro, nostalgia with: old school toys, trinkets, vintage magazines, one of a kind clothing, vinyl albums, Royal typewriter and the “dual disk” Apple computer to name a few.
213 Stage Road, Pescadero Open daily from 9-5 pm
Head To The Lighthouse For A Little Drama
Photo: Billy Gast, FlickrPhoto: Oceanic Society
Pigeon Point is about a 12 minute drive from downtown Pescadero. It’s a great spot to walk around and view the 115 foot lighthouse (one of the tallest in America), whale watch and take in the power of the Pacific. The ocean is much more dramatic and romantic (at least I think so) during a storm.
Every winter and spring (rainy season), approximately 18,000 Pacific gray whales embark on an annual migration from their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic Bering and Chukchi Seas to warm birthing lagoons off the coast of Baja California. During the epic 10,000+ mile round-trip journey – one of the longest in the animal kingdom – gray whales hug the coastline, offering a rare opportunity for land-dwellers to catch a glimpse of these enigmatic creatures.
The oceanside observation deck at Pigeon Point allows whale watchers a 300 degree view as they scan the horizon for whale blows. Docent volunteers are “on-deck” to help interpret these magnificent marine mammals and their behavior for visitors. Be sure to stop in the Visitor Center to learn some interesting California history.
210 Pigeon Point Road, Highway 1, Pescadero
Take A Scenic Drive Down The Coast To Davenport
Town of Davenport, CA
Davenport’s (about 22 minutes from the lighthouse) roots go as far back as 1867, when whaling captain John Davenport built a 450 foot shipping wharf in the area. The town experienced a surge in development after the turn of the century, when the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company opened its factory and drew workers to the region. The cement from the plant was used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 quake, build one of the Panama Canal locks, and even construct the dry docks in Pearl Harbor.
Stop In For A Leisurely Meal
Photo: Whale City BakeryThe classic BLT
Whale City Bakery (which use to be a dive bar, then a card room, then a gas station, now the bakery) they offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily along with an in-house boutique bakery, full espresso bar, patio seating with ocean views, and live music several nights a week. Run by three generations of family, they pride themselves on fast and friendly service, home cooked meals featuring locally sourced ingredients, and the art of traditional, no frills baking.
Whale City Bakery – 490 Highway One, Davenport Open daily
Or, Fuel Up At The Roadhouse
Roadhouse menuMargherita pizza
Delicious and affordable California coastal cuisine featuring fresh ingredients from neighboring organic farms is the hallmark of their kitchen. The restaurant’s dining options are diverse, with fresh seafood and California style cuisine like artichoke lasagna. They also have a bar with many outstanding wines from the area, and locally brewed beer to get you settled into the country pace of a rainy day.
Davenport Roadhouse – 1 Davenport Avenue, Davenport Open daily
Admire Some Art
A creation in the worksPhoto: Lundberg Studios
Lundberg Studios is a premier art glass manufacturing company for over 40 years. They have produced some of the finest art glass of our times. The design styles range from antique to contemporary, from Tiffany to Art Deco. The glass is made entirely at the studios in Davenport on a limited production basis. Melting all its own exotic colors, Lundberg Studios has refined the art of making quality glass by using a blend of techniques both traditional and innovative.
Lundberg Studios- 131 Old Coast Road, Davenport Open M-Sat from 11-4 pm
Sip Some Local Grapes
Wine tasting room in Davenport, CAPhoto: Wine Fashionista
Bonny Doon Vineyard Tasting Room. Here you can enjoy authentic South Bay wines in a playfully quirky setting. Sip on some of the area’s best vintages, and pick up a few bottles to take home. Bonny Doon Vineyard has enjoyed a long history of innovation – the first to truly popularize Rhône grapes in California, to successfully work with cryo-extraction for sundry “Vins de Glacière, the first to utilize microbullage in California, the first to popularize screwcaps for premium wines, and, quite significantly, the first to embrace true transparency in labeling with its ingredient labeling initiative. Bonny Doon Vineyard grew and grew with some incredibly popular brands (Big House, Cardinal Zin and Pacific Rim) and it became the 28th largest winery in the United States.
Boony Doon Winery- 50 CA-1, Davenport Open Wed-Mon from 11-5 pm (closed Tuesdays)
Speaking Of Unusual Suspects…
Photo: LocalWiki
Davenport Jail is a small reminder of rowdier times in small towns. Built in 1914, it was used twice as a jail (two teen horse thieves apparently) and has only two cells. The jail is currently a small museum with information on the area of Davenport. The construction was used with cement provided by the cement company in the area. It is open the first Sunday of every month.
Davenport Jail- between Ocean Street and Davenport Avenue
Pick Up Some Sweetness
Boysenberry pie, strawberry truffle & blackberry cheese cakeOrganic is the way to go
Okay. So, you’ve explored the town of Davenport and have full tummies. Now, pick up a treat at Swanton Berry Farm to take home with you. Enjoy it later by the fire along with that bottle of Bonny Doon wine you picked up. The farm stand has: homemade jams, famous fruit cake (the real deal), blackberry cobbler, strawberry shortcake, amazing truffles and pies, hot strawberry-apple cider, hot farm made soup as well as Swanton T-Shirts and more goodies. They have a collection of vintage table games, wonderful history and nature displays and of course good tunes playing. Cash and check only.
Farm Stand- 25 Swanton Road, Davenport Open daily from 8-5 pm (in winter) and a little later the rest of the year
