Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:51a.m.
I never got to taste a slice of the multiple layered black forest cherry cake at Rosine’s in Monterey last week. We admired the selection of their luscious cakes on the way in but we were far too full after eating the main course to order cake for dessert.
Judging by the number of customers who were carrying their leftovers out in large polystyrene doggie boxes we were by no means the only ones who found the large portions a challenge!
Rosine’s was the first of our American holiday dining experiences. As I hadn’t done my foodie homework before leaving New Zealand we simply walked downtown from our hotel to check out what was on offer. Rosine’s caught our eye as it was reasonably priced, and packed with locals.
It is a family owned restaurant which is a bit of a local institution as it has been around for 30 years. What better place could there be to sample American food.
The service was friendly. I ordered a locally caught fish called sand dabs which were described as lightly floured and grilled topped with a fresh lemon caper and butter sauce. When they arrived the fish were swimming in a large amount of buttery sauce that would have made Julia Child swoon with delight! It was good but incredibly rich.
My partner ordered the chicken cashew pasta with sundried tomatoes and a green salad. Another huge helping! So no dessert for us! Which was a bit of a shame as Rosine’s has been voted “Best Desserts” for the last 18 years?
That night we slept well at Hotel Abrego, where we appreciated the luxury of having been upgraded to a room with a king sized bed and a fireplace. The next morning we decided to walk off some of those calories and go down to Fisherman’s wharf. On the way we admired a number of beautifully restored historic adobe buildings harking back to the town’s Spanish history.
The wharf was already bustling with people. Being a touristy place there was no shortage of souvenirs and fast food. Creamy Clam chowder was on offer everywhere, served in individual cob loaves so you could tear off bits of bread and dunk them in the hot soup.
Bikes can be hired to ride to Cannery Row but we decided to walk the Recreation Trail along the waterfront. On the way we heard the shrill barking of harbour seals and spotted them on the other side of the harbour.
Cannery Row was so named because there, at the turn of the century fish processing companies canned fish fresh off the boats. The area was immortalised by John Steinbeck in his novel Cannery Row.
Today it’s the home of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, our main reason for making this town our destination. It is rated the 3rd best attraction in the USA. And we were not disappointed, it was awesome!
We viewed huge tanks, 2-3 stories high, filled with sharks, barracuda and schools of bonito perpetually moving through gigantic kelp forests. In smaller tanks sea horses and floating jelly fish were mesmerizing. I took far too many pics of them on my digital camera, as well as of the playful sea otters and the penguins.
The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans
And this was the reason behind the special exhibition which is currently on. It is called Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea. As we walked through the seven galleries in which the exhibition was housed we learnt how global climate change can impact on tropical wading birds, green sea turtles, and other sea creatures.
But all was not gloom and doom. The ocean is remarkably resilient and the message was that it is not too late for communities and individuals to take action to slow the climate crisis and protect ocean wild life.
That evening we went for a drive and discovered the Black Bear Diner on the edge of the town. The waitress was charming, the food was fresh, the prices moderate and the servings huge! Monterey kids voted it as their favourite family restaurant in 2010.
We both decided to have one of their good old fashioned comfort dinners. These started with a small green salad and a hot corn bread muffin. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the corn muffin only a little sweet with a slight crunch. Throwing caution to the wind I buttered mine generously. Then I ate a well cooked fillet of Wild Pacific Salmon with a succulent lemon butter sauce. My partner had the slow-cook rack of ribs which were slathered with their own barbecue sauce. The pork was tender but the sauce too sweet for his liking. Room for dessert? No way!
The Black Bear Diner has put out its own nutrition news in which they provide the complete nutritional information for each item on their menu so that customers can make informed choices about what they eat. The breakdown includes Calories, Total fat, Saturated Fat, Sodium and Carbohydrates.
I did not peruse this until we had an after dinner coffee. Had I seen it before I might have persuaded my partner to avoid his barbecue ribs which clocked in at 2100 calories and 172 grams of saturated fat. And that was without counting the potatoes, the bread, the salad and the dressing! My fillet of Salmon was a little more respectable at 680 calories.
We were only at the start of our holiday but already I could feel that my waistline was expanding!
The following morning we breakfasted at our hotel on fresh fruit salad with yoghurt, cereals, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns, toast and sweet pastries and bottomless cups of coffee while we pondered our fate.
Our journey was only just beginning. Wherever we went there seemed to be hamburgers, cookies, fries and ice creams to tempt us! How much will power would we be able to muster to avoid looking like balloons by the end of our journey? Only time would tell!
Should you wish to recreate some of the food on offer at Rosine’s they have put out a recipe book which can be ordered. A sample recipe from this book (which follows) is on their website which can be found at:
http://www.rosinesmonterey.com/CookBook/
ROSINE'S TRADITIONAL APPLE PIE
Makes 1 9- inch Pie
Ingredients
8-9 medium cooking apples
1-1 1/2 cups sugar (depending on tartness of apples)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash nutmeg (optional)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. sugar
1 pie crust (either Rosine's pie crust recipe, own homemade our store-bought double crust)
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel, core and slice apples into 1/3 inch slices. Combine apples with sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and cornstarch, stirring well.
If using store bought pie crust following directions on label.
If using Rosine's basic pie crust recipe, take one half of pie dough from basic pie crust recipe and press into a ball. Place dough on lightly floured aluminum foil and roll out slightly larger than pie tin. Carefully invert pie dough and foil into tin. Peel back foil. Pierce dough with fork several times, then fill with prepared filling. Dot with butter. Roll out remaining dough using same procedure. Invert dough and foil over apples then peel back foil. Using a sharp knife, trim both top and bottom dough with short easy strokes leaving 1/4 inch rim of dough. Tuck top flap of dough under bottom flap and flute edges. Pierce top of pie with fork, then sprinkle with 1 tsp. of sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Crust should be golden and apples appear to be bubbly.
Let set for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or serve cold.