TheMommyBlog

We’re determined not to spend any more time in the car than is absolutely necessary today. We’re going to enjoy the weather, the beach, the food. Getting here took a leisurely eleven hours, with a two-hour stop for margaritas and nibbles at Phil’s Brother’s house in LA. I highly recommend it.

We did the whole Old Home Week tour of the coast yesterday, pointing out the many places I lived while in college and then while I took a break from higher learning. While fun, I have (and am actually relieved) to say that I am completely over the need to reminisce about the old days. I lived in some truly run down places, I gotta tell ya, though living so close to the beach that the waves lulled you to sleep each night was more than fair compensation.

Oceanside had gone through an unbelievable transformation. We ended the coastal tour at the pier there, hoping to walk the seventeen miles to the end of the pier to have a beer at the huge restaurant and gaze at the water. We arrived only to discover that they didn’t serve alcohol at all, and that there wasn’t anywhere within walking distance that did. Not to dismiss the value of a fine family burger place at the end of a lovely, historic pier with a fabulous view, but what a colossal waste of potentially lucrative, romantic, hopping dining space with any redeeming social value.

/snotty critic

Actually, no. I have one more bone to pick. We celebrated Phil’s birthday at the Island Prime restaurant on the edge of Harbor Island. The view was stunning, the atmosphere romantic and intimate, the menu full of things you could never decide between, and a wine selection that had me absorbed for twenty minutes.

Which made the following so unbelievable.

We ordered a fabulous and fabulously expensive bottle of Bordeaux with two center-cut filet mignons, with a side of truffled creamed corn. Absolutely divine. Only, the steaks weren’t center cut.

We might not have said anything, but we’d had a long and interesting discussion with our waiter about the cuts on offer. There was another selection that sounded great, but that wasn’t specifically advertised as center cut, because it specifically was not. Ah, we said, very clear, and thank you, we’ll have the center cuts.

So, naturally, when they arrived and were clearly the three-part tail ends of the tenderloin, we pointed it out. The steaks were delicious and we’d happily eat them, but the kitchen should know that they are turning out cuts of meat at premium prices that aren’t as advertised. The waiter and then the manager were completely and appropriately apologetic, and the manager stayed on to chat about cheffing and such, and when he left we were very happy and impressed with his willingness to listen and promise to alert the kitchen and management.

And then the bill came. Pop quiz: when someone drops damn near three hundred dollars on a spectacular dinner complete with cocktails, appetizer, Old World wine, surf and turf entrees, and any kind of side with truffles in it, and then proceeds to tell you that you’re sending out the wrong cuts of meat, what do you do?

You comp something. That is what you do to show appreciation and hope that the customer will come back. There were plenty of candidates on the bill—a martini, the side dish, the flipping sauce for the steaks at a modest $2.95—something.

But the bill came in all its detailed and lengthy splendor. We couldn’t believe it. I signed it and left a generous tip for our very friendly and knowledgeable waiter. After all, he’s not the chef. A few minutes later, the manager returned to ask if I was Melinda Roberts. I was.  Aha, we thought, he’s coming back to amend the bill! He proffered my credit card, which had slipped out of the bill folder between the computer and my table. Yes, thank you, I might need that again. How very helpful.

/snotty, but justified, critic

And now I would like to rave about our hotel. Run, don’t stumble, to The Pearl in Point Loma. They’ve completely redone an old sailor’s dive into a very hip, very funky little gem with a sense of humor. The rooms feature platform beds, fishbowl lighting fixtures with actual fish in them, 36-inch flat panel TV’s on the wall, free-standing showers, and very comfortable and happening furnishings. They also boast a Dive-In Movie, where they show movies on a huge screen on the second floor railing over the pool. There are huge beach balls floating all over the pool and poolside service. Omigod how I wished it were later in the year and the pool was heated. It is heated later in the year, but damn the luck for coming in February. We love this place and will be coming back.

The best part? If you stumble in after midnight, you can get any unsold room for $79. Beat that. Daddy-O.

Photos to follow, once we find the cable.