It almost seems too perfect; Ferraris at every stoplight, perfectly tanned, tucked, and tailored "clone-people" cruising around (who make it very hard to concentrate), and a plethora of great culinary options!
I'll get to the eating shortly, but I want to touch on the "budget" idea covered in the title...this is sarcasm, plain and simple. If you want to find a budget beach vacation, go to Ocean Shores 'cause Laguna is not about "deals." Lucky for us we have some very generous friends who let us tag along for their weekend away, otherwise I'm not sure I could have dealt with the sticker shock. I'll leave it at that.
So back to the food! There are a TON of great restaurants in this area ranging from taco stands to very high end establishments. I enjoy both ends of the spectrum (and all points in between) so lets just say I had a great time.
Driving down the PCH its hard to miss the many fish-focused restaurants, Mexican joints, and of course the obligatory California cuisine. Lucky for us our host had some great recommendations in hand so we didn't have to guess!
We arrived Friday evening and the plan was already in place. We drop our bags, open some very good wine (our contribution to the weekend) jump in the resort's Lexus SUV, and head to 230 Forest Ave . This place looks like many other casual restaurants; crowded bar, some outdoor tables, kind of cramped. But once we sat down and took a look at the menu we knew we'd found a gem.
The first thing that caught my eye was the Lobster Alfredo. Shortly after that my forearm whisked by my right love handle and steered me away from this decadent entree, but one of our party ended up ordering it and gave it rave reviews.
I had the Ono special and some lobster mashed potatoes washed down with a wonderful Cakebread Cellars Sauv Blanc.
I could probably go on about everyone's entrees, but I won't bore you. All you need to know about this place is it is very good, very busy, and pretty reasonable. They have a nice wine list with several great wines by the glass, the service was excellent, and I am positive we will go back.
The next evening we went out for an amazing Mexican meal. We're not talking Azteca here, this is interesting Mexican food and drink. Javier's Cantina is a bustling, loud, electric scene complete with some of SoCal's most enhanced patrons.
Most of our crew enjoyed the house margaritas; rocks, salt, Sauza...very well done indeed. The entrees run from the run of the mill enchilada platter to some very interesting meat dishes with complex sauces, spices, and sides. I very much wanted to figure out how to get back there for a follow-up meal but couldn't swing it.
So the bottom line is this: if your friends invite you to join them in Laguna, take them up on it and get ready to enjoy yourself!
Cheers
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