Monday, September 22, 2014

Half Moon Bay Escape and Food & Beers at Half Moon Bay Brewing Company

Friday and Saturday were full of work prep (preparing for a new academic year) and life prep (cleaning, food prep, and pre cooking). While I was very busy and got up really early on both days, it felt great once everything was done. I truly believe that the time spent on getting everything organized is essential for life to go smoothly, and it ultimately affects everything from how you sleep to how you eat.

On Sunday, we got to escape to the coast up north to “get away from it all.” Andy had been invited to try the beers and food at Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, and the kid and I got to tag along.

Andy got to sample all ten beers on tap and enjoyed them a lot.


We started our meal with the seafood duo: Ahi poke and ceviche with fried wontons and tortilla chips. The dish came with a fruit salsa, which went great with both the poke and the ceviche and was a wonderful palate cleanser when switching from the poke to the ceviche. I am usually not a big fan of fruit salsas, but this one was very nice as the onions and peppers in it provided a nice balance. I didn’t have any of the wontons or the chips, but Andy and the kid liked them a lot. Both the ceviche and the poke were outstanding, and the dish was the highlight of our meal.


For his main courses, Andy had the wild salmon, which was topped with the fruit salsa (a nice combo) and came with rice and veggies. Everything was tasty.


For my main course, I chose the green salad with a balsamic vinaigrette on the side (I ended up not needing it) topped with Dungeness crab and bay shrimp. There were big juicy pieces of crab meat, and the shrimp were very sweet and tasty. The salad had artichokes, mixed greens, tomatoes, onions, and cucumber slices, which, with the seafood, made for an instant dressing. It had the ingredients a salad on the California coast should have: wonderful produce and fresh, tasty seafood.

 
 
Early on I had spotted a flourless (and naturally gluten-free) chocolate torte on the menu and decided we had to try it. It was great, and a few bites went a long way.


We had planned to go for a walk after lunch. When we saw a farmers’ market nearby, we decided to stop by first. The kid had a great time taste testing all the different fruits, including pomegranate seeds.


Then we headed to the pier and the beach. It was 65 degrees and overcast – the perfect weather to recharge our batteries and get our daily steps. 


It was a great day with great food and effortless daily steps.


Questions: What was the highlight of your weekend? Sunday definitely made up for Friday and Saturday and all the prep work earlier in the week! Smile  What’s your favorite seafood? I don’t have crab meat very often but love it. It was great having it in the salad. Also, Ahi poke is one of my favorite seafood dishes, and the one we had was very good.

Be well,
Andrea