Culinary Adventures with Camilla

A local brewpub - Peter B's Brewpub - turns twenty! Okay, they turned twenty last week. But I am finally getting around to posting this. You can read the piece I wrote for Edible Monterey Bay:  here . So, for the birthday party, I rallied two friends and dragged my trio along for a dinner at the brewpub. "Mom," asked the little one incredulously, "we're having dinner at a bar?" Well, it's a brewpub. And they have food. They actually have really good food. "Okay." Always up for some adventure, Jake and I both ordered new-to-us brews. I ordered their Cracked in the Rye which is described as a full-bodied IPA. I typically steer clear of IPAs, but with only 45 IBUs, I was curious. It starts with an almost sweet caramel flavor, but there is a lingering spiciness from the rye malt and the pink peppercorns. Jake still thought it was too hoppy, but I enjoyed it. That evening they were running a birthday special: their Dancin...

Years ago a little friend - Jetty - asked me if I knew why McDonald's called them 'Happy Meals.' I told him that I didn't know. He said, "Happy Meals are called 'happy' because they make you happy." Okay. Well, I'm going to apply that logic to Happy Hour at Crema - it's called 'happy' because it makes me happy. Really happy. When Nonna and I were looking at the calendar and figuring out a Mothers' Day plan, I suggested Crema because it was in the vicinity of the Nonni's Saturday evening dance plans and, honestly, because it'd been too long since I've enjoyed Team Crema's food. And I was clearly too busy stuffing my face to take pictures of our feast. But we devoured their artisan cheese selection, charcuterie slate, papas bravas, Monterey Bay squid, barbeque beef brisket sliders, and marinated olives... We washed it down with flutes of Spanish cava, beer, and red wine... And that was...