Champagne flowed and cigars smoldered as 15,000 car-lovers crowded the impeccable grounds of the Pebble Beach Golf Course for the 61st Concours d'Elegance, held Aug. 21.
It was a car show (entries from 30 states and 14 countries), a fashion show (there should have been runways), photo shoot and the Monterey Peninsula's social event of the year. Food vendors sold hot dogs next to a kiosk offering bottles of Dom Perignon champagne for $300. Nobody blinked. Well, some of us did.
Afterward, we camped for the night in Carmel at the La Playa Hotel, where you can actually open the windows in your room to catch the ocean breeze.
The Mediterranean villa went up in 1904 as a private residence, was converted into a hotel in 1916 and underwent further renovations over the decades. Today it's a 75-room, five-cottage "boutique classic," a member of the Historic Hotels of America.
Impressions from a walkabout: French doors, high arches, metal sconces and chandeliers, fireplaces, tile floors, framed vintage photos and art, exposed beams, striking stonework. Wow!
The patio off the Terrace Grill overlooks a sprawling, lushly landscaped centerpiece garden area, a favorite site for weddings.
Package deals and mid-week specials help with the freight ($190 to $265 for rooms, $425 to $775 for "cottages by the sea," one of which sleeps eight).
La Playa is at Camino Real and Eighth; (800) 582-8900, www.laplayahotel.com.
Pastries for breakfast
Monday morning, we walked to Pastries and Petals for breakfast, a small bakery-restaurant with granite-topped tables and dog-friendly patio. There, we found piles of excellent house-baked cakes, pies, bear claws, croissants, cupcakes, turnovers and much more.
P&P, as it's called, is owned by Jeanne Johnston, who once co-owned Lautrec restaurant in Loehmann's Plaza. She moved from Sacramento to Carmel 15 years ago to work in the golf industry. At one time, she was the membership director for Clint Eastwood's private Tehama Golf Club.
After "transitioning from the struggling golf business and other jobs in sales and marketing," she decided to "reinvent myself a final time."
That's when she partnered with her daughter, pastry chef Jennifer Hatton; they opened P&P in June 2010. Between them, they're serving breakfast and lunch, plus those baked goods. Johnston's niece, Sarah King, works the front of the house.
"It was important for us to remain family owned, to have something small we could control," Johnston said.
We cruised the menu and built a breakfast sandwich out of chive-flecked scrambled eggs, chicken-apple sausage and Swiss on a toasted English muffin ($7.25). We added a slice of luscious tomato-spinach-goat cheese quiche ($7.25), a ramekin of mixed strawberries and blackberries ($3.50), and a side of crisp thick-cut bacon ($3). The plates were garnished with Bing cherries and spray roses. The "nose gays" of fresh flowers on each table are for sale.
Breakfast was so tasty that we look forward to lunch next time around. That chicken salad sandwich looks darn good (with celery, currants, curry, spiced pecans and mango chutney, $10.50), along with three-cheese mac 'n' cheese with crusty panko topping ($10.75).
P&P is on Mission between Fourth and Fifth, in the Village Court. Open daily. Information and hours: (831) 620-1400. There is no website, but P&P is on Facebook.
Grasings for dinner
Tip: Though chef Kurt Grasing has had his award-winning Grasing's restaurant for 14 years, it was new to us until our recent visit to Carmel.
We found a comfortable, airy space with first-rate service and gallons of local wines. The dinner menu offers small plates and salads ($8.50-$25); entrees emphasize meat and seafood ($24.50-$39). Also: bar, lunch and weekend brunch menus.
Our meals were world-class: charbroiled half-chicken with roasted garlic mashed potatoes in red-wine reduction (with veggies, $24.50), and wild-caught prawns atop angel hair pasta with Kalamata olives, fennel, asparagus and basil in fresh tomato sauce ($29.50). Think special occasion.
Grasings is at Sixth and Mission; (831) 624-6562, www.grasings.com.
P.S.: For all things Monterey-Carmel, go to www.seemonterey.com.
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