Is Monterey known for being a touristy hellhole? This was my first trip here, and the place didn’t make a great impression.
Is the place also known for horrible food?
Went to Sandbar and Grill. Didn’t get the sand dabs; it seemed like virtually every other table had them.
I was deeply disturbed when the entrees came out a few mins after ordering.
My french curry had salmon and scallops. The curry tasted a lot like a non-oily version of the curry I’ve had at HK-style cafes. One piece of scallop was undercooked; the dish was otherwise fine. Partner’s shrimp scampi was edible; that’s about the best thing I can say about it. The shrimp was rubbery and boiled. NONE of the shrimp pieces tasted of sauce, which is an unusual accomplishment. Partner said that the linguini was dry; I drenched it with sauce (which tasted fine), so I can’t comment on the dryness. Service was super nice, though.
We discovered Alvarado St (super cute) afterward, looking for dessert. There’s a MidiCi there (drat!). Next to MidiCi is an ice cream place with a VERY long line, Revival. It’s quite good. Partner had the bees knees, and I had the pluot. Pluot is auite sweet and jammy, in case you were hoping for something a bit more acidic. I sampled thentahini raspberry, which was strangely bland.
Breakfast at Cafe Lumiere. The apple pie might’ve been reheated in the microwave, bc it came out sweaty and inconsistently heated through. A shame, bc the taste was otherwise pretty good. Fruit from the deli case was ICE cold, which was a bit unpleasant. It’s a stylish space, though.
Had dinner the following night at Frutti de Mar (not a typo). The place feels a but like Fritto Misto in Santa Monica, but without the deafening acoustics and with less sloppy food. The seafood actually had the flavor of the sauce and was grilled. A very enjoyable place that’s a step up from a mom-and-pop place. Very polite (if young) waitstaff. Had Revival again (one of the workers there remembered us!), and zi enjoyed the strawberry. Overheard one random customer saying that he liked Bloomfield more; I haven’t been, so I can’t comment on that.
Parker and Lusseau for breakfast today. This place is a MUST, and an absolute gem! The croissant was a flakey, buttery delight (@Chowseeker1999), and everything we tried there (tomato and goat cheese tart, spinach croissant, fruit tart, kouign amann, curry chicken criossant, rhubarb tart) was delicious. Look at the layers on the quiche crust!!! My only regret was that we accidentally threw away the cinnamon roll when were cleanly out the car. 
