During our roadtrip last November, our second stop was in Cambria. We had really enjoyed our dinner at Madeline's the night before. From the food, wine, and wonderful service….it was such a nice experience. We were looking forward to our full day in the town. Man, it really felt good to be travelling for a bit. We had really missed it.
I had gotten up early in the morning. The office had an urgent request so I was on my laptop and the phone for a bit. After my call, the Missus wanted a cup o' Joe. So I got dressed and headed out.
I crossed Highway 1 onto Main Street, which was quite sleepy at this time of the morning.
I really enjoyed the quaint, artsy, but unpretentious vibe of Cambria…..and a definite sense of humor!
A few blocks down was my destination; Cambria Coffee Roasting Company.
While I understand that there's a deck seating area upstairs with a view of the street; at this time, due to Covid restrictions it's closed. Basically, a table was set-up in the doorway and you could place your order.
And then you stand aside until you are called. I was happy to note that Cambria Coffee does pour-over…..which would make the coffee snob in the family (the Missus) happy. So, I got a coffee and a pour over for the Missus.
It was nice to see locals seeing each other….during these times, with the social distancing and such, I'm sure it's a treat for those on fours legs as well for those on two.
I went and walked on back to our room. The Missus enjoyed Her coffee. While not quite on the same level as Birdrock, She did enjoy it.
Cambria Coffee Roasting Company
761 Main St.
Cambria, CA 93428
Bolstered by caffeine, the Missus was ready to head out. I had done a bit of research and planning for this trip to keep the Missus busy. One thing that caught my attention was Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. Previously owned by the Fiscalini family since the late 1800's as a cattle ranch, it was sold in the 1980's to a developer. The plan was to create a residential area, much like what surrounds the ranch. Fortunately (for us), the developer went bankrupt and the North Coast Small Wilderness Area Preservation was formed and raised 11 million dollars to purchase the property. The preserve consists of over 400 acres of trails which straddle both sides of Highway 1. You go from one of the last Monterey Pine Forests to the beautiful coast.
There are at least 17 trails available all of which are well maintained and makes for rather easy hiking. I decided that we should start at Huntington Road entrance, basically just an gate with street parking and walk along the Ridge Trail.
Where we quickly came upon an interesting bench.
This one is known as the, well, Dolphin Bench of course. We'd come to really enjoy the wonderful and quite artistic benches crafted with driftwood along the way.
We hiked along the Ridge Trail coming upon the pine forest.
And then meandered down to the Bluff Trail, which was scenic and beautiful.
And course there are those benches that I mentioned earlier….they really looked like works of art to us.
We took our time, sitting on the benches and enjoyed the views along the way.
These were the Missus's favorite benches.
Once we reached the North Windsor Boulevard Entrance, we headed back up the SeaClift Trail and eventually back from where we started.
Fiscalini Ranch Preserve was a fun, relaxing, and needless to say beautiful way to spend our day in Cambria.
It was time well spent.
After our hike, we headed into Cambria's East Village to do some shopping.
Which was a lot of fun……
We headed back to our very comfortable room at the El Colibri for, at least for me was a well earned afternoon nap.
I had made dinner reservations for this dinner at a restaurant in the East Village. I asked the Missus to get ready a bit early….She was a bit perturbed, but went along. We got into the car and instead of heading across Highway 1 I took a right turn down Windsor Boulevard and right at the turn down the hill stopped and parked at Shamel Community Park.
As we walked from the parking lot to the beach, the Missus got it…..
And boy was it beautiful!
Doesn't get much better than this, does it?
After the stunning sunset, we headed to our dinner destination, finding parking on the street. And enjoying the wonderful fun and artsy décor along the way.
Dinner was at Black Cat Bistro. The menu looked interesting…. We were seated in a covered porch area. During this time SLO County was under the Red tier and had 25% indoor, we requested outdoor. There were only two other couples during our whole meal….all from out of town and the other two parties had such cute and well behaved pooches with them.
The meal started in fine fashion with a delicious Crab Cake and Shrimp Salad ($17).
The shrimp was fried perfectly, the batter was light and crunchy, the shrimp sweet, plump, and oh so tender. The crab cakes was well made, full of crab meat, moist, the breading stood up well in the face of the remoulade sauce. The arugula added a nice balance as the mild bitterness helped to cut the richness. This was easily the best dish of the night, a memorable dish.
Next up was the "Paso Robles Pork Belly" ($15).
Love the addition of Gigante Beans; the pork belly was fine, the sauce was too salty and sweet for our taste.
Next up; the Gnocchi ($14). The gnocchi is fried giving it an interesting texture…..but beyond the light crispness, the interior was too mushy.
We did enjoy the earthiness of the mushrooms paired with the pleasant bitterness of the radicchio. This added a nice dimension to the plate, though that cream sauce just wasn't to our taste.
The last dish of the evening was the main reason I decided to book our dinner at Black Cat Bistro; the Strozzapreti ($25). The Missus loves strozzapreti and strigoli, the wonderful toothsomeness of the pasta. This was a vegetarian version which the Missus was more than happy to order.
There was just too much going on in this dish and the pasta was over cooked and on the mushy side, lacking in that nice chewiness the Missus enjoys. We enjoyed the purple cauliflower and Romanesco….the Missus just loves Her cauliflower. The currants seemed a bit too much for the dish as was the cream sauce. We would have preferred a bit more restraint in the saucing of the dish….but hey…..this is the US, not Italy. Sometimes, simple is best.
Overall a nice meal; friendly staff, the other two parties were from out of town and come to Cambria yearly. The Black Cat Bistro is a favorite of theirs. The Missus enjoyed the wine pairings as well.
Black Cat Bistro
1602 Main St.
Cambria, CA 93428
As you can see; we didn't go to bed hungry! We really enjoyed Cambria and will be sure to return.