Carmel here we come... errr, took wrong turn

after several weeks of weekends ruined by rain, finally we got a sunny and beautiful weekend. on friday night, we were thinking about where to go on saturday. it was a no brainer actually.. of course to my favorite city of all time known as the "timeless city by the sea", carmel.

i really love that city, just way too expensive for living though, since all prices are jacked up by the numerous tourist that visits there everyday, every weekend. yet, surprisingly the city still kept their originality. but others may argue that the city has lost it's touch.

nevertheless, while driving toward carmel, our gps gave us the longer route which lead me onto hwy17 towards santa cruz. after several minutes of driving twisters, we decided to go to santa cruz instead. silly me... guess i should have listened to cherie. but who can blame me.. it was near lunch time and i was starving. *if you are reading this honey.. i love you dear and yes, i'd admit.. you are right~*

by the time we got into santa cruz, we drove directly to the pier. last time while we were there with my parents, we ate at Gilda's Family Restaurant; which was yummo!~

so this time, we decided to be the pioneer for once and be brave to try out new restaurant. most ppl that know us will tell you that we're pretty much like a hermit, anti-social. haha~ but we're trying to change...

this time, we decided to eat at Gilbert's Seafood Grill; which we should have checked on yelp before dining there. in terms of the quality, quantity andprice, the food was ok, but much more pricey compared to Gilda's. would i recommend ppl to go there, well.. it all depends.

Gilbert has a section in the restaurant that is perfect for families with baby. in our case, this had really surprised me when they seated us in the (as i would like to call it) "special" section. it was much more roomy compared to Gilda's and more family friendly for strollers and such. this is a BIG Plus in my book.

as for the food, we liked it. but it's one of those type that it will satisfy your immediate hunger, but won't make you crave to drive 30 mins plus to go and eat again.

here are the 3 dishes we had ordered that day...

1. Grilled red snapper w/ rice pilaf & steamed veggie - $14.95 or so
the red snapper is really yummo.. but i can grill fish much better than they can do and yet they own a restaurant. this was abit of disappointment for me. the rice pilaf is very yummy and full of flavor but doesn't overpower the fish. the steamed veggie really compliments the snapper with the tartar sauce. for the price, i woudl have expected more volume than what you see on te plate. you are not going to be full unless if you as for extra french rolls to go with your meal.

i give this dish... 3 lickity fingers out of 5.



2. Special of the day: Half Crab Bake w/ Clam Chowder - $9.95
as many ppl know.. i'm a sucker when it comes to crustacean, like crabs & lobsters. so i had to give it a try; plus the price is reasonably fair for the amount. the crab is real crab.. not those imitation type, mixed with some mushrooms, chives or green onion, and others. it's then covered by gooey cheese; most likely mozzarella, over a piece of bread and baked.

i was too hungry then to try and figure what's inside... i'm still amazed that i had taken the time to take the photos before all goes down into my belly. as fat bastard would say.. "GET INTO MY BELLY" haha... (you probably won't get it if you are not an Austin Powers movie fan)

as for the clam chowder, i can do without. it was powdery like it was mixed and the taste was far from being alright. i was really disappointed in that. next time, probably safer to pick the garden salad.

this is one dish i would recommend if anyone goes there to dine. their regular dish is a full crab bake; which i assume the portion is much bigger than the one pictured, for $12.95.

i give this dish... 3.5 lickity fingers out of 5 (for the crab bake, not for the chowder)



3. Seafood Jambalaya w/ their homemade spice - $16.95
i love jambalaya. it's one of my most favorite creole dishes. to learn more about jamabalaya click here. there was a total of 3 grill shrimp in there and the rest was cocktail mini shrimps with sausages. the grill shrimp was tasty and fresh, but the sausage was just dry and tasted old. as for the mini cocktail shrimp.. while, the tomato based red sauce totally overpowered the dish as a whole that i wouldn't have know it was cocktail shrimp if i ate it.

for the price, i was truly disappointed by this. the portion was acceptable, but the overall taste and the materials used to make this does not justify the price. the pilaf that came with it, when mixed and spooned with the grill shrimp was very tasty. but then again, there was that powdery after taste.

i've had many different jambalayas and this is the first one that i had where i didn't have to go searching for tums afterwards. the spice was there, but not the kick. if you like spicy... then you'll be disappointed at this dish. heck, even the jambalaya dish from elephant bar is much better than this (in terms of price, volume, and tasty satisfaction). if they had given more grill shrimp, then this overall taste of this dish might have been saved.

i give this dish... 2 lickity fingers out of 5



finally, my beautiful daughter whom was sooo quiet sitting there for the very first time while we ate. usually, either cherie or me would have scarf down our food quick before haley starts to cry for attention. haley would always want to participate and grab our food to eat, but she was quiet this time.

so how come she was soo quiet all this time? do you really want to know?

lets put it this way... some how santa cruz brings out the best in her every time we are there. hot fresh organic brownie right out of the oven... haha