A dinner while at San Benito Preserve, also in Tres Pinos, California: the 19th Hole Booze and Food steakhouse and saloon, apparently founded in 1883:

I had a margarita, and a delightful steak, loaded baked potato, veggies, and garlic bread:

For one breakfast while staying at San Benito Preserve, we went to FlapJacks Breakfast & Grill, a breakfast restaurant in Tres Pinos, California (20 minutes away).

My breakfast was a bacon, ham, tomato & avocado scramble, with a side of country potatoes and flapjacks / pancakes. Very tasty:

Outside:

We went to Monterey Bay, California to visit the aquarium (see tomorrow’s post). Beforehand, we wandered down to the Cannery Row area, and grabbed some overly filling lunch at Sly’s Refueling Station on the wharf.

We started sharing clam chowder fries:

I then had a BLAT sandwich and more fries, plus a margarita:

After lunch, we went out the wharf; here’s a nearby monument:

Part of the wharf:

Monterey Bay:

Cannery Row:

We enjoy trying local cuisine, even if that just means regional burger places, being big fans of burgers — I usually get beef (dead cow or Impossible), and Jenn usually gets chicken.

One such fast food place was Smashburger in Hollister, California. Not really regional, since they’re in many locations around the country, but none in Oregon yet, so it was new to us:

Wall art:

The fries and burger were both very tasty; nicely seasoned shoestring fries, and a quality burger. A contender for a new favorite, threatening our previous favorite, Five Guys:

[This was a bonus at the end of the Coyote Valley RV Resort post, but I decided to split it out to a separate post, to make it easier to find food-related topics.]

For dinner our first night in San Jose, California, we sampled the local cuisine… an In-N-Out Burger. Our second time at one, and a more favorable impression than the first time. They’re all over here, so no huge line like in Oregon locations, though they still took quite a long time to provide the food:

Still only about McDonalds level of food, but tasty enough. The burgers were… fine. The fries were freshly cut, but rather styrofoam-y. We had chocolate shakes, which were quite good:

[This was a bonus picture at the end of the Lassen Volcanic National Park post, but I decided to split it out into its own post, so food-related posts can be found more easily.]

On the way home from Lassen (i.e. back to the coach; home is where the coach is), we stopped for fish and chips for dinner at PortSide Fish & Chips in Anderson, California. I don’t usually bother posting about food experiences, but this one is notable as the first time I’ve ordered fish and chips for myself; I’ve never been a fan of fish, but am trying to expand my horizons, so I can enjoy local cuisine as we explore: