French Toast on the Coast

This is the weekend of the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca, a weekend-long festival of all things bicycle related.  We have seen flocks of cyclists around town, riding in small bunches, twos and threes, and they have been blessed with premium conditions including very light wind and mild sunshine.  Though the hills of the area are furry with green grass and bushy green trees, wildflowers are not growing in the profusion of the previous year, but cyclists have been blessed with eye candy like never before.

Although the Classic is a lively and kinetic circus -- mostly silent in comparison to what happens at Laguna Seca during car-racing season coming up -- we chose to set aside that sort of fun in favor of a deep breath of loveliness at Nepenthe for brunch.  The drive sparkled with beauty.  In my mind I relived rides I've made in the past on bicycles to and from Big Sur and generally tend to think of the drive in terms of both the difficulty and challenge it presents for pedalers.  The stretch from Rio Road to Big Sur is just under 30 miles and always seems much prettier going south, mostly because there is a tailwind and the earlier morning light on the textured mountainsides is more interesting.

There are few places you can go in California (or the world) that set your heart to soaring like the Santa Lucia range does as it stretches with wild abandon above the ragged coast.  The restaurant at Nepenthe opens at 11:30, but the Cafe Kevah was open when we arrived, which was just as wonderful.  Our appetites were in full roar by the time we arrived, and the aromas and sounds of a bustling kitchen put an edge them.

The cafe is entirely outdoors and affords a view of infinite waterline draped in a soft misty gauze bordered by the knees of the continent cloaked in green.  The food was delicious and we did not think it so simply because were in the lap of paradise, struck dumb with bliss.  Big Sur generally tends to be expensive because all supplies must be brought quite a distance from major trucking routes, but service and culinary artistry has improved over the years to match what people expect in Carmel.  Cinnamon brioche french toast was $10 and my very large cappucino was $5.50.

We took a tour around the just opened restaurant on the terrace above the cafe and then into the Phoenix Gift Shop just below, both of which are unique in a New Age style.  Well worth a visit to either one or both.

To say we were satisfied with our drive into the redwood- and pine-scented arms of the Big Sur valley and up to the angel's aerie of Nepenthe is a silly understatement.  It's inspiring, refreshing, and today was beautiful beyond compare.