I'll be in Monterey for the next few days taking a three day Skip Barber school at Laguna Seca.

I don't know much about the area coming from Austin. Any insider tips regarding restaurants or bars would be very much appreciated. I'm in the food/wine/hospitality design business and hoping to find interesting, local, up or down scale places to visit while I'm there. I'm open to anything from coffee houses and bakeries to high cuisine.

If anyone has tips for the track too I'm all ears.

In Carmel, you can't go wrong with Casanova's (italian/french) for lunch (tho expensive at dinner) and Rio Grille (southwestern) for dinner. Also try the tiny Club Jalapeno for very good Mexican. A little hard to find in a small courtyard in downtown Carmel. Sorry, I'm partial to Carmel because my wife and I have a place there and much prefer walking to dinner than being a designated driver.

Or go to the site tripadvisor.com and search for Carmel or Monterey or Pacific Grove, CA to look for what others have experienced. It's a great way to see the ups and downs of places that regular people have visited...just realize that everybody has different expectations, so keep that in mind when reading the reviews.

The whole Monterey peninsula is such a tourist magnet that the selection of dining spots is a little overwhelming.

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2008 Cayman S; Meteor Grey/Sand Beige (weekend toy)
2009 Audi TT 2.0T Quattro (on order to be my daily driver)

I like Rosine's (on Alvarado) for breakfast, Max's Grill (on Forest Ave in Pacific Grove) for good food in simple surroundings, Sardine Factory in the conservatory (Wave St) for a romantic dinner, Tarpy's Roadhouse (on Monterey Salinas Hwy) for casual dining.

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"I thought I was invincible, but that's only true for comic book heroes." Valentino Rossi

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Another vote for Tarpy's on highway 68.

Katie's Place for Breakfast/lunch in Carmel-fabulous buckwheat pancakes, benedict and other egg dishes.

Baja Cantina in Carmel Valley, right next to the Quail Lodge. More automotive porn and paraphenalia than anyplace outside a museum. On Thursday and Saturday nights, you will spend most of your time in the parking lot oggling. Great food too.

Hog's Breathe Inn for after dinner drinks by the fire. Food is not that good, so I would not eat there.

The Adobe in Monterey is really good too.

Roy's at Asilomar is nice too, and a good way to avoid the toll at the Pebble Beach gate. Make the Reservation for 6, and go through the Carmel gate at 5pm, and do the ocean-side of 17 mile drive.

I really like Little Napoli in Carmel too for authentic Italian. There's two, so choose the one on Ocean Ave.

Carmel Roasters for coffee.

+1 for Casanova's. Excellent wine cellar.

I'll second/third Tarpy's Roadhouse as a great dinner spot with excellent food and good service. And it's close to Laguna Seca!

Passionfish (Lighthouse Ave) in Pacific Grove is locally known (and frequented) for their creative and well executed menu featuring sustainable fish. They also feature an outstanding selection of wines at reasonable prices.

First Awakenings, located on Ocean View Blvd. near the Monterey Aquarium, is a great place for breakfast or a casual lunch. Be sure to ask for an outside table on the patio if the weather is decent.

As mentioned above, Katie's Place in Carmel has consistently good food and is frequented by tourists and locals. We often drive "over the hill" from PG to Carmel on Sunday's to enjoy breakfast on the small patio out front.

Enjoy the driving school; we look forward to your report.

In Monterey, Old Fisherman's Grotto on Fisherman's Wharf has killer clam chowder (at least try a free sample outside in a cup). Their fish and chips is also very, very good.

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07 Cayman S

All sports cars are red, the rest are mistakes!
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Baja Cantina is great - awesome carnitas and outstanding scenery.

I'll second Club Jalapeno as well.

If you like oysters, there's a really good place on Ocean Ave called AW Shucks.

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2007 Cayman S, Arctic Silver
Carlsbad, CA

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions, insider tips are the best. Hertz bumped me into a 350Z which is fun, unfortunately it's metallic orangesicle and is not blending in well here.

Next time down for a nice dinner try the Duck Club on Cannery Row @ the Plaza. Or for breakfast, try Katies in Carmel.

Ditto that!

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Cayman S – A Six Cylinder Symphony

passion fish
whole enchilada

We've been lucky enough to travel thru Monterey few times, and the above mentioned was unbelievable, block off Cannery Row.