Laguna Beach - Top of the World Loop Trail, Dinner at Sapphire Laguna, and Sunsets

One of Frankie's favorite Aunties; "Alle" recently gifted us with a two night stay in Laguna Beach! So, after an early dinner on a Friday, we headed up to Laguna Beach. We parked downtown and scoped out places I had on my list and also places Uber Blogger "Elmo" had provided for me for the following evening's dinner. Sadly; we just weren't particularly impressed with the offerings......

But that was ok; we were staying at the charming La Casa del Camino; which was built in 1929.

Which has Spanish-style rooms....but our gift certificate specified staying in one of the "Casa Surf Rooms". Each had been designed by different designers and sponsored by various sports and activity companies like Billabong and Rip Curl. We got the very unique Roxy Room.

It was quite comfortable and the staff was very friendly. The hotel has a very popular restaurant and an even more popular Rooftop Bar with wonderful views and a zillion people doing alcohol therapy! We saw quite a few middle aged folks walking kind of unsteadily down the stairs during the evening. We just wanted to relax with the A/C on!

La Casa del Camino
1289 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We headed down one of the streets to watch the sunset.

The next morning the Missus decided She wanted to go on a hike. We had gone to the visitors center downtown the previous evening and the nice gentleman working recommended the Top of the World Loop Trail. So we headed up to Alta Laguna Park and spent a couple of hours on the easy hike......

It was a pretty hot and humid weekend and the views were pretty hazy.

Lots of mountain bikers and dogs were doing the trail. One really funny Retriever refused to even start the hike; he just laid down on all fours. The owner told us; he doesn't like the sun, so I guess we're not going past here today. It was really funny.

There were quite a few critters on the trail, a ton of rabbits, and this one actually shook his rattle at the Missus!

We were done by 930 and the Missus decided that She wanted Vientiane Lao Thai, so we drove over to Garden Grove for an early lunch. We then headed off to Rowland Heights to buy some snacks and other stuffs. We got back during the early afternoon and walked the mile or so to downtown, did some shopping, and scoped out a few more restaurants. In the end, we decided to have dinner at one of the places that was both on my "list" and had been recommended by Elmomonster. Sapphire Laguna; which was also a block away from our hotel. 

The place was booked up; but we took some seats at the bar; which turned out to be an excellent decision. There's a Happy Hour menu, in addition to the regular menu at bar, even on weekends. The lead Bartender was an awesome young man named Paul. He was so friendly and it would turn out quite a mixologist. The Missus started with a glass of white wine and I had a Macallan 12.

The menu at Sapphire is very....well, global fusion.

We started with the Octopus Aguachile.

The pulpo was very tender and the Missus loved the avocado. It was, of course, bracingly sour, but also quite salty. This was not bad at all.

I saw the Burmese Fermented Tea Salad on the menu and had to try that. The presentation was very "Burma Superstar" if you know what I mean.

I eagerly mixed everything together. This was not bad; though it did miss the mark a bit; it was sour, though for some reason, it lacked the bitter-savory-slightly tanic tones that make tea leaf salad so addictive. The tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add acidity and there was too much lettuce in comparison to the laphet. Still, like the octopus, this wasn't bad.

At about this time, we'd gotten to know the two local guys sitting next to us on the bar. They were really friendly and we had a nice chat about local restaurants and bars....they both snorted when I mentioned the Rooftop Lounge...."it's only for tourists!" "And so crowded....." They seemed to know the bar staff quite well. I'm guessing they were regulars. About this time, the really busy, but friendly bartender, asked me if I wanted another drink. I said sure, but wondered if he could make me something....I described my tastes, smokey, smooth, bourbon or mezcal, bitters..... And he came up with the perfect cocktail for me.....all my favorite flavors in balance. It was amazing!

I asked him what the name of this cocktail was, and was told "it has no name....I just made it up for you right now". Awesome.

The Missus was still a bit hungry, so just for the heck of it, I ordered the Sonoran Dog off the Happy Hour menu. The Missus just loved this.

I mean, the bun and onions were just decoration. The Missus loved the snap and flavor of the hot dog; which had a mild spice to it; smoky, with a light oregano and perhaps cumin tones....the bacon didn't hurt at all either.

She loved it so much, I ordered another..... and also another "Paul's a Genius"....when Paul asked me what that was, I told him, "I just named that cocktail you made for me!" He cracked up. During a pause in the action, we had a nice chat. He had worked for a while in Seattle and made some recommendations for our next trip up there.

We loved the folks at Sapphire. And the bartender....and that (those) cocktail(s) was perhaps the highlight of the trip for me. We'd made the right choice for dinner.

Sapphire Laguna
1200 S, Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We had no plans for the rest of the evening. Yes, I know the Pageant of the Masters was going on, but we just wanted to relax, without crowds and such.

We walked south along Coast Highway, past all the hotels and motels.....and headed down to the beach at Woods Cove.....it was beautiful.

The next morning we headed out early. We had lunch reservations and also needed to do a bit more shopping in the SGV.

We'd had a nice relaxing time in Laguna Beach....it's not quite our kind of crowd there; but all the locals and folks working were very nice. I'm glad we had a chance to check things out.

And those sunsets......

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[Junichi]

Beautiful sunsets! Can't go wrong with a Sonoran dog either.

[Kirk]

The sunsets were stunning Junichi! And the Missus loved those hot dogs!

[kat]

beautiful sunsets!

[Kirk]

It made me miss "home" Kat!

[Caninecologne]

Alcohol therapy, yes.

[Soo]

AWesome vacation!

[Kirk]

Double yes to Alcohol Therapy CC!

It was very relaxing Soo!

[Faye]

OMG! I was just at that hotel over weekend to try their tapas restaurant on 1st floor (K'ya). Food was good as was service. We went to their rooftop, mid meal, to witness the sunset.

The sunset pics you took were so peaceful and beautiful.

[Kirk]

That's too funny Faye! The sunsets were awesome. K'ya was super busy, folks were actually eating in the hotel lobby.