Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - Pacific Grove Walking Tour and Dinner at Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar

After our walk down Ocean View Boulevard, we returned to our accommodation and freshened up. The Missus still wanted to do a bit more.....and I had been captivated by the wonderful homes we had seen during our walks. So, while the Missus rehydrated, I did some searching online and found a self History and Architecture Walking Tour presented by the Chamber of Commerce. I thought this would be fun and so did the Missus! So, we headed on down to the Chamber of Commerce near Jewell Park. The CoC was closed to visitors due to Covid; but there was a phone number to call. I called and asked if I could get a copy of the walking tour map. The woman who answered was really friendly and told me to "come on down and give us a call and we'll slide you a map under the door!" I told her I was right outside....soon enough, I saw shadow and the walking tour map was slide under the door! And we were off.

Before we headed off, I took a quick glance at the intro to the walking tour. Apparently, Pacific Grove was started as a Methodist retreat in 1875, when the Pacific Land Improvement Company donated land for the retreat. Instead of plagiarizing the pamphlet, if you want to know more, please enlarge the photo below.

   We loved that the walking tour basically started less than a block away, down Forest Avenue.

The houses were chosen based on style. And there was one particular style of home I was particularly interested in after listening to an episode of 99% Invisible. Yes, I was kinda geeking out in a very strange way.

So my apologies in advance.......

The first home was in the American Foursquare design.

Known for the "boxy" shape, this design was deemed "transitional" during a period right before the Craftsman style came into vogue.

At this time (November 2020) there seemed to be some work going on at the home.

A few steps away was a very colorful Pueblo Revival style home.

 Seeing the homes and understanding the designs really gave me an appreciation of styles and design. As in a Victorian Beach Cottage (Victorian design with wood ornamentation around the porches) versus Folk Victorian design (photo to the right).

The next stop was my favorite; the one I mentioned earlier. 

It is a Kit House.

 
 These homes were sold by companies like Sears, Roebuck and Company and arrived by train, delivered to the site by wagon ready to be assembled. Legos, Lincoln Logs, and similar toys came to mind when I thought about these type of homes. The one distinguishing item is the fastening bolts on the corners of the structure. Can you imagine; ordering your home delivered ready to put together.....and we think Amazon is a revolutionary tech company!

At this point in time; we were just starting to enjoy the walk.....regardless of the architecture.

Th next home was of Gothic design....steep roofs, projecting wood work...porch trim.

Versus Gothic Revival.

 At about this time, I started thinking about the folks who live in these homes. Man, how would you feel about folks walking around gawking in front of your house????

And because we were paying so much attention to the homes, we started noticing other homes......some of which had interesting designs. 

Or those that had something interesting in the window as we passed.

Of course, soon enough we were "back on track" with the next home, which was in the Vernacular style......which can be described as respectful to other forms, but based on what is available, but based on "local needs"? Not sure about this one.

   The next one is a style I think we're familiar with; the Queen Anne style. With the towers and gables, it looks like something out of a movie set, doesn't it?

The next one was quite interesting as I thought that it was just "a barn".

This is called "Board and Batten" style and is noted for the vertical wood siding covered by more narrow boards called battens. This is Ketcham's Barn and is a meeting place for the Pacific Grove Heritage Society.

Our next stop was back on Lighthouse Avenue.

This structure, built in 1904- 1905 was built in the Romanesque style; which I think we're somewhat familiar with.

A bit further down you see colorful storefronts with large bay windows.

Those features and the ornamentation identify these as building in the Victorian Commercial style.

Our last stop was the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, which is in a Spanish - Mediterranean Revival style.

The last stop was perfect as we were staying right up Forest Avenue. We made one additional stop to do some shopping and get some gifts and then headed back.

Of course we did a check-in with the "Art Store Cats".

After a short nap break we headed out for dinner. I had made reservations at a place I'd read a bit about and where the menu seemed interesting; Jeninni, which was located right across those Victorian Commercial style buildings we passed earlier.

There was quite a large outdoor set-up. We asked to be seated in the corner away from other folks eating and drinking.

There was something quite fascinating about the menu; interesting combinations. While I would usually shy away from these type of dishes, I was intrigued. And from our first dish of the night, the Radish and Lardo Tartine ($13), I knew we would have a wonderful meal.

The decadent richness of the lardo combined with a wonderful light pungency of the local radishes was a great combination. The bread was fantastic; we were told it was baked locally. The fennel seeds added nice anise tones and the mustard flowers had a light mustardy pungency.....not a typical mustard kick per se.....more like a pat on the head if you will.

I'm not a fan of sweet items in my salad; but I must say, the sour-tangy-lightly sweet pickled raisins in the Kale Salad ($13) was a hit.

The Missus loves kale so this salad with the bitter kale, nutty pepitas, and milky-savory pecorino was perfect for Her.

Or favorite item on the night were the Eggplant Fries ($8)....it was so good that we had a second order.

Perfectly crisp outside with an amazingly moist and buttery interior, seasoned with a mildly sweet-smokey Urfa Pepper which just highlited the smoky-nuttiness of the eggplant. This was definitely delici-yoso!!!

The Crispy Lamb Shank ($32) was also delicious. Think of it as Lamb version of "Crispy Pata".

Like the other dishes, this was a wonderful combination of textures and flavors; crispy-crunchy lamb skin, moist and tender meat, wonderfully gamey in flavor. The broth was harissa based; but I tasted something quite familiar....I asked and it was confirmed it was kaffir lime leaves. The Missus loved te perfectly cooked chickpeas as well.

Service was friendly and professional. While it's hard to put your finger on precisely what type of food this is; I'll just call it delicious! This was a memorable meal and we can't wait to return!

Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar
542 Lighthouse Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

Comments

[caninecologne]

Eggplant fries are calling my name!

Enjoyed this post, especially the photos of the lovely homes. THanks for sharing your trip!

[kat]

such cute houses! and what a great sounding meal:)

[Kirk]

Those were delicious CC!

We really enjoyed this meal Kat! And it was a fun walking tour.

[Soo]

Loved those cute houses and the cats. The lamb sounds tasty.

[Kirk]

The lamb and especially the egg plant fries were delicious Soo!

[Junichi]

I had the same feeling when I visited Shirakawa-go in Japan. So many tourist flock in daily to stare at the old houses. Yet people still live in them. Must be a weird feeling.

[Kirk]

I know I couldn't deal with that Junichi!

[Janfrederick]

Such a GREAT post Kirk! I LOVE it!

[Kirk]

Glad you enjoyed the post Jan!