Despite the less than ideal weather this past Memorial Day weekend, on Friday afternoon I packed my bags, boarded my pups and climbed aboard the five o clock Marina Del Rey Flyer, en route to Catalina Island. I had high hopes for Catalina, I was expecting something of a West Coast Fire Island, for those familiar with the New York summer retreat; chubby toddlers running through the sand with shovels and pails, waffle cones in every hand, souvenir shops galore and fresh seafood at every table. My expectations were exceeded; this was Fire Island meets Switzerland. Something about Avalon, my touristy Catalina destination, evoked European summer. Beyond Avalon, up the hills and over the peaks, Catalina looks nearly untouched.

I hadn’t planned for poor weather, so there was no plan B, just making the best of what we had. After a long and bumpy ferry ride, on which I felt my first case of seasickness, we pulled into the Avalon Harbor just before 8pm on Friday evening, and as the sun set on this quaint town we dragged our suitcases just steps down the street onto Crescent Avenue, Avalon’s main street, and up the stairs to the Hotel Vista Del Mar. With a suite comes a private balcony overlooking the harbor, but for the rest of us there are a few tables near the reception desk, and those suited me just fine. I enjoyed my nightly sunsets with wine and good company. I would stay at Hotel Vista Del Mar again, for a few reasons. First, for its convenience. Located directly on the waterfront steps from the pier the Vista Del Mar is in the middle of everything. All of the restaurants and shops surrounded us. The rooms are also lovely, spacious with a couch and a fireplace, and it is a small boutique hotel, so they are only managing a few guests at a time. A For those few guests however, a word to the wise, the walls are awfully thin, and it’s no secret what’s going on in the surrounding rooms at any given time. Vista Del Mar Site.

That first night, tired from the rough seas, we took a short walk to a Villa Portofino dinner for two before calling it a night. What we noticed initially was that Avalon retires early, at only 8:30 the town was quiet and most of the shops and many of the restaurants were closed. Almost all of Avalon’s restaurants keep hours with a question mark for closing time; they close down when their customers stop arriving, so on a cold Friday night don’t be surprised if your options are limited. Villa Portofino was still fairly busy, with friendly staff and an ample menu of traditional Italian dishes. I ordered the Linguini al Vongole, which came with a salad to start, and was rewarded with a giant bowl of pasta full of clams. The Chef adds a touch of cream to the sauce, and I still found the flavor nice and light. In spite of its size I finished most of the meal.

For our Saturday morning breakfast I’d been eying the Pancake Cottage, just steps down the road, and Wow! They have certainly perfected the most important meal of the day. I fed my boyish addiction to corned beef hash, served with two eggs your way and their home made breakfast potatoes. I usually write-off the potato as the avoidable free side dish, but these were perfectly cooked with sauteed peppers and onions. We also ordered a plate of their Hawaiian pancakes, served with fresh pineapple (I checked, because I hate the canned stuff) and warm maple syrup. I also asked for some of their warm boysenberry syrup, which was just glorious on these pancakes. They also offered a side of biscuits and gravy, my favorite! This was no low-cal start to our day but it was certainly delicious.

Saturday brought the best weather of the weekend so we rented bikes and did some exploring. Luckily I preferred biking to a golf cart rental (bikes go for about $6 an hour while the golf carts are $40) because they don’t rent golf carts to anyone under 25 years old. Also worth noting, most of the rental locations only take cash; so hit the atm before you leave the mainland.

After a bike ride and a Pacifico on the Pier I was dragged on the Nautilus, an attraction mainly for small children that simulates a submarine dive while you’re actually inches below the surface. The Nautilus, which was about $40 a person, left the harbor and our tour guide got all the kids (and myself) excited when she told us we could feed the fish using the torpedo buttons near our seats! “Who wants to feed the fish?” She yelled, and we all raised our hands in excitement! “Great!” she told us,” You can have one shot for $8, two for $16 ” and so on. The kids were so excited their parents couldn’t possibly let them down, so out came the wallets. I settled for watching others shoot the food while the fish scurried around outside of our windows.

For dinner that evening we crossed the street to Armstrong’s, which is on the water, known for their fresh seafood. They list their freshest catch on a dry erase board near the entrance, and everything about the restaurant feels authentic, like the guys in the kitchen just caught it, filleted it and grilled it up fresh for you. My seat was right next to the window to the grill so I watched them throw on the fish and the skewers and cook everything. We started with the bay shrimp cocktail, they were tiny, like really tiny, and I’d wished we’d gone with the jumbo shrimp cocktail, but they were still pretty delicious. For dinner I ordered the Swordfish, blackened. It brought me back to my childhood when my dad grilled blackened swordfish in the backyard. It was just about perfect, with steamed veggies and a baked potato. I also tried a bite of the sauteed flounder, which was fresh and done just right. This had been a day of really good food.

I should have mentioned sooner that Avalon carries the scent of fresh made waffle cones at all times. The whole place smells like dessert, and it’s incredibly enticing. The scent, however, is better than the real thing, I was uninspired by all of the ice cream and candy shops and settled for the fresh baked cookies with milk that our hotel put out on the terrace each evening. Even an afternoon funnel cake on the pier was disappointing, it was not fresh, it was hard and globbed with fake strawberry topping. I suggest skipping it.

Our final day in Catalina was chilly and overcast, so we spent most of it eating, of course! El Galleon is by far the most happening place in town. They offer a selection of good BBQ, so the place always smells like a campfire, and they have both afternoon and evening karaoke so it’s always packed. For lunch I had a small bowl of their French onion soup, which was good, but nothing memorable. I love French onion soup; I would eat it everyday if I could find a restaurant in LA that made it just right. Theirs was alright. The kielbasa with onion rings however, was delicious. The smoky barbecue flavor and some extra Luau plum bbq sauce (house recipe) went perfect with a tall, cold Hefeweizen. I bet their dinner selection is even better, and I would try almost any meat if it came in that plum bbq sauce. If you like barbecue you can’t miss this place.

Sunday night’s dinner was my choice, Steve’s Steakhouse, conveniently located one floor below our hotel. They pack the tables tight in here, and Steve’s is crowded with casually dressed families overspending on steak. I ordered the surf n’ turf top sirloin steak, which was too well, (and I prefer my meat medium well) and the lobster tail was just okay. This was our most expensive meal and our least favorite, by far. Steve’s was just too crowded and noisy and the food didn’t stand up to our expectations; not hot enough, overcooked, and just plain bland. I would avoid Steve’s, unless you’re looking to bump elbows with fellow patrons for an overpriced dinner.

Our ferry times were limited so we had to leave Avalon on Monday on the 1:30 boat. We grabbed lunch at Busy Bee’s beforehand. It was exactly what I wanted for my last meal on vacation – outdoor seating on the patio with umbrellas, right on the harbor. A casual lunch. Our waiter was a bit pushy so I barely scanned the menu, which had too many choices anyway, before deciding on the fish and chips. It was great, since fried food usually is, but a step up from the norm. The fries were like my mom used to make from scratch and the cod was crispy and flaky! It was the perfect send-off before a beautiful ferry ride back to LA.

Some good sites to hit before planning a trip to Catalina:

http://catalinahotspots.com/el_galleon/index.asp
http://www.catalina.com/main.html

Villa Portofino – 310-510-2009 no reservations
Armstrongs – 310-510-0113 no reservations
Steve’s Steakhouse 310-510-0333 reservations

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