Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse

Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse is located at the Marina Sanctuary Resort, next to the Marina State Beach, just off Highway One at Reservation Road, Marina, CA.

3295 Dunes Rd
Marina, CA 93933
(831) 883-9479
www.kula-ranch.com

Calmari Sandwich (lunchtime)

A great value at $8.95! Chose outdoor deck seating with a view of Monterey Bay & Pacific Ocean.
Choice of regular or sweet potato fries. Tangy and complex tartar sauce and sweet pototo fries dip.

These guys know how to do calamari steak. Perfectly done, uniqely seasoned; the first tase of the calamari hanging out of the bun reminded me instantly of really good abalone! The sweet potato fries, however, weren't right out of the fryer. A glass of Longboard made it all nearly perfect.

Marks:
Presentation: 9 (out of ten tentacles)
Taste: 9
Service & Atmosphere: 8
Value: 10
Overall Squid Brothers Rating: 9 out of ten tentacles!

This calamari sandwich, in an Island theme restaurant, sets a new standard in our Monterey Bay area experience. The rest of their Pacific Rim menu is well worth the trip to the dunes of Marina (just north of Monterey on Highway 1).

Review by Squid Brother Hemp

Thursday, June 4th, 2009.

Willie’s Smokehouse, Cannery Row, Monterey, California

Willie's Smokehouse, Cannery Row, Monterey, California, March 2009

Calamari Appetizer (lunchtime)

For Eight Dollars it was disappointing: rather heavily breaded;
nothing special about it.

Marks:
Presentation: 6
Taste 6
Service & Atmosphere 8
Overall Squid Brothers Rating: 6.7

Uninspired calamari at a restaurant that excels at many other items.
Posted by Squid Brother Hemp

Sealord Calamari Strips from New Zealand

I've been in my own personal squid drought for the last 2 months. I've run out of good local places here in Los Angeles to try new squid dishes. Los Angeles has just about any kind of food you could hope for but it can't rival Monterey county for opportunities for squid. It looks like we need to take another road trip to squidland.

Here is one from the archives. I picked up this SEALORD brand calamari chips box when I was in the Cook Islands. Even though I'm not a big fan of prepared frozen foods this was pretty good. The calamari strips were a little soggy. Next time I'd try a higher bake temp. Like beer, any squid is better than none. I rate this as a C+ or (6 tentacles, 6 out of 10).

Allied (brand) Squid Can Label from WWII

Here is a Cannery Row, Monterey, California squid label from the 1940s. This Allied brand squid label is the type of plain label that was used on cans that were meant for military use during WWII. Most of the sardine and squid labels I have found that were meant for military use had a simple white or pale yellow background like this one. These kinds of labels remind me of modern day private label food packaging which is often very simple and using only a few ink colors. If you want to see more vintage California squid or sardine labels go to http://www.sardineking.com

Happy Holidays!

I liked this image so much I stole it from today's blog post at: www.squid.us. I guess we're not the only people that like squid although I think for different reasons.

Original squid.us post:

(Hine Mizushima, a Vancouver based illustrator/animator who makes great squid art and amazing They Might Be Giants videos, recently posted a wonderful "Beware of Giant Squid" holiday card that she made two years ago. The next time you walk by a public Christmas Tree you might think of the happy giant squid that lurks below the surface.

illustration by Hine Mizushima)

Found at: http://squid.us/beware-of-giant-squid/

More Reviews Coming Soon

We have a big appetite for squid. Here is a wish list of some places
we hope to visit this month. Check back for more reviews coming soon.

Big Nick's Pizza
1110 N Gaffey St., Ste G
San Pedro, CA 90731
310-732-5800
(cheap fried calamari)

The Buggy Whip Restaurant
7420 La Tijera Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
310-645-7131
(calamari appetizer)

Cafe Gazelle
191 LA Verne Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90803
562-438-5033
(side order of sauteed calamari)

Fishwife
1996 1/2 Sunset Dr.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
831-375-7107
www.fishwife.com
(calamari steak & fried calamari appetizer)

Paco's Tacos
4141 S. Centinela Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066-4908
Phone: 310-391-9616
(Mexican-style calamari steak prepared 7 ways.)

Rosine's Restaurant
434 Alvarado St.
Monterey, CA 93940
831-375-1400
www.rosinesmonterey.com
(calamari & eggs)

Spumoni Italian Cafe
14533 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
818-981-7218
(drowned squid)

Los Laureles Lodge, Carmel Valley, CA

The Los Laureles Lodge is a great place to stay when visiting Monterey or Carmel. The hotel is an old fashioned country inn that seems like little has changed in 40 years. Although we love staying here we think the best thing about this hotel is the restaurant. And the best thing on their dinner menu is the calamari steak. In our opinion their calamari steak is the gold standard in Monterey county. The calamari steak comes lightly breaded with a garlic butter sauce with capers. It comes with green beans and basmati rice. But, if you ask nicely you can substitute the rice for garlic mashed potatoes which is excellent. They also make a great caesar salad. Make sure you ask for extra anchovies too. The former chef, Rob Carter, is no longer here but he must have trained the cooks properly because this dish is still very, very good. Our rating would be a perfect 10 out of 10 if Rob was still running the kitchen. A very solid 9+ tentacles (9 out of 10).

Los Laureles Lodge
313 West Carmel Valley Road
Carmel Valley, CA 93924 

831.659.2233

http://www.loslaureles.com