Clint Eastwood makes a mean mole sauce

This Sunday my family and I went to a jazz brunch at the Mission Ranch Restaurant. Here is an except for the above link:

“More than a few local residents breathed a sigh of relief when Clint Eastwood bought the historic Mission Ranch property on the Carmel River in 1986. It wasn’t just the threat that the old ranch would be torn down and replaced by condominiums. That was bad enough. But the possibility of losing the restaurant that had been a favorite local hangout for as long as some of them could remember made it doubly distressing.”

The brunch was divine. We had a lovely waitress, who had a slight Irish accent. After getting seated outside on their amazingly scenic back patio, we were brought our mimosas (YUM!). For my first course, I had the shredded prime rib burrito with mole sauce, thick cut french toast, and breakfast potatoes. The mole sauce was perfect, not too spicy. The shredded prime rib was moist and they did an excellent job not including all of the fat. The breakfast potatoes weren’t cooked all of the way and the spices were bland. But 2 out of 3 was a pretty good start in my book. My sister had the eggs benedict, french toast, and a bloody mary and she thought everything delish. The french toast was done with a custard so that the bread was nice and gooey with the coating.

For my second course I had a slice of ham and a slice of prime rib. I had wanted more, but for some reason, they gave you HUGE portions of meat and reasonable portions of everything else. The ham was so moist and juicy that it melted in your mouth. It was cooked to perfection. The prime rib was also moist, but again, there were no seasonings and the meat was extremely fatty.

My third course involved a myriad of small desserts, including the chocolate covered strawberry and the pecan tart in the picture. I also had a slice of ripe pineapple. The pecan tart was well done with a low sugar taste, which is the way I prefer pecan pie/tart – without an overpowering sugar taste.

This was an excellent meal at a price of $24.95 per person. If you are ever in the Carmel area on a Sunday morning, you really should check it out. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back, hell, I would do it just for the view and the jazz. The first song the band played was Take 5 by Dave Brubeck. I mean, it was like they were after my heart right out of the gate.