5 Nights in Bakersfield: Night #4, continued

After prepping my tummy and my liver at Prime Cut Meats & Eats, we strolled across the 105 degree tarmac of the outlying strip mall over to The Orchid, Thai restaurant and wine bar.

The concept here is seriously cool. We had a great time. They have wine, good wine, installed in this customer-run wine bar. You prepay at the cash register, then you take a card to the bar, choose the glass size and hold your glass under the spout while the wine pours out.



There is a white side with old and new world whites, that shockingly did not rely overly on California chardonnay. Impressive. The red side was even more so. Chateau Montelina cab was a stand out. There were many excellent choices.




FYI, D! You need to hold the glass under the right spout or the $20 glass of wine spills on the floor and the deaf busboy has to mop it up. Just saying.



I was loving the Singha patio, for cooler days.



The above two fellas must be of heartier stock than I, to enjoy a long supper and red wine in that heat out of doors. That, or they are cold blooded lizard men.

The menu looks promising at The Orchid, but does not deliver. We ordered a few small plates and just took them as they came out of the kitchen. When I get the chance, I order crab rangoon because it is rarely on menus in Los Angeles. It is a decadent little dish, something people from the US without exotic tastebuds can enjoy. These were meh. The sauce tasted like something out of a bottle or jar, and the rangoons themselves were not particularly crabby.



D ordered the naked shrimp salad. This was the stand out, and we gobbled it up.



Bakersfield Life is an online magazine. Their restaurant critics are two ladies called the "Dining Divas". Their commentary reads like the script from "Bronx Beat" on SNL. They raved about the lobster truffle mac and cheese. Well, lobster? Truffles? One martini and a glass of wine down my gullet? Try and stop me!



This was a sad disappointment. There was no lobster. There was no truffle. In place of the lobster were chunks of prawn. In place of the truffle were shavings of some large type of dark mushroom. Sad, sad, sad. And a gut bomb.



The last dish was a little salad with shrimp (?) and avocado underneath a tidal wave of creamy dressing. The dressing was not as gross as it looked because it was miso rather than cream or mayo based. But still. Why not just serve me a saucer of dressing? Just asking.



The benefit to having eaten prior to arriving at The Orchid is that I wasn't that hungry. We tasted bits here and there, but truly didn't eat much. It wasn't that good, and the calories were not worthy of consumption. I might go back, though. I love the concept. I love the wines. And our server was charming despite mentioning that his "heroes" in life are Mel Gibson and Christian Bale. A gay Christian anti-semite? He seemed to have no problem with D. Maybe he found D attractive. This bears further exploration. LOL.

Lorenzillo's: Cancun & Los Cabos Since 1683

While traveling from el aeropuerto to our hotel, no less than three unrelated people suggested Lorenzillo's in the marina for the city's best lobster. I tend to be rather wary of the reccomendations of people working in the tourist industry when I am abroad. I have been sent to one too many tourist traps, and had one too many meals surrounded solely by English speaking Americans. (Truly, once in Paris was more than enough, but it has happened far more than one time.) My tendency now is to seek out references for my meals via acquaintances and cross-referencing internet resources.

Upon attempting to check into our hotel, we were told our room would not be ready til early evening. So, we borrowed the hospitality suite, changed into beach garb and set out to explore cabo San Lucas. Disembarking from a water taxi in the marina, Lorenzillo's loomed large above us. I am a firm disbeliever in fate and the, "things happen for a reason" approach to life. However, D was grumbling about hunger and I wanted some wine. We climbed the stairs to the nearly empty main dining room and sat down to a lobster feast extraordinaire.

The waiter first brought our examples of the beautiful fresh shellfish they had to offer. Giant prawns, king crab, langostino, and so on.







I started my meal with oysters on the half shell, and was more than happy to accompany them with a slightly overpriced yet always delicious yellow label Veuve Clicquot. D started his meal with a massive platter of stone crab, fresh and thoughtfully pre-cracked for easy shelling.




For mains, we both went for the lobster, natch. His was served in a light marinara with pasta. Mine was covered but not smothered in a lovely savory cilantro sauce that made my tastebuds hum blissfully. Both lobsters were steamed perfectly, not a tough bite between the two.




Although the lobster was perfection, the star on my plate was Lorenzillo's pureed spinach. I ate every bite & I might even have snuck a bite or two from someone else's plate when they weren't looking. This version of pureed spinach has a thick consistency, almost like mashed potatoes. But the flavor! This is not your runny, American steakhouse creamed spinach. Our waiter reported that the spinach includes bacon, a touch of cream and nuts. For just a second I feared I might be eating what amounts to a pile of lard with some spinach for coloring. But he assured us there was only a little bacon for flavor. And truly, I didn't give a pig's ass what was in it.



The rest of the day and into the long night I thought about that spinach. The next morning I wanted it for breakfast. In true D&L form, we went to Lorenzillo's for lunch again that day.



This time we ate a little lighter, both in calories and in wallet. I ordered a big side of the spinach and a lovely little tuna tartare. They say the tuna you eat in Cabo really is caught right off shore that day or the day previous. As a tourist on holiday, I would buy the Brooklyn Bridge if you asked nicely enough. But I do know they go fishing for tuna in those waters, and my tartare was fresh and beautiful enought to give into a plausible story.



D ordered a wonderful ceviche, just acidic enough with lots and lots of octopus.
He also tucked into a nice seafood soup, but I was too busy with my spinach to get a photo. This, however, was a view off outside dining area of Lorenzillo's, through the marina and into the sea beyond!