MacCallum House Restaurant--Food with a View
The MacCallum House stands out in an area of many wonderful stand-out restaurants. It is unique in its true Mendocino feeling, as it resides in a beautiful home built in 1882, and is one of the very few restaurants in the Village with a view.
There is something for everyone here: the elegant dining rooms with their fireplaces are the ideal settings for romantic dinners, while the Grey Whale Bar and Café offer a more casual and less expensive fare and setting-though still with that incredible view of the ocean, seen from the wrap-around porch. The Bar itself is inviting to both locals and tourists, as people gather around in the living-room type setting, on either the couches or at the handsome bar itself.
But nothing stands out here more than the food of Executive Chef Alan Kantor. He takes local mushrooms and some bread and imaginatively turns them into a savory bread pudding, or pairs some Niman Ranch lamb with his own house-cured ham and ends up with a cassoulet. Treasures like blue cheese popovers, or hazelnut croute, add a creative note of interest to every dish. And he has a wonderful way with duck-it may end up in tamales, as confit, or in a salad or on a pizza. Desserts include an array of Northern California cheeses, do-it-yourself sundaes where you can combine homemade ice creams with a selection of toppings, as well as cookies, candies, Meyer Lemon Curd Trifle and more.
Chef Kantor is one of the first chefs to promote organics and sustainable farming, and even has the names of his purveyors on the menu. I must stop writing now as this is making me hungry, and I'm going to see if I can find someone to make the 2-hour trip up to Mendocino with me for one of Chef Kantor's dinners, and a night at the MacCallum House (where the rooms range from $95 - $395)!
The MacCallum House stands out in an area of many wonderful stand-out restaurants. It is unique in its true Mendocino feeling, as it resides in a beautiful home built in 1882, and is one of the very few restaurants in the Village with a view.
There is something for everyone here: the elegant dining rooms with their fireplaces are the ideal settings for romantic dinners, while the Grey Whale Bar and Café offer a more casual and less expensive fare and setting-though still with that incredible view of the ocean, seen from the wrap-around porch. The Bar itself is inviting to both locals and tourists, as people gather around in the living-room type setting, on either the couches or at the handsome bar itself.
But nothing stands out here more than the food of Executive Chef Alan Kantor. He takes local mushrooms and some bread and imaginatively turns them into a savory bread pudding, or pairs some Niman Ranch lamb with his own house-cured ham and ends up with a cassoulet. Treasures like blue cheese popovers, or hazelnut croute, add a creative note of interest to every dish. And he has a wonderful way with duck-it may end up in tamales, as confit, or in a salad or on a pizza. Desserts include an array of Northern California cheeses, do-it-yourself sundaes where you can combine homemade ice creams with a selection of toppings, as well as cookies, candies, Meyer Lemon Curd Trifle and more.
Chef Kantor is one of the first chefs to promote organics and sustainable farming, and even has the names of his purveyors on the menu. I must stop writing now as this is making me hungry, and I'm going to see if I can find someone to make the 2-hour trip up to Mendocino with me for one of Chef Kantor's dinners, and a night at the MacCallum House (where the rooms range from $95 - $395)!
