The Beachcomber – Malibu

This morning I realized that I was in a rut. Wake up – eat breakfast – go to gym – eat lunch – read – eat some dinner - watch TV – go to bed. Every day, Monday through Friday, I do the same things. I realize that most people live like this and I did when I worked but my work was always exciting and different within itself. I have to have more variety so today I declared I wasn’t going to the pool. That did not upset B in the least. I wanted to go somewhere and, after reading the Westways magazine from AAA, we decided to go to Malibu for lunch. They had a wonderful write-up for The Beachcomber at Malibu Pier so, after I slowly got dressed, we were on our way.

The ride was very pleasant. We took Topanga Canyon, knowing we would then have a ways to drive on PCH which is always calming for me. The temperature was 92 in Woodland Hills and 72 in Malibu. We hit some construction on Topanga Canyon which was reminiscent of our recent journey as we waited about 10 minutes to be able to drive on the one lane road. When I drove into the parking lot, I immediately saw the handicap parking. After pulling in, I felt I should go and ask the man collecting money if I needed to pay. He told me it cost $14 and when I came back with validation, he would return $10 to me. I pulled out a $20 bill and he said he had no change and did I have correct change. I looked and showed him I had 4 single dollars and just 20s. He took the $4 and told me to forget about it. I saw the sign that said $14 for beach parking, $4 for restaurant parking. Did we look like people who were going to the beach? I think not.

To our recollection, we hadn’t ever been out on Malibu Pier. We remembered it only as being closed due to some storm and it was questionable as to whether or not it would be open again. The Beachcomber is not actually out on the pier but rather just before the pier. They have two areas to eat, one on each side of the pier. We went to the outside desk and asked for a table for two outside. The woman asked if we minded being in the sun. Well, B doesn’t like to sit in the sun because she gets too hot and I like the sun so we told her we needed some shade but not entirely in the shade. She had us walk up a few steps to a sort of deck and was going to seat us there. I immediately told her that I could not sit on the high chairs that were around the high tables. I also felt that those seats were much too far from the view of the ocean. She then did find us a table right next to the glass wind breaker, right next to the ocean. This was perfect and I wondered why she was going to sit two older women on bar chairs away from the water.

She gave us the menus and left. Then our waiter came and asked about drinks – Diet Coke for B and iced tea for me. I didn’t want to get stuck with a bottle like yesterday and wanted as many refills as I desired. As it turned out, the drinks were constantly being refilled and we never had to ask. At the table next to us, a woman didn’t know which wine she really wanted. The waiter actually brought her samples of the two wines for her to try. I thought that was a nice touch.

Now the food. B. ordered “wild mushroom and truffle mac” and I ordered a club house sandwich. When they brought out food, B. was a bit surprised because she expected more of a macaroni and cheese dish and this didn’t look like that at all. I was surprised because the person who delivered my food spilled about half of my fries and the ketchup all over the floor. None of it came on me and he swiftly cleaned it up as our waiter also quickly came over to see what happened. He asked if I wanted more fries and as I opened my mouth to say no (I had promised myself not to eat any fries so I thought it was divine intervention that put less on my plate), B. says yes she does want more. They brought me a full bowl of fries which B polished off easily. They were very good and I did eat those left on my plate. My sandwich was on toasted artisan bread. It consisted of real turkey as opposed to deli turkey, lettuce, tomato, bacon and avocado. It was very good as was the cole slaw that also came with it. I even liked the pickle. B’s meal was fantastic. I took one taste and could have eaten the entire, delicious meal. As it was, B ate ½ and took the rest home for dinner. The pasta was this curly-que kind. There were a number of different kinds of mushrooms in this magnificent light sauce which apparently was made from truffles. What a treat!

Our waiter nonchalantly put the dessert list on our table. Had he asked if we wanted dessert, I would have quickly said no. However, faced with the list, B had to order the one dessert they showed in the magazine - s’more sundae. This consists of a scoop of vanilla ice cream with four half squares of graham cracker sticking up on the side of the dish. Along one side and a little on the top was chocolate, some that hardened on the ice cream. Along another side with a little on top was marshmallow which had been fired with a torch. Then there was whipped cream on top of that. I have put a picture on Facebook. B described this dessert as not as good as it looked and over-priced at $8.99. We both felt there should be more chocolate and B thought that a place like that should have their own whipped cream, not from a can. She is a connoisseur of whipped cream. It did taste good and the ice ream was very creamy. I helped her eat it.

The setting is wonderful. The food was very good to excellent. I would skip the expensive dessert next time. After lunch we walked out on the pier where people were fishing and the waves were splashing. It was so nice. The weather was perfect. There is a Ruby’s Diner at the far end of the pier but all seating is inside. I would go back again when I need a reprieve from the daily life and want to feel like I am somewhere else. I also love to be next to the water – ocean, lake, river, pond – makes no difference. I am now revived. Maybe that’s because I am a Scorpio.