A “rant” is sometimes defined as: “to speak or shout at length in a wild or impassioned way”. So with that caveat in mind, I beg your indulgence to allow me the following long-winded “rant”: I simply MUST give some MAJOR kudos to one of our fine local establishments here in Coronado: Peohe’s at the Coronado Ferry Landing!
I got home this morning completely exhausted after another incredibly busy 72-hour shift. I had finally gotten to bed last night at 22:30 hours, but with a couple of very involved emergency calls for service early this morning, I have been awake since 00:30 (yes, it’s been a LONG weekend!) I was not feeling my best this morning (to say the least!), but a month ago I had scheduled an electrical contractor to hook up my new electric car charger to my photovoltaic solar system as it was the only day I had available. My schedule for January and most of February was crazy busy and I just couldn’t postpone it again. But it was Valentine’s Day and my lovely (and very understanding!) wife had been working her tail off holding down the fort in my absence. I wanted to treat her to something lavish, but time and funds being tight, we had to settle for sneaking off for a few hours for lunch while the contractor was working.
We had eaten at Peohe’s only a few times previously, but we had both always been very impressed with the entire experience–and you just can’t beat the location, the ambiance and the view! We’ve recommended it to friends many times before and they’ve always raved about it. In fact, it happened again just recently: we recommended Peohe’s to a few friends who were in town for business this last week. They followed our advice and they just went on and on about how awesome their dinner was.
I don’t think the good folks at Peohe’s will mind me talking out of school a bit, but I’ve also inspected their restaurant a few times over the last few years in an official capacity (again fairly recently). I have always been struck by how well the place is run and maintained, and how happy the employees who work there seem to be. To me this is always a GOOD sign. The manager who escorted me around showed a genuine interest in my feedback and eagerly wanted to be sure to meet any and all safety standards the code required (this is always a welcome surprise!). The kitchen and food prep area was always very well kept, and the staff was also very well versed on standard safety procedures as well as fire control systems. I am lucky to get to glimpse “behind the scenes” where the average patron doesn’t usually get to see. This was another thing that has impressed me about Peohe’s–it’s obvious to me that some folks higher up have been setting a very high standard. The friendly kitchen staff all passed my pop quizzes with flying colors: “Do you know where your extinguishers are (class “K” for grease fires and class “ABC” for common combustibles)?” “Do you know how to activate the built in extinguishing system?” They all seemed to be proud to show off the fact that they knew the answers to my questions. I was clear that they considered themselves professionals and took all aspects of their job seriously. The experience reminded me of something I seem to remember being attributed to the head of Southwest Airlines. It was something about the importance of cleaning the coffee stains off of the fold-up tray tables on the backs of the seats. It may sound like a very small thing, but if we demonstrate to our customers that we take careful note of even the small things, it shows that we take everything seriously and that obviously important things like the passengers’ safety is of paramount importance. This sort of professional outlook has always resonated with me personally and it has been a philosophy I have tried to instill in every Coronado Firefighter/Paramedic I’ve had the pleasure to mentor.
So I suggested to my lovely bride that we slip off to grab a quick lunch while we had a few hours’ break where our presence wasn’t required by the electrical contractor. My wife is always happy to go out to someplace nice to eat and says:
“Do you have any place in mind?”
“Well . . . .” . . . oh yeah, I’ve worked this whole thing out. I’m really the romantic sort. 😉
“Remember, we’ve still got that $50 gift card to the Outback Steakhouse–but what were you going to say?”
“Well . . . I was thinking about maybe going back to Peohe’s . . . remember I told you Tim and Chris said they had such a great time there last week?”
“Ooooh! You know I LOVE Peohe’s! But you just got HOME from Coronado after three straight days and you’re going back tomorrow for another 24 hours–you don’t want to drive back there today!”
Now I must interject here that my amazing wife is an absolutely phenomenal cook and is a VERY harsh critic of restaurants: (“I hate paying good money for something that I could do a much better job of at home!”)
. . . did I mention what an incredibly lucky guy I am? 😉
So if SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) is totally excited about going back to Peohe’s and I can almost guarantee a great experience there, then I figure I’m surely going to come out a hero on this Valentine’s Day. And so here’s the main reason for this rant: our visit was even better than any of our previous ones and I feel that I shouldn’t just let this wonderful experience slide by without mention. Ask anyone who knows me well and they’ll agree that I’m certainly far from perfect, and I’ve frequently been told that I can be a perfectionist and also a pretty harsh critic (just ask any of my comrades at work). Maybe it’s because the people I serve justifiably hold my profession to an extremely high standard–hey, if you had to put your safety or even your life in someone else’s hands, wouldn’t you be pretty picky? Yes, I take pride in being a professional and I hold myself and others to a high standard, but I also believe strongly in giving credit where credit is due:
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I have to tell you that our Valentine’s Day lunch at Peohe’s was nothing short of FABULOUS!!!
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We caught the late lunch crowd and didn’t have to wait more than five minutes to be seated–even on Valentine’s Day without a reservation! Of course parking was free and easy as always, though I sure wish they’d install electric car chargers there someday–it’s a PERFECT location to draw business! We hadn’t eaten anything since early this morning and were both starving! We were soon seated in a raised booth looking out at the beautiful San Diego Bay. The last few storm cells had just blown through and it was sunny and beautiful outside. There must have been some sort of Valentine’s Day regatta as there were numerous sailboats cruising past our view the entire time. We certainly are SO lucky to live here in San Diego County!
We started with the Chicken Lettuce Wraps: “Tender sautéed chicken with water chestnuts, served ‘build your own’ style with lettuce cups and dipping sauces” and we split a bowl of the Lobster Bisque soup (which our friends who recently took us up on our recommendation just raved about). The server mentioned that the chef recommended a splash of sherry and some fresh ground red pepper for the bisque, which we gladly accepted (I always say, never go against the chef’s recommendation at a place like this!) Both appetizers were equally delicious. I ordered the Blackened Ahi Salad: “Blackened Ahi Tuna atop a bed of baby greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and served with a Thai citrus vinaigrette”. It was awesome! My wife ordered the “Truffle Kisses” with shrimp: “Truffle and Ricotta stuffed pasta with browned butter, sage and candied walnuts, topped with shaved Parmesan and Truffle oil. Served with your choice of grilled chicken or grilled shrimp”. Home run!
I’ve never seen her so entranced with a meal before. She described this dish as an absolute food-gasm. I do love her so, and I was so glad to have found something to please her . . . but it almost reminded me of Meg Ryan’s scene in “When Harry Met Sally”. I imagined I could hear the folks at the next table saying: “I’ll have what she’s having!” Mind you, I can make perfect sticky rice (with a decent rice cooker) and I brew a mean cup of pour-over drip coffee (but she usually prefers tea) . . . and though she tells me quite regularly that I have many fine qualities . . . I still had to try my best not to let her rave review make me feel just a little inadequate . . . . 😉
We’d never tried their lunch menu before and the prices were very reasonable, but the portions were AMPLE! After all the delicious appetizers, I couldn’t even finish all of my Ahi salad. Then my wife reminded me that we had also pre-ordered the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake (which you have to order ahead of time as it takes 30 minutes to prepare just for you, so it’s hot and fresh!): “Rich Godiva chocolate liqueur cake with a molten chocolate center. Served warm with chocolate sauce, Heath Bar Crunch and macadamia nut ice cream. OMG . . . .
We were a bit late getting back home after getting caught right behind a multi-vehicle pile-up and a fully involved car fire on the I-15 north bound which they had to shut down entirely for at least 20 minutes (hey–I’m OFF duty until tomorrow!). We mentioned our wonderful experience to my electrician when we got back home and he told us that Peohe’s was also his favorite place to take his wife for special occasions! In fact, he said he recommends to all his visiting friends staying in downtown San Diego to walk down to the ferry and take the ride across the bay over to Peohe’s, have lunch or dinner, stroll around the Ferry Landing, do some shopping, and then catch the ferry home. He told me that everyone who had done it said it was one of their best experiences ever!
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THANK YOU to all the fine folks at Peohe’s for making the most of our limited time and budget on this special day!
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Thanks to you for reading and I apologize for the length of my rant, but my brain is (more than) a bit addled and I just had to get this off my chest. I am forever grateful to be able to serve such a WONDERFUL community!
Disclaimer: “The opinions expressed above are solely my own and do not reflect the opinion(s) of my employer or anyone I may directly or indirectly represent. I also have no financial or other interest in the above mentioned business and accept no payments or gratuities for expressing my personal opinions.”
. . . and now, to bed. I have to be ready as I never know what tomorrow will bring! 😀
