Stationæry , Carmel by the Sea, 8/12/23

patio – 5th Ave between Dolores and, San Carlos St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921

Stationæry is a medium-sized (11 indoor tables) place operated by Anthony and Alissa Carnazzo.  They offer brunch, dinner, coffee and wines in a casual setting.  Also available are tables on the patio that opens to other stores and a couple stools at the tile counter.  A bench seat lines the wall set with small wood tables.  Many windows add lots of natural light and plants provide the decorations with music in the background which was sometimes hard to hear due to the crowd noise.  It was very busy and walk-ins had a long wait.  We had reservations luckily and the attentive and friendly staff moved the meal along nicely.  One note to service is that there are no refills on coffee – this was just house pour not a specialty cup.  The food primarily is sourced from nearby farms and ranches and varies with what’s in season.  It was good food, especially the roll which could have been a meal in itself.  I encourage you to try it but have a reservation.

Set-Up

patio dining
interior
interior
menu
drinks
Frankie thought the table flower was dead

 

Food

The BLT contained thick-cut Baker’s bacon, heirloom tomato, Bibb lettuce, and Duke’s mayo on Ad Astra sourdough and served with fingerling potato salad.  This was bacon-steak thick bacon and very tasty.  My husband is a BLT lover and he proclaimed that this was the best he’d ever had.  The bread was excellent and nicely toasted with a good balance of ingredients.  The potato salad was a tasty side dish.

BLT and potato salad
from above
from the side

 

The potato pancake was topped with grilled squash, baby zucchini, sungold tomatoes, fromage blanc, crispy garlic, and a soft-boiled egg.  The nicely crisped potatoes were cooked from a raw state, so they got the grey color that happens but the flavor and texture were nice.  The grilled vegetables had good grill flavor and were very tender.  The plate needed some hot sauce which the server brought upon request and that helped it a lot, but the BLT was the winner of the 2 entrees.

potato pancake
from the side
moved around
hot sauce

 

A cinnamon roll was sold as a side item.  It had tons of roasted pecans and a dollop of creamy icing decorated with some orange zest.  Interestingly the server said it was made from biscuit dough but this was a flakey, buttery pastry, like for a croissant.  It was delicious.  Wrapped around layers of cinnamon sugar it sat on some gooey caramel.  The orange zest was a fabulous addition – it really clarified the flavor and elevated it to another level of goodness.  This is a must order if you like sweet rolls.  Yum x2.

cinnamon roll
from the top
Frankie drank the milk for the coffee

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