Carolines Seaside Cafe

Last week I attended a special tour, arranged by my friend Karen, of Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the largest and oldest research center in the U.S. We were lucky to have a volunteer, Kirk, former geology professor at UCSD and passionate about the institute, give us an inside tour. We began with a short film about the institute, how it came to be, and what they do. The students at Scripps are all PHD candidates in oceanography. Many of the most important research in oceanogrphy has been done at Scripps. Right now one project that they're working on is converting algae to petroleum. It can be done, in fact they just made a transcontinental air trip using energy from algae. The problem right now is the cost. It is prohibitively expensive at this time to convert algae (remove the oil in the plant)into energy. Hopefully funding won't be cut, because this is a legitimate answer to becomming energy independent. We could actually be energy independent if we could get the cost of the process down. It was a fascinating tour. Another important concept that he taught us about is the erosion of the cliffs, how fast it's happening, and how to slow it down. Very interesting.

After this informative tour we walked next door to Caroline's Seaside Cafe. This restaurant is part of the Giuseppe catering group, which does individual catering, museum catering and now Caroline's. The view from the deck of this restaurant is something out of this world. Drop dead gorgeous. The food was delicious, too. I had a turkey, goat cheese and sundried tomato wrap which was big enough for two meals. The chopped salad was fresh and huge. The panini was a mixture of mashed artichoke hearts, cheese and spices. The restaurant also serves a delicious hamburger, tuna sandwich, chicken sandwich, tuna melt and much more. They're only open for breakfast and lunch, but it's the perfect spot to dine next time you go to the Birch Aquarium. The only problem is parking. They have no customer parking lot, so it's either street parking, or a lot nearby for $8.

Next time you're looking for a wonderful breakfast or lunch place with gorgeous views and very reasonable prices (the most expensive thing on the menu was $9.50) consider Caroline's. What fun to watch the surfers and enjoy a great meal.