I was invited to a good friend's wedding in Humboldt County and decided to turn it into a mini-vacation. I reserved two nights at an environmental campground at Humboldt Redwoods State Park for after the wedding. Of course this was the one week it ever rained in June so I made an executive decision two nights before and canceled the camping trip but I still wanted to take advantage of the time off I had. I heard about the Stanford Inn from Lauren a few years ago. Her husband did good and treated her to a weekend there and when she returned she was glowing with fantastic stories about this eco-resort with amazing vegan food, massages, and plenty of nature to appreciate.
Stanford Inn is a pet friendly resort hotel. My doggie craving was met as there's a resident pooch who greeted me when we checked in. one can actually bring any kind of pet. Apparently the hotel has hosted a variety of non human visitors including not only dogs and cats but also iguanas, parrots, Vietnamese pot belly pigs, and a tortoise.
After scarfing down the best chocolate chip cookies that were waiting in the room, we decided to walk the grounds of the Inn before dinner.
No shortage of gorgeous flowers on the grounds. Someone learned how to use the close-up feature on my camera.
Much of what they serve at the Raven's Restaurant is grown in their organic garden on the grounds at the Stanford Inn. I did my best to identify what I could but it seemed to be mostly chard, kale, and broccoli. I was tempted to poach but am a dignified lady and therefore have control. Also-we had reservations at Raven's Restaurant where I was treated to one of the best meals of my life.
Compliments of the chef! Always makes me feel so fancy. House made tortilla chips with broccoli pesto and cashew cream.
Corn cakes. Totally underwhelming. GK found a worm wiggling around in that pretty purple flower AFTER I had a bitten into my cake. But we didn't talk about that and instead chose to marvel at this beauty-
I can't wait to try to recreate this special-raw lasagna. This was by far my favorite dish of the evening. Slices of heirloom tomatoes, ribbons of zucchini, cashew cheese, basil, drizzled with balsamic dressing. It was so beautiful I almost did not want to mess with the presentation by cutting into it. But I'm not stupid.
Caesar salad. Good but not amazing. I viewed it as a palate cleanser.
I had difficulty deciding between 3 different main dishes. Luckily GK wanted one of my choices and even luckier-he doesn't mind sharing. I decided to go with our server's recommendation and ordered the eggplant Napoleon. Roasted eggplant topped with pesto, slices of fresh tomato, and cashew cheese. I usually steer clear of eggplant when I'm out unless it's pureed but thankfully I was feeling adventurous because it was super fresh and amazing.
GK's main-the house made spinach ravioli stuffed with butternut squash served in a cream sauce and cute little mushrooms. One of the best dishes of the night.
Dessert-the raw cheesecake with mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries). I loved how they actually put the fruit into the cheesecake. The crust was also raw and unusually salty but it was a great mixture of sweet and savory. Sorry Cafe Gratitude, but this is the best raw dessert I've ever had.
Breakfast is free for overnight guests. It was so difficult to choose but I finally decided on the the Raven's Potatoes. House grilled potatoes with green onions, pinto beans, vegan cheese, salsa cruda, and avocado. I chose wisely.
GK's breakfast-the Santa Fe Burrito. Scrambled tofu with black beans in a whole wheat tortilla served with house made chipotle sauce,salsa cruda, vegan cheese, russet and sweet potato fries. Soy latte in the background.
And here we are-deliriously stuffed.