GREAT EATS HAWAII: RAGGED POINT INN - RAGGED POINT, CALIFORNIA

Sunday, December 16, 2012

RAGGED POINT INN - RAGGED POINT, CALIFORNIA

RAGGED POINT INN

RAGGED POINT, CALIFORNIA

RAGGED POINT INN

19019 HIGHWAY 1

RAGGED POINT, CA 93452

805-927-5708 Dining Reservations

805-927-4502 Accommodations

Email: info@raggedpointinn.com

www.raggedpointinn.net

RAGGED POINT INN

We drove a few miles north from Cambria with close family members to enjoy a meal and the view at Ragged Point. This ocean side oasis is part hotel and part restaurant and rest stop along California's beautiful Highway 1. Keep driving North from here and you will enter Big Sur which is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and the gateway to Monterrey, Carmel and Pebble Beach. You can stop to pick up supplies here, grab a snack at the take out counter alongside the restaurant or stay the night in rooms that overlook the Pacific Ocean. This is a beautiful place that is unspoiled and free of development. That is what I like about the Central Coast of California. It is basically beautiful rolling hills and coastline that has been protected against development and overcrowding. We rolled into Ragged Point on a cool December day. There was a single man working the hostess stand, tables and cash register. He did a good job considering we had a table of eight plus there were several other diners in the restaurant. The restaurant is bright because the entire roof is clear like a greenhouse. There are brick walls and wood beams that seem natural. I opened the menu and saw Scallop Sliders ($17.95). While I did not want this as my lunch, I ordered the plate for the table to share because I really wanted to taste this dish. The scallops were lightly grilled to perfection and served on a bun with fresh lettuce, tomato and Wasabi dressing. I thought this was a perfect combination of flavors and could have eaten all six pieces easily. The Sliders were served with some delicious Curley Fries that everyone seemed to enjoy. Several of us ordered the Seafood Salad ($18.95). While I liked the seafood, the salad and dressing missed the mark. The dressing was horrible and we both ordered a different dressing. It did not help. The Bleu Cheese Burger ($14.95) was large and was covered in Bleu Cheese and Bacon. Seemed to be a hit. The Chicken Fajita Salad ($13.95) looked like a mess but those eating it seemed to enjoy the flavors. The Fish Tacos ($15.95) were just o.k. according to the two people who tried them. The Kids Menu Pasta ($6.95) had no taste at all and was left on the plate while my daughter shared from other dishes. The food at Ragged Point is o.k. The service is poor but the views are amazing. This is a great place to stop and take a break. They have a take out window snack shop next to the restaurant where you can pick up a quick meal or snack without sitting down in the main restaurant. The hotel on the property offers spectacular unobstructed views of the Pacific Coast.

THE STORY OF RAGGED POINT FROM THEIR WEBSITE:

The current chapter of Ragged Point history begins in the late 1950s. Wiley and Mildred Ramey, who were visiting the Central Coast from their home in California's San Joaquin Valley, meandered up a lonely Highway 1 from nearby Cambria. Everyone who knew the Rameys knew how they loved to take long drives, enjoying America's beautiful, isolated, and pastoral country roads. They also knew how Wiley Ramey, in particular, loved to invest in little pieces of land when they found places they loved--providing he could get a bargain. That special day, the Rameys spotted a small, curious outpost on the ocean side of Highway 1, north of San Simeon. Little did they know how this rustic outpost, once part of the huge Hearst Ranch, was to change their lives--and the lives of their children--forever. The settlement itself was nothing special: a snack shack sporting a neon "EAT" sign, a couple of rusted gas pumps, and a travel trailer or two. However, the Rameys were totally entranced by the natural beauty. Because of this enchantment, they spent most of the next two years persuading the landowner, carnival man, Monte Young, to part with the property. When they finally did, they disposed of the "EAT" sign and started building a two-room motel on this lonely stretch of highway. This was the birth of the Ragged Point Inn you see today.

Wiley and Mildred Ramey had a vision. The small family shaped their little motel, gas station, and snack bar, often working it alone and skipping from business to business when their few customers would arrive. They welcomed each guest like they were family, even sharing their Thanksgiving turkey when visitors arrived hungry and the snack bar was closed for the holiday.

As the years passed, first Wiley and Mildred, then Mildred and her children, slowly built the business, never forgetting the hospitality and reverence for the land that brought them there.

Today, Highway 1 isn't nearly so lonely. The hotel has 39 rooms. The snack bar has been relocated and enlarged. And a gourmet restaurant, gift shop, artisan jewelry shop, coffee bar, and mini-market share the property. But the Rameys, now Wiley and Mildred's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, work together to share their hospitality and complete the vision.