One of the highlights of the Dole Salad Summit was lunch at this delightful restaurant, La Bicyclette. We descended upon them, a pack of hungry food bloggers, cameras in hand. We “special needs” diners all sat together, to make it a smidge easier on them. We also snagged the table with the best light. Many, many thanks to them for making it possible for us to enjoy the meal with our colleagues. While we couldn’t have the pizza or the planned dessert, we still left sated and happy. If you are ever in Carmel, California, don’t miss it.
A special menu just for us, featuring Dole’s fresh produce
Roasted baby beets, Dole spring mix, vinaigrette
Nantes carrot risotto with truffle-marinated artichokes (vegan)
Special roasted vegetable platter (instead of the pizza)
Sea salt
House-made lamb Merguez sausage pizza, mint pesto, Provencale black olives
Butternut squash, sage, Gruyere, speck ham, Dole arugula pizza
Almond cream fresh fruit tart with Dole strawberries, blackberries, & blueberries
Chocolate mousse, loved the bowl!
Fresh Dole berries with mint, insanely good
While Dole paid for my travel, accommodations, and this meal, I was not paid to attend nor was I asked to post about the experience. I dealt with that little ethical dilemma in this post.
Oh wow! Everything looks absolutely gorgeous and gourmet. The risotto, though, would have me licking that plate clean. Dole is such a wonderful company, and one of my go to brands.
I think the risotto was everyone’s favorite and I am tempted to come up with a version to share. One person at our table tried both the vegan and vegetarian versions and loved them both. Ours was a lot lighter, without the cream and cheese. I would probably add in some cashew cream at the end. :)
Your photos are gorgeous! I want to eat there!
Thanks Dorothy. I got really lucky with the light. And the food was just as good as it looks in the photos.
[…] needs” diners and, by and large, did really well. A special kudos to the staff at La Bicyclette restaurant in Carmel, who were so outstanding they get their own […]
[…] and the experience. Want more details? I’ve also posted about the swank and the swag, our lunch at La Bicyclette, and a recipe for iceberg wedge salad with vegan blue cheese […]
Beautiful (and I’m sure also delicious) food. Dole logo on the menu is tacky, though.
Bryan, thanks so much for reading and commenting. As the whole event was sponsored by Dole, it didn’t feel tacky to me to have them create a special menu for us that included their logo. But I get where it might feel that way in the post. Love to hear from you, thanks!