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ranchandcoast.com 78 AUGUST 2025 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE of novelty socks! And Fuzziwig's Candy Factory offers more than 400 kinds of sweets including candy apples, caramels, house- made chocolates and fudge, saltwater taffy, toys, and more. I also stopped in at the Coronado Historical Association to check out A Jewel in Coronado's Crown, a fascinating exhibit on the Hotel Del, which just celebrated completion of a 6-year, $500-million restoration and revitalization. According to Vickie Stone, the association's curator of collections, the purchase price for the Coronado peninsula was just $100,000 in 1885, and 250 mostly Chinese immigrant laborers took just 11 months to build the hotel with an estimated one million shingles on the roof and countless bricks made right on site. e original room rate was $2.50 per day per guest — including meals. e association is open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Sunday; the exhibition runs through September. Coronado, of course, is a Navy town, so my husband and I checked out McP's Irish Pub & Grill, founded by the late Navy SEAL Greg McPartlin. e pub, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, offers seating indoors and out on the dog-friendly "Paddy-O," live entertainment most nights, and 19 big screen TVs to watch sporting events. Choose from 20 different beers and brews, Irish coffee, and cocktails, or dig into such pub fare as shepherd's pie and bangers and mash. Another local favorite is Tavern, co-owned by C.J., Brooke and Chloe Becky, a brother-and-sister team. Designed by architect and majority owner John Welsh, the rustic interior features salvaged bricks and repurposed wood. e bar, for example, is topped with planks from a basketball court. e restaurant has a casual, comfortable vibe which extends to menu favorites from Chef Itze Behar that include chicken pot pie, blistered shishito pepper burger, Jidori roasted chicken, fish and chips, and wagyu steak tacos. Sip wine, draft beers, and Brooke's classic or inventive cocktails made with fresh-squeezed juices, house-made syrups, and infusion. e beet and agave cocktail, for example, combines roasted red beets with blanco tequila mixed with fresh cucumber and lime juice and topped with micro viola flowers. Daily happy hours are from 3 to 5pm. at night, we capped off our getaway with dinner at Stake Chophouse & Bar, a boutique steakhouse also owned by Blue Bridge Hospitality. It was a highlight of our getaway due to the quality of the food by Executive Chef Matt Sramek and Chef de Cuisine Paul Arias, a wine program headed up by Wine Director Nate Black, which has garnered years of Wine Spectator awards, and the knowledgeable and attentive waiters, sommelier, and support staff. Guests can sit in Stake's upscale, dimly lit dining room, in the more casual bar, or outside on the terrace. We began by sampling a seafood tower filled with fresh, delicious shellfish — oysters, shrimp, crab, poke crudo, and more. We could have stopped right there but we just had to try "e Taste of Wagyu," splitting a sampler of small portions of perfectly prepared cuts of steak. On a previous visit, I tried the decadent butter-poached lobster mashed potatoes with cognac followed by freshly caught fish. e menu also features bountiful salads and an array of vegetables from the wood-fired oven. If you have room for dessert, go for the seven- layer chocolate cake, worth every calorie. Just don't count them. e next day, after a light brunch at Dive, we bid good-bye to e Bower, strolled along the Coronado shore, and drove around town, looking at neat rows of small houses and stately old mansions. We then reluctantly headed home across the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, resolved to return soon to explore even more of what this storied town has to offer. detour destinations << Stake Chophouse & Bar The Bower STAKE: PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUE BRIDGE HOSPITALITY THE BOWER: PHOTO BY AUDA & AUDA PHOTOGRAPHY