Best Restaurant To Feel like a Wine and Food Writer With No Budget

PASSIONFISH

Lighthouse and Congress, Pacific Grove, 655-3311.

Passionfish is a place for the world-class sommelier or just some shmoe who likes to knock back a few glasses of vino with his meals. To go along with top-notch cuisine, long-time foody Ted Walter and wife Cindy have crafted a casual, fun atmosphere big on flavor, commitment and passion. What would be a great restaurant under any circumstances is elevated to cult status because of Ted and Cindy''s devotion to wines and their willingness to share the love with their clientele. The wine list here is an ever-evolving organism of beautiful selections from around the world, ranging from the obscure to the trophy. A young, energetic, enthusiastic staff will guide even the most cautious diner to a wine that is sure to please and surprise. Oh yeah, and they charge retail prices.

Best Place for a Last Date

GINO''S RESTAURANT

1410 S. Main St., Salinas, 422-1814.

There are countless places around the county for a first date. The epitome of budding love, they exude romance. But the real gem is the place that makes you so at home there''s simply no better place to tell Mr./ Mrs. NotGonnaHappen that it just won''t work. That''s Gino''s to a T. Just being there makes you feel like you''re in the safe haven of Mom''s house. And everyone knows Mom can make even the most sticky of problems seem meager in the grand scheme. Gino''s gets you from the moment you cross the threshold, making it hard not to peel off your coat and call out, "Mom, I''m home." They reel you in with homemade soups, sumptuous pastas, and offer up great vintage bottles of courage as accompaniment. If all else fails, there are plenty of empty fields nearby to ditch the distraught one. You can sneak back and raid the fridge later.

Best Local Ghost

HATTIE AT STOKES ADOBE

500 Hartnell St., Monterey, 373-1110.

There are definitely worse places to haunt-for example, places that flip burgers instead of serving Maine lobster mac-n-cheese, crispy duck confit and spinach salad, and grilled lavender pork chops. Or places that don''t boast a wine list with wines from California, France, Italy, Australia and Spain. Yes, Martha Harriet, who died in 1948, really knows how to pick ''em. The historic adobe was built in 1833. The next year, Dr. James Stokes bought the property. Almost 60 years later, Mortimer and Martha Harriet moved in and made the Stokes adobe the center of social life in Monterey until Hattie''s death in 1948. Ghostly sightings of a beautiful woman began almost immediately thereafter. Now the consensus is that Hattie haunts the adobe, but the restaurant staff doesn''t mind. In fact, they leave her a glass of wine every night. Hattie''s a friendly ghost who just can''t give up her prime Monterey real estate. Who can blame her?

Best Hideaway from Local Elected Officials

CHERRYBEAN GOURMET COFFEEHOUSE & ROASTERY

332 Main St., Salinas, 424-1989.

Monterey County Supervisors and Salinas City Council members love to hear themselves talk. So do the gadflies who wait all week for their three minutes behind the podium during the public comment period. Sometimes the only thing that makes these meetings bearable is the promise of the CherryBean, quite possibly the hippest caffeinated hideaway in the entire Monterey County. Cheap mochas. Gooey, chocolaty cookies and brownies. Friendly counter staff who even do the sprinkling of the nutmeg and vanilla powder on top of the espresso foam for the customers-talk about pampering. Located on Main Street in Oldtown Salinas, CherryBean is only a hop, skip and a jump away from the Supes and Salinas City Council Chambers. It''s so worth it.

Best Restaurant To Feel Loved

RESTAURANT 211

211 Crossroads Blvd., Carmel, 625-3030.

You can hire the world''s greatest architect, throw in a Grand Award wine list, and receive all the Michelin or Mobil stars there are, but one thing you can''t buy is love. If a restaurant makes you feel loved, everything else is heightened. Jon Magnusson, owner/chef of 211, along with his delightful wife Carmen, have infused Restaurant 211 with so much love that diners find themselves loving each other a little more when they are in attendance. Heated issues between associates dissipate with the first course, a delicious mushroom cappuccino or the best house salad on the planet. By entrees, they haven''t a care in the world, except for the distant knowledge of a world outside of this little haven. Regulars are received and sent home with the one-of-a-kind Magnusson bear hug that, like the food and the ambiance, radiates deeply with the most important ingredient in any restaurant...love.

Best Cocktail Artist

Lori Davey, Hullabaloo

228 MAIN ST., SALINAS. 757-3663.

A handful of things in life are so beyond our pleasure fields that we allow ourselves to surrender to the moment, our heads falling back into the cradle of our shoulders, eyelids fluttering closed, every ounce of strength left expended on the utterance of an "mmmmm" from the deepest pit of our being. Some are recognizable only in a dream state, others too private to divulge. One before our eyes and very public, though, is the nirvana created at the hands of Hullabaloo bartender Lori Davey. Her Cosmopolitans rival the best book you''ve read, the first work of art that ever moved you, the gentlest touch you''ve felt. She makes it look simple enough, but nothing tastes so good going down. So go ahead, fondle the glass she placed before you. Lead its contents to your lips. But remember, there''s no turning back once you''ve crossed over.

Best Old Town Powerlunch Spot

SHOGUN

216 Main St., Salinas, 757-6105.

Doors don''t open for lunch at Shogun until 11:30. If you haven''t reserved your table long before then, you''re out of luck. It''s a who''s who of local professionals, from lawyers and CPAs to politicos and mucky-mucks. There''s not a bad seat in the house, making the social scene doable and downright fun in this sushi joint. Lest you think this place is just about rubbing elbows and catching up with friends, the food''s great. For lunch, the chef''s assorted sushi plate can''t be beat. It''s up to his mood for the day, but you''ll usually find tuna rolls, shrimp, salmon, yellow tail and miso soup somewhere in the mix. Wash it down with the imported Japanese soda or tea, and you''re ready to walk back to the office-with all the right phone numbers in your pocket.

Best Cheap Ticket to Paris

FIFI''S BISTRO

1188 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove, 372-5325.

Life has a way of pounding the rough edges off each of us. As we grow beyond adolescence, the jagged irregularities of immaturity poke through our sensibilities, irritating and chafing. That''s why there is Fifi''s. The little French bistro on the top of Forest Avenue in P.G. provides safe haven for life-going vessels looking for tranquility, comfort, sophistication and peace to go along with the regenerating supplies necessary to carry on. The twinkling candlelight, perfect music, lovely food, and harmonious wines instantly begin working their recuperative magic upon your travel-weary soul. In the words of co-owner Calvin Wilkes (as he applied it to the city of Paris), "it imposes decorum on you." Like velvet gloves on the hands of a master masseuse, the Fifi''s experience deftly polishes any burrs on your being, readying you for the next sail.