BestOf 2006 Readers' Picks

CARMEL VALLEY RESTAURANT  Café Rustica

10 Delfino Pl, Carmel Valley | 659-4444

Italy should be so lucky to have a café like this in its countryside. A creative mosaic of Alsatian, Italian and French cooking in a casual, colorful setting makes for such a pleasant escape that people are more than happy to make the drive to the village to experience it. The seafood specials (halibut is often served) and steaks are excellent, but it’s also nice to come here for one of the creative pizzas (try the Lorraine, with gruyere and bacon) and a tender butter leaf salad with champagne vinaigrette. Another nice touch: wines by the glass—mostly French and Californian—are served in a quarter-liter carafe for you to pour out yourself. It’s more generous than the usual restaurant portion and it somehow makes you feel a little more at home.