Editor's Picks, pt. 1

BestOf
MONTEREY 07

The Weekly’s writers and editors offer insights into some of Monterey County’s uncategorized best.

•SISTINE-LIKE RESTORATION

GOLDEN STATE THEATER, WARREN DEWEY, ARTIST | 417 Alvarado St., Monterey • 372-4555

Warren Dewey flew into Monterey and alighted upon the once-proud Golden State Theater, which was in a state of disrepair and abandonment. His dedication, hard work and vision, combined with a lifelong dream of owning a classic theater, returned Monterey’s downtown landmark back its original role: a downtown landmark. Add inspired programming, like silent movies with live musical accompaniment, classic films and live shows from Bill Cosby to Willie Nelson, and we’ve got our own jeans-wearing Michelangelo right here.

•ONSTAGE MUSICAL DIVERSITY

MONTEREY LIVE | 414 Alvarado St., Monterey • 646-1415

One night the hardwood at Live is a skankin’ feel-good fest with Jonah and the Whalewatchers; the next, it’s awash with rowdy moshing to La Plebe. A robust burlesque breaks out there any time Vermillion Lies is in town. Then there’s the Click Trax Big Band (formerly the SRO Big Band) getting swing dancers going, the Jack Daniels bluegrass of Devil Makes Three sending shoes stomping, and hip-hop from folks like A. Lee making heads bob. Bartender and performer Erhman Hall has seen it all. “It may be old people dancing, it may be young—they might be into punk or funk, rock, rap or swing,” he says, “whatever it is they can do their thing.”

•BEST BOOTY

WHOLE ENCHILADA MARKETPLACE | 7990 Highway 1, Moss Landing • 632-2628

This latest addition to the Moss Landing Village officially confirms what some have suspected for quite a while—Moss Landing may be the coolest place in the county. The full-service market (like the community itself) is eclectic and charming, and sells everything from fresh local produce and seafood to fruit smoothies, licuado and panini. “Chocolate Love,” an assortment of organic and gourmet chocolate, sits atop oak barrels and tempts visitors the minute they walk through the doors. Soon, the shop will offer wine tastings—local wines, of course—which will go well with its impressive cheese selection and specialty crackers. Still not convinced? There’s a life-size pirate statue outside the front of the market. How cool is that?

•UNIQUE LUNCHTIME WORKOUT

LAKE EL ESTERO PADDLE BOATS | Del Monte Avenue and Camino Aguajito; Fremont Avenue and Camino El Estero, Monterey

As a mode of transportation, the pedal-paddleboats are silly. Turns out that it takes a lot of effort to get one of those suckers skimming across the water at anything faster than a turtle’s pace. On the other hand, pedaling a paddleboat turns out to be a lot more fun than sitting on a stationary bicycle in the gym. As a bonus, the two-person boats mean you must bring a partner, which provides an opportunity for a creative and aerobic friend-date. 

•QUICK HISTORY TOUR

COLTON HALL GROUNDS | 351 Pacific St., Monterey • 646-5640

While the main attraction at Colton Hall is the majestic old building where California’s first Constitution was drafted in 1849, there are a couple of other nifty historic sites on the surrounding grounds. There’s a courtyard named Friendly Plaza just off the often flower-speckled Colton Hall lawn. The primary attraction in the plaza is the “Moon Tree,” a coast redwood grown from a seed that has been to the moon and back. Behind the Hall is another place of interest: the Old Monterey Jail. The squat, stone structure, which was in service from 1854 to 1956, is where part of John Steinbeck’s novel Tortilla Flats is set.

•FIVE DOLLAR FEELING

NOODLE BAR | 1944 Fremont Blvd., Seaside • 392-0210

Two words: Noodle Bar. Two results: Fat and happy. One price: $5. This adorable phonebooth restaurant next to Sarita’s in Seaside first hit the scene with its 10 stools this fall and has been packed to the fried bananas ever since. The fact that virtually everything on the menu is $5 (or $6 for a extra large serving) is not quite enough to elevate the Noodle Bar to greatness. That’s where the flavor kicks in. Skeptics need only chopstick into a Barbecue Garlic Prawns and Pork Bowl (or the Combo Fried Rice, or one of the many phos, or a shrimp crepe...) for confirmation. Get the pho over there.

•PLACE TO LIVE OUT A JULIA ROBERTS IN PRETTY WOMAN FANTASY

FREMONT STREET IN SEASIDE

No, not literally, although that wouldn’t be hard to do, either. But just try walking from, say, Williams Avenue, along Fremont Street, north, without being honked at and propositioned. It’s impossible to travel one block without being followed by some guy circling the block, or a truck-load of youngsters honking and asking for a date. Apparently that’s code for, “Are you a hooker?” And if it’s not code, and they’re sincere, and really want to go to dinner and a movie, does driving alongside a woman while honking and screaming ever work? There is one exception: Firemen. Seaside Fire Department, please feel free to wave and honk and smile anytime you like. Yes, you brave firemen in the ladder truck that waved and honked outside of University Plaza a few Fridays ago—you can make a girl’s day.

•PLACE TO ADMIRE MURALS

EAST ALISAL STREET, SALINAS

Where South Salinas becomes East Salinas, artist Arturo Bolaños shows us two parallel worlds: animals and nature on one side; death and Klansmen on the other side. Bursting between the divergent worlds is a golden, god-like figure with six arms and three heads. On the opposite side of the Highway 101 overpass, characters perform indigenous rituals, with an Aztec calendar linking the two painted scenes. Another block or two east, on the WIC building, a mother clutches her child while her body forms a spinning whirlpool symbolizing the Earth. Other murals are harder to spot—such as one behind El Sausal Middle School—but all are strikingly ethereal.

•VISTA POINT LOOKING EAST

TWELFTH FLOOR, EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL | 441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside • 393-1115

Ride the elevator from the bottom of the spectacular atrium to the top floor, and exit to witness the best view of the Monterey Peninsula this side of Jacks Peak. In fact, the wall of windows stretching down the hallway offers a terrific view out over the airport to Jacks Peak itself, and out past all of Seaside to Mount Toro, and Fremont Peak beyond. On the other side of the building there’s also a spectacular view out over the bay—but it’s the rarer view east that’s most memorable.

•MAN TO GET UNFINED, UNFILTERED WINE KNOWLEDGE

GEORGE EDWARDS | Wine Market, 192 Country Club Gate Center, Pacific Grove • 646-0107

George Edwards is like a Grand Cru Burgundy: He has been around for a long time, has impeccable credentials, is completely uncompromising, displays definite terroir—that sense of where he comes from—alternates between elegance and power, shows well even in bad vintages and is less impressed with himself than everyone else is with him. George Edwards is the man who refuses to be swayed by modern trends in winemaking that include high alcohol, overbearing oak and exorbitant prices. In his shop in PG, which, like many profound vineyard sites, requires a bit of exploration to find, he delivers the lowdown on an endless array of wines without prejudice, preconception, prissiness or pretense, just delicious, reasonably-priced gems that go with the foods he tells you they go with.

•PLACE FOR A BOUTIQUE BROWSE 

GIRL-LEE | 214 Main St., Salinas • 770-0252

It’s impossible to just take a quick look around this place. Impossible. Bursting onto the Oldtown scene just three years ago, Girl-Lee has become a destination spot. Browse the eclectic shoe collection, which showcases pamper-me designers like Donald J. Pliner and hard-to-find Brazilian lines like Bronx and Club Nico. You’ll also find an impressive collection of denim and dresses from top names in the biz: Miss Me, Laundry, Stop Staring and Nicole Miller. Throw in lingerie (Spanx, too!), edgy jewelry pieces, handbags and a sprinkling of exquisite antiques (including a $10,000 marble-top table), and this chic little boutique is a pleasure palace. And the first Friday of every month Girl-Lee hosts a local bluegrass band, The Cornells. So if you go, take your cell; you could be a while. But no rush. They won’t close until you’re done.

•TASTE OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE

COZUMEL MEXICAN RESTAURANT | 1447 N. Main St., Salinas • 442-2854

Chorizo is nothing to fear—it’s just sausage. And spiced up, hot chorizo is one of the many things Cozumel does up right. On a cold morning, there’s nothing yummier than one of their comfort burritos stuffed with chorizo, eggs, and huge hunks of grilled potatoes. It’s all wrapped in an enormous flour tortilla, and perfect for breakfast on the go. The monstrosity is big enough for two, so take friends or a gargantuan appetite. Top it with some of their homemade salsa for an extra kick.

•REASON TO FORGIVE GERMANY

DAVID MOLDENHAUER | C&C Repairs, 249 Dela Vina Ave., Monterey • 373-5355

Let’s face it, the Germans make great cars: Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Audi, even VWs. Like every car, German cars need servicing too and nobody does it better than Dave at C&C. Along with wife Dana, a big white bird (not Dana) and two enormous dogs (that scare the life out of you before you realize they are teddy bears), Dave has fine tuned German beauties for the past 35 years. He’s so good that local German car dealers, along with owners of used car dealerships, have nicknamed him, “The Engine Whisperer.” He’s not easy to get an appointment with, but then again neither is the head of cardiology at Stanford. But that sexy German beauty is worth it.

•BOWL OF GOODNESS ON A CLOUDY DAY

FERDI’S HOUSE GUMBO | Ferdi’s Restaurant, 740 Broadway Ave., Seaside • 394-2244

When that wind blows or the fog creeps in, it can feel like there’s no way to get rid of a deep-down chill. A temporary respite can be found at the lunch-only Cajun restaurant Ferdi’s, where they serve a bowl of house gumbo accompanied by a slab of buttered garlic bread for only $5.50. With rice, sausage and chicken, the warming gumbo is as rich as a Southern debutante.

•ARGUMENT FOR COMMUTING

HIGHWAY 1 ALONG ELKHORN SLOUGH

During the spring, before the fog rolls into Moss Landing and camps there until September, the sun shines on the Elkhorn Slough and dozens of white, spindly, baby egrets stand in the shallow water and along the marsh. A narrow, two-lane section of Highway 1 runs between the water and the grasses and the birds, creating this oddly beautiful intersection of technology and nature. Then, during the fall and sometimes into early winter, the light changes along this stretch of highway and slough. It turns colder, and everything is bathed in pastels—the pale sky, pink clouds, graying grasses and lavender water. It’s soothing and comfortably still.

•FOOD ON A PAPER PLATE

LA PERLA TACO TRUCK | East Market Street, one block east of North Madeira Avenue, Salinas

The lights from the wheeled taco oasis illuminate a line of late-night eaters standing under a tree. La Perla’s cooks serve up fresh and savory carne asada, carnitas and other meat tacos on paper plates. It’s best to load a ladle full of spicy chili verde salsa on the tacos and eat them while standing on the sidewalk. They’re only a buck, so you can always order more. The La Perla truck is always open way past the time when Salinas’ sit-down restaurants are shuttered—often past 2am on Friday and Saturday nights.

•WINE AND FOOD COMBINER

THOMAS PEREZ | L’Auberge Carmel, Monte Verde at Seventh, Carmel • 624-8578

In today’s information-rich world, wine has become a religion, with scholars and devotees spending countless hours studying and questioning, meditating and yearning for enlightenment. Like so many neighborhood parish priests, rabbis, ministers or gurus, professional and serious amateur winos try their hand at pairing wine with food. They are virtually always off the mark—either by just a bit, or by miles. The sommelier Thomas Perez is a savant. Night after night he combines wines with multiple courses of complex dishes for the most discriminating clientele. His success ratio borders on the absurd. This is not an indictment of any other sommelier, just an acknowledgment of Perez’s gift.

•SIGHT-FILLED STROLL

TRAIL TO MOLERA BEACH | Andrew Molera State Park, 20 miles south of Carmel on Hwy 1, Big Sur • 667-2315

Despite being only two miles roundtrip in length, the easy walk from Highway 1 to Molera Beach offers a lot. Start by parking in the dirt pullout on the west side of the highway north of the main park entrance. From there, walk through a meadow to Cooper Cabin, a three-room structure built in 1861 that is the oldest building on the coast. Behind the cabin is a eucalyptus grove, where monarch butterflies flutter down like yellow confetti on warm spring afternoons. Then walk alongside the clear-as-gin Big Sur River until the trail dead ends into the stream. The adventurous can try and find a way across the river to the log-strewn beach on the other side. The scenery on the walk back is dominated by the limestone peak of Pico Blanco, which rises above the other mountains like a shark’s fin.

•USE OF AN EMPTY PARKING LOT

OLDTOWN SALINAS MARKETPLACE | Saturdays on the 100 block of Main Street, Salinas • 758-0725

Salinas’ downtown marketplace makes Saturday shopping a fun and communal experience. People fill up their cloth farmer’s market bags or African baskets with organic strawberries, plump peaches and ripe tomatoes—all for a reasonable price. The year-round marketplace, which sprung up this past summer, also has fresh fish and numerous hot food vendors, not to mention tables full of great gifts like jewelry and cashmere scarves. After a visit to the marketplace, you may not even have to step foot in a mall. Instead, enjoy the sunshine, familiar faces and live music.

USE OF THE METRIC SYSTEM

CAFÉ RUSTICA’S WINE PITCHERS | 10 Delfino Place, Carmel Valley • 659-4444

At first you might think Café Rustica’s 250ml servings of wine are just a gimmick. You’ve taken a seat inside the gorgeous little Carmel Valley restaurant, settled on a glass of chenin blanc from a carefully constructed wine list, and here comes your glass along with a small, charming pitcher of wine so you can refill it yourself. It’s a trick, right? A clever ruse to make you think you’re getting more wine, eh? WRONG! You are getting more wine. That 250ml is a third of a bottle, folks, and here’s the best thing: it costs the same as the smaller servings you get everywhere else. I’ll drink to that.

•REASON TO PARTICIPATE IN POLITICS

MONTEREY CITY COUNCIL’S LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR

People start to catch the holiday spirit in December. Maybe it’s the constant Christmas carols that begin the day after Halloween, or the snow on the ground…or not. It’s actually the promise of free food and booze courtesy of the city of Monterey. Every year, at its last meeting in December, the City Council meets at the Portola Plaza Hotel. People dress for the event, in skirts and suits, and many wear holiday brooches and pins. City staff and councilmembers seem happy and festive. All of the appointed committees and commissions give year-end reports to the council, and highlight their accomplishments. And then, after the business part of the meeting is out of the way, everyone breaks for a full spread of appetizers and wine. Ah, the joy of free, public meetings. It almost makes every other Tuesday-night meeting during the year worth the pain. 

•FREE ADULT ED

CARMEL VALLEY VIDEO | 10 E. Carmel Valley Rd., Carmel Valley • 659-3651 | 308 Mid Valley Center, Carmel • 624-2270

When Pete Jones and his wife, Peggy, opened Carmel Valley Video, they hoped educational and documentary titles would be a specialty. But they weren’t popular. So Jones decided to lend the films at no charge, for up to three days. He also features these DVDs and videos prominently and continually updates the selection. The documentaries are primarily on political and environmental themes. Titles include the hard-to-find Loose Change, The Next Industrial Revolution, The Corporation, Travels with George, Cadillac Desert, and Introductory Yoga, as well as both Farenheit 911 and Farenhype 911 (an example of the diverging viewpoints that are represented). Jones also owns Carmel Video in the Mid-Valley Shopping Center, and titles can be returned there for convenience.

•DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

TONY LOMBARDO

It’s probably not fair to vilify Tony Lombardo, the Salinas attorney whom developers love and environmentalists loath. After all, he’s just doing the job that his (rich) clients pay him (loads of money) to do: Ghostwrite county documents, lobby elected officials to push development projects through the pipeline, convince the Board of Supervisors that a 50,000-home-and-seven-golf-course project that also includes a mall and a movie theater and a petting zoo (an evil petting zoo?) really doesn’t require any environmental review. With his piercing blue eyes and shock of white hair, Tony makes quite the dashing villain. And he gives us plenty to write about.

•PLACE TO GET LOST

ZMUDOWSKI STATE BEACH | Hwy 1 at Struve Road, North County • 649-2836

Once upon a time, this secret stretch of sand was called Hidden Beach and was mostly clothing optional. At some point—presumably after folks figured out that this has got to be one of the coldest spots in the county—clothing became less optional, and the name went from Hidden to Zmudowski. Its seclusion is still the major draw. Even in the height of summer, the only crowd to speak of is the occasional horse and a few scattered fishing poles. Mother Nature has provided ample seating by scattering enormous hunks of driftwood everywhere. It’s too rough for a swim, but early morning beachcombing is a must. On a good day, the beach is rich with sand dollars. And though we’re much bigger fans of leaving seashells and sand critters behind untouched, it’s the perfect spot to inspect the living shoreline and cast your worries away for a while.

•RAW BARGAIN

BENIHANA | 136 Olivier St., Monterey • 372-8900
CRYSTAL FISH | 514 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey • 649-3474

Don’t rock the boat. For that matter, do not knock, dis or doubt the boat—it’s named the Number 1 for a reason. The sushi boat is the biggest value on Bennihana’s lunch menu: miso soup, salad, edamame, fried tempura, sashimi (or grilled salmon), California roll, chicken teriyaki, rice and a pretty little sliced half orange. For $8. Another thrifty thrill is just down the Rec Trail, at Crystal Fish Sushi, where the large hot sake is $2 during happy hour. The Eastern bang for the buck with this combo is simply ichiban. (That’s loose Japanese for “Best Of.”)

•PLACE TIME STANDS STILL (BUT THE GROUND DOESN’T)

PARKFIELD CAFÉ | 70410 Parkfield Coalinga Rd., Parkfield • (805) 463-2421

Sometimes ya just need to get away. Next time, try a scenic drive inland on Highway 46 or 25. Either will get you to Parkfield, the infamous “Earthquake Capital of California,” home to 6.0 quakes regularly for over a hundred years, and population of a whopping 37. No, the rest of them didn’t fall into the San Andreas where the tiny town (eh-ehm) rests. It’s just a quiet place, forgotten by time and invaded now and then by scientists and thrill-seekers hoping to ride The Big One. The café, which urges customers to “Be here when It happens,” is perhaps a little sad-looking to the untrained eye. But for those who get it, Parkfield’s rustic, barn-like café is a place others only dream to be, surrounded by deeply creviced valleys and rolling green hills kept perfectly manicured by grazing cattle. So go. Stay awhile. Bet you’ll feel it, too.

•HIKE THIRST QUENCHER

BIG SUR RIVER INN STORE SMOOTHIE BAR | Hwy 1 at Pheneger Creek, Big Sur • 667-2700

The sun beating down on Big Sur’s hiking trails can cause the sage to sweat its sweet scent, but it can also cause hikers to lose a lot of their precious fluids. When this happens, may we suggest the River Inn Store’s wonderful smoothie bar. Here, thirsty hikers can pick between a big 16-ounce or bigger 20-ounce smoothie in flavors like Ginger Peach and Berry Berry, which blends strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and honey.

•UNDERUSED PATIO LOUNGES

SPANISH BAY | 2700 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach • 647-7500
JACKS | 2 Portola Plaza, Monterey 649-2698
TRAILSIDE CAFÉ | 550 Wave St. (lower level), Monterey, 649-8600

The perfect patio is the reason God gave us sunny afternoons. These three diverse but deserving variations on perfection never get enough play: Spanish Bay, the venerable coastal spot, with brick fireplaces and the bagpiper; Jacks, the new Old Monterey jewel, with its exclusive views of Portola Plaza; and The Trailside Café, with water for the doggies and air scented by fresh beignets, a flowering garden and the imposing Pacific.

•PLACE FOR A BREATHER

BLUFFS TRAIL ON FORT ORD | off Crescent Bluffs Road near East Garrison

Barrel your handlebars through overlying bush limbs. The unmarked single-track trail appears to be going nowhere when around a bend the ridge collapses into the Salinas Valley. The 100-foot-high bluff offers a bucolic view of an expansive agricultural field bordering the Salinas River. Fremont Peak towers above the valley, and you can clearly see all the way to Santa Cruz. Cars drive by on Reservation Road below. The highlight of the perch: exchanging a thin saddle for a faded wooden bench.

•PLACE TO FONDLE THE PRODUCE  

PEZZINI FARMS |Nashua Road and Hwy 1, Castroville • 757-7434

There’s something very chic, in an Earth Mother sort of way, about getting your produce directly from the farm. Everything just tastes better there: fresher, cleaner, healthier. It’s hard to keep your hands to yourself in this roadside shop. And the selection is huge. They have vats upon vats of onions, avocados, scallops, garlic, potatoes, fruit, and countless tomato varieties to fondle. Then there’s the never-ending supply of gourmet salsas, exotic oils, sauces and jams. Topping off the store, and the reason most folks show up to begin with, is Pezzini’s world famous artichokes. Wanna know where they’re grown? Step outside and take a look around. They’ve been swiped right from those very rows of bushy green beauties. Back inside, they’re displayed neatly divided, from the teeny-tiny walnut-sized to the feed-a-family-of-four ones. Might not want to feel-out these babies, though. Artichokes can bite back pretty hard.

•Hip New Corporate Trend

SUSTAINABILITY

It’s like the old Alice’s Restaurant song. What was once a protest is now officially a movement. The grassroots good ideas espoused by Sustainable Monterey and Sustainable PG have taken hold. This year Cal Am and PG&E are selling conservation, the Monterey County Business Council and AMBAG are hosting symposia on the topic of green business, and the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce is introducing the first-ever carbon neutral tourist event in Monterey County when the 50th anniversary of the Good Old Days festival falls on Earth Day next month.

•USE OF STUDENT FEES

BLACK BOX CABARET | 3rd Street and 4th Avenue, • CSU Monterey Bay

Well, it only took about 10 years, but Cal State Monterey’s Bay’s beloved Black Box Cabaret finally has a state-of-the-art sound system. The venue was always great while the sound was consistently crappy. It was a good night when bands had monitors. But students recently invested $40,000 to bring a new 32-channel soundboard, speakers with plenty of punch, and yes, count them, six monitors. Now virtually any musical act can perform at the BBC without the desire to strangle the sound guy.

•RELENTLESS STYLE OF STEWARDSHIP

MONTEREY BAY MARINE SANCTUARY VOLUNTEERS | montereybay.noaa.gov

The tide is turning: People are starting to get it. No longer is Storm Water thought to be that rowdy local band. What we do here, says the growing murmur, directly affects the out there. And yes, as goes ocean, so goes us. These volunteers—through activism, volunteerism and an abiding love for the big blue—have résumés that read like comic books: 500 hours donated, alien kelps largely eliminated, whole monitoring networks created out of sweat and marine science. It feels good to know these everyday heroes are out there; it feels better to help them out.