Retired / Dining / Feast
Fish, Revisited
A swim with the area’s first community-supported fishery, Local Catch Monterey Bay, proves a savory adventure.
This was a pitch meeting like no other. The various “The supervisors did what?”s and “How can we make this water story less wonky”s come standard, but the table toppings made it different. No old ...
Super Seeds
Planting the seed of seed ordering to make glorious gardens possible – and full of personality.
Ordering seeds in winter might seem like jumping the gun, but the days are getting longer, and it’s almost time to start the garden. If you aren’t picky about the varieties you want to grow, ...
Against the Grain
A handful of heady restaurants give Monterey County hope – and flavor – without wheat.
Imagine your diet without cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch or pasta for dinner. Those with an allergy or intolerance to gluten, the primary protein in wheat and similar grains such as barley and rye, ...
Salumeria Luca
Feeling Cured: Salumeria Luca unfurls an impressive assemblage of Italian charcuterie, sandwiches and other treats.
The first I heard of Salumeria Luca was from a friend who bought her father a salami sandwich for his birthday. He promptly reported that it transported him back to his native Italy with the ...
Mixed Company
Carmel Food Company succeeds with tastes, underwhelms on value.
When we heard Carmel Food Company’s Chef Sven Hoffman hailed from the famed Auberge du Soleil in Napa and trained further in Germany, we were eager to taste his food. That eagerness would grow, as ...
Hanabi Japanese Restaurant
Hanabi Japanese Restaurant creates a fairytale sushi story in the Artichoke Capital of the World.
Love is stronger than looks. Take it from Beauty and the Beast, who taught us that one can learn to love despite hairy body parts and general grotesqueness. So it goes with Hanabi Japanese Restaurant, ...
The Other Offal
Borrowing from the “waste not” school of animal parts works for veggie lovers as well – and saves cash.
The preparation and consumption of animal offal has become trendy in recent years. From headcheese to braised pig feet, there are many ways of turning animal innards into delicacies. And while plant offal hasn’t exactly ...
Bay View Deli & BBQ
The food, if not the ’tude, inspires a visit to hidden Bay View Deli & BBQ.
Most people that arrive at the Coast Guard Pier in Monterey are either fishing, diving or lost. On a typical day, the vast, vacant parking lot feels more like the deck of an aircraft carrier ...
Sakana Sushi Bar
Roll Play: Sakana Sushi gives downtown Monterey a cozy and creative spot for special rolls.
Good things come in threes, so they say. With International Cuisine in Pacific Grove and Dametra Cafe in Carmel well established, Monterey’s Sakana Sushi Bar now joins the Nimri family trifecta. Youngest brother Fadi Nimri ...
Chapala Mexican Restaurant
Pillar Talk: New owners, updated décor, but Chapala’s fresh Mexican fare remains.
We arrived unannounced at 7pm on a Tuesday to find a cherry parking spot and only four tables occupied. It wasn’t long before we were enjoying chips, salsa and deliciously refreshing margaritas – half our ...
Top Seeds
Gary Ibsen and Dagma Lacey see off their signature TomatoFest with the flavor locals have come to expect.
For the decidedly epic event, Monterey Marriott-3 Flags’ Willi Franz has crafted a caravan of scarlet corn-crusted green zebra heirloom tomato sliders with pepper-griddled citrus soft-shelled blue crab and caricia aioli. Talk about a mouthful. ...
Olympic Food Fight
Fast Food Nation vs. the People’s Republic of Mystery Meat
Athletes testing positive for steroids, however, isn’t the only scenario the USOC hopes to avoid by packing its own lunch. There are safety concerns based on recent news about tainted Chinese food – dumplings laced ...
Honest Serving
Flash in the Pan answers reader questions again – with the requisite flavor we expect.
Q: Dear Flash, I’ve heard it’s best to thaw frozen meat slowly, like overnight. Is this true? – Frozen Thoughts A: Dear Frozen, One reason for thawing meat slowly in the refrigerator, as opposed to ...
Local Produces
A Los Banos-born-and-bred cook contends for honors in Bravo’s “Top Chef: Chicago.”
Ryan Scott doesn’t know what his star turn will look like. What he does know, now, is that it’s coming more quickly than he realized. “I’m the first guy introduced?” he asks. “I haven’t seen ...
Sticky-ing to Tradition
As Tet celebrations draw to a close, a look at ways to keep the great food coming.
The Kitchen God knows your family secrets. According to Vietnamese customs, about one week before the first day of the Lunar New Year in February, that god, Ong Tao, flies to heaven to share his ...
