For more than 13 years, the Bonilla family''s El Miguele¤o Restaurant has been familiar to Seaside diners looking for Salvadoran food. Bonilla brothers Orlando, Eduber and Velis later struck out in a different direction catering to sports bar enthusiasts with the opening of the Dunes in 1995, also in Seaside. A year later, they jumped on the same bandwagon that carried other successful Peninsula restaurateurs into new venues in Salinas. Moving into the site of the former Hong Kong Caf‚ in Oldtown Salinas, the brothers took on another partner, Daniel Rosa, and opened a second restaurant.

A little later down the road, with the National Steinbeck Center up and running and drawing visitors from all around the world, the partners decided to re-think their concept. They were after something that would strike a complementary note, right next door to the hub that marks the center of Steinbeck Country. The decision was to hire an architect and temporarily close the doors, re-invent themselves, and re-open this past April as T'' Pearl, approximating the title of Steinbeck''s classic, The Pearl, as closely as they were legally able.

"We also wanted to create a totally different experience where the food is concerned," Orlando explained, "so we re-designed the menu along with renovating the interior." The exposed bleached beams, Spanish colonial and rustic Mexican art displays coincide smoothly with smooth contemporary textiles and tile to bring a decidedly updated presence to Oldtown.

The food that is paired with the new look is dubbed "New World Style" cooking, with a menu that skips around to reveal various ethnic influences. Beginning with an extensive breakfast menu that goes from a selection of Benedicts (the classic, an artichoke-bottoms-with-bacon rendition, a smoked salmon variation, and one with turkey and avocado), to an Italian frittata with crab, shrimp and artichokes, and on to huevos viva Zapata (eggs smothered in ranchera sauce).

The lunch menu offers a selection of hot and cold sandwiches (calamari with Jack cheese, the Black Angus New York steak over a baguette with jalape¤os and Jack) with an optional pairing of fries, a marinated vegetable salad or green salad, or soup. Several burgers and a choice of pastas (mushroom ravioli, angel hair with shrimp, clams and crab in Alfredo sauce, chicken tortellini in marinara, also on the dinner menu) compete with the list of eight entree salads. The grilled prawns and scallops served over a colorful julienne of vegetables is served in a snappy tomato vinaigrette. Along with the coyotito salad, a combination of fresh melon, pineapple, strawberries, walnuts and cheeses in honey ranch dressing, these make for a nice departure if you venture far astray from the classic Caesar, or its counterpart with avocado and grilled chicken.

Dinner might start with oysters Rockefeller or on the half shell and then set off in a number of directions. There''s paella with the works, including five kinds of seafood, chorizo and chicken, a Sicilian-style cioppino, a jumbo shrimp scampi that gets the addition of fresh sauteed spinach and grilled salmon in dill and mustard cream sauce. Grilled swordfish in tomato tarragon sauce over pasta rounds out the seafood choices.

Several chicken dishes, including the Monterey, a grilled breast with mushrooms and Alfredo sauce, as well as grilled Angus New York and rib eye steaks are all offered with a choice of soup or salad. The flan and tiramisu are made in-house.

T'' Pearl
129 Main St., Salinas, 422-2700

For more than 13 years, the Bonilla family''s El Miguele¤o Restaurant has been familiar to Seaside diners looking for Salvadoran food. Bonilla brothers Orlando, Eduber and Velis later struck out in a different direction catering to sports bar enthusiasts with the opening of the Dunes in 1995, also in Seaside. A year later, they jumped on the same bandwagon that carried other successful Peninsula restaurateurs into new venues in Salinas. Moving into the site of the former Hong Kong Caf‚ in Oldtown Salinas, the brothers took on another partner, Daniel Rosa, and opened a second restaurant.

A little later down the road, with the National Steinbeck Center up and running and drawing visitors from all around the world, the partners decided to re-think their concept. They were after something that would strike a complementary note, right next door to the hub that marks the center of Steinbeck Country. The decision was to hire an architect and temporarily close the doors, re-invent themselves, and re-open this past April as T'' Pearl, approximating the title of Steinbeck''s classic, The Pearl, as closely as they were legally able.

"We also wanted to create a totally different experience where the food is concerned," Orlando explained, "so we re-designed the menu along with renovating the interior." The exposed bleached beams, Spanish colonial and rustic Mexican art displays coincide smoothly with smooth contemporary textiles and tile to bring a decidedly updated presence to Oldtown.

The food that is paired with the new look is dubbed "New World Style" cooking, with a menu that skips around to reveal various ethnic influences. Beginning with an extensive breakfast menu that goes from a selection of Benedicts (the classic, an artichoke-bottoms-with-bacon rendition, a smoked salmon variation, and one with turkey and avocado), to an Italian frittata with crab, shrimp and artichokes, and on to huevos viva Zapata (eggs smothered in ranchera sauce).

The lunch menu offers a selection of hot and cold sandwiches (calamari with Jack cheese, the Black Angus New York steak over a baguette with jalape¤os and Jack) with an optional pairing of fries, a marinated vegetable salad or green salad, or soup. Several burgers and a choice of pastas (mushroom ravioli, angel hair with shrimp, clams and crab in Alfredo sauce, chicken tortellini in marinara, also on the dinner menu) compete with the list of eight entree salads. The grilled prawns and scallops served over a colorful julienne of vegetables is served in a snappy tomato vinaigrette. Along with the coyotito salad, a combination of fresh melon, pineapple, strawberries, walnuts and cheeses in honey ranch dressing, these make for a nice departure if you venture far astray from the classic Caesar, or its counterpart with avocado and grilled chicken.

Dinner might start with oysters Rockefeller or on the half shell and then set off in a number of directions. There''s paella with the works, including five kinds of seafood, chorizo and chicken, a Sicilian-style cioppino, a jumbo shrimp scampi that gets the addition of fresh sauteed spinach and grilled salmon in dill and mustard cream sauce. Grilled swordfish in tomato tarragon sauce over pasta rounds out the seafood choices.

Several chicken dishes, including the Monterey, a grilled breast with mushrooms and Alfredo sauce, as well as grilled Angus New York and rib eye steaks are all offered with a choice of soup or salad. The flan and tiramisu are made in-house.

T'' Pearl
129 Main St., Salinas, 422-2700

Hours: Breakfast 8-11:30am Saturday and Sunday, 10-11:30am weekdays. Lunch 11:30am-4pm, dinner 4:30-9pm, seven days a week
Price range: Under $2-14.95