Recent Stories

Tease photo The Man Who Changed Music

The Peninsula’s Robert Greenfield, a preeminent chronicler of rock ‘n’ roll, turns his pen on late recording legend Ahmet Ertegun.

Ahmet Ertegun signed and/or recorded Ray Charles, Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Sonny and Cher, Eric Clapton, Cream, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Bette Midler, Kid Rock, and many ...

Tease photo Il Vecchio

Straightforward but sexy tastes at good prices in a crafty environment make il Vecchio an instant local hit.

It’s an unlikely set of qualifications for a restaurateur: two enthusiastic daughters, an adventurous spirit, a doctorate in clinical psychology, a career in psychotherapy, and experience opening an Indian restaurant in Rome more than 30 ...

Tease photo Lodge Restaurant at Carmel Valley Ranch

Ranch Rules: Lodge Restaurant packs ‘sophisticated rustic’ flavor behind seemingly private gates (hint: they’re not).

After the brief splash made by celebrity chef Michel Richard and Citronelle restaurant at Carmel Valley Ranch, the renamed Lodge Restaurant reflects the vision of the new owner, John Pritzker, a scion of the Hyatt ...

Tease photo Place Apart

Restaurant 1833 uses setting and gold-plate-pedigree chef to match the hype and then some.

Monterey’s 1833 Restaurant, named after the building’s year of origin, is the latest in a series of restaurants to occupy Stokes Adobe, the home of former mayor James Stokes, whose name stuck with it. The ...

Tease photo Something Brewing

Cannery Row Brewing Company earns full houses with great tastes at fair prices.

Who’d be crazy enough to open two restaurants in the same year? Robert Weakley and David Bernahl of Coastal Luxury Management – that’s who. The buzz generated by their nascent Cannery Row Brewing Company is ...

Tease photo Courtside Café

Serious Game: Courtside Café’s David Frappiea hits a winner with an under-the-radar eatery.

Sometimes a place to get a bite to eat pops up in the least expected spot. I can’t think of one more inconspicuous than Courtside Café at Chamisal Tennis and Fitness Club, a public restaurant ...

Tease photo Brodie to the Max

Wendy Brodie’s cooking classes augment a local legend further.

Is it a class, a demo, a party, or a gallery exhibit? Even all that doesn’t describe my recent cooking course at the Carmel Highlands home of Chef Wendy Brodie and her husband/local hospitality maven ...

Tease photo Fresh Cream

Fresh Cream Restaurant’s new location is only one of several upgrades.

After 27 years at Heritage Harbor in Monterey, the now 32-year-old Fresh Cream Restaurant broke loose from its moorings. After a short sail south, she dropped anchor in the former site of Bully III, a ...

Tease photo Le St. Tropez

French Revolution: Le St. Tropez delivers on a long-incubated dream on Dolores Street.

The only thing uncommon about Jean and Mary Hubert’s dream of owning a restaurant is that they acted on it. They even had the precise location in mind for 10 years: Dolores Street in Carmel. ...

Tease photo The Restaurant at Ventana

After a disastrous fire, the re-minted Restaurant at Ventana only amplifies its flavor.

The restaurant at Ventana Inn, Cielo, was destined to perish. After triumphing over the Basin Complex Fire, Cielo reopened for just one week when a kitchen fire destroyed the 34-year-old interior. It took a year ...

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