Monterey County has world class-wines, internationally renowned chefs, and a plethora of locally grown foods and produce. So how can we decide where and what to eat? Chefs continually refine their selections and turn up the volume on signature dishes and menus. Still, local restaurants are pairing food in extraordinary and exciting ways. This is an exciting time in our local food world, and a few landmark restaurants and outstanding chefs demand a closer look.
Chef Cal Stamenov’s credentials and reputation belie a sensitive and intuitive man with a passion for good food and flavorful ingredients. As executive chef and culinary director at Bernardus Lodge, Stamenov oversees the kitchens of Marinus Restaurant, Wickets Bistro, and Wills Fargo Dining House, ensuring that each maintains a distinctive style and divergent menu selection to best represent the attributes that appeal to the clientele. Marinus Restaurant has the warm and inviting feel of a French country bistro with an open and friendly atmosphere that best showcases Stamenov’s California Natural cuisine. The seasonal selections include California osetra caviar, summer beets, and heirloom tomatoes, grown at the Lodge, with a choice of seafood and meat dishes that range from spot prawns and halibut to Colorado lamb and free range chicken. The wine selections, overseen by Wine Director Mark Jensen, include more than 1,800 imported and local Monterey County wines and, of course, the eponymous Bernardus Winery Bordeaux-style red wine, chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.
Stamenov most enjoys a beautifully roasted chicken with an herb coating of mint, cilantro, and tarragon. Paired with a local Pinot Noir from Morgan or Pisoni Vineyards and a tossed salad, the chicken becomes a culinary masterpiece most home chefs could prepare with a little practice. In fact, he continues to explore ways to bring a more inviting style of dining to all his restaurants. He is in the process of creating a new a la carte menu for Marinus and envisions a more expanded menu for both Wickets and Wills Fargo. With a culinary style that ranges from exquisite epicurean fare to humble roasts and grills, Stamenov continues to inspire and tantalize his many happy patrons.
Chef Mark Ayers is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and brings to his position as executive chef at Pacific’s Edge restaurant at the Highlands Inn a wealth of experience and knowledge with a practical approach to food and its preparation and service. The chef’s menu — a seven-course, smallplate extravaganza — is balanced by the dinner menu, which offers a range of a la carte choices. A flavorful first course choice is the Sautéed Day Boat Scallops with celery root purée, foie gras, and a rich carrot juice reduction drizzled over the top. Paired with a buttery Morgan 2007 Metallico Un-Oaked Chardonnay the combination creates an intense flavor and textural experience.
The dinner menu includes a marvelous range of beef, fish, and vegetarian dishes from which to choose. Both the seared prime-beef tenderloin with smoky tomato fontina polenta and cipollini onions, and the luxurious braised prime-beef short ribs with whipped potatoes, locally foraged mushrooms, and Pinot Noir reduction pair beautifully with an estate-bottled Galante 2005 “Almond Flat” Pinot Noir. The wine is a full-bodied style Pinot Noir with enough tannin in the finish to superbly complement the beef dishes. The seared Tasmanian salmon with cauliflower purée, broccoli rabe, and a white anchovy and tomato relish has the depth of flavor wild salmon provides with the slightly tart broccoli rabe taste as a counterpoint. Paired with the Bernardus 2005 Monterey County Chardonnay, which provides a lush, opulent palate, the salmon simply melts in your mouth. The menu is rounded out by dessert choices to whet any appetite. The choices range from a simple cheese platter to a selection of house made ice creams and sorbets. The crème brûlée trio with seasonal fruit or the chocolate sphere with hazelnut crunch and hot chocolate would pair delightfully with a Mirassou 2006 Riesling.
With its extraordinary view of the Pacific Ocean, an understated interior, soft lighting, and attentive service the Pacific’s Edge Restaurant is a favorite for a romantic evening or celebration of life’s many special moments.
Owner Chris Shake and Chef Juan Ponce have created the best the Monterey Peninsula has to offer in sublime meals and astute wine selections. The familyowned business, created by Chris’ father the legendary restaurateur Sabu Shake, more than 50 years ago, continues to draw savvy locals and tourists alike. Ponce uses the freshest ingredients from the Monterey Bay with local catch reflected in his daily menu selections along with Salinas Valley produce and local, farm-raised cattle. Chris Shake and Beverage Manager Dave Muller offer a varied, thoughtful, and affordable selection of mostly California wines with which to pair their food choices.
Ponce selected macadamia nut crusted halibut with citrus beurre blanc sauce to be paired with Talbott Vineyard’s Kali Hart Chardonnay as an expression of his gastronomic philosophy and that of the Old Fisherman’s Grotto. The halibut is on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program as a best choice and reflects Chef Ponce’s keen interest in local, sustainable seafood. The wine is from the Talbott Vineyards of Monterey and named for the family’s youngest daughter, Kali. Wrapped in a combination of panko crumbs and crushed macadamia nuts, the halibut is seared then placed in a hot oven to finish the cooking process. The beurre blanc sauce is a reduced combination of orange and pineapple juice with butter and cream to create a velvety sauce with hints of citrus. Served over flavorful sliced roasted sweet potatoes and a drizzle of the tangy citrus sauce, the combination is rich and piquant. The Talbott Kali Hart Chardonnay brought a refreshing acidity with a nose of honeysuckle and fresh-cut grass. This particular pairing is one of many choices that continue to draw diners to the Old Fisherman’s Grotto.
Not to be overlooked are three venerable restaurants in the area offering superb food and expansive wine selections. Each exemplifies the attention to detail in food preparation and sensitive pairing of wine to food that maintains the areas reputation as a culinary destination.
Fresh Cream Restaurant offers views of the Monterey Bay through large windows overlooking Fisherman’s Wharf. The classic French menu includes carré d’agneau a la moutarde en croûte d’herbes (rack of lamb with mustard in a herb pastry), poulet roti avec son jus et sa purée aux truffes (roast chicken au jus, with truffle purée), and sole de Douvre grillée meunière amandine (grilled Dover sole with butter sauce). Fresh Cream Restaurant is romantic, sophisticated and just the right spot for that special evening or celebration.
Fandango restaurant is in the heart of Pacific Grove and hearts of locals and visitors alike. Offering a menu of Mediterranean and European style the restaurant calls the food “Cuisine of the Sun.” There are dining rooms that seat eight and larger rooms for a family reunion. Menu selections range from paella Fandango, veal piccata, and pasta puttanesca to steaks and fish. The wine list includes a comprehensive selection of wines from around the world and Monterey County wines in particular.
Located on the wharf in Monterey since 1989, Café Fina, offering traditional Italian cuisine, has a menu replete with pasta, grilled meats, pizza, seafood, and divine appetizers. Domenico’s, also on the wharf in Monterey has a menu focused on great seafood with an Italian bent. Of particular note are the fresh-caught, mesquite-grilled Monterey Bay sardines. The wine list at both restaurants includes some of the best Monterey County wines available. Patrons particularly enjoy the complimentary valet parking while dining in either restaurant.
These restaurants have raised the bar and their colleagues at cafés, bistros, and trattorias all over the Peninsula strive to create flavorful and creative pairings of original recipes and Monterey County wines.
OLD FISHERMAN’S GROTTO
In 2006 Chris Shake published 50 Years of Shake Family Traditions & Treasured Recipes, a retrospective of his family’s deep commitment to the restaurant business and love of the Monterey Peninsula. The volume contains some of the Old Fisherman’s Grotto’s signature recipes, as well as photographs and a compelling history of the Shake family.
Winners for the past five years of the Best Clam Chowder on the Monterey Peninsula award the Old Fisherman’s Grotto, and Chef Juan Ponce continually expand and refine their menu and wine selections with the finest in cooking and presentation techniques.
