The simple joys, done just right. A cup of coffee. A slice of cake. A burger. Here’s where Weekly readers find them.

Best Bakery 

Parker Lusseau Pastries 

731 Munras Ave., Monterey 643-0300 539 Hartnell St., Monterey 641-9188 40 Ragsdale Drive, Monterey 655-3030 www.parker_lusseaupastries.com Parker-Lusseau serves up familiar favorites like croissants, danish and brioche and delectables you might want to sample for the first time. Take the canelé, a rum and vanilla pudding first created in the Bordeaux region of France in the 14th century. Pastry chef Yann Lusseau bakes them in a copper mold lined with beeswax and butter, and suggests them for an afternoon snack with coffee. The bakery’s artisan chocolate bunnies and Easter eggs are so popular that as many as 400 pounds of chocolate go into their creation each Resurrection. Breakfast and lunch are also on tap at both Monterey locations. 

Best Cakes 

Layers 

9 Soledad Dr., Monterey 655-1544, www.layerscake. com The man behind Monterey Bay’s premier custom cake shop turns out desserts with one thing in mind: creativity. Fire hydrants, motorcycles, and horses are just some of the oneof-a-kind creations coming out of Layers’ kitchen. “No two cakes come out alike,” says owner Tony Nuovo. “We like to customize our cakes to each individual party.” These confectionary works of art are made with the best ingredients, Nuovo guarantees, and Layers’ staff spends as much time with their customers as necessary to satisfy local sweet teeth without leaving wallets wanting.

Best Barbecue 

Smalley’s Roundup Restaurant 

1190 S. Main St., Salinas 758-0511, www.smalleysroundup.com One need not be born with a skewer in hand and barbecue sauce in the baby bottle to recognize some serious dripping, lick-it-up, rub-it-down, smoky, savory barbecue quality in Smalley’s. The ribs are royalty. The tritip is top-flight tender.

The legend is still saucy after 35 years in business. The motto: “Vegetarian is an Indian word for ‘lousy hunter.’” And the early bird specials, damn: a choice of chops, ribs, chicken or shrimp with garlic bread, beef and bean chili, green salad or chowder and a baked potato (or steak fries) for as little as $9.99.

Best Burger 

r. g. Burgers

570 Munras Ave. #30, Monterey 372-4930 201 Crossroads Shopping Village, Carmel 626-8054 www.realgoodburgers.com The classic r.g. Burger sports generous layers of fresh pickles and tomato and drips with the famous r.g. sauce—and flavorful juices from its expertly cooked-to-order patty. If you’re looking for something a bit more exotic, the Cajun Burger extends a complex symphony of spices to the burger experience or there are such unusual yet exceptional varieties as falafel and the rich, gamy bison. Whether you’re going for a little class or a little edge, this joint’s got something real good, from their grill to yours.

Best Burrito 

Chipotle Mexican Grill 

500 Del Monte Center Monterey 641-9353, www.chipotle. com Chipotlefan.com says it straightforward like. “There is no way to match the food from Chipotle flawlessly.” (Though that doesn’t stop CF from posting “your best bet for attempting a Chipotle clone meal”—including the corn salsa, the red hot salsa, the “famous” guacamole, the grilled steak and even the white rice.) More to the point, however: With Chipotle’s

flavors in such a celebrated place, and you selecting the combinations of them, there are no suspects—or even persons of interest—to blame for a bunk burrito crime besides you.

BEST CALAMARI 

Abalonetti Seafood

57 Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey 373-1851, www.abalonettimonterey.com Kevin Phillips is back on the Wharf. He ran this proud property for years when John Pisto owned it; now he and Wharf titan Jim Gilbert have teamed up to take this Monterey favorite into the new millennium. An expanded patio assures that calamari prep cooks at Abalonetti will be adding to the already staggering tonnage per year they have to clean, cut and prepare each day. (If you’ve ever tried to take a fresh squid from sea to table you’ll be even more thankful for Abalonetti.) They do all that difficult work for you and serve it up fresh and precisely cooked classic style, as well as innovatively. Their dozen-plus permutations include the boffo “buffalo calamari”— think gourmet chicken wings of the sea.

BEST DELI SANDWICH

Compagno’s Market and Deli 

2000 Prescott Ave., Monterey 375-5987 Whomever coined the term “enough food to feed an army” likely served a stretch up the hill at DLI, near Compagno’s Deli. Longtime sandwich man Bennett Compagno has been powering our forces with his special sandos (and fraternal handshakes) for decades now, and his deli has become a major provider of food and community for generations of local soldiers and citizens alike.

Massive and tasty, each sandwich is easily enough for two meals. A full deli case invites those looking for salads and other lighter fare (the broccoli salad should have its own Facebook page), or, for the truly brave, buck up and take on an anvil-sized slab of high-ranking chocolate cake.

BEST BUTchEr ShOP 

Grove Market 

242 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove 375-9581, www.grovemarketpg.com Late last year, archivists at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History uncovered the first edition of Edmond von Knowitall’s original poetry in the museum’s crypt. Deputy City Manager, man of letters, original poet-inresidence and carnivore of some note, von Knowitall wrote a haiku in 1969 to honor of the opening of Charlie Higuera’s familyrun butcher shop in the center of town. Freshly trimmed filet Its image steady behind glass Boss invited to dine

BEST CHEESE SELECTION

The Cheese Shop 

Corner of Ocean and Junipero, Carmel 800-828-WINE, www. thecheeseshopinc.com The Cheese Shop’s Jason Cruzan definitely owns a good pair—or at least knows something very good to pair with the near-200 cheese varieties in the Carmel Plaza shop. Of late he has been into matchmaking with Isabella, a 20-month aged Dutch gouda. “It pairs very well with a very nice Pinot Noir or a light-bodied Syrah,” he says. “It’s got a great dry, crumble to it, but with some nice sweetness.” Another great combo is a triple crème brie by Domaine du Vallage with some bubbly or Santa Lucia’s finest white: “Champagne for sure,” he says. “Or a very nice, rich Chardonnay.” Rare pairs: Another reason the Cheese Shop is a perennial in this category.

BEST TAKE-OUT FOOD 

Whole Foods Market 

800 Del Monte Center, Monterey 333-1600, www.wholefoodsmarket.com Kale isn’t heavy. Nevertheless, Whole Foods lunch bar adorees chomp through 20 pounds of it every day, and its roma tomato, pine nut, dried cranberry and lemon vinaigrette enhancements. The mad lunch rush also loves WF’s lush made-to-order sandwiches, the fresh and succulent chickens that come off the rotisserie every two hours and the full burrito bar, featuring fresh guacamole, cilantro, and jalapeño salsa. Then there’s the super-powered upscale salad bar, the wraps and sandwiches tucked in sustainable containers—and there’s aisles more goodies where that came from.

BEST CUP OF COFFEE 

Acme Coffee Roasting Co. 

485-B Palm Ave. (on the alley), Seaside 393-9113, www.acmecoffeeroasting.com The county’s hippest coffee joint has reclaimed the Golden Cup it held in 2007 and 2008, after giving it up to arch-enemy Starbucks last year. The self-described “antithesis” of the ubiquitous chain, Acme embraces the mantra “Resist Corporate Coffee”—it’s even painted on the outside wall of their converted-garage storefront off Broadway in downtown Seaside. Maverick owners Jacki and Larry Thurman are durn serious about their beans, roasting them with a gourmet precision that parallels a master winemaker’s obsession with

grapes. The love is shared with Acme’s local wholesale customers throughout the area, ensuring that whether you sip at Cafe Lumiere in Monterey, Alt Cafe in Seaside or the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, the goodness you’ll get ain’t your average joe.

BEST CAPPUCINO/ LATTE 

Starbucks 

Various locations www.starbucks.com The great thing about Starbucks is that they are everywhere. Literally. So if that sweet, sweet latte or cappuccino foam is making you foam at the mouth, there is probably a location nearby, whether you just bought some lumber at Home Depot in Seaside and needed a pickup next door at the drive-thru on Canyon Del Rey, or just bought some fly kicks at Del Monte Center in Monterey.

BEST DESSERTS

Rosine’s 

434 Alvarado St., Monterey 375-1400, www.rosinesmonterey.com The cookies and cream cake’s six layers tower more than a foot tall, crowned with ample crushed Oreos and dripping with chocolate sauce.

Every bite of the flagship carrot cake, meanwhile, offers a bundle of shredded carrots, coconut flakes, golden raisins and pineapple pieces; those three layers of flavor, in turn, are covered with a cream cheese frosting and a generous dusting of walnuts. For its part the neighboring apricot pie sits upon a golden brown, homemade crust, and beneath a thick top layer of cinnamon sugar crumble. These massive satisfactions are only a tiny fraction of the sweets available, some 30 all told.

BEST ICE CREAM/ FROZEN YOGURT MYO

Yogurt 

685 Cannery Row, Monterey 375-3769, www.myofrozenyogurt.com Float down the magic glass elevator from the Blue Fin, and you’ll land at the doorstep of a friendly yellow flophouse of froyo, a choose-your-ownadventure of the cultured variety. Make Your Own means you can go nuts with flavor combinations. Eight low-to-no-fat yogurt choices, rich with probiotics, are irie enough. But pair that with more than 40 toppings—from local fruits and crumbled cakes to the colorful chorus line of tubes dispensing cereals and sprinkles—and you’ve got masterpieces of munch. The frequent-buyer card makes an already frugal deal even sweeter, and Weekly readers are hip to the 20 percent locals discount. My, my. Yo. Go.

BEST PIZZA 

Gianni’s Pizza 

725 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey 649-1500 With 36 years of pie-firing experience, Gianni’s has perfected the Italian meal, which is as much about the aura in the atmosphere as it is the spice in the sauce. A huge dining room was built to handle entire legions of visitors. Their pizzas are renowned for the freshness of their ingredients and the quality and taste of their crust—a warm, golden crisp with a fine-tuned texture. Toppings and styles of pie abound, and are all excellent. The place is perpetually packed.

BEST SALADS 

The Salad Shoppe 

1138 South Main St., Salinas 422-9600, www.thesaladshoppe.com In a world where salad bars are becoming increasingly extinct, The Salad Shoppe, next to CVS, hits a greens grand slam with no fewer than 60 items replenished religiously with snap-fresh veggies, meats and goodies like pasta salad. If five dozen ingredients ain’t quite enough, soft-serve ice cream, bread and muffins are included with the all-you-can-eat assault of items. And if time is limited there are to-go options like the Asian pasta salad for $6.39. Welcome to an exclusive echelon: the Salad Bowl of the World’s favorite salad spot.

BEST JUICE/ SMOOTHIES 

Jamba Juice

2160C California Ave., Sand City 583-9696 398 Alvarado St., Monterey 655-9696 463 Canyon Del Rey, Del Rey Oaks 583-0577 www.jambajuice.com According to the San Francisco Examiner, you can now order PB&J Sandwich smoothies (12 ounces of soymilk with scoops of peanut butter froyo and frozen berries) from JJ’s “secret” menu. Meanwhile they’ve openly offered steelcut oatmeals and flatbread pizzas, and the new gig is organic hot blends, like “heavenly green tea lattes” and “chocolate chais.” But all secrecy and salesmanship aside, it’s still the smoothies themselves—Strawberry Whirl! Orange Dream Machine! Razzmatazz!—with or without a “3G boost.”

BEST LOCAL RED WINE 

Pisoni Pinot Noir 

P.O. Box 908, Gonzales 1-800-270-2525, www. pisonivineyards.com Most of what is written about Gary Pisoni describes him being larger than life. As a third-generation Salinas

Valley farmer, his inherent sensibilities disprove any such notion. No one who grows up on the land and is nurtured by folks who did the same would ever disrespect nature and its elements so. What Pisoni is, however, is a fiercely committed, intelligent, ambitious grape man with a predisposition for Pinot Noir. He planted Pinot vineyards on a piece of land down near Paraiso Springs that his father bought to raise horses on, stubbornly and serendipitously found water, and the rest is history. His grapes have commanded among the highest prices per ton in the state and are only available to the best winemakers. His own label’s offering, known in the trade as Pisoni Pisoni, is the star upon which all Monterey County wines chart their courses.

BEST LOCAL WHITE WINE 

Talbott Chardonnay 

P.O. Box 776, Gonzales 675-3000, www.talbottvineyards.com To understand the consistent greatness of Talbott Chardonnays is to first understand the shining example of corporate structuring the Talbott family has created and perpetuated, beginning with Talbott Apparel and continued with son Robert’s winery. When you speak to someone who works for Talbott, their enthusiasm and love for the company and its products almost seems unnatural, such is the cynicism we’ve come to expect from the corporate world. Wines are living organisms—they know when life is happy and when they are loved. Talbott’s Chardonnays, from Kali Hart through the Cuvees Carlotta and Audrey and the Diamond T, are the finest examples of why Monterey County is the Chardonnay capital of California. Supremely talented winemaker Dan Karlsen, who toiled a decade through corporate carnivory at Chalone, is leading the winemaking and enjoying life. The latest Talbott offerings reflect his deft touch and signal a new Talbott announcement…here come the Pinots too.

BEST LOCAL BEER/BREWERY 

English Ales 

223 Reindollar Ave., Marina 883-3000, www.englishalesbrewery.com It’s official. The readers dearly love Marina’s English Ales, so much so that they have bestowed upon the working-class establishment the holy hat trick of Best Brewery, Best Neighborhood Bar, and Best Bartender. EA brews and distributes 11 unique beers, available in restaurants and liquor stores from Big Sur to S.F. But a great brewery is more than just a suds factory—it’s also a place to eat, drink, relax and recharge. English Ales sports delicious bar fare, including their trademark fish n’ chips and a hangover killing burger. There are a thousand numbered ceramic mugs hanging on the ceiling, each one belonging to a loyal local. And, as they say in the hardware business—they make new hooks all the time.