Carmel Valley Trail & Saddle Club

85 East Garzas Road, Carmel Valley

659 - 2651, www.cvtsc.org

Carmel River Steelhead Association

www.carmelriversteelheadassociation.org

Monterey County has no shortage of hoity-toity food events, but this deep-Valley barbecue surpasses them on several points. Localness: Smoked pheasant and slow-cooked venison are the essential Monterey County meat. Sourcing: No factory farms here—shad cakes and herb-baked NorCal steelhead taste like happy afternoons on the river. Burliness: Wild board sausage is a totem to a badass hunter. Cause: The $40 ticket, benefit auction and chef charity add up to critical funds for the Carmel River Steelhead Association, which keeps our endangered spawners on life support until Cal Am stops overpumping the Carmel River. It’s reason enough to make an enviro vegetarian join the League of Conservation Hunters.