Carmel to Name Director for Its Artisan Farmers Market Within Hours
The ad hoc group formed to select a director for Carmel’s highly anticipated artisan outdoor market—or whatever they’re calling what will essentially be a farmers market plus plus in the Sunset Center parking lot—has what's alleged to be its last meeting right about now. The group, including celeb food journo ...
Sneak Peek at New Menu as Carmel's Anton & Michel Prepares to Unveil Major Facelift Friday
A number of factors have me eager to see what longtime Carmel institution Anton & Michel (624-2406) ultimately does with a long-overdue update that quietly debuts this Friday, Feb. 1, without much fanfare. (They're not hot to bring in a flood of people for a draining grand opening ahead of ...
Haggis and Scotch for Burns Night in Historic Adobe
You had me at haggis. Only there was a lot more than the fabled Scottish sheep's guts treat on hand to commemorate the annual international celebration known as Burns Night. This year marked the 254th birthday of "Scotland's favorite son," poet Robert Burns, and this installment of the Jan. 25 ...
Lokal Motion: Addressing Rumors of Parting Partners at Carmel Valley Fiery-Hot Spot (Plus Porcinis!)
Lokal Restaurant (659-5886) has had a buzz about it from the beginning. Make that before the beginning, when the specter of Brendan Jones (left) bringing his Cachagua-meets-molecular creativity to Carmel Valley had plenty of people fired up. About a year ago, the Weekly put him on the cover of last ...
The Independent Marketplace is Dead; Long Live the Independent Marketplace
Seems what we have here is a good old-fashioned love story. Which actually started on Valentine's Day. Pickle preservationist entrepreneur extraordinaire Todd Champagne, who owns and operates Happy Girl Kitchen with his wife Jordan, and Patrick Orosco, the mixed use dreamer driving developments in Seaside and Sand City for the ...
PBFW 6.0 Site Goes Live; Coastal Luxury Management Family Births Another Baby
Ted Glennon has had quite a few days. Last night Coastal Luxury Management's beverage director was coming off a long, blockbuster San Diego beer invasion weekend at CLM's Cannery Row Brewing Company—four days awash with rare brewer dinners, kick-off parties, scores of S.D. craft brews and a whole pig roast—and ...
House of Gyros Opens in Seaside With Fresh Falafel and Halal Schwarma Happiness
On the wall of Seaside's three-day-old House of Gyros (394-4420) there's a huge three-foot-high poster of a chicken schwarma tower in all its juicy, glistening and dripping glory. On the other side of the service bar is the real thing, which owner operator Khalid Moukaouim makes daily, with roasted onion ...
Inaugural Notes: A Look Back and a Look Forward
At this moment, four years ago, I was squooshed between so many people trying to get into the presidential inauguration that I had to count how many were actually touching me, even with my hands at my sides. The total: seven. "More troubling than my inability to raise my arms ...
Free Aubergine Open House Today Plus Pure Abalone Food Porn
It’s like trying to simulate a Philip Glass symphony with just a symbal and a conductor's blouse… Or explaining Colin Kapernick’s speed with pie charts… Or translating the power of a Martin Scorcese epic with a flip book… "It," BTW, would trying to describe a chef's tasting menu at Aubergine ...
Sneak Peek at Cooking for Solutions 2013 (Plus Inspiration from CFSs past)
There are few things more precious than inspiration. With the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions it comes in so many shapes, flavors and textures it approaches uncanny. This year dozens of celebrity chefs, 80 restaurants and nearly 60 premium wineries and breweries will do it again across three days ...
Monterey Beer Festival Sold to Monterey County Fair
Something in the following news deserves a toast. That much I'm sure of, if only because it's big news to the Monterey beer world, and beer toasts have happened with relentless reliability at every Monterey Beer Festival I've been to, and always with a community roar. Not sure exactly what, ...
Monterey Narrows Train Depot Possibilities to Two
It might not be the gateway to the Peninsula it was when the passenger train depot opened in 1915, but Monterey’s red-trimmed, squat building situated just off of Del Monte Boulevard near the base of Wharf 2 is getting a new tenant. The city’s Waterfront Master Plan Subcommittee vetted proposals ...
A Look at the Brand-New Workers Lunch Lineup at il vecchio Starting Monday
When il vecchio (324-4282) burst onto the Pagrovian scene back a year and half-ish, their intuition for sturdy and flavorful Italian balanced with fun and affordability immediately earned our readers votes for Best Italian in Monterey County—and almost won them Best New Restaurant of the Year. (Restaurant 1833 deservedly claimed ...
A Taste of the Highlights from First Big Sur Fungus Face-off
One of the co-hosts and emcees of the first Big Sur Foragers Festival, Wendie Brodie, knows her way around the finer foods in life—the local celeb chef has tasted her way through some of the world's better restaurants and cheffed up delish dishes in her swanky Carmel Highlands home with ...
First Ever Foragers Festival Sprouts Up in Wake of Chanterelle Cook-off
I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about the first ever Foragers Festival when the number on the website sent me to Ventana Inn & Spa and no one there could tell me anything about it or even call me back. Here's what furnishes some comfort: While the ...
A Year in Yum: Hits from the Blog, 2012
Editor's note: As 2013 rumbles into gear, we've been assembling a buffet of the top food stories in Monterey County from 2012—but those centered on print pieces. Some stories—perhaps driven by a wealth of photos or an exclusive video—were born for a web platform. Joel Ede curates his favorites here: ...
Top 12 Foodie Stories of 2012: Part Four
Arguably the biggest story in the world this decade, the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, tied right into the Monterey County food scene. Monterey native Leon Panetta, who directed the assault, acknowledged he wouldn't have been in that position of power if he hadn't learned the lessons he did as ...
Shake-Up at Monterey County Vintners and Growers, Plus Big Props From Wine Enthusiast
Monterey County Vintners and Growers President Paul Johnson reports Executive Director Rhonda Motil’s employment was terminated on Jan. 3. "After months of deliberation, it was determined that restructuring our staff was necessary to be fiscally responsible and to position the association to best serve our members," he says. "This decision ...
Top 12 Foodie Stories of 2012: Part Three
Sometimes the most entertaining stories are not the most important. Look no further than Friday's report out of Santa Cruz of a man busted for wearing women's underwear, as that's specifically verboten according to the terms of his probation. He's probably not supposed to decorate his trailer with bras and ...
Top 12 Local Food Stories of 2012: Part Two
We learned of the supreme nourishment that comes with human potential work—and housemade bacon-cheese bread—at Esalen. We learned to shuck oysters while boating maybe the most pristine estuary in the entire country. We learned how ruthless ghost pepper nigiri can be—even 16 hours later. We also learned a dozen food ...
The Top 12 Food Stories of 2012: Part One
As I reported here this morning, the biggest local sports story of the year went almost ignored, but—fortunately—the biggest food stories did not have to digest that diss. They were celebrated here with an appetite befitting a team that’s less food critical than it is food enthusiastic. But where to ...
The Biggest 2012 Local Sports Stunner Went Overlooked (and What That Has to Do With Food)
The Monterey County sports story of the year went wildly under-reported. It happened as Carmel High’s water polo team traveled to Aptos two months ago to play the vaunted Soquel Knights for a share of the Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division title. Soquel had already handed the Padres their only ...
Rancho Cielo Chef's New Cookbook Packs in 67 Creatively Healthy Recipes
Adrienne Saldivar-Meier is an adjunct chef who helps teach at Rancho Cielo's inspiring Drummond Culinary Academy. Last month she debuted Lettuce Be the Change Cookbook ($19.99) after Drummond's student cooks helped her develop its five dozen recipes in their kitchen. Each item—from noodle-less radicchio lasagna to cauliflower-Mexican sausage scrambler—is designed ...
Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse
Marina