A decade from now, those who revel in our culinary landscape will look back at 2014 as the year of legitimacy, when the Monterey Peninsula finally earned enough esteem to look comfortable on the world stage.
It started with Carmel. Early in the year, Travel + Leisure magazine named our little village the third best city in the world for romance, falling in line behind Paris and Venice. The magazine waxed poetic about a glass of wine on the patio of Mission Ranch and dinner at L’Auberge Carmel’s Aubergine, helmed by chef Justin Cogley, named a 2014 James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef in the West (won by Michelin-starred Daniel Patterson of Coi in San Francisco).
Cogley enjoyed a remarkable 2013, winning Food & Wine’s Best New Chef award, but he followed that with the James Beard nod and taking the lead chef role for restaurateur/hotelier David Fink’s first-ever GourmetFest in March. Working under the prestigious brand of Relais & Châteaux, a global fellowship of individually owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants, Fink and Cogley added delicious twists to the food festival scene. The second annual event takes place March 5-8 in Carmel, and includes such luminaries as chef Gary Danko and winemaker Paul Draper (Ridge Vineyards).
In February, Carmel earned some more national press as the online restaurant guide Yelp released its first-ever list of the Top 100 restaurants in the country. Based on millions of consumer reviews of more than 600,000 eateries, Carmel’s Dametra Café ended up No. 7, ahead of such renowned restaurants as Alinea (Chicago), Gary Danko (San Francisco) and French Laundry (Yountville).
Skeptics such as yours truly raised eyebrows in light of Yelp’s fee-based model and flawed algorithm that could never filter out bias and mean-spiritedness. But Dametra is a fun restaurant with fine food, and the honor added to Carmel’s banner year for publicity.
Luring talented chefs
As most foodies know, the vaunted Michelin restaurant guide does not venture across our culinary borders, but perhaps that’s about to change — in part because 2014 saw us collect a bevy of high-profile chefs.
Pacific’s Edge at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands lost talented chef Matt Bolton to The C Restaurant + Bar on Cannery Row, but made a splash by hiring the former chef de cuisine under Danko (Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco). Chef Chad Minton took over the kitchen at the tradition-rich Highlands restaurant after a stint as executive chef at the Hyatt’s chic Andaz 5th Avenue Hotel in Manhattan.
Paul Corsentino also worked at the center of the culinary universe, serving as executive chef at The National, Manhattan’s trendy restaurant owned by “Iron Chef” Geoffrey Zakarian. Corsentino also did battle in Kitchen Stadium as Zakarian’s sous chef on the popular Food Network show. Now the chef who loves foraging has put together one of the most inventive menus at Ventana Inn and Spa since now-legendary Jeremiah Tower started his career in the Big South.
The third big-name chef to find the Central Coast appealing was Jason Franey, who left Seattle’s famous Canlis restaurant to lead the team at Restaurant 1833 in Monterey. Franey (Food & Wine’s Best New Chef in 2011) arrived in late December and is currently playing mad scientist as he constructs a new menu.
Pisto hangs up apron
Speaking of legendary chefs, Monterey native John Pisto finally hung up his apron, selling off the final pieces of his restaurant empire — The Whaling Station and Paradiso Trattoria. Pisto, who helped promote the Monterey culinary scene through his syndicated cooking show “Monterey’s Cookin’ Pisto Style,” now spends his time traveling, mushroom hunting, entertaining and working his way through a well-stocked wine cellar.
Gilbert adds to empire
Now in his 80s, restaurateur Jim Gilbert shows no signs of slowing. After opening The Beach House at Lovers Point in 2013, Gilbert pushed through Wharf politics by purchasing Rappa’s at the end of the pier (he already owns Abalonetti). Then he ushered Pisto into retirement by purchasing The Whaling Station above Cannery Row. Not afraid to tinker, managing general partner Kevin Phillips changed the menus at both restaurants, making them unique jewels in Gilbert’s crown.
Fieri rumbles into town
In April, more national publicity as the Food Network’s Guy Fieri drove his 1967 candy-red Chevy Camaro SS convertible around the Peninsula, bringing his bleach-blonde spiked hair shtick into six local restaurants while filming “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”
Fieri now expands the criteria beyond blue-collar joints, and he selected The Wild Plum, Rosine’s, Loulou’s, Monterey Fish House and Cannery Row Brewing Co., all in Monterey, and Little Napoli and From Scratch in Carmel.
Big flavors for Fisher
Speaking of TV chefs with huge personalities, Todd Fisher (“The United States of Bacon”) took the head job at Tarpy’s Roadhouse and unveiled a menu of classic comfort food pushed just over the edge. The menu launched in July and includes words such as “cowboy crudo,” “Srirachannaise,” “moonshine raisins,” “hooch chicken,” “bone marrow butter” and “spiked watermelon.”
Jeninni makes a splash
Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar in Pacific Grove continued to create buzz with its adventurous concept, and launched a novel Tuesday Night Dinner Series to boot. The prix-fixe menu featured everything from paella to porchetta, cassoulet to cocido madrileño, ramen to roast suckling pig. And chef Jeffrey Weiss made a national splash by publishing “Charcutería: The Soul of Spain,” the first book to introduce authentic Spanish butchering and meat-curing techniques to the American market. Renowned food writer Michael Ruhlman called it “a lovely, loving, fascinating, and, most of all, useful book all lovers of the craft should be grateful for.”
Craft beer and parklets
Craft beer took a giant step forward with April’s unveiling of Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill in Old Monterey. Brewer J.C. Hill’s suds go down easy inside the stunningly well-appointed restaurant.
ASBG represents the latest in a number of downtown improvements. The restaurant’s outdoor parklet followed the lead of nearby Caffe Trieste and Old Monterey Cafe, and Cibo Ristorante Italiano has started construction of its own. Hope is that city leaders will take cars off Alvarado and make it a more walkable and hospitable street.
No more finger licking
Barbecue took a major hit with the closures of Curly’s in Seaside, Henry’s in Monterey and Central Texan in Castroville (replaced by Mexican food, Thai food and Mexican food, respectively). The barren barbecue landscape did see the arrival of Dickey’s (Seaside), a fast-casual franchise (400 locations in 43 states) offering a huge selection of pit-smoked meats, homestyle sides and signature sauces.
The rest of the story
• Big Mike Kolpaczyk, the longtime barman at The Sardine Factory, earned the fourth annual John “Spud” Spadaro Hospitality Award.
• Restaurant 1833’s creative barkeep Mike Lay left for LaLa Land. After three years spent raising the cocktail bar in town, Lay helped open Faith & Flower, 1833’s Los Angeles sister.
• After unloading Bernardus Lodge late last year to Noble House hotel group, Dutch-born entrepreneur Bernardus Pon sold Will’s Fargo, Carmel Valley’s classic steakhouse and saloon, to neighboring Holman Ranch, owned by Nick Elliott and Hunter Lowder.
• Lucky’s Roadside in Seaside opened to much fanfare, the vision of venerable restaurateur Bill Lee. That vision proved too costly. Lucky’s ousted Lee, limped along as a pizzeria and then promptly closed.
• It was a tumultuous year for Rocky Point owner Peter Wang following his revival of the iconic restaurant. After closing for a reboot, Rocky Point reopened under chef Soerke Peters and general manager Amy Stouffer. Then, suddenly, Wang fired them both, hiring instead (you guessed it) Lee.
Here’s to a tasty 2015. Cheers!
Mike Hale can be reached at grubhunter@comcast.net. Listen to his weekly radio show “Food Fodder” at noon Wednesdays on KRML, 102.1 FM.
