Edible Monterey Bay: Summer 2018 | No. 28

“A Spa for Your Brain”

Town & Country Magazine, September 2017

Nourish yourself at 1440 Multiversity. Take time to recharge during an evening, weekend, or week of relaxation and experiential learning on our 75-acre campus in California’s majestic redwoods near Santa Cruz. Renew your energy by caring for body and mind with yoga, massage, and fresh, healthy meals crafted from local and organic ingredients, all served up with inspiration, daily.

GRIST FOR THE MILL edible

MONTEREY BAY

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

Sarah Wood sarah@ediblemontereybay.com 831.298.7117 or 831.238.1217

Did you know what you were in for when you opened your first copy of Edible Monterey Bay? Honestly, we didn’t entirely know ourselves when we started the magazine seven years ago. We had fallen in love with the Edible magazines that we’d read in Brooklyn, Ojai, Santa Barbara and elsewhere. And after Sarah had logged several interesting but soul-wearying years editing a magazine covering money-obsessed titans of high finance, she yearned to write about some of her own passions—especially food issues and the chefs, farmers and other local food world denizens who help make our region such a special place.

The opportunity to create a whole new publication aimed at nurturing and celebrating a community that we love deeply has been more rewarding than we ever dreamed. Birthing the magazine and getting it through the early years brought nearly as many sleepless nights and worries as a new flesh-and-blood baby, but it likewise brought a huge amount of wonder and joy: It’s been deeply gratifying to connect the vibrant and varied communities that make up the Monterey Bay area and to have people tell us how much EMB means to them and how they use it to explore new parts of the area. It’s also been hugely satisfying to create a place where local businesses that do so much good for our community—both in food and drink circles and in other sectors—can get their message out to readers who care about the values of community, beauty, excellence and sustainability, which they tell us the magazine represents to them.

It definitely takes a village, so we want to offer special thanks to the advertising partners who have recognized this opportunity and have played such a vital role in helping us support our local food scene. We also could not have done it without the friendship of our generous fellow publishers in the Edible Communities network.

The most important part of the village that has helped raise this baby is of course our wonderful staff and contributors, and we especially want to thank our long-time team members, Mick Freeman, Laura Hubrich, Shelby Lambert, Deborah Luhrman, Rosie Parker, Katie Reeves and Kate Robbins for their talent and hard work.

Now, we’re pleased to announce that Sarah will have more time to do that writing she set out to do when we launched the magazine, as starting with the Fall issue we’ll be passing the publishing baton on to Deborah Luhrman, EMB’s deputy editor and editor of our e-newsletter.

Sarah will remain with the magazine in various capacities, but we could not be more pleased to entrust its ownership to Debby: Already an accomplished former magazine editor and careerlong journalist when she joined us, devoted readers will know her byline from some of our favorite stories, and our e-newsletter subscribers have Debby to thank for its stellar coverage of the region’s local food news and events. During the last year, she’s also played an increasingly large role in editing the magazine. So we could not imagine a smoother transition.

Way back when we were still deciding whether or not to start EMB, a local bookstore owner warned us that having a small business was like caring for a baby that never stopped crying, 24/7. Yes, it felt that way sometimes! But publishing EMB has also been an incomparable honor and an endless blast. It’s something we’ll miss, but we look forward to seeing where Debby takes it in the coming years and we wish her the very best.

Wood and Rob Fisher Publishers

CO–PUBLISHER AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR Rob Fisher

DEPUTY AND DIGITAL EDITOR Deborah Luhrman

COPY EDITOR Doresa Banning

LAYOUT & DESIGN Matthew Freeman Tina Bossy-Freeman

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT AND EVENTS MANAGER Rosie Parker

AD DESIGNERS Dina Clark • Bigfish

Smallpond Design • Jane Bolling Design

Zephyr Pfotenhauer • Marilet Pretorius Melissa Thoeny Designs

CONTRIBUTORS

Alicia Arcidiacono • Wallace Baine

Crystal Birns • Julie Cahill • Jordan Champagne

Jamie Collins • John Cox • Ellen Farmer

Margaux Gibbons • Hanni Liliedahl

Michelle Magdalena • Kathryn McKenzie •

Laura Ness • Rosie Parker • Elaine Patarini

Zephyr Pfotenhauer • Carole Topalian Patrick Tregenza • Amber Turpin Patrice Ward

ADVERTISING SALES

ads@ediblemontereybay.com • 831.238.1217

Shelby Lambert shelby@ediblemontereybay.com Kate Robbins kate@ediblemontereybay.com Sarah Wood sarah@ediblemontereybay.com

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Mick Freeman • 831.419.2875

CONTACT US:

Edible Monterey Bay P.O. Box 228 Carmel Valley, CA 93924 www.ediblemontereybay.com 831.298.7117 or 831.238.1217 info@ediblemontereybay.com

Edible Monterey Bay is published quarterly. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher. Subscriptions are $28 per year at www.ediblemontereybay.com.Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our apologies and notify us. We also welcome letters to the above address. Thank you.

Photo by Michelle Magdalena

Sarah

“Love without action is irrelevant, while action without love is meaningless.”

Deepak Chopra

EDIBLE NOTABLES CAFÉ CULTURE

Monterey’s new café Captain + Stoker combines coffee, cycling and conversation

BY KATHRYN MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARGAUX GIBBONS

Not long after opening Captain + Stoker in March, owners Wendy and Peterson Conway were pleasantly surprised to see a pack of about 20 cyclists stop in for an espresso or two at the newly launched café in downtown Monterey.

Despite the Conways’ own passion for cycling, these kindred spirits were not people whom they’d previously met. And that’s just what the Conways were hoping for.

“This is exactly what we saw in Italy,” says Wendy, who, along with her husband, has fond memories of biking to little coffeehouses there and communing with other two-wheeled adventurers. In Italy, coffee and cycling just naturally seem to go together.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the local cycling community already. They’ve been our early adopters,” says Peterson.

But it isn’t just people on bikes who are discovering Captain + Stoker. Local residents fresh from working out across the street at the Monterey Sports Center, employees of Old Monterey businesses and curious folks just strolling by have been captivated by the corner coffee shop, where some of the Conways’ prized tandem bicycles hang on the walls like works of art.

White subway tile and Edison lights add to the industrial vibe, warmed by such organic touches as handmade ceramic coffee cups and a long redwood table that Peterson milled as a teenager.

The threads of the Conways’ various passions join together in their new venture. Peterson, who grew up globetrotting with his father, the owner of Carmel’s renowned Conway of Asia store, has an appreciation for the offbeat and unique. He and Wendy love the convivial coffee culture they discovered in Italy, but also favor the Australian style of coffee roasting, which is lighter and sweeter than that done by chain coffeehouses in the United States.

Wendy is also zealous about growing her own food on the 10-acre ranch they bought four years ago in Carmel Valley. With eggs, avocados, oranges and stone fruit, in addition to row crops, there’s more than enough to spread around, and some of that bounty will make its way into the pastries and baked goods offered at Captain + Stoker. Helena Bee of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center came on board as head baker in May. Meantime, the Conways and other staffers had been baking crusty sourdough loaves using flour from Lehi Roller Mills, founded by Peterson’s maternal grandfather.

Creating community: Wendy and Peterson Conway at their café

The Conways might seem to have already had plenty on their plate without adding to it—raising two daughters, managing their small farm and juggling Peterson’s Silicon Valley career, working on projects for high-tech mogul Peter Thiel. But their search for something more soul satisfying led them down a path to something completely different.

A six-month trip around the world last year sparked the idea for a coffee-centered social club. Only four coffee offerings are on the menu—a very European model—espresso, black coffee, flat white and pour-overs. Other items will be seasonal, based on what’s ripening at the Conways’ farm. The café also offers locally made Katie’s Coldpress certified organic juices.

They’ve enlisted “coffee genius” John Subranni, who moved from Washington, D.C. to help start the shop. “He made his own grinder,” says Wendy. “If that’s not a total coffee geek, I don’t know what is.”

Initially C + S coffee was roasted by Jeremy Creighton, the Aussie behind award-winning Common Room Roasters in Newport Beach. But as this issue of EMB was going to press, the Conways were getting ready to start roasting their own coffee at the shop.

The Conways’ other future plans include nurturing Captain + Stoker’s following among local cyclists with weekly rides that start and end at the café.

Despite both of the Conways’ career backgrounds in technology, one of their defining hopes for Captain + Stoker is that it will be a destination for conversation, rather than a place people go to disappear into electronic devices, as is so common at American coffee shops.

“We’re all linked as never before, but we’re overconnected, and all still very lonely,” Peterson says.

The Conways know it doesn’t have to be that way.

“When we spent a month in Italy last year, we were amazed that no one was on their laptops or on their phones,” says Wendy. “Everyone was talking to each other. We went to the same coffee shop every day and really got to know people.”

That sense of community—everyone pulling together for a common goal—is built into the name of the café. Captain + Stoker refers to the riders on a tandem bike—the captain, in the first seat, leads, while the stoker, in back, provides muscle power.

Tandem cycling is a great metaphor for relationships, says Peterson: “It takes a crazy amount of trust—the captain is the only one with brakes, steering and has access to the gears. You have to be in sync with each other.” Wendy’s take: “It’s marriage therapy.”

Kathryn McKenzie, who grew up in Santa Cruz and now lives on a Christmas tree farm in north Monterey County, writes about sustainable living, home design and health for numerous publications and websites.

Captain + Stoker 398 E. Franklin St., Monterey www.captainandstoker.com

RECIPE: See www.ediblemontereybay.com for Helena Bee’s NotYour-Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

EDIBLE NOTABLES FOOD TRUCK SORCERY

Bruxo conjures up shapeshifting cuisine for Santa Cruz

BY ROSIE PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRYSTAL BIRNS

It’s ten o’clock on a Monday night and Brooks Schmitt—the 29-yearold chef/owner of Bruxo Food Truck—stands in his 20-foot industrial kitchen trailer working his way through the prep list for the next day. He has just wrapped up two weeks of serving vibrant Burmese-inspired fare and tomorrow he will launch a rustic Japanese-style menu. In two weeks, Schmitt will spend another late night in the kitchen working on a new menu with new flavors that will transport his customers to an entirely different corner of the world.

This is the mad method behind the shapeshifting cuisine that has earned Schmitt a loyal following since landing in Santa Cruz last December. His food represents a fierce commitment to marrying local in-

gredients with exotic flavors in the format of a culturally specific, everchanging menu.

“I think real food is magic,” Schmitt says, while prepping tender spring onions from Dirty Girl Produce. “That’s why I named us Bruxo (pronounced BRU-ho, from the Portuguese word for sorcerer). The constantly changing menu allows for those magical moments—those times when the blood, sweat and tears that you’ve put into your cooking allow for things to come together in such a perfect way that you know you’ll never be able to recreate it. If we were making the same set menu then it would become a science, a mechanization. And it’s hard to find dynamism—it’s harder to find the magic—in mechanization.”

For customers, the bruxaria can be found in the sophistication and complexity of flavor and texture experienced in every dish. The Burmese menu featured delicate rice flour pancakes with passion fruit chutney and ground Espelette peppers—a favorite of Schmitt that he calls “the third spice.” The chutney provided a sweetness up front and a tartness that lingered, while the pepper rounded out the dish with a brilliant red dusting and smooth, slow-to-build heat. His wok-simmered noodles were a triumph in layering with silky noodles, tender potatoes, crunchy peanuts, and juicy Fogline Farm chicken, all tossed in a vibrant red curry that had heat, but never overpowered. The compostable dishware is the only part of the experience that signals dining from a food truck.

Not surprisingly, Schmitt grew up steeped in fine food. His grandparents, Don and Sally Schmitt, were the original owner/operators of The French Laundry in Yountville and ran it for 16 years before selling to Thomas Keller in 1994. They then opened The Apple Farm in the

Anderson Valley—an idyllic biodynamic property specializing in heirloom apples where Sally ran an intimate cooking school. Schmitt’s father, Johnny Schmitt, is the chef/proprietor of the Boonville Hotel and its family-style, prix-fixe restaurant.

“Honestly, I fought against cooking for a long time,” Schmitt says. Growing up he worked beside his family, but never wanted it as a profession. In 2010, during his senior year of studying classics at UC Santa Cruz, he started a hard cider company out of Boonville called Bite Hard, which he watched grow to national distribution before stepping away in 2015. After a “retirement” period in Santa Cruz spent working for the now-closed organic homebrew shop, Seven Bridges, Schmitt found himself back in Boonville and back in the kitchen. Within a year, Bruxo was born. “I think I always knew this is where I would be eventually,” he says with a laugh. “I guess this is my prodigal project.”

Schmitt, along with his childhood friend and sous chef, John Paula,

“I want to be a gateway drug to fine food.”

Mobile culinary magicians: this page, Brooks Schmitt and his take on Burmese cuisine

were thoughtful in their decision to move Bruxo from the quaint-yetfine-dining-centric Anderson Valley to seaside Santa Cruz. “The Monterey Bay feels like a food frontier,” he explains. “It’s a hotbed for some of the most amazing farms in the world and I think curating that in an accessible way is a reason I’m here. I want to be a gateway drug to fine food.” With the average menu price of $12, Bruxo is certainly approachable. “I love that someone can walk up to this window who has never had anything like what we’re serving and they can get something fun and irreverent that is also made with the intention and care that I would put in while making an expensive prix fixe.”

Bruxo can be found at Humble Sea Brewing every Tuesday and Wednesday, and on a rotating schedule at other breweries, wineries and special events during the rest of the week. The arrangement is part of a larger trend of tasting rooms foregoing kitchens of their own to host a changing lineup of food truck/pop-up businesses that exist in Santa Cruz County without brick-and-mortar homes. “Santa Cruz creates a lot of challenges for mobile food businesses,” Schmitt explains, “so the symbiotic relationship that can exist with an established business, like a tasting room, is the easiest route to take.”

For the last six months Schmitt has been schooling himself on what he can and cannot do in Santa Cruz County—figuring out the loopholes and niches and the possibilities for the future. “The longer we’re here, the more creative we want to get,” he says. Some projects on the horizon include beer-pairing dinners, like the one slated for July 11 at

Sous chef John Paula at the stove and the scene outside Humble Sea Brewing Co.

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing as part of its Summer Supper Series, and pop-up brunches in the Humble Sea back garden. Schmitt is also cofounder of a new pop-up series launching in June called Standing Invite. Tickets will be offered on a sliding scale and the full details of each unique dinner will only be revealed the day of the event.

It’s clear that the shapeshifting philosophy of Bruxo extends beyond the cuisine. Schmitt approaches the future of the food truck the same way he approaches deciding what the next menu will be—patiently, thoughtfully and following his cravings. He waits until the current menu is dialed in before he even begins to daydream about what’s next. He examines what’s in season and looks to balance flavors, textures and ingredients with what came before. “I eat out of this truck,” he says. “If I can’t keep myself balanced and interested, then how can I expect others to be interested?”

Shapeshifting is also what will allow him to continue to grow in Santa Cruz—to balance and fill gaps in the continuously changing food landscape. “In many ways, this is an evolving art project,” he says. “We want to create something beautiful for our community. People work so hard to live here—we recognize that—and we want to create food as beautiful as the place we live.”

Rosie Parker, a native New Englander, likes to complain of missing home while living the Santa Cruz high life—surfing, hiking, writing and working for a delicious craft brewery.

Bruxo Food Truck www.bruxofoodtruck.com

Success Starts With Great Soil

Gardner & Bloome natural and organic soils and fertilizers are made from high-quality ingredients that are people, pet, and planet safe.

Available ONLY at independent garden centers

Martins' Irrigation

420 Olympia Ave. Seaside, CA 93955 (831) 394-4106

Seaside Garden Center 1177 San Pablo Ave. Seaside, CA 93955 (831) 393-0400

Aptos Landscape Supply 5025 Freedom Blvd. Aptos, CA 95003 (831) 688-6211

Del Rey Oaks Gardens 899 Rosita Rd. Del Rey Oaks, CA 93940 (831) 920-1231

Valley Hills Nursery

7440 Carmel Valley Rd. Carmel, CA 93923 (831) 624-3482

Scarborough Gardens 33 El Pueblo Rd. Scotts Valley, CA 95066 (831) 438-4106

Hidden Gardens Nursery 7765 Dr. Aptos, CA 95003 (831) 688-7011

Drought Resistant Nursery 850 Park Ave. Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 375-2120

Griggs Nursery 9220 Carmel Valley Rd. Carmel, CA 93923 (831) 626-0680

M.J. Murphy Lumber 10 West Carmel Valley Rd. Carmel Valley, CA 93924 (831) 659-2291

The Garden Co. 2218 Mission St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831) 429-8424

San Lorenzo Garden Center 235 River St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831) 423-0223

Lakeside Nursery 190 Espinosa Rd. Salinas, CA 93907 (831) 632-2100

Mountain Feed & Farm 9550 Highway 9 Ben Lomond, CA 95005 (831) 336-8876

The Plant Works 7945 Highway 9 Ben Lomond, CA 95005 (831) 336-2212

McShane's Landscape Supply

115 Monterey Salinas Hwy Salinas, CA 93908 (831) 455-1876

EDIBLE NOTABLES SECOND ACT

A former chef creates a convenient gourmet product from blemished artichokes that otherwise would go for animal feed

BY DEBORAH LUHRMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLE TOPALIAN AND PATRICE WARD

There comes a time in the life of many chefs when it’s just too much. The long hours, the high-pressure environment and often the dream of owning their own businesses compel many to leave the restaurant world behind and try their hand at something new.

The Monterey Bay area is home to a number of artisanal food businesses started by former chefs, but few have made the transition as successfully as Jane Shaffer, founder and president of Monterey Farms, which occupies a unique niche producing fresh, hand-prepared artichoke hearts.

Like many Easterners before her, the Buffalo, New York native decided as a young woman she couldn’t face one more frigid winter. So she and a friend packed all their belongings into a tiny car and headed for California.

They landed in Santa Cruz in the late 1970s, and Shaffer enrolled in the incipient culinary program at Cabrillo College. She had started out her working life washing dishes at age 14 at a Buffalo dinner house and quickly advanced to line cook—so a chef’s life was appealing and she had talent and ambition.

A guest lecturer was Julio Ramirez, then executive chef at Pacific Grove’s iconic Old Bath House. She helped him clean up after his demo and he offered her a job, launching Shaffer on a career working in many of the Monterey Peninsula’s finest kitchens, including those of The Lodge at Pebble Beach and the former Gallatin’s.

She was tapped as opening chef at the now-defunct Brass Rail Bar & Grill in Salinas, and later was lured away by some regular customers from Tanimura & Antle—where she became their corporate chef.

From inside the produce business Shaffer devised salads and recipes using TA’s lettuces.

Then one day a friend from Ocean Mist dropped off a box of artichoke “seconds.” The vegetables were too ugly to be sold in the market and were normally sent to dairy farms as feed. Cows love them!

The artichokes were blemished by sunburn or frostbite or missing leaves on the outside, but perfectly good on the inside where the best part lies—the heart.

Shaffer began tinkering at home in her kitchen to come up with a freshly prepared artichoke heart product to sell to her friends in the local restaurant business.

“I knew the time it took as a chef to prepare an artichoke and how the price of a crate of artichokes can go up and down, making it hard to budget,” says Shaffer. “I also knew I could do far better than the canned, marinated, mushy artichokes on the market.”

After perfecting her recipes, Shaffer founded Monterey Farms in 2000, working out of a commercial kitchen. In 2012, she moved into her current 7,000-square-foot facility in Salinas and brought on longtime chef and friend Janet Melac to help with quality control and research and development. Melac, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef herself, ran the popular Melac’s French restaurant in Pacific Grove with her husband Jacques for many years.

The friends now produce four varieties of fresh artichoke hearts, conveniently sealed in microwaveable plastic packages that can be stored up to 90 days in the refrigerator. Each 6-ounce pouch retails for about $5 and contains the quartered hearts of five or six whole

The chefs behind ArtiHearts: from left, Jane Shaffer and Janet Melac

Photo

by Carole Topalian; photos

by Patrice Ward

artichokes, saving considerable time and trouble. (Packages sold by the case to chefs come in 2-pound bags.)

My favorite is their Herbal flavor, with Mediterranean seasonings, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and sundried tomatoes. They also make Buffalo flavor, with spicy red pepper tomato sauce; Grilled, which have a smoky olive oil and balsamic vinegar glaze; and Natural, which are simply dipped in a flavor bath of garlic, salt, and fresh lemon to preserve the natural color.

“Artichokes are always something people like,” says Shaffer. “When you put them in a frittata or a pasta dish, it turns it into something really special.”

At a recent visit to the Monterey Farms kitchen, I was impressed by how the entire painstaking process is done by hand.

The company employs a production line of about 20 white-coated kitchen assistants. The first team member uses a band saw to remove the prickly top from the artichoke. Then a couple of workers turn each vegetable by hand, using a small knife to remove any remaining outer leaves. At the next station, spoons are used to scoop out the inedible

choke. Finally what’s left is the heart, and that gets cut into quarters. All waste goes to neighboring dairy farms and, apparently, the cows don’t know what they’re missing.

The hearts are lightly steamed and flavored on sheet pans and then moved over to the packaging line. “I like to leave a little crunch so you can use them in salads or cook them a little more in hot dishes,” says Melac.

The business got a big boost when Whole Foods first signed on to carry the artichoke hearts in 2007. They are now in nine of the 11 Whole Foods regions in the United States. The artichoke hearts are also available locally at Star Market, Cornucopia, Deluxe Foods, Jerome’s Carmel Valley Market, Nielsen Bros. Market, Staff of Life and Shopper’s Corner.

But chefs from virtually all of the Monterey Bay area’s top restaurants remain the largest customer base. “We love our local chefs. They are critical to our success and have kept my small business going all these years,” adds Shaffer.

“I love how it’s a full circle sustainable product,” she says. “We’re sitting right here on the Central Coast where the best artichokes in the country are grown and we’re taking produce that would normally go to waste and turning it into a viable product.”

As for a third act, Shaffer and Melac are testing out some new prepared vegetable products for busy cooks, but want to keep them under wraps for now, until they decide if that’s the way to follow their hearts.

Deborah Luhrman is deputy editor of Edible Monterey Bay and editor of our weekly newsletter. A lifelong journalist, she has reported from around the globe, but now prefers covering our flourishing local food scene and growing her own vegetables in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Monterey Farms Artichokes

1354 Dayton St., Salinas 831.757.7297

• www.montereyfarmsartichokes.com

“We’re taking produce that would normally go to waste and turning it into a viable product.”

GRILLED ARTICHOKE HEART CARBONARA

Courtesy Monterey Farms in Salinas

Serves 4 to 6 as a main course

For a quick and easy summertime meal, try Monterey Farms Grilled ArtiHearts in this vegetarian pasta dish. They are almost meaty and will please even the carnivores at the table. Tarragon and snap peas add elegance to the dish.

1 pound package of your favorite pasta 1 6-ounce package Monterey Farms Grilled ArtiHearts

1 cup fresh snap peas, strings removed 2 tablespoons olive oil ½ cup spring onions, chopped 2 eggs

⅓ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated, plus some for the table

Freshly ground pepper

Sea salt, to taste Fresh tarragon, chopped Chili flakes, to garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pasta to the pot and stir. Bring to a boil and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes depending on your pasta choice.

While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the 2 eggs in a small bowl with freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Set aside.

Two minutes before the pasta is ready, add the snap peas to the boiling water. Allow to cook for 2 minutes and strain the pasta and the peas into a colander. Rinse quickly with fresh water and set aside.

Place the pot back on the stove over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the spring onions and the Grilled ArtiHearts and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until heated through. Then add the pasta and peas and heat through. At the last minute, over medium heat, add the egg and cheese mixture, stirring constantly. Remove immediately from the heat and continue stirring until the egg mixture coats the pasta and becomes creamy. Serve immediately in individual bowls and garnish with chopped tarragon and chili flakes.

WHAT'S IN SEASON BLUEBERRIES

A relatively new crop for local farms, blueberries are a summertime treat

BY JAMIE COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK TREGENZA

At Serendipity Farms we have an acre of highbush organic blueberries tucked away in a warm microclimate of Watsonville. Eight delicious varieties ripen over a 12-week period, bringing a luxurious abundance of tasty, antioxidant-rich fruit that is one of the healthiest on the planet. It is my family’s favorite time of year, and mine, too, as it reminds me of one of the things I appreciate most about farming: Life is very rich when you have access to the freshest, best-tasting fruits and vegetables and the opportunity to share them with the community. And as a farmer, blueberry season also represents the end of winter and “lean” times, which is always worth celebrating!

Blueberries (Cyanococcus vaccinium) are a perennial related to cranberries and huckleberries. They originated from wild bushes that were foraged extensively by both Native Americans and early settlers in North America, who found them growing in peat bogs and acidic glacial soils. They were eaten fresh, but also dried in the sun to be saved and used later for medicine, or made into puddings, cakes and most notably, pemmican—a satiating blend of berries, dried meats and fat that could be eaten on long journeys or used as a soup base. It wasn’t until 1893 that Elizabeth White—the daughter of a New Jersey cranberry grower—teamed up with botanist Frederick Covelle to domesticate them and breed the most delicious, largest wild blueberry plants. In 1932, White was awarded for her outstanding contributions to agriculture for developing the first commercial lowbush varieties. In the 1930s, highbush varieties were first developed and planted in Europe, which enabled areas with mild winters and low chill hours to grow blueberries, too.

Highbush blueberries, like their name suggests, are much taller and more elongated than the lowbush type. There are also differences in the fruit. Some highbush varieties have enormous fruit, up to the size of a nickel, while wild or lowbush varieties typically grown on the East Coast, or in Oregon and Washington are much smaller. While I haven’t tried a true wild blueberry, I enjoy the highbush varieties for their size: Bigger berries mean a larger surface area and with that, juicier fruit and less skin texture. However, wild or lowbush varieties are best for baking as they don’t fall apart in the batter and they contain less water, resulting in an intense, sweet flavor.

Around the year 2000, Southern California began to experiment

with growing blueberries, opening up an early market for the California crop. UC Santa Cruz had a big part in variety trials and found the plants that are best suited to our area are Southmoon, Santa Fe, O’Neal and Sapphire. Five years later blueberries were first planted commercially on the Central Coast. Currently, only 50 acres of blueberries are grown in Santa Cruz County and 111 acres in Monterey County, far behind the leading cash crops of strawberries, raspberries and wine grapes, but consumers love them. High Ground Organics of Watsonville grows blueberries for its CSA customers; both Vasquez Farm in Watsonville and Ridgecrest Farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains cultivate blueberries for sale at local farmers’ markets. Coastal Moon Berry Farms in Watsonville is experimenting with hydroponically grown blueberries, using substrate instead of soil, which greatly reduces weed pressure and allows plants to be given the exact dose of nutrients they need. Our patch of organic, soil-grown blueberries yields between 5,000 and 9,000 lbs. per acre, while an average conventional yield is 7,000 lbs.

Healthful and delicious harvest: the author with her blueberries

GROWING BLUEBERRIES

Since wild blueberries originated in acidic soils, it is necessary to replicate the environment if the plant is to thrive. The pH of the soil needs to be 4.5–5.5, much lower than most soils in this area. To acidify the soil organically, mulching with pine needles, shavings and bark will help as they break down over time; however, adding sulfur to a new planting is key. Citric acid and vinegar in the drip lines help maintain the low pH levels and double as a way to clean out fertilizer residue from fish or kelp that may gunk up drip lines. Yellowing leaves in blueberries are typically a sign that the pH is too alkaline.

Two-year-old plants are typically planted 3–5 feet apart in rows that are 8–10 feet wide. Roots are shallow, so watering regularly for a short amount of time is preferred. Mulch helps keep the roots moist and the weeds in check, while good drainage is important for the roots to breathe. Although it is tempting to leave the early blooms, they should be pinched back for the first two years to increase vegetative growth and establish a nice bush. It takes 5-plus years to reap a substantial crop, and eight to 10 years to produce heavily. Blueberry plants will live 40–50 years and will need to be pruned annually to keep fruit production high. We prune right after harvest in August so the plants have a chance to regenerate and produce a smaller, late crop in the fall or early winter. Blueberries fruit on one-year-old wood, or last year’s growth, so focusing on keeping the bush open to allow in airflow and sunlight improves the next season’s fruit set.

Birds are the biggest problem with blueberries, so netting is a must. I suggest putting up poles and netting the entire area instead of just netting the plants, which is cumbersome to remove when you need to prune or harvest. In the Monterey Bay area, a fruit fly called Drosophila that is a common issue in strawberries is slowly making its way into blueberry crops. The damage comes from the fly laying eggs in the fruit, causing the fruit to rot, which is devastating but usually not noticed until days after harvest. Keeping fields clean of over-ripe fruit is key, as that is what attracts the flies.

HARVESTING, STORING, ENJOYING

When harvesting blueberries, the ripe ones must be picked without disturbing the unripe ones, so it is no surprise that women tend to make the best blueberry harvesters, due to their attention to detail and small fingers. It is painstaking work; at the height of the season, when bushes are loaded with larger berries, one worker can only pick about 80 pounds of blueberries in a 10-hour shift, or about eight pounds per hour. This, along with the short season and eight years of caring for the plants required before a decent-sized crop comes in, goes a long way towards explaining the high price of blueberries!

At the market, look for firm berries with a natural, powdery “epicuticular” wax—this shows that the berries are freshly picked and have had very little handling. Store unwashed blueberries in a container in the refrigerator and wash them right before eating. Fresh blueberries should last at least a week in the refrigerator.

I’m a big fan of adding blueberries to savory dishes such as salads and meat dishes for that added sweetness. For my partner’s birthday I made ginger cole slaw and pulled pork sliders with homemade blueberry barbecue sauce on Hawaiian sweet rolls that was off the charts. I’ve also added blueberries to ground turkey burgers, along with chopped spinach and some Gorgonzola cheese.

Of course, blueberries are also perfect for power bowls, smoothies and ice cream, as well as all varieties of pies, cakes and pastries. Enjoy this fleeting summertime treat!

Jamie Collins is the owner of Serendipity Farms. You can find Serendipity’s blueberries and seasonal, fresh blueberry vinaigrette through July at all of the Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets (downtown, Westside, Live Oak, Felton and Scotts Valley) and at the Pacific Grove farmers’ market on Mondays.

MORE: See profile of our seasonal chef on p. 21 and blueberry recipe on p. 23.

SEASONAL CHEF

Serving anywhere from 500–5,000 meals every day, you might expect executive chef Danny Abbruzzese of Portola Inn & Spa to go any distance to procure his ingredients. But not Abbruzzese.

In keeping with the LEED-certified Portola’s hotel-wide commitment to sustainability, Abbruzzese is totally devoted when it comes to using ingredients produced sustainably in the surrounding area. It would be easier to dial up massive orders of whatever he wants from around the country, but instead he chooses to obtain as much of his produce, meats, fish, cheeses, honey and other ingredients as he can from within a mere 50-mile radius of his downtown Monterey location.

Abbruzzese shared with Edible Monterey Bay a spreadsheet that tracks his ingredients and their travel distances, and it’s an impressive list, lined with the names of beloved small local farms, including San Juan Bautista’s Coke Farm, which also acts as a distributor for 40–60 other organic producers in the region. Certain meats and goat cheese are among the only products that Abbruzzese exceeds his self-imposed limit to buy, but not by much.

“It’s a partnership. I’m using what they have available and I’m being understanding of their schedule,” Abbruzzese says of his relationship with his local producers.

And of course using local products requires sticking to only what’s in season right here, so when it comes to planning his

world culture-influenced cuisine, seasonality is “everything,” Abbruzzese says: In additional to twice-annual overhauls in spring and fall, the chef is continually tweaking his menus at Jacks Monterey, Peter B’s and the many special events the Portola hosts to feature new fruits and vegetables as they reach their peak of season. For example, as this magazine was going to press, Abbruzzese was getting ready to offer new summer dishes such as heirloom tomato bisque, scallops with sweet corn and wild mushrooms, and halibut with a succotash made from locally grown legumes such as fava beans, English peas and cranberry beans—depending on what will be available.

Importantly for a chef like Abbruzzese, emphasizing what’s in season brings the huge benefit of cooking with produce that is at both its height of flavor and lowest price. But being flexible is key, he says.

“It’s all about communication,” Abbruzzese notes. “A lot of times things aren’t going to come out of the ground [due to weather or other factors beyond his farmers’ control], so you have to be nimble about what you’re serving at times.”

When it comes to blueberries, the subject of our seasonal feature beginning on p. 18, Abbruzzese says he sources them locally through Coke Farm when he can, and loves the fruit’s flavor and versatility. He served them with wild game dishes when he was a chef in Colorado, but currently at the Portola, he’s happy to leave their preparation to pastry chef Marcos Jubane, whose recipes accompany this story.

“I have a sweet tooth,” Abbruzzese says. “I like to hang out in the bakery.” —Sarah Wood

RECIPES: See p. 23 for Portola Inn & Spa pastry chef Marcos Jubane’s Blueberry Panna Cotta with Ginger Sauce. See www.ediblemontereybay.com/recipes for his Blueberry Scones and Collins’ Blueberry Barbecue Sauce..

How to not go the extra mile! “It’s

PANNA COTTA WITH BLUEBERRY GINGER SAUCE

Courtesy Marcos Jubane, pastry chef, Jacks Monterey, Portola Hotel & Spa in Monterey

Serves 6

Zest of 1 lemon

1 ¼-ounce envelope gelatin, unflavored

1½ cups milk

2 tablespoons sugar Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 cup plain yogurt

Remove the lemon zest in long strips, with peeler. Squeeze zested lemon and, if needed, another lemon. Reserve juice. In bowl, sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup milk. In small saucepan, combine remaining milk, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Remove from heat, cover and steep 10 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and stir over low heat until dissolved.

Strain into bowl, discard zest then cool 10 minutes. Stir in yogurt. Pour into six 6-ounce ramekins. Refrigerate until set, 2–4 hours. Invert onto a serving plate and top with sauce.

BLUEBERRY GINGER SAUCE

6 ounces fresh blueberries ¼ cup water

2 tablespoons crystallized ginger ¼ cup granulated sugar

In small saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, water and crystallized ginger. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat then stir in lemon juice.

Cool sauce and serve.

SIP AND SAVOR

SUSTAINABLE MOMENTS

of life. Dive into our inspiring natural

BACK OF THE HOUSE

PLATE LIKE A CHEF

An expert shares secrets to mastering the art of presentation

STORY

AND PHOTOGRAPHY

When I first started cooking professionally at a small neighborhood bistro back in 1998, one of our signature dishes was Southwest Chicken—a butterflied chicken breast filled with Boursin cheese then wrapped in filo dough. The chicken was baked until the pastry was golden brown, then cut in half on the bias and set on top of a hearty pile of garlic mashed potatoes before being finished with a roasted bell pepper coulis and crowned with a spear of rosemary. Back then we aspired to be like Dean Fearing from the Mansion on Turtle Creek, with his colorful zigzags of sauces from a squeeze bottle and curls of shaved green onions and red bell pepper.

By the time I was attending culinary school in the early 2000s, Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook was inspiring a generation of chefs. Microgreens and tiny vegetables were sprouting up on menus around the country and chefs were carefully dotting plates with vibrant herb oils and pinches of sea salt. By this time, rosemary spears, unless they were being lit on fire by Grant Achatz, had largely been replaced with more delicate and edible garnishes.

In 2001, as I worked my way up through the ranks of the Sierra Mar kitchen, food was also reaching new heights, with chefs around the country sending out precariously stacked ingredients barely stable enough to make it to the dining room. This was the era of the ring mold, and cooks would jealously guard their lengths of PVC pipes and metal rings. Everything came crashing down in 2002 when Michel Bras’ Essential Cuisine hit bookshelves. The cover photo of his gargouillou showcasing tiny vegetables and herbs displayed dramatically across an expansive white background totally changed the way fine-dining

BY JOHN COX

chefs visualized plating. Chefs around the country took note and deconstructed their towers, spreading them across the largest white plates they could get their hands on.

In 2007, El Bulli burst into the American culinary mainstream and chefs were quick to adopt an array of gels, spheres, foams and airs into their arsenals. Like culinary magicians armed with the newest hydrocolloids, chefs would turn formerly mundane ingredients into unrecognizable works of art.

The Noma cookbook, released in 2010, brought us into a period of monochromatic austerity during which chefs celebrated dishes with subdued tones that camouflaged them against the earthenware, stones and other natural elements on which they were served. Overnight, menus from Miami to New York suddenly reflected the somber darkness of a winter in Copenhagen.

The same year the Noma cookbook was published, a little known social media platform called Instagram hit the App Store. While the Nordic aesthetic continued to gain popularity, some media-savvy chefs realized they were better served by a more flamboyant strategy. Just like peacocks in mating season, they covered their Instagram posts with splashes of dramatic sauces across stark white or black backgrounds. Ranging from squid-ink black to fluorescent green and magenta purple, these sauces can look almost unnatural at times. But the more gaudy and colorful, the more they stand out in an oversaturated stream of images. When it comes to posting food pictures, modern chefs are sometimes compelled to sacrifice flavor for aesthetics if it means gaining a valuable social media following.

The difference between a quality home-cooked meal and an expensive fine-dining dinner often boils down to the final 20% of the process.

PLATING AT HOME

The difference between a quality home-cooked meal and an expensive fine-dining dinner often boils down to the final 20% of the process, the presentation of the dish.

To demonstrate this concept I took a classic recipe for Trout Almandine and made three variations. The first dish is simple—a piece of pan-roasted steelhead trout in a large white bowl topped with a generous portion of green beans, tomatoes, toasted almonds and brown butter. The presentation is clean and to the point, no superfluous garnish, just simple ingredients neatly presented with plenty of negative space.

For the second round of plating I added a few fresh basil leaves and chive blossoms to the dish. These aromatic leaves add both freshness and vibrancy to the plate, simultaneously boosting the flavor and visual appeal. If I were cooking this dish at home, this is likely the version I would prepare.

Last, I wanted to create an over-the-top version of the dish, using the same ingredients but constructing them in a way that would make people stop and take notice. This presentation would be outside the scope of all but the most expensive restaurants, requiring someone with a steady hand to apply each almond “scale” one by one. Luckily for the home cook, if you have a few extra minutes for an over-the-top presentation, the scale effect is remarkably easy to achieve. (See below.)

CHOOSING THE GARNISH

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you should never select garnishes simply for the sake of aesthetics. Garnishes should always enhance the overall dish. For example, a properly placed

nasturtium flower will add both a burst of color and a spicy punch. Vivid chive oil will add both finesse and flavor to the plate. Curls of bell pepper will provide body and color to a dish while at the same time lending a crisp texture and refreshing flavor. A simple burst of color is not enough for a garnish. It must work with the other ingredients to elevate both the taste and presentation. This is why I would discourage adding something like an edible orchid, which only serves to elevate the visual presentation.

HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF CLASSIC GARNISHES:

Grilled Steak with Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes - Consider a slice of red onion that you set inside a cast iron pan over high heat until it is blackened on one side but still crisp and sharp. These high-contrast red and black rings would complement both the flavor and presentation of the steak.

Shrimp Cocktail - Think about a few thin slices of heirloom cherry tomatoes or some fresh cilantro blossoms or young basil leaves. A couple of perfect lemon wedges, a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley or a bright red dash of Espelette pepper are especially classic but will enhance taste as well as presentation.

Sweet Pea Risotto - How about some thinly shaved baby carrots soaked in ice water until they get crisp and curl then tossed with fresh lemon juice and olive oil? Perhaps a few fresh tarragon leaves and some microplaned Parmesan cheese?

SETTING THE TABLE

Sitting down to a beautiful meal with dear friends and family is one of life’s delights. Whether it is a holiday, commemorative occasion or backyard gathering, setting the table is a wonderful way to heighten the festivities and honor the food. The ideal tablescape allows each guest to be engaged and yet comfortable.

1. Consider a theme or limited color palette to direct the aesthetic of the evening. I often allow the season to offer influence. Vibrant summer colors can really explode—think corals, magentas and bright yellows arranged wildly in baskets or terra cotta pots, while autumn evokes a coziness that can be captured by deep purples and burnt oranges with brass accents. Winter may welcome warmer materials; think heavy fibers and hearty ceramics.

2. The composition of a successful tablescape should be inventive, but most importantly functional. If you’re concerned that the decor will clutter the dining experience, opt for a more minimalist approach. Sometimes subtle touches, like cucumber and mint in each water glass, a small sprig of rosemary atop each napkin or seasonal produce like figs and persimmons clustered in the center, are not only sufficient but optimal.

3. A tablecloth surely secures the elegance of the affair. However, if the raw table is attractive, consider using a runner or placemats instead. I love to create custom chargers by tracing a large bowl

and cutting each circle out of specialty paper. Ribbons, spaced equally to give the appearance of extending the length of the table, are a clever runner. Simply laying cut branches, like olive or magnolia, down the length of a table can serve as a pristine and sophisticated stand-in for a runner.

4. For centerpieces, be guided by the rule of three—groupings that create harmony. Combinations of seasonal flowers and herbs are so stunning. Try using unique, unexpected vessels like vintage pots to hold stems—just ensure ahead of time that they are watertight. Also note that blooms such as lilies and gardenia and herbs like lemon verbena as well as cinnamon broom have a signature aroma that can likely overpower a meal or adversely influence the palate.

5. Candles are a go-to for creating a specific atmosphere. Confirm that they are unscented and especially if your fête is outdoors, pre light wicks so that the candles burn down a bit and won’t damper with a breeze.

6. Have a good time. Hosting a meal is both joyful, and admittedly stressful, but the most important ingredient to entertaining is to also enjoy the endeavor. Creating your tablescape in advance grants you the ability, on the day of, to focus on the food, attend to your guests and, most importantly, have fun.

Tips from Hanni Liliedahl, owner of Lilify artisan shop in Monterey

More tips for home cooks

Choose your plate wisely - Nothing will help your presentation more than the right set of plates. Generally I like to use large plates with a solid surface area (9–10 inches for appetizers and 11–12 inches for entrées). Typically you want to select a plate that offers a contrast to the food being presented. Black or white plates are usually a safe bet, but depending on the dish, any number of colors and glazes can bring out the best in your food. When you think about the size of a plate, remember that the wider the rim, the less actual plating area. If you are going to be using herb oils or any other translucent sauces, keep in mind that these will show up best on a light background. Conversely, a light-colored hollandaise or white sauce like crème fraîche will show up best on a black background.

Also keep in mind that plates are a bridge between your tablescape and the food you are presenting, so they must complement both the food and the surroundings. For a truly unique and personalized option, consider getting custom plates that reflect your personal aesthetic and cooking style. In Monterey we are lucky to have both Bonnie Hotz and Shelby Hawthorne, two incredibly talented artists who handcraft a wide variety of gallery-worthy plates. And in the Craftbar of the Watsonville studio of Annieglass, renowned local glass artist Ann Morhauser offers the opportunity to have a glass of wine or craft beer and make your own glass plates with her or cups and vases with Good Life Ceramics.

It’s OK to be negative - Now that you have chosen the right size of plate, don’t crowd it! Just like any work of art, you want to leave

plenty of negative (open) space to lead the viewer’s eyes toward the focal point. To avoid smudges and smears, you can use a clean towel with a touch of high-proof alcohol or vinegar to wipe the rim of the plate and empty plating area.

Keep it natural - The last thing you want is for your dishes to look too manipulated or contrived. That perfectly placed chive blossom should look as though it fell naturally, and that thoughtfully pooled sauce should seem as though it were casually spooned onto the plate. You want the ingredients to speak for themselves and not be overshadowed by superfluous presentation. Classic Japanese cuisine is a perfect example of how keeping food natural and beautiful can often be the highest form of cooking.

Don’t throw away the best part - Often cooks discard perfectly good garnishes. Think about saving the small yellow leaves from the center of a head of celery or the young fennel fronds that sprout from the middle of the bulb. Consider finely chopping the bright red stems of Swiss chard and sautéing or pickling them. Reduce the cooking water from a pot of black beans into an inky sauce for the plate.

Find a focal point - Many times when I plate a dish I will look for one or two elements that will stand out on the plate. For example, when making a salad, I often set aside a couple of particularly striking lettuce leaves and place them on the salad last. I might cut an heirloom bean in half lengthwise to showcase the contrast in color. These little touches, which often go unnoticed by guests, can subtly elevate a dish.

That perfectly placed chive blossom should look as though it fell naturally.

Have the right tools - Essential tools for plating like a pro are: a small offset spatula, tweezers, plating spoons, microplane, herb snips, peeler, mandoline slicer.

Don’t distract from the food - Just like keeping negative space when you plate a dish, remember that you don’t want your dining table to feel cluttered or overly ornate. Often a large floral centerpiece and other over-the-top decor can look great when the table is first set but detract from both the food and communal dining experience once the dinner begins. (For more on setting the table, see p. 33.)

Tell the story - Presentation isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about the overall way you present a dish to your guests. Never underestimate the influence a diner’s mind has on perception of quality and enjoyment. Just like taking a few extra moments to soak in a Picasso hanging on a museum wall, your guests will have a greater appreciation for food that comes with a story. Was this a favorite recipe from your childhood? Did you drive an hour to buy the lamb from a small family farm? Are the lemons from your backyard tree? Each of these stories will add richness to your culinary narrative.

Study others - Start following your favorite local chefs on Instagram; for a more international perspective, check out: @theartofplating and @cityfoodsters.

The former executive chef at Post Ranch Inn’s Sierra Mar, John Cox is now pursuing a number of projects, including serving as a chef-partner at Cultura—comida y bebida in Carmel and The Bear and Star at the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn in Los Olivos. For more, go to www.chefjohncox.com or follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Artsian Wine Tasting – Open

ROADSIDE DIARIES TALES FROM THE LOST WEEKEND BAR

Travel up a winding road and into the fogs of time to discover a colorful Santa Cruz Mountains watering hole

BY WALLACE BAINE PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK TREGENZA

Bonny Doon is the kind of place where out-of-towners with a bad sense of direction could easily get lost—maybe for a whole weekend.

But that’s not why the only commercial business in Bonny Doon for more than 30 years was a bar called the Lost Weekend.

The name was borrowed from Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning movie of 1945 starring Ray Milland as a writer in the throes of a particularly self-destructive drinking binge. These days, only those branding professionals with a savage sense of irony would suggest naming a bar after a movie designed to be a cautionary tale against the evils of alcoholism. It’s akin to calling your new burger joint The Arteriosclerosis Café. But in Bonny Doon—a tiny, redwood-shaded community in the mountains northwest of Santa Cruz—the name Lost Weekend evokes a warm wave of nostalgia for a plain, simple mountain tavern that served as a kind of de facto community center.

The Lost Weekend (or Lost Week End, as a sign outside the bar once read) sold its last bottle of beer almost 35 years ago. The building at 10 Pine Flat Road is now the tasting room of Beauregard Vineyards. No one is more invested in remembering the Lost Weekend bar than Ryan Beauregard, the winery’s chief vintner as well as its owner, along with his father, Jim Beauregard.

Inside the tasting room is a large poster for the movie The Lost Weekend, and among the offerings at Beauregard Vineyards is a bottle of red labeled The Lost Weekend. Well-known master sommelier Ian Cauble gave the wine a swallow: “Notes of huckleberry pie, wild raspberries and dried goji berries dominate the nose with secondary notes of rose petal candy, wet forest, exotic spices and sandalwood lingering in the background,” was the way he described it.

Image courtesy of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History

Ryan grew up in Bonny Doon as part of one of the area’s most celebrated families. His great-grandfather Amos Beauregard purchased the vineyard that would become the winery back in 1945 (yep, the same year the movie The Lost Weekend was in theaters) and his grandfather Bud opened Shopper’s Corner, the beloved Santa Cruz grocery store still operated by the family today. Ryan was only eight years old when the Lost Weekend bar closed for good.

“As a kid, I would come down here and hang out,” he said in his tasting room, which has a cozy, ski lodge feel. “They had a video game here we all loved called Dig Dug, and some pinball. It was always a community spot. It was the only thing in Bonny Doon, really.”

Today, Bonny Doon retains much of its remote mountain-town character. It’s more of a bedroom community than it used to be and locals say that traffic is heavier. But the roads are still as mysterious and tree shrouded, and the Chipotles-on-every-corner sprawl of the greater Bay Area seems as distant as Neptune. Santa Cruz is still an uneasy 20-minute drive away.

The urbanized world is physically no closer to Bonny Doon today than it was in the days of the Lost Weekend. Psychologically, however, in a world before smartphones, the Internet and cable TV, Bonny Doon felt even more isolated. Hank Moeller grew up in Bonny Doon in the 1950s and ’60s. “One of the big summertime thrills,” he remem-

bered, “was to go out in the middle of Martin Road and just lie there all day to see if a car would come by.”

Workingman’s bar

The Lost Weekend bar first opened for business in 1950. It was owned by another legendary local family, the Iacopettis, who had operated the Bonny Doon Cash Store on the site since the 1920s. Naming the bar after the popular movie was the idea of Gus Iacopetti, but the bar itself was managed for more than 20 years by his sister Mary and her husband Enrico Ricci. The Riccis maintained a small store that sold staples such as bread, milk and other essentials. But most of the old Cash Store was converted to a simple country bar that served only jug wine and bottled beer. The Riccis lived with their only child Lana on the premises, under the same roof as the store and the Lost Weekend bar. When Enrico died in 1960, Mary ran the store and the bar for the next decade and a half.

The Lost Weekend was nobody’s idea of a boutique bar. The rustic interior—what you could see of it in the poor light—was mostly knotty pine paneling. One regular said, “It was your classic workingman’s bar.

Then and now: p. 37, the Lost Weekend in its heyday. This page and opposite, Ryan Beauregard and the present-day Beauregard Vineyards tasting room

“I remember the sheriff would stop by, just kind of open the door and say, ‘Aw, crap,’ then close the door and walk away.”

Everyone smoked. Nothing was comfortable. There was a long bar with stools, maybe one bar table. It was not designed for people to come in and stay for a long time.” Its beer selection was limited. Food consisted pretty much of bagged chips, hard-boiled eggs and maybe jerky. The bar’s clientele, in the early years, was mostly loggers, hunters and other locals. Mostly, it was the place—the only place—where Bonny Dooners could meet neighbors, exchange gossip and otherwise practice their social skills.

A jukebox and pool table came in time. But Mary didn’t want either for years. “She resisted that,” said Mary’s daughter Lana Ricci Carson, 66, who now lives in eastern Washington state. “She just didn’t want people hanging around playing pool and not buying anything. But finally, she gave in.”

When Lana says that she grew up at the Lost Weekend, it’s no metaphor. Her family home throughout her childhood was just beyond the back entrance to the bar. From the family’s kitchen table, Lana and her mom could see someone coming into the bar. Lana’s graduating class at tiny Bonny Doon School numbered 11, “and that was the biggest graduating class in years,” she said. After the death of her father, Lana said that her mother ran the store and tended bar by herself, without any employees. The bar’s hours were whatever Mary determined them to be. If she ran out of beer, or wanted to retire for the night, she’d unplug the jukebox and escort everyone out, no matter the hour.

Hank Moeller was one of Lana’s classmates. As a boy, he would often go to the store attached to the Lost Weekend for candy or ice cream. But he never set foot inside the bar until he was 20, when he was working on a local logging crew as a slash cutter. “For awhile, Mary would

only serve me a Coca-Cola,” he said. “But after a month and a half or so of coming in there, dirty, sweaty, exhausted, she finally relented and gave me a beer.”

In the early years, the Lost Weekend was open to the public only in the most technical sense. Out-of-towners would receive something less than a warm welcome. “You’d open the door and walk in,” said Moeller. “It would take a few seconds for your eyes to adjust. Everyone in the bar, including the bartender, would turn and look at you. If they knew you, it was all, ‘Hey, come on in.’ But otherwise, it was like walking into the wrong territory. Mary liked her regulars. She could be tough as nails, but ultimately she was a sweet and wonderful lady. Sometimes, she would just pour herself a glass of wine and talk about old times. It was great to listen to.”

Parties and Pet Rocks

Life at the Lost Weekend began to change dramatically in 1973. That was the year that Lana graduated from San Jose State University, giving her mother the impetus to sell the bar and move to Santa Cruz. Over the course of the next decade, the Lost Weekend went through a series of proprietors, each one changing the character of the bar. Among the several post-Ricci owners of the Lost Weekend was Gary Dahl, the Los Gatos ad man who in the mid-1970s created what was one of America’s most ridiculous consumer products, the best-selling gag gift known as the Pet Rock. Given that Dahl bought the bar just a couple of years after his unlikely invention became a national sensation, we can safely assume that the Lost Weekend was purchased with Pet Rock money.

Pool tournaments and backroom poker games began to attract a

wider clientele. The food menu expanded to include pizza and burgers. Bikers traveling up Highway 1 to Davenport would often take a detour for a cold one at the Lost Weekend. Longhairs and counterculture types, who were becoming more common in Santa Cruz at the time, began to pop in. The days of Mary unplugging the jukebox before midnight were long gone. On the weekends, the party would last well into the wee hours.

Dick Tiffin, 82, was a regular, two or three nights a week, he estimates. His presence at the Lost Weekend was usually announced by his reddish-orange El Camino parked out front. “You’d stop off after work, just to have a beer. Then an hour later, more friends of yours would come in and you’d stay a little longer and then someone else and someone else after that. And pretty soon, it was a real party atmosphere.”

One of the first bartenders in the post-Ricci period was Moeller. After Mary had served him that first beer, he found that he had amassed a rather daunting bar tab. So, he said, when the new owners came in, he traded an old ’38 pick-up and $20 for a clean bar tab. Then, he went to work behind the bar, as a way to avoid another surprise tab. Moeller remembers only one genuine bar fight at the Lost Weekend, a dispute between Bonny Doon neighbors that resulted in a beer bottle getting up close and personal with someone’s skull. The number of customers that Moeller remembers having to bounce for overintoxication is one. Occasionally, he would close the place with a customer still dozing in the corner to sleep it off until the next morning. Mostly, he said, the Lost Weekend was a mellow place.

“It was the best way to meet anybody,” he said. “I had lots of eye-

opening conversations. Lots of things that I didn’t know I learned behind the bar at the Lost Weekend.”

“You’d have a hippie bending the ear of some guy in a suit,” said Tiffin. “A couple of times, I remember the sheriff would stop by, just kind of open the door and say, ‘Aw, crap,’ then close the door and walk away.”

Finally, in 1983, the only commercial establishment in Bonny Doon changed hands again. And this time, the Lost Weekend didn’t survive. Santa Cruz winemaker Randall Grahm bought the bar and converted it into the tasting room for his Bonny Doon Vineyards. The Beauregards took up residence in 2008.

The business at 10 Pine Flat Road has now been a winery tasting room longer than it was the Lost Weekend bar. The tasting room, under both Bonny Doon Vineyards and Beauregard Vineyards, has, to a degree, continued to function as a kind of community center and meeting place for residents of Bonny Doon. But a winery isn’t a bar. The once familiar, thoroughly unpretentious vibe of the Lost Weekend is lost.

It was the kind of place, said Tiffin, that worked as the only social outlet for people living a long way from anywhere. “If you were sitting at home and feeling lonesome, you could always go there and strike up a conversation with somebody.”

Wallace Baine is a staff writer at Good Times and Metro Silicon Valley Previously he was a columnist, critic and arts/culture writer for the Santa Cruz Sentinel for 26 years. He is the author of four books, and the founder and host of the annual Gail Rich Awards for artistic excellence in Santa Cruz County.

“One of the big summertime thrills,” he remembered, “was to go out in the middle of Martin Road and just lie there all day to see if a car would come by.”

ON THE FARM REVOLUTIONARY RANCHER

A former engineer takes on climate change with regenerative agriculture

BY ELLEN FARMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALICIA ARCIDIACONO AND ELAINE PATARINI

Sallie Calhoun couldn’t have been more surprised when her husband got the wild idea of buying the huge and historic Paicines Ranch south of Hollister 17 years ago.

The land had been slated for a resort hotel, golf course and 4,500unit housing development, but San Benito County wanted the developers to provide a four-lane highway to serve all the new commuters, and that just wasn’t going to happen. So Calhoun and her husband Matt Christiano purchased the land and settled in, curious about their future.

Calhoun’s father left his family’s farm in the rural South to become an engineer in the 1950s. As much as she loved summer visits to the farm, she loved math and science more, so she followed in her father’s footsteps and became an electrical engineer just as Silicon Valley was emerging.

In her spare time, she liked to garden in her Los Gatos backyard and took up the environmental cause of restoring native California perennial grasses in her raised beds. Little did she know she would soon have 7,600 acres to play in, as an unsolicited buyout of their engineering firm allowed the couple to become innovative ranchers and philanthropists at an age when all their cylinders were still firing.

Paicines Ranch was started in the mid-1800s as a dairy. It was also once part of Mirassou Winery’s vineyards and, more recently, was sectioned off and leased to a cattle rancher and an organic vegetable

farmer. At first, the challenges of managing a property in a region that averages just 10 inches of rain per year seemed daunting. Looking for a way to rebuild topsoil with native grasses, Calhoun found the ecologist Allan Savory—who believes grazing can reverse climate change and desertification—and she joined the board of his Holistic Management International in arid New Mexico.

“I vividly remember the moment when I got the idea that you might be able to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change,” she says. “I was at a Holistic Management board meeting in Albuquerque, and as a side conversation somebody was talking about paying ranchers to sequester carbon. It had never, ever occurred to me that you could suck carbon out of the air and put it back in the soil. That to me was just the absolute coolest thing.

“The whole weekend that’s all I thought about. What if you could regenerate grasslands and address climate change? How amazing is that? And how is it that the whole world isn’t talking about doing this? And that’s where I still am over 10 years later,” she adds.

Over the years, Paicines Ranch has steadily built its reputation as the go-to learning center for regenerative agriculture in central California, but it hasn’t been easy. In 2016, education director Elaine Patarini recalls she had to beg people to attend a workshop with soil ecologist Dr. Christine Jones, who flew all the way from Australia to address a ragtag crew of early adopters.

But this past December, 100 eager participants maxed out the ranch’s event center to learn from Jones, suggesting that the tipping point toward a regenerative agriculture movement is at hand. In January, Calhoun hosted EcoFarm’s sold-out pre-conference workshop on the same topic. The growing local interest is part of a nationwide movement pioneered by no-till visionaries in the Midwest and further east who have learned to manage rangelands with herds of livestock that imitate the behavior of native buffalo, grouping together to avoid predators, munching and fertilizing as they are herded along, giving plants time to recover and grow.

SAVE THE PLANET

As we all learned in grade school, plants grow through the alchemy of photosynthesis. This natural activity uses sunlight to make carbohydrates by combining water and carbon dioxide from the air, which are then fed down through the plant into the soil to beneficial bacteria and fungi below. It turns out this wildly underappreciated process is one of the keys to balancing the greenhouse gases we spew into the air. As plants turn light into life, they feed CO2 into the soil through their roots. It’s our job to keep it there.

Wait...what? You mean the more plants we grow and allow to live undisturbed in the ground, the more carbon we capture? That’s the theory. And Calhoun is a rancher with enough curiosity and acreage

to Paicines Ranch, where Calhoun is a skilled matchmaker.

“I think our work is connecting a lot of circles of people,” Calhoun says. “Our strategy is to continue to be a center for education and demonstration and really bring people together. The whole thing changes when people develop relationships with each other and with the earth. We think of ourselves as inoculants—trying to create a mycelium. So we’re trying to create the kind of fungus that connects us all. And once we’re all connected, we can do anything.”

In March Paicines hosted its first-ever Learning Journey event for investors and funders through the #NoRegretsInitiative.

The goal is for people investing and making grants in sustainable agriculture to ask themselves, “How do I understand enough about this to be intelligent in my work and to really be helpful?” Included on the team are Nikki Silvestri and Esther Park, innovators in sustainability investing.

“Nikki helped me recognize the value of sharing the importance of soil health with my peers in social finance. Esther is CEO of Cienega Capital, an investment firm I founded for soil health, regenerative agricultural practices and local food systems,” Calhoun says.

In April, the #NoRegretsInitiative convened its third annual Lead with Land meeting. These relatively small gatherings of 16 major landowners provide hands-on relationship building with the regenerative ag community and breakthrough thinking on decision-making around

to be taken seriously. She’s also an incredibly welcoming host who has attracted researchers, teachers and ranchers from across the U.S. and around the world, sometimes to stay for a few days in comfortable quarters that double as wedding venue suites on summer weekends.

“I feel this terrible sense of urgency, and I wish I didn’t,” Calhoun says. “If we weren’t in the middle of climate change with maybe 60 years of topsoil left, it might actually be more fun and less stressful. It would be good to be able to say ‘the earth will be fine,’ but we don’t really know that right now.”

What Jones teaches is the benefit of the liquid carbon pathway in green plants, which she describes as a “soil microbial carbon pump.” Photos from a scanning electron microscope show that mycorrhizal fungi actually pierce the roots in the soil. What scientists are excited to discover is how this process makes nutrients available to plants. Pastured animals encourage this activity because they eat only the tops of plants, stimulating the roots to seek sustenance from the soil to regrow the tops. Pastures allowed to recover through managed grazing—moving animals before they denude the field—are part of a living ecosystem.

Our inability to see the beauty of photosynthesis and our inadvertent willingness to destroy soil communities are becoming clear. But if tilling is so destructive, what are farmers going to do? And why did it take Western civilization 5,000 years to figure this out? Many of the people who care deeply about these concerns eventually find their way

the various possible meanings of return on investment. Not every return is going to be financial.

Among the guiding principles developed by Lead with Land is: “Leaving the design of a new food and land system to existing bureaucracies, power structures and conventional land management techniques will not lead to restoration. Intervention is needed.”

TAKING ROOT

A few years ago Calhoun was able to hire the regenerative ag hero Kelly Mulville as ranch manager at Paicines. Mulville was so inspired by the holistic management message that he rode his bike at age 18 from West Texas to Albuquerque to meet Allan Savory and went on to become one of the first in the nation to put planned grazing into practice. He was excited to show me a tall type of vineyard trellis he designed so grapevines can be suckered by sheep. Suckering, or pruning back unwanted growth, is a costly farm job turned over to the ruminants, which provide fertilizer as a bonus in Mulville’s realm. The sheep won’t be able to reach the grapes or photosynthesizing leaves high up on the trellis, but they will be able to trim the ends of grapevines that get too long.

Farming to save the world: opposite, Sally Calhoun and participants in educational programs at Paicines Ranch; P. 46, from left, Kelly Mulville, Esther Park and Sally Calhoun

“It would be good to be able to say ‘the earth will be fine,’ but we don’t really know that right now.”

Two years were spent preparing the soil in the vineyard. This involved tall cover crops grazed by sheep in a managed rotation, using electric fencing, the roots left in the ground before the grape trellises went up.

“Our intention is never to till again, to always keep the ground covered and to graze as a regular part of maintenance,” Calhoun says. “Kelly says that in many California vineyards you can have an average of 25 tractor passes up and down each row each year. So you have all this compaction and you have bare ground.”

As organic matter improves, so does the water-holding capacity of soil, something she feels should speak volumes to Californians, as using undisturbed vegetation to keep soils moist implies water savings.

Fields of row crops on the ranch used to be leased to a local organic farmer, but Calhoun wanted to go beyond organic, and decided to farm it herself.

“Though our crop ground is certified organic, it was being cultivated in a way that is extractive, destroying soil health and releasing carbon into the atmosphere,” in particular, subjecting the land to frequent tilling, she says. “We decided we could no longer watch what was happening in that kind of organic veggie production. So they are now gone and we’re in the process of becoming farmers, which I said I would never do.

“We have a lot of skin in the game. We gave up that rent check. It’s a big thing to give up a rent check that falls on your desk every month,

to do this experiment,” she says with a wry smile.

The work at Paicines Ranch is beginning to influence farmers in the Monterey Bay region. Phil Foster of Pinnacle Organic, an early user of many regenerative farming practices near San Juan Bautista, attended both of Jones’ sessions and displayed his experimental plots for the EcoFarm bus tour in January. Foster will never use animals in the fields due to food safety laws and his focus on fresh organic vegetables. However, he has long believed strongly in compost and made his own.

“With 25 years of compost applications and extensive cover cropping to improve soil organic carbon and soil biology with good results, we are incorporating practices to significantly reduce tillage in our vegetable production for increased improvements in soil quality,” Foster says. “Our goal is to reduce tillage by 50% or more for the next five years to see if we can get measurable increases in soil organic carbon.”

When asked about succession, Calhoun says her children are not interested in becoming ranchers. “We hope that people coming here will start to feel like it is ‘Their Ranch’ and we can hold on to it as a functioning nonprofit.” Many ranch tours and activities are available each year; descriptions and dates can be found on the Paicines Ranch website, paicinesranch.com.

The real legacy Calhoun hopes to leave is that she did all she could to address climate change in our precarious era.

Ellen Farmer is a freelance writer and organizer living in Santa Cruz.

WHAT IS REGENERATIVE ORGANIC CERTIFICATION?

Some people don’t think the USDA Organic certification goes far enough. Others see recent moves as weakening the organic standard—particularly a decision last year to continue allowing hydroponically grown produce to be labeled organic and a decision in early 2018 to withdraw new and widely praised animal welfare rules.

A new Regenerative Organic Certification that builds on the organic movement is being launched by the Rodale Institute. Backed by Patagonia, Demeter USA, Dr. Bronner’s and a variety of other organic brands, the new certification is built on these three pillars:

Soil Health: minimal tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, rotational grazing, no synthetic inputs, no GMOs or gene editing, promotion of biodiversity, building soil organic matter and no soil-less systems.

Animal Welfare: five freedoms, grass fed/pasture raised, no

concentrated animal feeding operations, suitable shelter and limited animal transport.

Social Fairness: fair payments for farmers, living wages, no forced labor, democratic organizations, long-term commitments, transparency and accountability, good working conditions, capacity building and freedom of association.

Meantime a second group called the Real Organic Project has emerged, offering an alternative, add-on label to USDA-certified organic products that would guarantee that produce is grown in soil and livestock is raised in pasture-based systems.

Still, both proposals have raised concerns among people who fear that too many labels will confuse consumers.

MORE: See digital version of this story at www.ediblemontereybay.com for a reading list on regenerative agriculture.

BEHIND THE BOTTLE BRAVE NEW Winemakers

Three Santa Cruz County winemakers bring youthful energy to the natural wine movement

BY LAURA NESS PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIE CAHILL

Brave new winemakers: from left, Brad Friedman, Ryan Stirm and Megan Bell

They’re young and enthusiastic, with around-the-world experience that has taught them both historic and modern methods of winemaking. But they’ve chosen a different path. Call it natural, minimalist, real or low-intervention winemaking, this is a path that has been well trodden in other countries for centuries. Yet here in California, there’s a revival underway and it’s all the rage. Like teenagers today discovering bell bottoms, hot pants and disco, the natural wine movement is the trendy darling of sommeliers eager for something that departs significantly from the mainstream offerings on most wine lists. In reality, it’s pretty much another word for “organic,” a type of wine that may be a bit tarnished by age or bad experiences.

Whatever you call it, natural (aka “natty”) is also catching on with wine drinkers who are concerned about the use of chemicals in all forms of agriculture, including grape growing, and with the pervasive dosage of additives that seem to make their way into everything we consume.

A search for little-known varieties, biodynamically farmed grapes and historic vineyards brought together three young Santa Cruz County winemakers, all of whom share the desire to make low-impact wines in as natural a way possible.

Following their singular north stars, the three converged in what seems a storybook setting for their back-to-natural intentions: a humble, old-school winery on the outskirts of Aromas, surrounded by strawberry fields, orchards and ancient redwood fermentation tanks.

CRADLE OF NATURAL WINE

Here at River Run Winery, Megan Bell of Margins Wine, Brad Friedman of Subject to Change and Ryan Stirm of Stirm Wine and Companion Wine, are practicing a form of alchemy that seeks to showcase pure, unadulterated Garden of Eden virginal winemaking. They couldn’t have chosen a more bucolic spot, or a more congenial soulmate for a landlord.

River Run Winery has been the domain of self-described hippie winemaker J.P. Pawloski for 40 years. He’s one of the originals on the Santa Cruz Mountains winemaking scene and you can still find his wines on store shelves. These days, instead of punching down and hustling wine, he’s farming his all-organic front yard, teasing lettuce, kale, asparagus, potatoes and cilantro from the black tilth and plucking sweet juicy grapefruits and oranges from his orchard. And he’s cheering on this trio of youth as they chase their collective dreams.

If something tells you this isn’t a typical winery setup, your instincts are spot on. None of the three wants to have a conventional tasting room, though they all sell online. But most of their production is already spoken for by restaurants and somm friends keen to carry natural wines with intriguing stories.

Their wines and their approaches are anything but typical, and they’re just fine with that. Bell seeks to highlight marginalized varietals, hence the Margins name, using minimal intervention in the Chenin Blanc and Sangiovese she’s currently producing. Friedman seeks pref-

erably organic or biodynamic sources of oddball grapes, like Carignane, even making a field blend of all the grapes from an old Hopland vineyard in Mendocino that includes both reds and whites. Stirm embraces the old with one hand, showcasing Riesling and Zinfandel from vineyards over a century old, while with the other he embraces the ultra-modern, putting Malvasia and Riesling into cans.

Why do they do it? It’s rather akin to trying to divine the unique shape of a particular snowflake when drinking snowmelt.

Bell, 27, was born in Livermore and got her B.S. in viticulture and enology from UC Davis, then apprenticed in Napa, the Livermore Valley, the Willamette Valley, Central Otago (New Zealand) and the Loire Valley before settling in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Until last fall, she was the assistant winemaker at Beauregard Vineyards, where she brought her insight and phenomenally light touch to bear on a series of lively, acid-driven, oak-free Chardonnays from three different vineyards. She also made méthode Champenoise sparkling with Ryan Beauregard there, perhaps the last time she will work with mainstream varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Instead, for Margins Wine, Bell chooses what she calls “outcast” vineyards growing varieties outside the normal comfort zone of typical wine drinkers. Think of the “comfort zone” as a narrow box with four sides labeled Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot. Apparently, there are at least a few adventurous souls out there who drink outside the box, some of whom supported her in her crowdfunding effort to launch the Margins brand, when she was just 25.

“Not everyone gets natural wines that have no preservatives and are not meant to age,” she says. “Most people who come into a tasting room wouldn’t understand or appreciate what we’re doing. Folks who are devotees of natural wine, though, are looking for exactly the kind of wines we are making here.”

Bell was thrilled to discover Chenin Blanc grapes in Clarksburg (an AVA on the Sacramento Delta known for whites), which became her first effort under the fledgling Margins label. Truly made in the natural style, with no sulfites added, such a wine will not be for everyone. Somms, however, cannot get enough of it. Likewise, her sparkling, which is allocated mostly to shops in Los Angeles, is a “pet nat,” (pétillant naturel—a style of sparkling made by bottling wine that is still actively fermenting, which traps the bubbles), made from Chenin Blanc.

Made to be consumed in the freshness of its youth, Bell’s 2017 Sangiovese from Mesa del Sol is a screaming fruit-forward dead ringer for the most interesting Beaujolais Nouveau you’ve never had.

WILD WEST WINEMAKING

Friedman, 30, is a Maryland native who was most recently the assistant winemaker at Big Basin Vineyards, where he made some outstanding wines from Coast Grade, Ben Lomond Mountain and Coastview Vineyards. He got his degree in chemistry from Indiana University, then interned at a local winery before stints at Honig, Benziger and Imagery. This was followed by a two-year sojourn abroad in Europe,

“It’s like the Wild West of wine. People are not afraid to try crazy things.”

New Zealand and South Africa. Friedman then went to Napa, where he worked at the famed Stagecoach Vineyard before landing in the Santa Cruz Mountains to work with Bradley Brown at Big Basin.

Subject to Change is his current gig—a joint venture with partners Alex Pomerantz, CEO of the operation, and Joe and Kim Rosenberg, COO and CFO, respectively. Santa Cruz has proven a Goldilocks fit for Friedman, ideal for his avant-garde techniques.

“Here, being a winemaker is still something cool,” he says. “It’s like the Wild West of wine. People are not afraid to try crazy things.” The brand’s current offerings reflect his love of experimentation.

“On the Sauvignon Blanc from Feliz Creek Vineyards (Hopland), which is all organic and has every single disease and soil issue known to man, we did 30% carbonic maceration (fermentation done without oxygen). We did zero adds—no sulfur, no nothing. Extended skin contact really amped the aromatics,” he says, adding, “With carbonic

maceration, instead of adding sulfur to the fermentation, you can keep it clean in an anaerobic environment.”

On reds, he goes for extended maceration and some percentage of carbonic maceration, but this is vineyard dependent. SunHawk, a biodynamic farm in Hopland, is essentially a field blend of 10 varieties, both white and red. “We co-fermented them, with a short maceration and 24 hours on the skins. Pretty dark!” he says.

“Except for a tiny bit of SO2 at bottling, we add nothing to the wines,” says Friedman. “In keeping with our natural approach, we use Nomacorc corks made from sugar cane.”

Subject to Change will soon bottle three single-vineyard Syrahs, along with Coastview Vineyard Grenache, a co-ferment of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as a Chardonnay. The Coastview Grenache, which was fermented on skins for 65 days with 50% stem inclusion, is so intense with baking spice, it jumps like a cinnamon pogo stick

NATURAL VS. ORGANIC WINE

This is essentially a war of synonyms. “It’s a confusing subject, and one that I typically stay out of,” says winemaker Ryan Stirm.

“In the USA, organic wines come from certified organic grapes, and are made without any added sulfites. That would absolutely qualify as ‘natural.’ But here’s where things get complicated. In Europe, organic wines can be made with added sulfites,” he says.

While natural wines are generally made with organically or biodynamically grown fruit, no certification is needed to use the word “natural.”

As for the addition of sulfites, which help keep wine from spoiling, Stirm believes it’s all about the threshold of tolerance on the part of the consumer.

“Sulfite limits are imposed by wine buyers who have come up with their own terms. Some are hardcore no sulfur added, some are as high as 70 ppm total (still not very high compared with conventionally made wines). The ballpark figure I use, that many people have come to see as the defining line, is 25 ppm total added for reds and 35 ppm total added for whites. Again, very low. From a winemaker’s perspective, I’ve added 70 ppm to a wine that showed about 5 ppm free sulfur a week later. Most winemakers want to bottle their wines with about 15–30 ppm free SO2.”

across your tongue. The Pinot is a subtle powerhouse, while the Coastview Chardonnay is close to lemon meringue pie perfection.

WILD YEASTS FROM GNARLY VINEYARDS

Ryan Stirm, 30, is among a handful of young winemakers committed to Riesling in a major way. He’s been sourcing this energetic grape from Kick-On Ranch Vineyard in Santa Barbara and Wirz Vineyard in the Cienega Valley since he started in 2013, to considerable acclaim. After earning a degree in viticulture and enology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he worked at Saucelito Canyon Vineyard and then at Tyler Winery. He’s also studied under Riesling masters in Austria and Germany, where he learned many old tricks to deliver the intense aromatics and flavors that make this grape so beloved by wine aficionados the world over.

“My goal is to transparently tell the tale of each vineyard and vintage, and make wines that are vibrant and alive. I want to translate the experience of the vineyard into the glass in the most authentic way possible,” he says.

If you can taste the uniqueness of each site, he’s done his job. Stirm believes in spontaneous fermentation, which scares most conventional winemakers, but he wouldn’t do it any other way. No sulfur is added during the ferment; in fact, when fermenting the Wirz Riesling, which is foot trodden and left on skins for only a few hours, the juice turns black. After fermentation and racking, the dark solids drop out, leaving a powerful expression that tastes like no other Riesling.

Stirm delights in working with old, often own-rooted vineyards in gnarly places, like Enz and Wirz, both in San Benito County. There’s no place he’d rather be than in a vineyard. Except maybe Hawaii. Stirm recently married his Hawaii-born sweetheart there, which may explain the island girl theme on Companion Wines’ can of Malvasia Bianca. From a vineyard in Suisun and fermented in concrete, it was made

in partnership with Jolie-Laide. It’s rad, juicy and fun, with notes of bubble gum. The guys who farm the vineyard probably wouldn’t drink the stuff. Says Stirm, “They’re two tough-looking brothers who drive around their ranch in an old F-250.”

Beyond Riesling, he has a firm handle on Pinot Noir, sourced from the Glenwood Oaks vineyard he farms in Scotts Valley. In a nod to the early days of California winemaking, it was fermented in Pawloski’s old redwood tanks.

“I was making wine at Stockwell Cellars (in Santa Cruz) and running out of room,” says Stirm. “J.P. was selling these redwood fermenters, which I thought looked really cool. We got to talking, and I decided to move my operation here.”

The redwood-fermented wine tastes like pure Pinot, unamped by oak, an acoustic solo in a world of overamplified din.

Stirm’s 2015 Kick-On Riesling, from a vineyard near Vandenberg Air Force Base that he’s slowly converting to organic farming practices, is close to California perfection, with its driving floral bouquet, orange peel and distinctive petrol aromatics, and its flowing flavors of fresh tangerine, succulent nectarine and a tingle of lime.

Next he trots out a prancing Zinfandel from the Wirz Vineyard, planted in 1965 and own-rooted. “Pat Wirz is one of the best guys in the industry to work with,” says Stirm. Pawloski introduced them. Stirm’s understated approach here reveals the intensity of the fruit, and you can truly taste the desiccation of the powdery white soil in which the Zin is grown. Stirm sources Cabernet Pfeffer from the Enz Vineyard in Lime Kiln Valley. Says Stirm, “It’s scorching hot, even hotter than Wirz.” The searing, sinus-clearing white and black pepperiness fuses with ginger and clove to create a wine that burns itself into your taste buds. “The grapes taste just like that,” Stirm confirms. Objective achieved.

While Bell, Friedman and Stirm all aim for expressive wines that are as natural as possible, their different approaches quietly and fittingly reflect their personalities. Think of it as Old World ways meeting the Wild West of the new, where things are just naturally subject to change.

Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.TV, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.

Editor’s note: Everything in life is indeed subject to change, and as this issue was going to press, Brad Friedman was moving on from Subject to Change to his next venture.

Dine Local GUIDE

All of these restaurants emphasize local ingredients, and they also advertise in Edible Monterey Bay! Stop by for a free issue, and tell them that we sent you!

For more about the restaurants at THE LODGE AT PEBBLE BEACH, see p. 58

APTOS

Persephone 7945 Soquel Drive 831.612.6511 • www.persephonerestaurant.com

With a namesake like the mythic Persephone, this restaurant in Aptos proclaims its deep reverence for seasonal cooking. emes central to harvest, winter and spring are core to Persephone’s story, and are reected in the changing menu at this ne dining destination, where chef Cori Goudge-Ayer presents inventive, ingredient-driven creations. e restaurant is a family-run passion project, bringing together parents, siblings and a long history of culinary arts in a beautifully redesigned space overlooking Aptos Creek. Open W–Su 4:30–9pm.

BIG SUR

Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn 47900 Highway 1 831.667.2800 • www.postranchinn.com

Executive chef Elizabeth Murray uses exceptional ingredients, many grown on site, to deliver a unique gastronomic take on the Big Sur experience. Lunch o ers a 3-course prix xe menu, while dinner features a 4-course prix xe menu. Choose from almost 3,000 di erent wines from the Wine Spectator Grand Awardwinning wine list. Arrive before sunset for breathtaking views from this iconic restaurant’s oor-to-ceiling windows and cli side terrace. Open daily for lunch 12:15–2:30pm, dinner 5:30–9pm. Advanced reservations required. Please note that dinner guests will not be admitted before 5pm.

CAPITOLA

e Penny Ice Creamery 820 41st Avenue 831.204.2523 • www.thepennyicecreamery.com

Open Su– noon–9pm, F–Sa noon–10pm

See e Penny description under Santa Cruz for more.

Shadowbrook 1750 Wharf Road 831.475.1511 • www.shadowbrook-capitola.com

A Santa Cruz County landmark since 1947, the world-famous Shadowbrook continues to be an overwhelming favorite with locals and visitors alike. Its ne food, extensive wine list and unparalleled setting and ambiance have earned it numerous awards, including Northern California’s “Most Romantic Restaurant” and “Best Date Night Restaurant.” Gift cards and reservations available online. Open M–F 5–8:45pm, Sa 4:30–9:45pm, Su 4:30–8:45pm.

CARMEL

Aubergine

Monte Verde Street at Seventh Avenue 831.624.8578

• www.auberginecarmel.com

Located within the romantic L’Auberge Carmel, a visit to Aubergine feels like a trip to Europe. Executive chef Justin Cogley was named one of Food & Wine’s best new chefs of 2013. He has been nominated multiple times for a James Beard award and it’s no wonder—he’s an eloquent and imaginative interpreter of ne seasonal ingredients. Executive pastry chef Yulanda Santos delights with stunning and inventive desserts. Open daily 6–9:30pm.

Photo by Margaux Gibbons

Basil Seasonal Dining

San Carlos street between Ocean and Seventh avenues (Paseo Courtyard)

831.626.8226 • www.basilcarmel.com

“Organic, local and seasonal” are not just buzzwords at Basil. is cozy restaurant in the Paseo Courtyard was awarded three stars from the national Green Restaurant Association. New chef Andrea Palmieri of Rome’s BucaVino has been introducing more of an Italian in uence. Owner Denis Boaro continues to provide a full bar and great selection of California and Italian wines, including old and new world. Check website for information on monthly winemaker dinners and other events. Many vegan and vegetarian entrées available. Heated, dog-friendly outdoor seating. Open daily for lunch and dinner from 11:30am, Sa and Su brunch 11am–2pm.

Covey Breakfast Restaurant

8000 Valley Greens Drive 831.620.8910 • www.quaillodge.com

Overlooking a pond and manicured grounds, the newly remodeled Covey Breakfast Restaurant includes motorcycles from the Moto Talbott Museum in Carmel Valley in a nod to Quail’s annual motorsports event, while chef Brian Kearns captures the essence of a home-cooked Carmel Valley meal. e weekday à la carte menu includes nourishing skillets, eggs benedict and huevos rancheros; on weekends, enjoy an enhanced American breakfast bu et. Both indoor and outdoor seating come with beautiful views. Open daily 6:30–11am.

Earthbound Farm’s Farm Stand Organic Kitchen

7250 Carmel Valley Road 831.625.6219 • ebfarm.com

At its newly renovated Carmel Valley Farm Stand, Earthbound Farm’s 100% certi ed organic kitchen delights with housemade soups, sandwiches, new expanded salad bar, baked goods and fresh juices and smoothies. Experience picturesque Carmel Valley as you stroll through Earthbound’s organic gardens and learn about its pioneering local heritage and commitment to organic integrity. Food is available for takeaway or a relaxing afternoon at tables in the gardens. And as always, pick up some fresh, local organic fruits and veggies. Visit our website or check out Facebook for hours, special events and classes!

Edgar’s

at Quail

8000 Valley Greens Drive 831.620.8910 • www.quaillodge.com

Taste the fresh ingredients harvested from local organic farms that are hand selected by Edgar’s executive chef Brian Kearns and exquisitely prepared by his culinary team into the savory dishes available on its new menus. Set in the clubhouse of Quail Lodge & Golf Club, Edgar’s restaurant and bar features a casual elegance with its indoor and outdoor fireside dining located alongside the natural backdrop of the golf course and Santa Lucia Mountains. Edgar’s at Quail is proudly guided in the principles of sustainability by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and focuses on local farm-to-table options. Open daily 11am–9pm.

Il Grillo

Mission Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues 831.238.9608 • www.ilgrillocarmel.com

A more casual yet equally outstanding sister to Carmel’s La Balena, Il Grillo is staking out its own creative culinary personality with the addition of chef Quinn ompson. Homemade desserts are made by Emily Garcia. Both ompson and Garcia come from the Monterey Bay area and share local food knowledge and traditions through their cooking. Dinner menus are driven by local and sustainably raised ingredients, with beautiful and delicious results. Garden seating available. Open M–Sa 4–9pm.

La Balena

Junipero Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues 831.250.6295 • www.labalenacarmel.com

Winner of EMB’s 2014 Local Heroes award for Best Chef/Best Restaurant, La Balena has a seasonal menu that changes daily but always expresses an inventive take on the rustic food of a Tuscan trattoria. e outstanding culinary team sources ingredients from local organic farms and prepares the restaurant’s pastas and slow-cooked meats from scratch daily. Owners Anna and Emanuele Bartolini have created an excellent Italian wine list and a warm, inviting atmosphere, complete with back garden seating. Open Tu–Su 5–10pm; check website for lunch hours.

Waypoint Bar & Deck

8205 Valley Greens Drive 831.620.8910 • www.quaillodge.com

Locals and visitors alike have an exciting and beautiful new spot to stop for a whiskey ight, local craft beer, creative cocktails, wines by the glass or bottle, and contemporary small bites and appetizers made with local, sustainable ingredients. e new Waypoint Bar & Deck o ers monthly chef specials like “Bubbles & Birdies” (fried chicken and Champagne) and a tantalizing regular menu featuring such items as chef Brian Kearns’ beef Shortrib Nachos with Charred Avocado, Roasted Heirloom Carrots, burgers, atbreads and duck fat fries. Also available for private events, rental fees apply. Open W–Su 5–10pm.

CARMEL VALLEY

Lucia Restaurant & Bar

Bernardus Lodge & Spa • 415 W. Carmel Valley Road 831.658.3400 • www.bernarduslodge.com

Indulge in artisanal California country cuisine, award-winning wines and an expansive heated outdoor terrace with the nest restaurant view in Carmel Valley. Named for the Santa Lucia mountain range and wine appellation that beckons to the south, renowned chef Cal Stamenov serves both his signature tasting menu and dishes à la carte. Wine list is equally notable. A private chef’s table and wine cellar are also available. Enjoy live music Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings and at Saturday and Sunday brunch. Open daily 7am–10pm.

Trailside Café and Beer Garden 3 Del Fino Place 831.298.7453 • www.trailsidecafecv.com

ose needing to refuel after a day on the trail can head to Trailside Café for home-cooked meals in Carmel Valley. Beer lovers get to choose from 16 on tap, and sports fans can watch games on the HDTVs. Locals are treated to specials on Mondays and Tuesdays.

On the weekends enjoy live music in the beer garden. Check out the calendar on its website for more details. Dog friendly in outdoor areas. Open daily 8am–9pm

DAVENPORT

Whale City Bakery

490 Highway 1 831.423.9009 • www.whalecitybakery.com

Davenport’s artistic charm and oceanside location make it hard not to slow when you pass through on Highway 1. ose in the know always stop at the historic Whale City Bakery. e bakery tempts with housemade breads, pastries, mu ns and pies—and that’s only the beginning! Whale City also o ers a full restaurant that serves up comfort classics and other hearty dishes. e bar and live music every ursday attract a loyal local following. Open daily 6:30am–8pm.

FELTON

e Cremer House 6256 Highway 9 831.335.3976 • www.cremerhouse.com

Housed in the oldest building in Felton, e Cremer House showcases progressive, made-from-scratch food and drinks with a nod to its historic mountain surroundings. is alehouse has lled a niche in the San Lorenzo Valley, bringing to this restored and revered property craft beer, cider and wine on tap, and combining it with organic and sustainable fare made with local ingredients. Open Tu– , Su 11:30am–9pm, F–Sa 11:30am–9:30pm.

Wild Roots Market 6240 Highway 9 831.335.7322 • www.wildrootsmarket.com

Wild Roots’ 100% organic produce, natural groceries, organic meats and Fishwise-certi ed Seafood all go into the prepared foods o ered by the store’s fullservice deli, salad and soup bar and juice bar, open daily 9am–9pm. Enjoy on the patio or take home.

MONTEREY

e Club Room

2 Portola Plaza 831.649.2698 www.portolahotel.com/dining/the-club-room e Club Room inside the Portola Hotel & Spa o ers a fresh, seasonal, breakfast bu et featuring made-toorder omelets, assorted housemade pastries and mufns, sliced cold cuts, ne artisan cheeses, bottomless mimosas and much more all for $19.95. Dine in the cozy fireside dining room, or breathe in the fresh coastal air on the outdoor, pet-friendly, heated patio. Open for breakfast daily 6–11am.

the C restaurant + bar

InterContinental e Clement Monterey 750 Cannery Row 831.375.4500 • www.ictheclementmonterey.com

Step into the C restaurant + bar, and the bustle of Cannery Row will seem like a world away. Elegant yet relaxed, the C o ers stunning ocean views from its oor-to-ceiling windows and oceanside deck. Executive chef Matt Bolton provides equally gorgeous food, imaginatively prepared from sustainably sourced seafood, meats and produce. Creative cocktails include international specialties,

ights from around the world. Open daily 6:30am–10pm, Happy Hour 4–7pm Su– . Live Music F–Su noon–3pm, –Sa 6–9pm.

Jacks Monterey

2 Portola Plaza 831.649.7830

• www.jacksatportola.com

Jacks Monterey o ers “California Cultural Cuisine” and seats guests beneath the trees in a glass-topped atrium where they can enjoy the sun by day and the stars at night. Re ecting the palette of the Monterey Peninsula, the new space is decorated with ocean blues, driftwood browns and the greens of coastal ora. Chef Danny Abbruzzese’s new seasonal menu provides a melting pot of avor pro les from the entire California coastline and other exotic locales. Open for lunch daily 11:30am–4pm, dinner daily 4–11pm, Sunday brunch with live music 11:30am–3pm.

Peter B’s Brewpub

2 Portola Plaza 831.649.2699 • www.peterbsbrewpub.com

Experience Monterey’s original craft brewery, Peter B’s Brewpub, located behind the Portola Hotel & Spa. Enjoy great food and award-winning handcrafted beers. Watch your favorite game on one of 18 HDTVs or enjoy the pet-friendly heated patio with re pits.

Peter B’s is open daily with nightly Happy Hour from 4–6:30pm. Open Su 11am–11pm, M– 4–11pm, F 4pm–12am, Sa 11am–12am.

Schooners Coastal Kitchen & Bar

Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa 400 Cannery Row 831.372.2628 • www.schoonersmonterey.com

Sit out on the newly remodeled oceanside patio if you can, but it’s still considered seaside dining if you are seated inside the dining room, where polished wood, bay windows and seafaring décor seem like the interior of a sailing ship. Schooners Coastal Kitchen & Bar serves sustainable seafood and prime steaks. e restaurant takes a creative Californian approach to soups, fresh salads, sandwiches and wood- red atbreads, paired with a diverse wine list featuring local favorites. Open daily 6:30am–11pm.

TusCA Ristorante

Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa 1 Old Golf Course Road 831.657.6675 • www.hyattregencymonterey.com

Blending the beauty and bounty of Tuscany and California, and inspired by the hearty appetite and abundance of southern Italy, TusCA serves up seasonally sourced menus made from fresh, local produce, meats and sh. TusCA chef Steve Johnson delights diners with meals both intriguing and indulgent, particularly those baked in his wood-burning oven or served with the housemade pastas. Open daily for breakfast and lunch 6:30am–1:30pm, dinner 6–9pm Tu–Sa.

PACIFIC GROVE

Happy Girl Kitchen Co. 173 Central Avenue 831.373.4475 • www.happygirlkitchen.com

e menu changes daily at Happy Girl’s airy and bright Paci c Grove café, but the food is always delicious, organic and reasonably priced. e sandwich of the day is $6.50, and a bowl of the soup of the day is $6. To drink, you’ll nd kombucha on tap and freshly roasted Verve

co ee brewed to perfection. Homemade baked goods include a daily scone, cookies and turnovers. Check the website for information on seasonal workshops. Open daily 7:30am–3pm, co ee and tea served until 5pm.

Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar

542 Lighthouse Avenue 831.920.2662 • www.jeninni.com

Inspired by flavors of the Mediterranean, Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar’s rich and decadent cuisine takes you on a journey from Morocco and Spain to the Levant, birthplace of owner and sommelier, amin Saleh. Don’t miss chef Matthew Zimny’s charred octopus, lamb burger with signature eggplant fries and occasional paella nights and other special events. Open every day except Wednesday, 5pm until close. Happy Hour—”sips and snacks”—4–6pm.

Passion sh 701 Lighthouse Avenue 831.655.3311 • www.passion sh.net

If you’re looking for a restaurant with playful, spectacular food and a scrupulous commitment to sustainability, this green-certi ed restaurant is hard to rival. e elegant dining room is celebratory yet relaxed, and the award-winning wine list features many sustainable names and is priced at retail. Chef Ted Walter’s menu is ever changing with the seasons, but always includes delicious organic local produce, inventive slow-cooked meats and an array of sustainable seafood choices. Open daily 5pm.

Point Pinos Grill

79 Asilomar Boulevard 831.648.5774 • www.ptpinosgrill.com

With sweeping views of the coast and a relaxed clubhouse vibe, this scenic spot has blossomed under the direction of executive chef Dory Ford. For breakfast, choose from huevos rancheros, chicken fried steak and an array of tasty omelets. For lunch through dinner, enjoy dishes like Ale-Steamed Mussels and Crispy Fried Dry Rubbed Jerk Chicken Wings paired with craft beers, local wines or a house specialty cocktail. Open M–F 7:30am–7pm, Sa 7am–7pm, Su 7am–6pm. Happy Hour is M–F 4–6pm.

PEBBLE BEACH

e Bench

e Lodge at Pebble Beach, 1700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

Overlooking the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, e Bench at e Lodge at Pebble Beach delivers an eclectic menu inspired by international styles and methods, which uses the innovative technique of wood roasting and open- ame cooking. You can also enjoy one-of-a-kind craft cocktails, as well as an array of draft beers and wines by the glass. Open daily 11am–10pm.

Gallery Cafe

e Lodge at Pebble Beach, 1700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

Overlooking the rst tee of Pebble Beach Golf Links, Gallery Cafe o ers a wide selection of breakfast choices, from light smoothies to omelets and pancakes. For a casual lunch, try the excellent burgers or choose from a delicious selection of artisan sandwiches, plus the best milkshakes this side of the 1950s. Open daily 6am–2pm.

Pèppoli at Pebble Beach

e Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

At Pèppoli, the scents of Italian herbs and spices ll the air, and the décor transports you to a cozy Tuscan villa. e menu is big and bold, ripe with traditional pastas, seafood and meats. e extraordinary wine list is matched by equally impressive dishes, including delicious desserts, all with stunning views of Spanish Bay. Open daily 5:30–10pm.

Roy’s at Pebble Beach

e Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

It’s all about big avors and the gorgeous ocean view at Roy’s at Pebble Beach. Fresh seafood is front and center, where sushi, sashimi and blackened rare Ahi tuna are prepared to perfection, but many exciting meat dishes and island salads are also featured on the extensive Hawaiian-fusion menu. Add a dynamic wine list, exceptional desserts and an energetic environment, and you have one impressive dining experience, all overlooking Spanish Bay. Open daily for breakfast 6:30–11am, lunch 11:30am–5pm, dinner 5:30–10pm.

Stave Wine Cellar at Spanish Bay

e Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

A combined wine lounge and retail shop, Stave Wine Cellar is a luxurious yet casual space that is ideal for special wine dinners or gathering with friends and colleagues. You can pair varietals by the glass with a menu of cheese and charcuterie plates. In addition to nearly 30 wines and eight craft beers by the glass, Stave has more than 200 wines for purchase by the bottle, including a wide selection of coveted bottles. A knowledgeable sta , including certi ed sommeliers are on-hand. Open Tu–Sa 2–10pm, Su–M 2–7pm.

STICKS

e Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Sticks is the perfect place for seasonally diverse California cuisine in a lively sports bar atmosphere. Savor a tasty meal, a cold draft beer, specialty cocktail or one of the many appetizers, while enjoying sports on at-screen TVs. Outside on the patio, enjoy seating next to a re pit while soaking up gorgeous views of e Links at Spanish Bay and the Paci c Ocean along with nightly bagpiper music. Ask about specials and new menu additions. Open daily 6am–9pm.

Stillwater Bar & Grill

e Lodge at Pebble Beach, 1700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

Stillwater Bar & Grill prides itself in o ering the freshest and most avorful in sustainable seafood and organic produce. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner—or Stillwater’s famous Sunday Brunch— the menus are sure to delight. Shell sh lovers will marvel at the bountiful seafood tank, while those who prefer turf to surf can choose from a variety of meaty options. Each of these delectable feasts is enhanced by fantastic views of Carmel Bay and the 18th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links. Open daily 7am–10pm.

e Tap Room

e Lodge at Pebble Beach, 1700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • www.pebblebeach.com/dining

e Tap Room is more than a legendary 19th hole with an outstanding selection of draft and bottled beers, vintage wines and top quality spirits. It’s also a world-class steakhouse serving up hearty all-American fare, from burgers to prime rib to let mignon. Renowned for its extensive collection of prized golf memorabilia, e Tap Room is a comfortable and inviting place for watching televised sporting events or recounting your successes on the courses of Pebble Beach. Open daily 11–12am.

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA

Vertigo Co ee Roasters 81 Fourth Street 831.623.9533 • www.vertigoco ee.com

Artisanal co ee roasted on site as well as local craft beers, wood-fired pizzas, brunch items plus pan dulce from El Nopal bakery in Hollister have made Vertigo a locals’ favorite as well as a great nd for visitors en route to the San Juan Mission, Pinnacles or other area attractions. Open M–Sa 7am–6pm, Su 8am–6pm.

SANTA CRUZ

515 Kitchen & Cocktails 515 Cedar Street 831.425.5051 • www.515santacruz.com

ere’s nothing quite like rooftop dining—the expanse, the view, the feeling of being high above. In Santa Cruz, there’s no better place than multi-level 515 Kitchen & Cocktails to sip on an astounding cocktail with a witty name and nosh on inventive small plates while gazing down at Cedar Street, especially following the Wednesday farmers’ market, when there is unmatched hustle and bustle. You’ll even nd some of that produce on your plate, seasonally crafted by chef Paul Queen, as well as in your glass, courtesy of bar manager Ethan Samuels. But if the outdoor vantage point feels too exposed, any of the cozy nooks or barstools upstairs, or calming tablescapes downstairs are sure to suit your mood. Open M–Tu 5pm–12am, W–F 5pm–1:30am, Sa 3pm–1:30am, Su 3pm–12am.

an epicurious lifestyle 104 Bronson Street, Suite 13 831.588.7772 • www.anepicuriouslifestyle.com

An event-based commercial kitchen and dining space in a carefully curated warehouse in the historic Seabright Cannery building, an epicurious lifestyle is available for unique private events and hosts a monthly, seasonal family-style dinner for 20 that is open to the public. Other public events also have a limited number of tickets; check the website for future dates and to sign up for email invites.

Assembly

1108 Paci c Avenue 831.824.6100 • www.assembly.restaurant is full-service restaurant o ers rustic California cuisine based on local, seasonal and sustainably sourced ingredients. Under the direction of founder Kendra Baker and beverage director Zane Gri n, satisfying food pairs with an intriguing selection of craft beers, wines and cocktails. Natural light in

daytime and the soft glow of copper accents at night bathe community tables and comfortable nooks accommodating parties of all sizes. Open for lunch weekdays 11:30am, dinner W–Su until late, brunch 10am Sa–Su, closed M–Tu.

Charlie Hong Kong

1141 Soquel Avenue 831.426.5664 • www.charliehongkong.com

Charlie Hong Kong has been providing the Santa Cruz community with healthy, sustainable, a ordable and high-quality food since 1998. e colorful, casual eatery’s delicious fusion of Southeast Asian in uences and the Central Coast’s local organic produce has made it an inclusive, family-friendly, neighborhood favorite. Its slogan is “love your body, eat organic,” and its cuisine is proof that fast food can be good for you. All signature dishes are vegan with the option to add meat or sh. Gluten-free modi cations available. Dog friendly. Open daily 11am–11pm.

e Crow’s Nest

2218 E. Cli Drive 831.476.4560 • www.crowsnest-santacruz.com

A perfect spot to enjoy lunch or catch a sunset over the harbor, the nautical-themed Crow’s Nest is a Santa Cruz institution that never goes out of style. ere’s always something happening, from free seasonal ursday night beach parties to comedy nights and happy hours. Famous for its salad bar and housesmoked salmon, e Crow’s Nest is a member of Seafood Watch and is a certi ed green business. Open daily for breakfast 7:30am–11:30am; lunch M–F 11:30am–2:30pm and Sa–Su 11:30am–3pm; dinner M–F 5pm, Sa–Su 4:30pm.

Gabriella Cafe

910 Cedar Street 831.457.1677 • www.gabriellacafe.com

One of the city’s most charming dining spots, Gabriella Café serves a California-Italian menu starring organic produce from local growers and the nearby farmers’ market, as well as humanely raised meat and sustainable seafood. An extensive wine list offers over 20 wines by the glass, including many by local winemakers. ere is a candlelit patio and a cozy dining room that showcases the work of local artists. Look out for specials, like Oaxacan dishes served on Tuesday nights. Open for lunch M–F 11:30am–2pm, dinner daily 5:30–9pm, brunch Sa–Su 11:30am–2pm.

Laílí

101B Cooper Street 831.423.4545 • www.lailirestaurant.com

Exotic avors of the Silk Road are served in a stylish dining room decorated in eggplant and pistachio colors and on a hidden candlelit patio. Locals rave about Laílí’s homemade naan served warm from the oven with a selection of Mediterranean dips. ere is a wide variety of deliciously spiced vegetable dishes, organic whenever possible, and all meats are hormone free and free range. Open Tu–Su for lunch 11:30am–2:30pm, dinner 5–close.

La Posta

538 Seabright Avenue 831.457.2782 • www.lapostarestaurant.com

A cozy neighborhood bistro not far from the Santa Cruz yacht harbor, La Posta chef Katherine Stern prepares Northern Italian cuisine using local ingredients—some foraged and some grown on nearby organic farms. Charcuterie is house cured; pasta, bread, and gelati are made in-house, while the balance of the menu re ects whatever produce is freshest right now. A sister restaurant of Soif Restaurant and Wine Bar, La Posta also o ers a great selection of wines. Open Tu–5–9pm, F–Sa 5–9:30pm, Su 5–8:30pm, M closed.

Pearl of the Ocean 736 Water Street 831.457.2350 • m.mainstreethub.com/pearloftheocean Award-winning chef/owner Ayoma Wilen goes beyond the expected traditional spice-infused dishes of Sri Lanka, creating locally inspired daily specials using fresh, organic produce from farmers’ market produce and sustainably harvested seafood. Customer favorites include butternut squash curry, crab curry and wild salmon curry. To round out the avor experience, there is a dizzying array of sides, like coconut leek sambal and kale mallam. e warm colors, altars and blessings that decorate the space help guests get a sense of Sri Lanka’s world-class hospitality, culture and beauty. Open for lunch daily 11am–2:30pm; dinner Su– 5–9pm and F–Sa 5–9:30pm.

e Penny Ice Creamery 913 Cedar Street 831.204.2523 • www.thepennyicecreamery.com

Lines out the front door of its converted Spanish bungalow are evidence of Penny’s popularity. All ice cream, including bases, is made from scratch on the premises using local organic ingredients when possible. Dozens of exotic avors rotate seasonally, but two favorites are chocolate caramel sea salt and strawberry pink peppercorn. Open daily noon–11pm. See also e Penny under Capitola.

e Picnic Basket 125 Beach Street 831.427.9946 • www.thepicnicbasketsc.com

Across the street from the main beach, owners of e Penny Ice Creamery have opened an alternative to boardwalk fast food. Sandwiches, organic salads, co ee and beer, all from local food artisans, and of course Penny’s popular ice cream, are all on o er to eat in or outside with your feet in the sand. Open daily 7am–4pm. Expanded hours some weekends and holidays. Expanded hours during summer.

Rosie McCann’s

1220 Paci c Avenue 831.426.9930 • www.rosiemccanns.com

No typical Irish pub, Rosie’s emphasizes organic, local ingredients in its traditional Irish dishes like lamb stew, shepherd’s pie, corned beef and cabbage and sh and chips, as well as its California specialties such as grassfed burgers, coriander wild salmon, salads and sh tacos. Expect dozens of beers on tap—including local selections. All desserts are made in house, so save room for the Guinness-Ghirardelli chocolate cake. Open M–F for lunch 11:30am–4pm, dinner 4–10pm. Open Sa–Su for brunch 9:30am–2pm, dinner 2–10pm.

Barbecue and Beer Summer Pairings

Come in for good eats and pairings from the best that our local brewers and farmers have to offer.

Check Facebook for dates and specifics.

HOURS

11:30–9:00 Sunday - Thursday 11:30–9:30 Friday - Saturday

Closed Mondays cremerhouse.com • 831-335-3976

Soif Restaurant and Wine Bar

105 Walnut Avenue 831.423.2020 • www.soifwine.com

Inspired by the o erings from local farmers and provisioners, Soif’s cuisine shows California air with super, seasonal dishes, all paired with local and exotic wines (and a great burger!). A cozy, new bar offers cocktails in addition to the best wine selection in town. e bottle shop next door provides a world-class selection of wines and a welcoming seating area for sipping and tasting. Raw oysters and live jazz every Monday. Open Su– 5–9pm, F–Sa 5–10pm. Wine bar opens noon Tu–Sa, 5pm Su–M.

SCOTTS VALLEY

Kitchen Table/1440 Multiversity 800 Bethany Drive 844.544.1440 • www.1440.org

1440 is the number of minutes in each day, and at the new learning destination in Scotts Valley, 1440 represents the many opportunities there are to be mindful in this life we live. at philosophy certainly translates to the food we choose to eat, which makes the onsite Kitchen Table a wonderful canvas for showcasing the vibrant, healthful and delicious ingredients we have available locally. Chef Kenny Woods, who came here from Arizona to be part of this unique project, brings an intensive and enthusiastic culinary background to creating plant-based menus that change with every meal, every day, for the diverse, global community that gathers here. Registration for a 1440 program, personal getaway or special event is required to dine at Kitchen Table.

SEASIDE

Gusto 1901 Fremont Boulevard 831.899.5825 • www.gustopizzeriapasta.com

Gusto owner Denis Boaro, owner of Carmel’s Basil Seasonal Dining and a native of Northern Italy, named the restaurant for the Italian word for taste and

his enthusiasm for delivering delicious authentic Italian food and great service that can be seen in the happy faces of his diners. e bright red-tiled, wood- red oven just inside the entrance sets the restaurant’s festive tone, making you feel like you are in Italy. Gusto specializes in fresh pastas, pizzas, housemade mozzarella as well as unique desserts using the best quality ingredients and organic ours from Italy. Our team strives to support local organic farmers, foragers and shermen bringing you fresh, tasty and sustainable ingredients. Open daily 11:30am–2:30pm, 4:30–9pm.

e Meatery

1534 Fremont Boulevard 831.656.8810 • www.themeatery.us

Meat-loving chef-owners Jason Balestrieri and Kevin Hincks have teamed up to create Monterey County’s rst modern, artisanal butchery where in addition to selling cuts of sustainably and humanly raised meats and housemade charcuterie to bring home, they also o er deli sandwiches and other prepared foods to eat around a communal table right in the shop. Catering for any occasion also available. Open daily 11am–7pm.

WATSONVILLE

Gizdich Ranch 55 Peckham Road 831.722.1056 • gizdich-ranch.com

Visitors from great distances love this third-generation, family-run farm business that popularized the “pik-yorself” experience just east of Watsonville’s Interlaken neighborhood. Tour the farm, pick fresh apples or berries or watch the action inside the juice-pressing barn. No one leaves hungry if they spend time at the bakery-deli that pleases with its fresh pies, shortcakes and pastries, along with hearty sandwiches and box lunches. is family friendly experience is also a treat for kids, who will enjoy the wide-open spaces and the homemade popsicles. Open daily 9am–5pm.

LOCAL SOURCE GUIDE

Find the Monterey Bay’s best local, seasonal and sustainable products and services here. ese business advertise in Edible Monterey Bay, supporting our mission and enabling us to provide this magazine to you for free. Please thank them with your business and tell them we sent you!

APPAREL

Madrigal Carmel Plaza, Mission between Ocean and 7th, Carmel-by- the-Sea | 831.624.3477

O ering attire for men and women who prefer a classic look.

Paci c Trading Co.

1224 Paci c Ave., Santa Cruz | 831.423.3349

504C Bay Ave., Capitola | 831.476.6109 facebook.com/pages/paci c-trading-co/65027935549

Independent, local, family-owned women’s apparel boutique.

ART GALLERIES & HOUSEWARES

Annieglass 310 Harvest Drive, Watsonville 831.761.2041 x21 | annieglassstore.com

Locally designed and handmade slumped-glass plates, bowls and serving dishes that add famed art and style to the dining room.

Bluestone Imports/ e Active Towel 2801 Mission St. (the Wrigley Building), Santa Cruz 831.515.8022 | theactivetowel.com

Extensive collection of quick-drying, authentic, atwoven bamboo and cotton Turkish robes and towels ( e Active Towel) as well as scarves, jewelry, pillow covers, spa kits and other items imported from Istanbul and Venice.

BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS

Santa Cruz County Bank sccountybank.com

7775 Soquel Drive, Aptos | 831.662.6000

819 Bay Ave., Capitola | 831.464.5300

720 Front St., Santa Cruz | 831.457.5000

4604 Scotts Valley Drive, Scotts Valley | 831.461.5000

595 Auto Center Drive, Watsonville | 831.761.7600

A leading community business lender and full-service bank of choice for locals.

BARS, BREWERIES AND TAPROOMS

515 Kitchen & Cocktails 515 Cedar St. | 831.425.5051 515santacruz.com is downtown Santa Cruz rooftop destination for exception craft cocktails also o ers a downstairs wine bar and a full dining menu in both locations.

Peter B’s Brewpub

2 Portola Plaza, Monterey 831.649.4511 | portolahotel.com

Monterey’s rst craft brewery features delicious, locally brewed beer and an innovative menu including vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing 402 Ingalls St., Ste. 27, Santa Cruz 831.425.4900 | santacruzmountainbrewing.com

An award-winning, certi ed-organic craft brewery featuring wildly imaginative seasonal beers, hard ciders, draught root beer and kombucha.

Trailside Café and Beer Garden 3 Del Fino Place, Carmel Valley 831.298.7453 | trailsidecafecv.com

Café and beer garden with handcrafted food and a rotating draft selection of 15 beers and one cider plus over 40 bottled selections including Belgian, German and ciders.

CATERING

an epicurious lifestyle 104 Bronson St., Ste. 13, Santa Cruz 831.588.7772 | anepicuriouslifestyle.com

An epicurious lifestyle is an event-based commercial kitchen and dining space in Santa Cruz.

Aqua Terra 529 Central Ave., Paci c Grove 831.657.9790 | aquaterraculinary.com

Fresh and seasonal food ideas, rooted in sustainability.

Carmel Private Chef - Chef Christophe Bony and Kelley Lefmann 831.251.0168 | info@carmelprivatechef.com Chef Christophe works with each client’s unique needs, creating menus with local, organic ingredients with utmost quality and integrity and providing inhome meal prep, private parties, cooking classes for groups or individuals. Restaurant consulting and gift certi cates available. istle & Vine Carmel 831.601.6175 | norajones360@gmail.com istle & Vine, the “Bistro on the Go” where vegetarian items are always on the menu, produce is regional and organic, and meats are grass fed. ey make fresh food fast and provide catering for businesses, parties, fairs and festivals.

EDUCATION

Monterey Peninsula College Hospitality Program 831.646.4123 | mjansen@mpc.edu

The MPC Hospitality Program, chaired by Molly Jansen, o ers students an opportunity to earn a certi cate, associate’s degree or credits for transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a rewarding career in culinary arts and hospitality.

FARMS, RANCHES, CSAs AND CFSs

Earthbound Farm

Retail: 7250 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel 831.625.6219 | ebfarm.com

The country’s largest organic grower, Earthbound Farm has been delivering delicious, clean produce to the local community for more than 30 years.

Gizdich Ranch 55 Peckham Road, Watsonville 831.722.1056 | gizdich-ranch.com A third-generation farm and bakery-café specializing in heirloom apples, berries, juice and pie.

Live Earth Farm 831.763.2448 | liveearthfarm.net Watsonville based, with a new farm stand 10am–3pm on weekends at 1275 Green Valley Road and CSA pickup throughout the Monterey Bay and South Bay regions. Committed to sustainable food through a CSA, farmers’ markets and on-farm farm stand and education.

Morris Grassfed Beef CSM, at markets and online 831.623.2933 | morrisgrassfed.com A provider of locally grown grassfed beef, fostering healthy relationships between people, land, animals and food.

GREEN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Blade Tech 831.917.1330 | bladetechusa.com

Professional knife sharpening services for business and home kitchen; also o ering high-quality knives and accessories for purchase.

Sambrailo Packaging 800 Walker St., Watsonville 831.724.7581 | sambrailo.com

Packaging solutions from our hands to your farm.

Solar Technologies 705 N. Branciforte Ave., Santa Cruz 831.421.0440 | solartechnologies.com

Local solar energy system provider featuring e cient technology, design and installation for your home or business.

HEALING AND WELLNESS

1440 Multiversity 800 Bethany Drive, Scotts Valley 844.544.1440 | 1440.org

e nation’s newest immersive learning center located among the ancient redwoods on a 75-acre campus. Join us for personal growth, professional development, and health and wellness.

Acubloom

1077 Cass St., Monterey 831.383.9652 | acubloom.com

Vie’s Capitola Tasting Room and Santa Cruz farmers’ markets.

Woman’s Wellspring

Stephanie Taylor, M.D., Ph.D. 26365 Carmel Rancho Blvd., Ste. F, Carmel 831.622.1995 | womanswellspring.com

A new approach to health care based on personal and community wellness.

HOME IMPROVEMENT/REUSE STORES

Habitat for Humanity/ReStore

4230 Gigling Road, Seaside 831.899.1362 | habitatsc.org

719 Swift St., Santa Cruz | 831.824.4704 | habitatsc.org

A nonpro t home improvement store and donation center o ering new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances to the public. Proceeds build a ordable homes, community and hope locally.

HOTELS AND RESORTS

L’Auberge Carmel

Monte Verde Street and 7th Avenue, Carmel-by- the-Sea 831.624.8578 | laubergecarmel.com

A romantic, full-service boutique, Relais & Chateau hotel is within walking distance of all that Carmelby- the-Sea has to o er, including the iconic Carmel Beach.

Bernardus Lodge & Spa

415 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley 831.658.3400 | bernarduslodge.com

Located in the heart of sunny Carmel Valley, Bernardus Lodge & Spa is an elegant and intimate luxury resort o ering renowned dining and spa experiences and a 10-acre on-site estate vineyard.

Hyatt Regency Monterey

1 Old Golf Course Road, Monterey 831.372.1234 | monterey.hyatt.com

Located on Del Monte Golf Course amid 22 beautiful acres of Monterey pines, this hotel also o ers a spa and close proximity to Monterey Airport and the city center.

InterContinental e Clement Monterey

750 Cannery Row, Monterey 831.375.4500 | ictheclementmonterey.com

e premier luxury hotel in the heart of Cannery Row, situated right next to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and overlooking the pristine Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa

400 Cannery Row, Monterey 831.920.6710 | montereyplazahotel.com

Highlighting brands that are committed to making a difference environmentally, ethically, and socially.

Santa Cruz • (831) 423-3349 • 1224 Pacific Ave Capitola

• (831) 476-6109 • 504C Bay Ave

Healing simply, simply healing with Kristan Roth, a healer with more than 20 years of experience in acupuncture and a number of other modalities. Now partnering with Dr. Koji Okazaki at Acupuncture Clinic by the Sea!

La Vie

101 Kennedy Drive, Capitola 831.316.0875 | drinklavie.com

Small batch probiotic wellness drinks, juice cleanses, and almond milks available online and locally at La

At Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa you’ll be able to enjoy the best of Northern California such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, historic downtown Monterey and Fisherman’s Wharf, world-class gol ng at Pebble Beach, shopping in Carmel, wine tasting in Carmel Valley and the memorable Big Sur coastline.

Pebble Beach Resorts 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach 866.935.6341 | pebblebeach.com

Stunning views, legendary golf, diverse and exceptional cuisine and luxury accommodations are all part of the world-renowned Pebble Beach experience.

Portola Hotel & Spa

2 Portola Plaza, Monterey 831.649.4511 | portolahotel.com

A relaxing retreat in historic Monterey surrounded by unique shopping, ne dining, spectacular coastal trails and beaches.

Post Ranch Inn/Sierra Mar Restaurant 47900 Hwy. 1, Big Sur 831.667.2800 | postranchinn.com

A “sanctuary for the soul” o ering the ultimate in luxurious coastal Big Sur lodging, including breathtaking views and exquisite dining.

Quail Lodge & Golf Club

8000 Valley Greens Drive, Carmel 831.620.8808 | quaillodge.com

Quail Lodge features comfortable lodging, an 18-hole championship golf course, tness center and sustainably sourced, seasonal cuisine on the Monterey Peninsula.

MEDIA

90.3 KAZU

100 Campus Center, Building 201, Room 317, Seaside 831.582.5298 I kazu.org

Public radio for the Monterey Bay area.

KZSC

Santa Cruz, 88.1FM 831.459.2811 | kzsc.org

College radio broadcasting from UC Santa Cruz. Tune in for music, news, public a airs, sports, and more!

NURSERIES, LANDSCAPING AND GARDEN SUPPLIES

DIG Gardens

420 Water St., Santa Cruz 831.466.3444 | diggardensnursery.com

A garden shop unlike any other: organic, bohemian, modern style from Santa Cruz.

Gardner & Bloome

OMRI-listed organic fertilizers and soils from Kellogg Garden Products distributed locally by: Aptos Landscape Supply

5035 Freedom Blvd., Aptos 831.688.6211 | aptoslandscapesupply.com

Del Rey Oaks Gardens

899 Rosita Road, Del Rey Oaks 831.920.1231 | drogardens.com

Drought Resistant Nursery 850 Park Ave., Monterey 831.375.2120 | droughtresistant.com

e Garden Co. 2218 Mission St., Santa Cruz 831.429.8424 | thegardenco.com

Griggs Nursery 9220 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel 831.626.0680 | griggsnursery.com

Hidden Gardens Nursery 7765 Soquel Dr., Aptos 831.688.7011

Lakeside Nursery 190 Espinosa Road, Salinas 831.632.2100 | lakesidenursery.net

J. Murphy Lumber

10 E. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley 831.659.2291 | facebook.com/ m.j.murphylumberhardware

Martins’ Irrigation 420 Olympia Ave., Seaside 831.394.4106 | martinsirrigation.com

McShane’s Landscape Supply 115 Monterey Salinas Hwy., Salinas 831.455.1876 | mcshaneslandscape.com

Mountain Feed & Farm 9550 Hwy. 9, Ben Lomond 831.336.8876 | mountainfeed.com

Plant Works 7945 Hwy. 9, Ben Lomond 831.336.2212

San Lorenzo Garden Center 235 River St., Santa Cruz 831.423.0223 | sanlorenzolumber.com/gardencenter

Scarborough Gardens

33 El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley 831.438.4106 | scarboroughgardens.com

Seaside Garden Center 1177 San Pablo Ave., Seaside 831.292.0400 | seasidegardencenter.com

Valley Hills Nursery 7440 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel 831.624.3482 | valleyhillsnursery.net

Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping Santa Cruz | 831.425.3514 | terranovalandscaping.com

A full-service ecological landscaping company providing design, installation and maintenance of beautiful living systems for public and private lands.

PREPARED MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES

e Open Hearth

Delivering to the Aptos, Monterey, San Lorenzo Valley, Santa Cruz and Watsonville areas. 831.471.9677 | iamtheopenhearth.com

With the belief that food is medicine and eating well should be convenient, e Open Hearth provides delicious, deeply nourishing meals prepared with organic, plant-based and gluten-free ingredients for order à la carte or as part of a package.

REAL ESTATE

Courtney G. Jones/Carmel Realty Co. Dolores Street between 7th and 8th Avenues 831.233.4839 | courtneygjones.com Courtney@carmelrealtycompany.com

Family-owned rm o ering local luxury real estate experts with a reputation for integrity, longevity and excellence.

RECREATION

Chardonnay Sailing Charters 704 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz 831.423.1213 | chardonnay.com

Excursions aboard the Chardonnay II are perfect for any age group and fun for everyone from seasoned sailors to rst-time adventurers.

RESTAURANTS AND CAFÉS

See our Dine Local Guide, p. 53

YOU WANT CUSTOMERS? YOU’LL WANT EMB.

Edible Monterey Bay reaches a devoted readership of active local consumers who are passionate about supporting local businesses—especially ones that advertise in Edible Monterey Bay.

“Every time I picked up Edible Monterey Bay I saw our customers and I knew that we needed to be in the same space,” says Mary Anne Carson, senior vice president, director of marketing and community relations at Santa Cruz County Bank, describing why she started advertising in EMB three years ago. “I think we share many of the same values as the businesses that advertise and are pro led in the magazine. Over the last few years, the crossover has grown tremendously.”

Average print run of 27,500 per issue x 2.8 adult readers = 77,000 print readers plus thousands more online.

95% of readers say they read the ads in EMB.

Influential: 96.7% recommend products they like to people they know

Willing to pay more for quality: 93% say they will pay more for local, organic or humanely raised

84% of readers say they are more apt to frequent a business because it advertises in EMB.

350+ strategic outlets across Monterey, Santa Cruz & San Benito counties.

Fast-growing and engaged social media followers and an e-newsletter with twice the open and click rates of the average media industry newsletter.

Our Readers Are

Well Educated: 98% have had some college; 32% have a master’s or doctoral degree

Green: 99% say sustainable practices are important to them

edible

Monterey Bay

CONTACT US: ads@ediblemontereybay.com or 831.298.7117

Source: Gfk MRI survey 2015; prior EMB Survey

Loyal: 95.6% say when they find a restaurant they like, they stick with it

Health Oriented: 97.4% say they look for healthier food options

SPECIALTY FOOD AND DRINK PURVEYORS

Big Sur Salts

PO Box 546, Big Sur bigsursalts@gmail.com | bigsursalts.com

Craft salts that bring the color, tastes and aromas of Big Sur to you.

Jerome’s Carmel Valley Market

2 Chambers Lane, Carmel Valley 831.659.2472 | jeromescarmelvalleymarket.com

Jerome’s Carmel Valley Market is a chef-owned, friendly neighborhood market o ering catering, local and organic produce, natural meats and seafood, and a great selection of domestic and imported wine, beer and microbrews.

e Meatery

1534 Fremont Blvd, Seaside 831.656.8810 | themeatery.us

A friendly and modern chef-owned and run artisanal butchery providing housemade charcuterie, sustainably and ethically raised meats as well as sandwiches and other prepared foods to eat in or take out. Catering also available.

e Quail & Olive

3 Pilot Road, Carmel Valley 831.659.4288 | quailandolive.com

A boutique featuring quality, California olive oils and vinegars, as well as natural skin care products and cookbooks for better health.

Shopper’s Corner

622 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz 831.423.1398 | shopperscorner.com

Santa Cruz’s oldest and friendliest family-run market.

Star Market

1275 S. Main St., Salinas 831.422.3961 | starmkt.com

An independent grocer featuring the freshest, best tasting and nest selection of food in the Monterey Bay area; locally produced foods and wines are a specialty.

Stewart & Jasper Orchards

Monterey Plaza Hotel 400 Cannery Row, Ste. C, Monterey 831.375.6887 | stewartandjasper.com

A family-owned almond grower committed to quality, eco-friendly practices, water conservation and customer service.

Troia Foods

801 Foam St., Monterey 831.375.3354 | troiafoods.com

A local dairy and ne food distributor for businesses.

Vertigo Co ee Roasters

81 Fourth St., San Juan Bautista 831.623.9533 | vertigoco ee.com

Specialty co ee roasters that also feature wood- red cooking and craft beers.

Wild Roots Markets

6240 Hwy. 9, Felton | 831.335.7322

13159 Hwy. 9, Boulder Creek | 831.338.7211 wildrootsmarket.com

Wild Roots’ mission is to nourish and sustain the community by offering the best, most wholesome food on the planet.

TRAVEL

Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau

401 Camino El Estero, Monterey 888.221.1010 | seemonterey.com Tourism information for Monterey County.

WINERIES AND TASTING ROOMS

Bargetto Winery

3535 N. Main St., Soquel | 831.475.2258 bargetto.com

Historic Santa Cruz winery making award-winning wines since 1933 on the banks of Soquel Creek.

Beauregard Vineyards

10 Pine Flat Road, Santa Cruz 831.425.7777 | beauregardvineyards.com

Sustainably produced wines expressing the terroir of the Santa Cruz Mountains through minimal impact winemaking.

Cima Collina Tasting Room

19 E. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley 831.620.0645 | cimacollina.com

Award-winning, artisanal wines from small Monterey vineyards. Tasting room is located in a picturesque historic building.

McIntyre Tasting Studio

169 Crossroads Blvd., Carmel 831.626.6268 | mcintyrevineyards.com

Small lot wines that embody the mountainous, maritime terroir.

Scheid Vineyards Tasting Room

San Carlos at 7th, Carmel-by-the-Sea 831.626.WINE | scheidvineyards.com

Scheid Vineyards Winery & Tasting Room

1972 Hobson Ave., Green eld 831.386.0316 | scheidvineyards.com

Forty years of success in family winemaking in Salinas Valley.

Storrs Winery

303 Potrero St., Ste. 35, Santa Cruz 831.458.5030 | storrswine.com

Handcrafted wines made in the Santa Cruz Mountains; downtown Santa Cruz tasting room open daily.

Talbott Vineyards 25 Pilot Road, Carmel Valley 831.659.3500 | talbottvineyards.com

Enjoy renowned, award-winning pinots and chardonnays on the sunny terrace or spacious interior of Talbott’s tasting room in the heart of beautiful Carmel Valley.

Wrath Wines

Carmel Plaza, Ocean Ave, Carmel-by-the-Sea 831.620.1909 | wrathwines.com

Producer of site-driven Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc from its sustainably certi ed vineyard and other respected properties in the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Want

LAST BITE SUMMER SALAD

A fresh, healthful and delicious way to enjoy the seasonal bounty

By Jordan Champagne

Photography By Margaux Gibbons

Serves 2 for a meal or 6 as a side salad

This is one of my favorite summer salads for a picnic or a potluck. It is light and packed with nutrients and protein and will fit most everyone’s dietary needs. Quinoa and millet are two grains containing some of the most digestible proteins on the planet. The kimchi or sauerkraut is alive with beneficial bacteria that help you digest your food properly and absorb all of those delicious nutrients; they also add a flavor punch. All of this is a wonderful canvas for fresh, ripe heirloom tomatoes and avocados.

½ cup quinoa

½ cup millet

1 cup kale, finely chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil or flax oil

1 teaspoon salt Black pepper

1 heirloom tomato, cut into chunks

1 avocado, cut into ½-inch chunks

1 cup kimchi or sauerkraut

1 tablespoon preserved lemons, diced (optional)

½ cup parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Cook quinoa and millet together in 2 cups of water at a medium simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on. Meanwhile, chop kale and parsley finely, either on pulse in a food processor or by hand. Cut heirloom tomato and avocado into chunks. Mince preserved lemons. Once grains are finished, toss all ingredients in mixing bowl. The salad is ready to serve but can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Jordan Champagne is the co-owner and founder of Happy Girl Kitchen Co. She has a passion for preserving the local, organic harvest and loves sharing her secrets at workshops she teaches in Pacific Grove and Oakland.