EDIBLE NOTABLES Celebrating a century of excellence in food and wine, Pebble Beach is gearing up for a very special year; Cannabis farmers get ready to show off their amazing farms and talk about their growing methods in a different type of farm tour

EDIBLE NOTABLES PEBBLE’S BIG YEAR

Celebrating a century of excellence in food and wine, Pebble Beach is gearing up for a very special year

BY KATHRYN MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARGAUX GIBBONS

It all began with food in Pebble Beach…and even today, with golf and glamour grabbing much of the attention, the Monterey Peninsula’s most luxurious enclave still offers some of the finest culinary experiences on the West Coast.

This year, Pebble Beach celebrates its 100th anniversary in a big way, hosting one of golf’s most prestigious tournaments, the U.S. Open Championship on June 10–16. To mark its centennial year and welcome guests, a brand new Visitor Center was built and is open to the public from 8am–5pm daily. It brings the story of the resort’s past century to life through attractive displays, a huge interactive relief map of 17-Mile Drive and a glitzy floor-to-ceiling video board.

But Pebble Beach, as a destination, began in the simplest of ways: as a pleasant place to take a Sunday drive and to enjoy a meal at a simple lodge built of logs.

The original 17-Mile Drive opened in 1881 and soon became a popular route for horse-drawn carriage rides beginning and ending at the Hotel Del Monte. The drive attracted even more visitors with the advent of the automobile, and in 1909, the original Pebble Beach Lodge opened overlooking Stillwater Cove.

“It had wonderful food and was the site of banquets and parties in the large dining room,” says longtime Pebble Beach historian Neal Hotelling. “In fact, most of the lodge was the dining room.”

Fire destroyed the original lodge in 1917, but it was rebuilt and reopened 100 years ago in 1919 (along with Pebble Beach Golf Links) by developer Samuel F.B. Morse, an East Coast transplant who had fallen head over heels in love with the Monterey Peninsula. Morse acquired both the Hotel Del Monte and Pebble Beach properties from the Pacific Improvement Company, and immediately protected green belt areas and prioritized the preservation of the area’s natural beauty.

The lure of Pebble Beach grew stronger when it became a soughtafter location for filming movies, from Greta Garbo’s Anna Karenina in 1934 to dozens more, including National Velvet, Captain January, Edge of Darkness and Forever Amber. It soon became a retreat for the rich and famous, and a honeymoon spot for actress Ginger Rogers, aviator Charles Lindbergh and other luminaries.

All those visitors needed to be fed and watered. The Monkeyshines Room at The Lodge was its original bar, “with murals of comical monkeys all over the walls,” says Hotelling. The jungle décor was phased out in 1949, but the bar, now The Tap Room, is still there with a treasure trove of photos and memorabilia dating from the 1920s on. Pictures of Bing Crosby and his pals are displayed prominently here, from Crosby’s Clambake golf tournament now known as the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Crosby, who for much of the mid-20th century was one of the biggest stars in the world, was convinced to relocate the tournament there from Southern California in 1947, and its A-list Hollywood lineup further burnished the glamorous image of Pebble Beach. In 1950, yet another classic Pebble Beach event was added: the Concours d’Elegance, a salute to automotive beauty and style.

Many restaurants have come and gone over the years at Pebble Beach, but insiders shared a few highlights with EMB. The resort’s repu-

Previous page: Pebble Beach Lodge when it first opened in 1919, photo by R.J. Arnold; upper right, the original Log Lodge in 1910 by R.J. Arnold; center, view from the ocean in 1938, photo by Julian; and facing page, drinks on the terrace in 1940 by Julian P. Graham. Historical photos courtesy Pebble Beach Co.

tation for fine dining began with the Cypress Room at The Lodge, now Stillwater Bar & Grill. Club XIX was added in the 1970s, and for decades was the Monterey Peninsula’s go-to place for French cuisine. In 2012, Club XIX closed and was replaced by The Bench, sporting a New American menu, with wood-fired pizza and a casual dress code.

At The Inn at Spanish Bay, which opened in 1987, the original restaurant was the Bay Club, now the Italian restaurant Pèppoli. Pèppoli opened with three-star Michelin chef Gualtiero Marchesi at the helm, recalls Spanish Bay director of food and beverage Pascal Rifflart.

“It was our most avant garde restaurant at the time,” says Rifflart, who still speaks in awed terms of working with Marchesi. “He did a saffron risotto with gold leaf on top—he really elevated Italian cuisine to the next level of creativity. Beautiful, but extremely simple.”

However, Pèppoli’s menu was slightly ahead of its time. After several years, it was adjusted to include more familiar Italian dishes, but not long after the culinary world flocked again to Spanish Bay with the addition of Roy’s at Pebble Beach.

Chef Roy Yamaguchi’s unique Hawaiian-Asian fusion was an immediate hit—something completely new at the time. “People were waiting for two to three hours before being seated there, even with a reservation,” recalls Rifflart. “And they’re still doing great business.” Just as big a draw as the food was the innovative open kitchen design: “People were mesmerized to see how much craziness and hard work goes on.”

In addition to the restaurants, special annual events such as the Pebble Beach Culinary Getaway, held in January, and Pebble Beach Food & Wine continue to enhance the resort’s reputation as a foodie paradise. This year’s 12th annual Food & Wine event on April 11–14 will include 100 celebrity chefs and 250 renowned wineries in some of the most intriguing and exclusive dining opportunities anywhere. Pebble Beach continues to make history where food and drink are concerned, recently coming out with a special private label wine for the centennial. “It’s a custom project we’re really excited about,” says Pebble Beach director of wine and spirits Wendy Heilmann, especially because 2016 “turned out to be an exceptional year” for the grape harvest. Called One Hundred Pebble Beach, the red blend includes Napa Valley Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, created by winemaker Andy Erickson and bottled this past June after a lengthy process of selection and barrel aging. Hand-numbered bottles are available at Stave Wine Cellar at Spanish Bay, and the wine will also be poured at special events. Heilmann says she’s also working on enhancing the resort’s cocktail program with mixologist Meg Nielson. “Everyone’s ramping up for an extremely busy year.”

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.

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EDIBLE NOTABLES OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Cannabis farmers get ready to show off their amazing farms and talk about their growing methods in a different type of farm tour

BY EMILY THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHELLE MAGDALENA

The legalization of marijuana in 2018 not only means products are now more accessible; it also means cannabis farmers can finally step into the light. “We’re peeking our heads out of prohibition,” says Terry Sardinas, and she couldn’t be more excited.

Sardinas owns Watsonville cannabis farm Bird Valley Organics with her partner Manny Alvarez and they are teaming up with farm tour expert Penny Ellis to begin offering a new type of agritourism based on cannabis farms.

To test the waters on their concept, they are organizing the 420 Farm Tour for April 20—a date long associated with celebrations of cannabis culture. The tour will visit three unique cannabis growing operations, giving participants the opportunity to walk among the plants and get to know the farmers.

Ellis—who organizes the annual Open Farm Tours in Corralitos every October and a monthly farm tour group—says she got the idea while attending a recent Cannabis Tech meetup and it quickly became a unique collaboration.

“My passion with these tours is to connect people with our local cannabis culture, to understand the plant and the unique role it holds in Santa Cruz history,” she says. If all goes well, the cannabis farm tours will become a regular offering of her new company Santa Cruz Cultural Tours, along with other excursions that focus on food, farming and lifestyle. For this first tour, Ellis has curated an educational event where guests will be transported by bus. The tour primarily focuses on the various methods of cannabis cultivation, but also

“My passion with features speakers who will discuss these tours is to the history of marijuana farming in Santa Cruz County and mediciconnect people with nal usages. It will even include a hands-on workshop on trimming. our local cannabis Only one detail of the cannabis experience will be excluded—culture, to understand guests won’t be getting high. the plant and the Participants will hear from local cannabis historian Chrisunique role it holds in topher Carr, host of The Cannabis Connection radio show on Santa Cruz history.” KSCO. Carr is also the steward of a 90-acre farm in Happy Valley, a judge at both the Emerald Cup and the High Times Cup competitions, and a passionate cannabis expert. He sees the tour as an opportunity to educate the “canna curious” as well as enthusiasts. He will share the history of the plant, and hybridization and farming methods that contribute to the Santa Cruz terroir. Cultivars such as “Haze” and “Blue Dream” are now internationally

Farmers Bryon Downey and Elan Goldbart at Coastal Sun in Watsonville (top) and (left) some of the people taking part in the first 420 Farm Tour, along with organizer Penny Ellis on the right.

He sees the tour as an opportunity to educate the “canna curious” as well as enthusiasts.

renowned and Carr hopes collaboration between local farmers will increase recognition for Santa Cruz’s own appellation of legal cannabis.

“Cannabis farmers have been and continue to be a type of farmer that are ecologically aligned with the environment. They seek to improve their biology and bring more fertility to their land,” Carr says.

One of the stops on the tour will be Lifted Farms, a biodynamic cannabis and vegetable farm. Angela Evans, along with partners Matthew Groves, David Doriot and Aziz Nashat, is working to repurpose Watsonville-area strawberry fields into a thriving sun-grown cannabis operation and CSA. They will educate guests about their cannabis breeding projects, and provide composting, livestock and homesteading basics.

Lifted Farms grows the cannabis for an award-winning line called Lifted Edibles. From its cannabis strains, it produces a coldwater hash and blends it with organic fruits and nuts to create edibles such as Ginger Bites and Blueberry Bites.

Another stop on the tour is the innovative Coastal Sun/Moon/Star Farms, where acres of blueberries are grown along with vegetable crops, plant starters and cannabis. Angus Mills and Darren Story of Coastal Farms grow their organic plants “bioponically” in containers, fed with nutrients and growing media. In that way, the farmers at Coastal are able to conserve resources and eliminate waste by recycling water, nutrients and growing media while building microbes and eliminating soil erosion, nutrient runoff and waste matter in a closed system. Visitors will learn how a combination of technology and agriculture in cannabis farming is changing the future of sustainable agriculture.

“To be truthful, what I see is much larger than just the fact that it is an organic agricultural endeavor,” says Mills, brimming with positivity about the future. “The fact that we’re able to move towards localization and resource management are key components to what I feel is our potential for social evolution.”

The owners of Bird Valley Organics will captivate guests in a completely different way with a tour of their gorgeous home and farm, lush with trees, rolling green hills and crops of vegetables interspersed with cannabis. Everything is grown outdoors using a traditional European raised bed farming method called hugelkultur. The beds, similar to those used in traditional Native American farming, are built on a base of sticks and organic soil. They are then planted with cannabis and other compatible vegetables. The raised mounds create a perfect microbial base and are also home to sunflowers, garlic, beans, peppers, ginger and corn. Bird Valley Organics produces cannabis oils that can be used both recreationally and medicinally.

A Cannabis Farm Dinner will follow the tour, at which guests can recap their day under twinkling lights at large redwood tables at Bird Valley Organics. Chef Dare Arowe will prepare a family-style dinner with produce gathered from surrounding farms. Diners can expect creative dishes infused with terpenes and innovative uses of cannabis. While not a medicated dinner, guests will get to experience the unique flavors and benefits of cannabis.

Organizers of the first 420 Farm Tour hope to show that community building is a valuable next step in the local cannabis movement.

Always on the hunt for a great story, Emily Thomas loves to spin the yarn. Brewery owner by day, she is active in the Santa Cruz food culture and spends her days using organic beer to build community. www.santacruzculturaltours.com

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