Edible Monterey Bay: Fall 2019 | No. 33

Celebrating the Local Food and Drink of Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties

Member of Edible Communities

GRIST FOR THE MILL edible

Like many of you, we had visitors over the summer. I always love showing off our stunning Monterey Bay area when friends and family come to town, taking them to the beach and the redwoods, to my favorite restaurants and to the farmers’ markets, soaking it all in with fresh eyes and experiencing favorite spots with them for the first time.

It’s not so different from what we try to do with Edible Monterey Bay magazine. Every issue is a kind of love letter to our beautiful community.

The talented writers and photographers who worked on this fall issue you are reading all have a deep appreciation for our area and love showcasing it with their carefully crafted words and pictures.

Our dear advertising partners are equally committed to supporting all the things that make our home such a special part of the world.

What’s more, the stories that we choose to tell and the people whom we interview tend to reflect this same kind of passion for the local community, for making the Monterey Bay area a better place to live, work and visit.

This issue is packed with people like that, starting with a young Santa Cruz couple that overcame serious setbacks and rallied the local craft beer community to open a brewery of their own. Rosie Parker reports on how it is helping revitalize an up and coming part of Watsonville.

Maria Gaura had the enviable task of talking with three dedicated gardeners in Big Sur, Carmel Valley and Santa Cruz—each one of them passionate about sharing their expertise through classes, fine dining and a brand new book.

We meet the wonderful folks who are helping young people in Salinas become successful adults in the culinary and agricultural sectors. We also meet others who are working to protect the oceans from plastic pollution.

In our cover story, Mark C. Anderson talks to local chefs about what effect the new Michelin California guide has already had on the local dining scene, and how it will impact the Monterey Bay area in the future.

Additionally, it wouldn’t be EMB without new recipes to try throughout the fall season and a new back-to-school guide to area cooking classes, where you can seriously up your culinary game.

September and October are sometimes called our “secret summer” because the crowds thin out and the weather is unbeatable. Thank you for allowing us to be your guide to a delicious fall in the Monterey Bay area.

MONTEREY BAY

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

Deborah Luhrman deborah@ediblemontereybay.com 831.600.8281

FOUNDERS Sarah Wood and Rob Fisher

COPY EDITOR Doresa Banning

LAYOUT & DESIGN Matthew Freeman and Tina Bossy-Freeman

AD DESIGNERS Bigfish Smallpond Design Jane Bolling Design • Zephyr Pfotenhauer Melissa Thoeny Designs

CONTRIBUTORS

Mark C. Anderson • Elizabeth Birnbaum • Crystal Birns • Jordan Champagne • Jamie Collins • Maria Gaura • Margaux Gibbons • Jules Holdsworth • Coline LeConte • Kathryn McKenzie

• Rosie Parker • Zephyr Pfotenhauer • Patrick Tregenza • Jessica Tunis • Amber Turpin

ADVERTISING SALES

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DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Mick Freeman • 831.419.2975

P.O. Box 487 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 www.ediblemontereybay.com 831.600.8281 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.

Deborah Luhrman Publisher

Snapped at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Fruition Brewing opened in the East Lake Village Shopping Center in Watsonville this summer.

EDIBLE NOTABLES COMING TO

Opening a brewery of their own has been quite a journey for these Watsonville entrepreneurs

BY ROSIE PARKER PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK TREGENZA

Tallula Preston and David Purgason was on the verge of realizing a long-held dream of opening their own brewery when tragedy seemed to change everything. On a quiet day in July 2017, Purgason, a brewer/ distiller for Venus Spirits, suffered a terrible accident when a freak explosion occurred during production. He was airlifted to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center to be treated for burns that covered nearly 75% of his body, inside and out.

Purgason and Preston—true champions of the Santa Cruz County beer community—had been developing the vision that would become Fruition Brewing since first meeting in 2013. Just before the accident, it felt like everything was falling into place and, after a two-year search for Fruition’s home, the young couple was about to sign a lease on a location off Hangar Way in Watsonville.

On the day of the accident, Preston—who had been the general manager for the organic homebrew supply store Seven Bridges Cooperative until its permanent closure a month earlier—was at home enjoying the freedom of developing Fruition as her full-time job. She was blindsided when Venus Spirits owner Sean Venus showed up at her door to tell her of Purgason’s injury and whisk her to the hospital.

“Right away David was asking when he could get back to work,” Preston recalls. Meanwhile, she was figuring out how to temper his expectations. Doctors were saying he could be hospitalized for up to six months and the long-term effects of his injuries were still unknown. “I really didn’t know if he was going to be able to brew again—I mean his hands were so damaged—and he’s asking me about our beer for the upcoming Hop N’ Barley festival. He just wasn’t going to falter.”

Astonishingly, Purgason was discharged in a little over five weeks, but his road to complete recovery was still long. He had lost 30 pounds and his mouth and throat had been so badly burned that his taste buds were in ruin. “I had been only drinking Gatorade for months, and by the time I was able to have alcohol again, I didn’t even like the taste of beer,” Purgason laments. “Pilsners, pale ales—all my favorite styles— they were way too bitter for me!” Fortunately, a couple months later, his palate was restored. And within a year, he was back to brewing.

News of the tragedy shook the Santa Cruz beer community, and there were immediate campaigns of support with hopes of easing the trauma of the event. Chris Wilder of the Valley Medical Center Foundation spearheaded a fund for Purgason’s recovery, and Brittany Crass of Shanty Shack helped organize the “Brew for David” project, which included several breweries in the Monterey Bay area brewing a session IPA (a favorite of Purgason) and one 10-brewery collaboration brew called “Brewers Unite for David.”

Preston feels that it was the palpable support of the community after Purgason’s accident that was a leading factor in getting their initial loan from the Small Business Administration. “If it wasn’t for our community, we would not be here at all,” Preston says. “We’ve really looked up to and relied on these people and these businesses, and they have only ever been an endless source of support, information and guidance.” With encouragement from his community, and especially Preston, Purgason came out of the hospital with more drive than ever to open the brewery.

In the years since the seed of Fruition was first planted in Purgason and Preston’s brains, they have seen the Monterey Bay area grow into a mecca of craft beer—with many of their close friends and peers at the helm. Although they were anxious to be a part of the burgeoning scene and mildly concerned that the craft beer quota had potentially been met, they found value in getting to witness the trials, tribulations and great successes of their colleagues. “It was frustrating at times that it was taking so long to find a space,” Preston says, “but because we had seen our friends go through the opening process so many times, we really knew what we were looking for.”

The location they thought was a secure deal fell through in the wake of the accident, leading to an additional year of searching. Eventually, Fruition found the ideal home in Watsonville at the newly revitalized

East Lake Village Shopping Center. The 4,400-square-foot location had all the things they had patiently waited for—high ceilings, ample parking, an outdoor patio and proper zoning. But what they weren’t expecting was to be a harbinger of welcomed growth and community building in South County. “We are so stoked to be here,” Preston exclaims. “And we’re really proud to be so directly serving the Watsonville community!”

Building a brewery and taproom in Watsonville—an epicenter of coastal farming—also helps underscore the Fruition philosophy that beer is agriculture. “That aspect of this business is in my heart,” Purgason says. All the beers are brewed with California grown and malted grain from Admiral Maltings, a small-batch maltster in Alameda that works directly with California farmers. Akiyama Hopyard in Elkhorn Slough provides whole cone hops that are used in Fruition’s lagers, saisons and barrel-aged beers. Dirty Girl Produce and JSM Organics are just some of the resources for fresh fruit going into barrels or being featured in the fan-favorite tart table beer Snack that has so far showcased renditions with cherries, apricots, hibiscus and strawberries. Fruition’s spent grain goes to the happy flock at Garden Variety Cheese. “Supporting local farmers and producers isn’t always easy,” Purgason notes, “but it’s definitely always best.”

In the years that I have known Purgason and Preston, it is that kind of firm commitment to their convictions that has always impressed me most. They have strong opinions and values on the subjects of craft, community and sustainability, and they execute their mission statement with compassion and care. In the many years that they were planning this project, they have seen the craft beer scene go through countless trends, and yet they have stayed true to their vision of making fresh and balanced beer that can satisfy a range of drinkers.

“I wanted a diverse tap list,” Purgason explains. “I’m not concerned

Building a brewery and taproom in Watsonville— an epicenter of coastal farming—also helps underscore the Fruition philosophy that beer is agriculture.

With the help of the local craft beer community, Tallula Preston and David Purgason (top right) were able to open their own brewery.

about flagships, but want to ensure that certain styles are represented while also giving myself the opportunity to brew a broad range of brews.” A typical Fruition draft list will include crisp lagers, farmhouse table beers, IPAs and barrel-aged saisons and stouts. All the beers I’ve tasted are lessons in restraint and still so full of flavor—as if you can taste the true intention (and ingredients) behind every brew. Purgason’s beer philosophy can be understood when he waxes poetic on the lost art of the pale ale—a true test of the craft where you pack all the hop aroma and flavor of an IPA into the body of a dry, drinkable, lowalcohol brew. “I would die on the hill for the pale ale!” he says.

Since opening this summer, the duo has hosted a rotating cast of food trucks and pop-ups like Full Steam Dumpling, My Mom’s Mole and Hanloh Thai, but plan to operate a small kitchen out of the taproom this fall. Preston, an avid homecook, will create a small, seasonal, ingredient-driven menu that allows her to play with the diverse styles of cuisine that she likes to prepare at home. “I don’t know exactly what it will look like yet,” she says, “but food feels like another opportunity to work with incredible local producers and provide the Watsonville community with culinary options that they might not be currently getting.”

When I first visited the taproom on a soft-opening Sunday in early June, I was moved by seeing this dream fully realized. The brewery was open and light and filled with the warmth that Purgason and Preston so easily exude. And I know, even with the horrors of Highway 1 traffic, that their North County community will be making the trek to also revel in this accomplishment. The owners’ belief in slow, measured business growth fits their conscious approach to life, and their

main goal for the future is to be able to take the support they’ve been given and pay it forward.

“Our friends and mentors, like Emily Thomas and Sean (Venus), have shown us how to be real models of success in this community,” says Purgason. For years, Venus offered tank space at his distillery as an option for Fruition to be open as a side project, and Purgason would like to do the same for someone else. Ben Ward, a talented brewer who has been working as Purgason’s assistant brewer these past few months, is the founder of Effigy Brewing—a highly anticipated, nomadic brewery in the making. “If we can find a way to share our resources with someone like Ben, if we could provide that support, then that would be the truest sign of success for us.”

Rosie Parker, a former member of both the EMB staff and Santa Cruz beer community, has moved across the country to live the East Coast version of her West Coast life. She now lives in Brooklyn where she still writes about and works in craft beer.

IF YOU GO: Fruition Brewing is just one of the bustling food and drink businesses helping revitalize the East Lake Village Shopping Center in Watsonville. Natural foods store Staff of Life is set to open there in early 2020, Coffeeville moved into its beautifully renovated new space last summer, Sushi Qu is gaining legions of new fans and local-favorite Carmona’s BBQ Deli recently started offering happy hour specials M–F from 3–6pm.

Fruition’s varied line up includes fruit-based sours called Snack

EDIBLE NOTABLES

FRUIT TREES FOR EVERY GARDEN

Beloved UC Santa Cruz garden manager Orin Martin puts a lifetime of knowledge into a new book

BY MARIA GAURA

A garden can be an earthly paradise, but it’s a working paradise—one where rewards flow in proportion to the gardener’s care, sweat and devotion. If anyone is proof of this theory it’s Orin Martin, whose enviable fate for the past 40 years has been managing the Alan Chadwick Garden at UC Santa Cruz—a three-acre Eden of breathtaking loveliness and diversity.

Martin also tends the orchards at UCSC’s Farm & Garden agricultural training program, and teaches classes, workshops and seminars to students, apprentices and local home gardeners.

Martin’s long-awaited book, Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus, and More, released Aug. 27 by Ten Speed Press, is another fine example of this lifelong gardener’s care, sweat and devotion. It’s a gorgeously illustrated, well-organized and practical gardening manual that draws from Martin’s unmatched personal experience.

“The best way to learn a skills-based craft, such as tree care, is to apprentice with someone,” says the author. “But this book aims to be the next-best thing. Believe me, it was painstakingly crafted, the cumulative results of 40 years of growing tree fruits and a long and fruitful conversation with, in and among the trees.”

Among the highlights of the book, written with daughter Manjula Martin, are extensive descriptions of tree fruit varieties the author has personally planted, grown and harvested over decades. He’s compared growth patterns and disease resistance, taken note of harvest yields in good years and bad. Martin’s analysis is persuasive—so persuasive, in fact, that I found myself making lists of fun new trees to

cram into my hopelessly crowded backyard (Rio Oso Gem peach, Cot-N-Candy aprium, Stella cherry). I expect many readers will experience the same urges, despite the author’s disapproval of rash decision-making.

Martin discusses more than 40 varieties of apples, 13 pears, even five types of quince… quince! Who knew? Peaches are separated into old versus new varieties, and plum types include Asian, European, Damson and the legendary Greengage.

Martin’s rankings of fruit varieties offer a glimpse of the multivariable equation, the overlap of complex systems, that equals farming. Begin with chill hours, then move to pollinators, disease resistance, vigor and tree size, time of harvest, length of storage, abundance of harvest, size of fruit, thickness of skin, sweet versus tart. Climate, entomology, microbiology, genetics.

Mistakes made at purchase or planting can result in tasteless fruit, diseaseriddled trees or an excellent harvest hanging 25 feet out of reach. The multitude of variables can seem overwhelming, but the picture clarifies when the focus narrows to your garden, your dreams. Martin’s calming reminders to slow down, plan ahead and choose wisely are the touchstone of this book.

The UCSC orchards are living works of art, but Martin doesn’t sugarcoat the effort involved—orcharding is not easy, nor is it fast. A newly planted tree can take years to produce fruit, and Martin even suggests a three-year regime of soil improvement before planting a new tree! (To the 98% of us who willfully ignore that advice—no worries, the author provides a timesaving workaround.)

Photograph by Ross Newport. Reprinted from Fruit Trees for Every Garden. © 2019 by Orin Martin and Manjula Martin. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

“It doesn’t matter how many trees you have or how big your yard is; your orchard is your slice of paradise.”

“It seems the first thing people want to do is grab a tree, grab a spade, and plant the tree,” Martin says. “In reality, the last thing you do is plant the darn tree. I’ll give folks credit for enthusiasm, but the planting of a fruit tree is, or should be, a considered act. Mistakes are hard to rectify once the tree is in the ground.”

The solitude and leisurely pace of gardening leads to interesting digressions, and Martin meanders from his main narrative with quirky essays sown throughout the book. Among them are a brief history of fruit farming in Silicon Valley, a discussion of microclimates at Jefferson’s Monticello and an appreciation of the gardener’s traditional “dawn patrol.”

Martin is a natural teacher, and this book offers not just the how, but also the why of soil enrichment, double digging, cover crops and composting. The tone is conversational, wry and friendly—possibly the harshest statement in the book is one snarky reference to the shortcomings of the Red Delicious apple.

A series of luminous etchings by Stephanie Zeiler Martin, the author’s spouse, and lovely photographs by Elizabeth Birnbaum are a visual feast. Terrific line drawings, especially in the chapter on pruning, offer clarity on everything from tree shape and branch training to placement of individual pruning cuts. For tree geeks, there are infographics on carbohydrate cycling of trees, slope and sunshine calculations, and the essential components of soil.

Martin’s book overflows with love for his craft and will resonate

with every plant lover who thrills at the give of soil underfoot, the scent of blossoms and dirt, the burgeoning of leaf and bud. For Martin, orcharding is art and science—maybe even religion.

“It doesn’t matter how many trees you have or how big your yard is; your orchard is your slice of paradise,” he writes in the foreword. “And while paradise is a place of contentment, it is not a place of luxury, and certainly not idleness. For there is much learning and work to be done, daily, out in the orchard, garden, paradise.”

Amen.

Maria Gaura is a lifelong writer, journalist and gardener. She lives in downtown Santa Cruz with her family, two elderly cats and an ambivalent garden that can’t decide if it wants to be a vegetable patch, a flower bed or a miniature orchard.

IF YOU GO: Meet the author and the artists at the official book launch event: Fruit Trees for Every Garden—A Party to Celebrate Orin Martin’s New Book, Sunday, Sept. 15, from 4–6pm at the UCSC Hay Barn. Refreshments will be available, plus a pie potluck. Bring your favorite fruit pie if you can!

Etchings and illustrations © 2019 by Stephanie Zeiler Martin.

EDIBLE NOTABLES

RANCH LESSONS

Well-known for preparing youth for jobs in the hospitality sector, Rancho Cielo leaps into the future this fall with a brand-new training center for ag tech

BY KATHRYN MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULES HOLDSWORTH

Chef Estevan Jimenez reaches up into a mature fruit tree in Rancho Cielo’s organic garden and pulls down a Santa Rosa plum, dark red, round and ripe. He bites into it and it takes him back to his childhood.

“It’s one of the first tastes I remember,” says Jimenez, who grew up in the Central Valley to immigrant parents. His mother worked in a packing shed and brought fruit home for the family. For Jimenez, the memories are as sweet and poignant as that plum.

Now, Jimenez—whom everyone calls EJ—works with at-risk young people at Rancho Cielo’s Drummond Culinary Academy, teaching them about preparing and serving food, and helping train them for jobs in the hospitality industry.

One of his former students, Christian Martinez, is taking the leap to culinary school in Colorado this fall—a goal he never dreamed he could have achieved without EJ’s encouragement, as well as support from the rest of the staff at

the Rancho Cielo campus.

Established in 2004, the nonprofit center for underserved and disconnected youth in Monterey County offers a variety of ways to channel young people to productive lives. Along with vocational programs that train them for careers in construction and other desirable job skills, there’s an academic program so that they can finish their high school requirements, as well as support services like counseling, housing and health clinics.

Many of the students there have been in trouble with the law, and the program offers a path to responsible adulthood. In fact, the center’s data show that its programs greatly reduce recidivism. Non-offenders may also apply, as Martinez did, if they are from low-income families.

“When I found out this was all free, I jumped on it,” says Martinez, who had been living in Bakersfield but moved back to Salinas at age 18 to live with his mother. “I was pretty nervous at first, but I fell in love with the place.”

The Ted Taylor Vocational Ag Center opened at Rancho Cielo in August.

The soaring entry to the new ag center and (lower left, l-to-r) graduate Christian Martinez, Rancho Cielo CEO Susie Brusa and Estevan Jimenez, executive chef of the Drummond Culinary Academy.

Named the 2019 Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation’s Monterey Bay chapter, Jimenez received the award not just for teaching his students to be good cooks, but also to find their calling in the community. Prior to coming to Rancho Cielo, Jimenez oversaw all culinary aspects of Aqua Terra in Pacific Grove and before that he was executive sous chef at Ventana Big Sur.

Jimenez, who first started serving food in high school as a volunteer at a homeless shelter, says that being at Rancho Cielo is “100% worth it” for the difference he can make in young people’s lives.

Says Martinez, now 23, “I was so appreciative of his kindness and his compassion, and his willingness to teach and show us what he’s learned during his career.” The aspiring chef hopes to own his own restaurant someday.

In the culinary program, students learn kitchen basics and work their way up to preparing meals for the ranch’s restaurant, which is open to the public every Friday night during the school year with prix fixe dinners. The kitchen also supplies meals for organizations and businesses that host their events there, such as leadership retreats and team-building days.

Martinez graduated from the program, and then with the help of chef EJ and Rancho Cielo staff, was accepted at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, where he started in August. The staff also aided him in getting scholarship money that was essential for funding his education.

Rancho Cielo’s 100-acre site, skirting rolling ranch land northeast of Salinas, was once home to Natividad Boys Ranch, a juvenile incarceration facility that had lain dormant for almost two decades. The inspiration of retired Monterey County judge John Phillips, the center opened in 2004, and since then has

served about 1,000 young men and women.

The nonprofit just took its mission to the next level with the opening in August of the 27,000-square-foot Ted Taylor Vocational Ag Center, where students will be trained in agriculture technology, which is vitally needed to keep the engine of Salinas Valley’s largest industry humming.

Named for Taylor Farms’ founder Ted Taylor, who passed away in 1991, the intent of the brand-new center is to provide specialized training in jobs that pay well and are much in demand, in refrigeration, tractor repair and sustainable construction, in addition to repair and maintenance of salad processing lines. The Taylor family, along with Mann Packing, Ocean Mist and other businesses, as well as individuals, contributed to a $10 million capital campaign to build the specially designed structure and, according to Rancho Cielo CEO Susie Brusa, they are nearing their goal but still have some fundraising to do.

The building will house both academic and vocational classes for 125 students a year, doubling the number the campus can serve, Brusa says. Instruction will be blended together—for instance, integrating math lessons about fractions and angles into vocational instruction about solar panels. Brusa says ag robotics—the wave of the future in planting, harvesting and packing—will be added to the center’s programs next year.

Originally, Ted Taylor’s widow Joanne Taylor Johnson didn’t want the center named after her late husband, says Brusa. But she changed her mind when it was pointed out to her how many people he had inspired during his career: “Ted was all about mentoring young people in ag,” says Brusa.

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.

a relaxing dinner at one of The Barnyard’s popular restaurants, recognized regionally for their outstanding menus and superb service

PIZZERIA

Students will be trained in agriculture technology, which is vitally needed to keep the engine of Salinas Valley’s largest industry humming.

WHAT’S IN SEASON

Get nutty and try some new ways to use healthy fall walnuts

BY JAMIE COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRYSTAL BIRNS

Did you know that walnuts are technically a stone fruit? Walnuts, in the Juglandaceae family, are indeed the edible seed kernels of a drupe, which means they are not even true nuts! Nuts or not, these healthy brain-shaped seeds pack a punch in the vitamin department and add depth to both sweet and savory dishes. The most common types of walnuts grown commercially for their edible seeds are Persian varieties, now called English walnuts. Black walnuts, with origins in North America, also have an edible seed, but they are so hard to crack that they are mostly used for their gorgeous and highly prized (and priced!) wood.

Both the walnut and its oil have been utilized since ancient times. The excavation of petrified, roasted walnut shells found in southwest France show they have been in use since the Neolithic Period, over 8,000 years ago. During the glacial period the walnut died off in parts of Europe, but was likely reintroduced by invaders. The Romans named the walnut tree Juglans regia, and commonly used walnuts to dye wool and human hair. Walnut husks were also used to make durable inks, famously used by Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci.

Walnuts are full of nutrients that are good for the brain, which they somewhat resemble.

Try making walnut milk, spreads and walnut dip.

LOCAL CROP

California produces 98% of the U.S. market of English walnuts and 40% of the world market. California currently has 285,350 total acres in walnuts, and locally San Benito County has 1,086 acres of producing trees. Hollister used to be full of larger orchards, but as land was subdivided into smaller plots for housing, many families ended up with a producing walnut orchard in their backyard. Most of these small growers choose to be certified organic due to a higher return on the nuts, and the desire to not live near toxic sprays. Most of the local farmers have their nuts hulled, dried, cracked and sold by Gibson Farms, a walnut processor in Hollister that also grows walnuts and Blenheim apricots.

Chandler is the leading variety grown in California due to the vigorous, upright trees with high yields and desirable light-colored nuts, followed by Hartley which has a good yield and fruits on terminal buds which are easy to harvest. The Howard variety, arguably one of the best flavored, is also a high yielding nut with strong shells. All three of the walnuts have both male and female flowers but pollen is most often shed before female flowers are ready, so it is necessary to plant two different pollinator trees to set adequate fruit. Franquette is a good choice due to its resistance to late frost and blight, however, it is late to leaf out and may miss some of pollen shed. Cisco is earlier and another good choice. Other varieties that grow well in this area are Payne and Serr. However, Payne requires pruning when trees are young to avoid overbearing, and Serr has a huge canopy and needs to be spaced at least 40 feet apart.

German Soto of The Walnut Farm grows the desirable Howard variety in Corralitos on the late surfer Jack O’Neill’s property. Soto sells his walnuts in the shell at the Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets and has a huge following of customers. People are drawn to this variety because it is creamier and less astringent due to higher oil content. Cracking them oneself provides the freshest tasting nut, and even folks who don’t care for walnuts seem to love the Howard.

Walnuts are a wonder nut, full of powerful polyphenols that are present in their papery skins and fight oxidative stress and inflammation. Shelled walnuts are 65% fat, 15% protein, 14% carbohydrates, 7% fiber and 4% water. They have loads of fiber, protein and potassium, heart healthy vitamin E and omega 3s, folate and B6. Eat some before bed to get a good night’s rest; they have some of the highest naturally occurring melatonin as well as magnesium. Eating walnuts feeds your microbiota and increases the beneficial bacteria including one called butyrate, which is a fat that nourishes your gut and improves its health.

HOW TO ENJOY

I have found some interesting uses for walnuts that are a good way to incorporate their health benefits. You may want to ask a walnut farmer for bulk pricing. I go directly to the farm and pick up 25 lbs. at a time, which gets a substantial discount. If you buy in bulk, freezing keeps them the freshest; otherwise, refrigerate.

Walnuts are so delicious; a chocolate chip cookie just isn’t the same

without walnuts in it. But, have you tried replacing the butter or oil in chocolate chip cookies with walnut oil? So delicious and heart healthy! Or use walnut oil to make a delicious fall vinaigrette (equal parts oil and aged balsamic vinegar, a splash of maple syrup and some sautéed shallots, salt and pepper) and serve atop a salad with chunks of roasted butternut squash, goat cheese and candied walnuts.

Candied walnuts are easy to make. Simply toast them on a skillet with butter, ghee or my favorite, Miyoko’s vegan butter, add maple syrup, honey or agave syrup and some vanilla, stirring until coated. You can add cinnamon and black pepper to spice them up, if you like. Let them dry on parchment paper, then store any you don’t eat in the refrigerator.

Try making your own walnut butter with a food processor. You can use raw walnuts, or roasted nuts, or my preferred way—soaking then dehydrating before grinding, which makes them easily digestible. Add cacao powder for a delicious chocolate walnut butter. Or simply dunk a chunk of dark chocolate in plain walnut butter.

Walnuts also make a tasty coating for fish or chicken. Just toast and crush in a food processor and use instead of breadcrumbs.

Walnut milk is non-existent on grocery store shelves and it just happens to be my favorite type of nut milk, because it is so rich and creamy. First, soak 2 cups of walnuts overnight in water to remove the bitter tannins and make them more digestible. Pour out the water. I

use an electric nut milk maker called the Almond Cow, which makes short work of nut milk, but a blender and a nut milk bag work just fine. Put softened walnuts in the blender or in the nut milk machine with 7 cups of fresh water, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, a pinch of salt and cinnamon. Blend until creamy, about 2–3 minutes. Strain through nut bag. Store in the refrigerator and use within 4 days for best flavor. Save the meal for a walnut spread or pâté.

Use walnut meal left from making milk to make walnut meal pâté, by folding in minced olives of any variety, sundried tomato pieces, fresh herbs like parsley, basil or thyme, juice and zest of a lemon, and salt and garlic, to taste.

Try making muhammara, a Turkish walnut pepper dip, by adding roasted red peppers. Blend the walnut meal with three, roasted and peeled red bell peppers, 3/4 cup olive oil, 4 raw garlic cloves, the juice and zest of one lemon, 1½ teaspoons paprika, ½ teaspoon cumin and 2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses (this is optional; if you don’t have it, just leave it out). Pulse in the blender until creamy, add salt and pepper, to taste. Great with warm bread, as a sandwich spread or on top of steamed veggies.

is called caffè corretto or corrected coffee. It is also poured over gelato or used in place of vanilla extract in making biscotti or simply as an after dinner digestif. The flavor is nutty, slightly bitter, yet sweet, with the taste of vanilla and oak.

All you need is about 30 immature green walnuts chopped into quarters (be sure to use gloves or your hands will turn black!), a sliced open vanilla pod, a few allspice berries, a portion of a cinnamon stick, long strips of zest from 1 large lemon and 1 liter of 50% proof vodka or cane alcohol. (Some people add a handful of coffee beans to the mixture, which is tasty but makes the nocino taste a bit more like kahlua.) Put all ingredients in a half-gallon jar, add the alcohol and seal the lid well, store in the pantry and shake every so often to blend ingredients. After at least 8 weeks, filter through cheesecloth, removing the solids and leaving just the liquid. Next, make a simple syrup by heating 10 ounces of water, 5 ounces of sugar and a squeeze of a lemon. When cool, add to walnut liquid, stir and taste. At this point the nocino can age in the pantry and can be pulled out for holiday cocktails! Be sure to filter the mixture again by pouring it through a coffee filter, as this will remove bitter tannins that settled. The flavor mellows as it ages and will keep forever due to alcohol content.

MAKE WALNUT BOOZE!

Get your hands on some green walnuts and make some nocino. In Italy there is a special day for gathering green walnuts called the Feast Day of San Giovanni. Italians like this liqueur in their coffee, where it

Jamie Collins is the owner of Serendipity Farms, which you can find at all of the Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets (downtown, Westside, Live Oak, Felton and Scotts Valley).

Nocino is an Italian liqueur made from green walnuts and often served over gelato.

Pumpkin-Maple Cheesecake with Walnut Crust

Recipe by Caroline Chambers

The thing that’s always bothered me about pumpkin pie is the absence of a true pumpkin flavor. The spices that characterize the pie—nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and ginger—are so overpowering that one can scarcely taste the pumpkin at all. This pumpkin cheesecake foregoes any spices at all, allowing the true heroes of the dessert— the pumpkin, maple and walnuts—to stand on their own. An extra thick walnut and graham cracker crust and a maple walnut topping ensure that each piece of cheesecake delivers a distinct walnut crunch.

Crust:

18 whole graham crackers

1½ cups walnut pieces

1⁄3 cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1½ pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup cooked, puréed sugar pie pumpkin (or organic canned pumpkin)

1⁄3 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs, room temperature

Maple walnuts: ¼ cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup walnut pieces

½ teaspoon flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

To make the crust: Add graham crackers to a food processor and process until they have turned to the texture of sand. Add walnuts, brown sugar and salt and pulse 15–20 times, until walnuts are about the size of peas. Pour in the butter and process for about 20 seconds, until combined. You may need to scrape the sides and bottom of the food processor to make sure everything is combined.

Dump the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Using a drinking cup, pat down the crust starting in the middle, then working your way out to the sides. The crust doesn’t have to be perfect on the sides, but it should come up to about ¼ inch from the top.

Place the springform pan onto a baking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes, until the top of

the crust is starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Lower the oven to 300° F.

Wipe all of the crumbs out of the food processor and add the cream cheese and sugar. Process until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin, maple syrup and vanilla extract and process for an additional 20 seconds, until combined. Add one egg at a time, and pulse three times to incorporate it before adding the next egg. It is very important not to over-mix when adding the eggs.

Pour the mixture onto the cooled pie crust.

Bake on the middle rack at 300° F for 2 hours, then turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside to cool for at least 3 hours. After 3 hours, refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours before serving.

To make the maple walnuts: Heat maple syrup in a small pot over low heat until it bubbles. Stir in the cornstarch, then remove from heat. Stir in the walnuts and turn to coat. Spread them out on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle with sea salt, and allow to cool and harden into praline.

Store nuts in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve, then sprinkle over the cheesecake. Serves 8–10.

Carmel resident Caroline Chambers grew up in North Carolina, where she was raised on the robust flavors of the South. She has owned and operated a farm-to-table catering company in San Diego and has worked as a recipe developer and stylist for publications and brands including The New York Times, Robert Mondavi Wine, Food Network and MagicChef. Her first cookbook, Just Married (Chronicle Books), was published in October 2018.

EDIBLE PROVISIONS

Locally Roasted

Local coffee roasters really know how to wake us up every morning and keep the Monterey Bay area buzzing. Top row (l-to-r): Cat & Cloud, Santa Cruz; North Coast Roasting, Santa Cruz; Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz; Hidden Fortress Coffee Roasting, Watsonville. Second row (l-to-r): 11th Hour Coffee, Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting; Captain & Stoker, Monterey. Bottom left: Alta Organic Coffee Roasting, Santa Cruz. Bottom right: Steeped Coffee, Scotts Valley. Other local roasters worth seeking out include: Acme Coffee Roasting, Seaside; The Beerded Bean, Salinas; Coffeeville, Watsonville; and Vertigo Coffee Roasters in San Juan Bautista.

PHOTO AND STYLING BY ELIZABETH BIRNBAUM

BACK OF THE HOUSE

THE MICHELIN EFFECT

The French rating system’s new California guide is controversial, but at last the Monterey Peninsula has a seat at the table

BY MARK C. ANDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK TREGENZA

The Aubergine team includes (lto-r) Trevor Mathiak, sous chef; Yulanda Santos, executive pastry chef; Ki Chung, chef de cuisine; Justin Cogley, executive chefdirector; and Diana Phipps, pastry chef and garde assistant.

Standing in L’Auberge Carmel’s leafy courtyard, Aubergine executive chef-director Justin Cogley tells a story about a chef dinner at the three Michelin 3-star Alléno Paris back in 2016. Diplomats were in attendance, master chefs occupied the kitchen, Monterey abalone and French lamb starred on the plate.

“They were all travelers, and it seemed like they had all driven Highway 1,” he says. “But none had stopped to eat in Carmel.”

The reason was simple: These gourmands take their turn signals from the French-born Michelin Guide and it hadn’t ever listed a Monterey Bay area restaurant, let alone awarded a salivated-after star.

This despite plenty of James Beard, Food & Wine and Forbes recognition; Michelin ratings for nearby San Francisco and Napa Valley restaurants since 2007, reaching as far south as Manresa in Los Gatos; spectacular produce befitting Salad Bowl of the World status; and exceptional wines—at one point, the area boasted the highest density of

Wine Spectator Grand Award winners in one region, anywhere.

That Michelin drought ended June 3, when the “red book” team announced its 2019 star recipients with a 400-person party on the lawn at Paséa Hotel in Huntington Beach.

Monterey, San Diego, Orange County, Santa Barbara and Sacramento were all considered for the first time, and Los Angeles was welcomed back after a decade-long absence and some trash-talking from both sides.

Cogley and Aubergine owner David Fink were there to see Aubergine honored with the area’s first Michelin star.

“We’re humbled to be the only one recognized between Los Gatos and Los Angeles,” Fink says. “We’ve been doing good food with great chefs for a long time and it doesn’t get any better than Justin.

“But for us,” he adds, “it’s all about our team—the kitchen and front of the house.”

Michelin awards one star for “high-quality cooking, worth a stop,” according to the guide, which began in 1900 to encourage travel and tire sales. It does two stars for “excellent cuisine, worth a detour” and three for “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.”

After years as a professional figure skater on a couple continents, thousands of miles under him as an Iron Man endurance nut and tour guide of a kitchen staff field trip he led to Hong Kong this winter, Cogley knows something about journeys. And he makes no secret that Aubergine is embarking on one as it aims to add second and third stars.

But he does pause to ground things.

“What gets missed sometimes is we’re just cooking dinner,” he says, “providing an experience that allows people to relax for a few hours at a time when the world is so stressful. That’s what’s happening.”

expand its reach in future editions.

The California coverage means other changes for Cogley and company. Since the announcement, they’ve welcomed chefs to eat at Aubergine much more frequently than before. Cogley is being stopped a lot more often in Whole Foods and quizzed about what products he prefers. Celebrated executive pastry chef Yulanda Santos says, “We definitely find ourselves busier.

“As a team, we are certainly proud of what we have accomplished,” she adds. “I think it shines a little bit brighter light on Carmel. Not just for Aubergine, but our whole community.”

She’s got a point. The adjustments go well beyond the new realities for Aubergine, which has long enjoyed its own reality anyway, what with the tiny amount of seats (24), targeted guest research (they have a good idea of who every person is coming through the door) and splurge-wineand-tasting possibilities ($444 for one person to go all in on food, wine, service charge and the “cheese from the cave”).

While Michelin awarded a single star to the area, it lists 17 spots total. Those restaurants include two outposts I wouldn’t be surprised to see starred next year (Lucia at Bernardus Lodge and Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn); a Bib Gourmand winner for outstanding value (Yafa in Carmel); and an intriguing range of newer but largely time-tested favorites receiving “Michelin Plate” acknowledgements.

Those are, in no particular order: Café Rustica, Pacific’s Edge (at Hyatt Carmel Highlands), Monterey Fish House, Seventh & Dolores, Akaoni, Casanova, Dametra Cafe, La Bicyclette, Cultura comida y bebida, Montrio Bistro, Paprika Café, The Sardine Factory and Pèppoli.

TOURISTS AND LOCALS

The first ever “statewide” Michelin Guide was partly the result of a collaboration with Visit California—of which the Monterey County Convention & Visitor Bureau is a contributing member—which came up with $600,000 to help fund the expansion.

Michelin Guide director Gwendal Poullennec contends it’s about a lot more than money.

“With access to many of the world’s best farms, food producers and vineyards, California cuisine is respected worldwide,” he says, “not only for the quality of its ingredients but also due to the creativity displayed by its chefs.”

MCCVB chief marketing officer Rob O’Keefe thinks the $600K was a sound investment.

“It’s an example of Visit California doing what Visit California does best: showcase California in broad but targeted ways,” he says. “California is chock full of culinary experiences—diverse, amazing, innovative experiences. Visit California wanted to put a spotlight on that, and who better to do it than Michelin?”

“Statewide” gets quotes because it’s hard to imagine Michelin scouts combing through Coalinga as intently as Calistoga. Moreover, Michelin spokespeople have conceded that Santa Cruz, most of Big Sur, San Luis Obispo County and the Santa Ynez Wine Country, among other places (including Coalinga), “were not inspected for the initial selection.” Reps do hasten to add that Michelin’s team plans to

“With access to many of the world’s best farms, food producers and vineyards, California cuisine is respected worldwide,” he says, “not only for the quality of its ingredients but also due to the creativity displayed by its chefs.”

Michelin spokeswoman Lauren McClure says plate listings go to restaurants “inspected under the same criteria as Bib Gourmands and starred establishments.”

“For restaurateurs, it is also the hallmark of belonging to the Michelin family,” she says.

That wide range of featured restaurants is what gets MCCVB’s O’Keefe most excited.

“This puts us on another map for culinary adventure and experience, and that’s good for everybody, not just Justin [Cogley] and his team— it’s good for the whole region,” he says. “We’re getting that limelight. There’s a world of travelers who make decisions on where they go by the culinary options of their destinations.”

Seventh & Dolores executive chef Thomas Snyder has a similar perspective.

“People might skip Monterey if they only see Aubergine,” he says.

The Bib Gourmand is generally understood to be a place where three courses and a glass of wine runs no more than $40. Yafa partner Ben Khader thinks his $25 filet mignon is a big reason for the nod, which

A tray of morel mushrooms (below) await the deft hands of Aubergine chefs.

Clockwise from top left: the spectacular view from Big Sur’s Sierra Mar restaurant, grilled octopus at Yafa in Carmel, inside the Sierra Mar dining room and Yafa partner Ben Khader with his signature filet mignon.

Sierra Mar photos by Michelle Magdalena

was a pleasant surprise for the cozy and colorful modern-Mediterranean spot in Carmel that Michelin calls a “clear hit among locals [that’s] spread to tourists.”

“I’m unfamiliar with their process, and I never chased this thing,” Khader says. “Some people build out whole restaurants with Michelin in mind. We’re just doing what we’ve been doing from day one, a family restaurant trying to serve the best food for the best price in the best town.”

After time at places like Chez Panisse and the 3-starred Alinea in Chicago, Post Ranch Inn’s general manager Gary Obligacion presents a contrast to Khader in terms of Michelin awareness.

He says Sierra Mar’s recent hiring of chef Jonny Black was made with the award in mind, along with plenty of other factors, such as Black’s experience working closely with restaurant-farm operations and the likes of multiple-Michelin-starred chefs Michael Tusk and Dominique Crenn.

“We’re not reaching for stars,” Obligacion says, “but if we do what we want to accomplish, they [should] come.”

He believes a real local restaurant renaissance is a few more stars away.

“The Central Coast’s not going to move the needle much or be noticed by the world until the whole area steps up its game and builds a concentration of like-minded individuals who want to build that kind of destination,” he says. “It’s not about the trappings, the silverware, linens, plates—at Alinea we did 22-course meals and you wouldn’t see a plate—it’s service and consistency of product above everything, it’s intent, it’s deliciousness, it’s execution, it’s every detail thought out.”

The cumulative—even contagious— change in quality is among the outcomes Eric Bruner is proud of. He’s director of external communications at Michelin North America.

“It’s interesting to observe the role that Michelin Guide plays in fostering a community of cuisine—giving chefs new opportunities to connect with their peers and also connecting their food with new audiences,” he says. “As we’ve watched this dynamic unfold in markets like San Francisco, we see how the presence of the guide ultimately attracts greater talent in the kitchens, which expands

with the creation of new restaurants over time, which in turn attracts more customers for the community’s economic benefit.

“Seen at this level, it’s exciting to see how our work influences a whole system for the greater good.”

Yes, he isn’t objective about Michelin’s blessings, but I am optimistic myself. I’m in sync with star-worthy Bernardus executive chef Cal Stamenov when he testifies that the anticipated presence of inspectors—who train in France and are often former chefs dining anonymously—increases attention to detail.

And I couldn’t agree more with Cogley when he says, “I’m extremely happy Michelin is getting past the big cities. There are amazing places out there.”

DISSENTING OPINIONS

I have plenty of issues with Michelin. I’m still frustrated by the opacity of its process. Accepting payment from regions in return for attention feels dubious. (California wasn’t the first.) I flinch at oversights in the Bib Gourmand genre (most painfully Patria in Salinas, Poppy Hall in Pacific Grove and Bistro Moulin in New Monterey). I can’t believe Passionfish doesn’t appear. I understand critiques like the one from chef Carlos Salgado of Taco María in Costa Mesa.

“There is nothing that Michelin, as a Eurocentric fantasy fiction, can contribute to the dialogue about what it means to be Californian, Angeleno or Latino American that we can’t learn from each other,” he tweeted before the June announcement, “or from the profoundly informed and inclusive work of our homegrown voices.”

Poppy Hall executive chef Philip Wojtowicz puts it more succinctly.

“Stay in f**king France,” he says.

My frustrations pale in comparison to the possibilities. Plus, I’d be a hypocrite for challenging Michelin over the years to inspect our best only to reject the results.

Besides, the debate over these issues makes for great dinner conversation.

Mark C. Anderson is a roving writer, editor and entrepreneur loosely based in Monterey County. Follow and/or reach him on Twitter and Instagram via @MontereyMCA.

Sherry Flumerfelt and Roger Burleigh of the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust.

EDIBLE COMMUNITY two FARMERS

Behind the scenes with a couple that tends two of the area’s most beautiful gardens

BY MARIA GAURA PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRYSTAL BIRNS

The fog-shrouded luxury of Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn and the roadside bustle of Earthbound Farm’s Carmel Valley Farm Stand are 30 miles apart, and seem to inhabit different worlds.

But these destinations share deep roots in Monterey County agriculture, and their glorious gardens are the work of the Two Farmers—a husband-andwife organic farming team dedicated to merging the worlds of art and agriculture.

Janna Jo Williams and Anton Tymoshenko are self-described “dirt farmers” with decades of experience coaxing everything from salad mix to tigerstriped figs from the fertile soil.

Janna Jo just celebrated her 21st year with Earthbound Farm, where she tends the fields surrounding the company’s historic farm stand and café. Anton runs the exquisite Chef’s Garden at the Post Ranch Inn, providing just-harvested herbs, greens, fruits, mushrooms and vegetables for the exclusive resort’s Sierra Mar restaurant.

The longtime Carmel Valley residents are a wellmatched pair—tall and lean with sunny good looks,

dirt-dusted boots and smiles as wide as their broadbrimmed western hats. Their long partnership shows in an easy camaraderie and the genial way they complete each other’s sentences.

Their journey to the heart of the farm-to-table movement began in 1980s San Francisco, where the young art students fell in love and immersed themselves in music, performance and the freewheeling underground art scene.

The couple led a hardworking but gleeful existence, forming rock bands, making art, living in a communal warehouse and working an assortment of odd jobs to pay the rent. For a time, Janna Jo and a friend were known as Two Tall Blondes—gogo dancers in otherworldly handcrafted outfits and cages, hired to perform at local music shows. Anton, with platinum blonde locks cascading to his shoulders, played guitar in a series of bands.

“We were young, and discovering freedom and work,” Janna Jo said. “But it was also the ’80s, and AIDS happened, and so many people died. It was a lot of fun, and then also a lot of tragedy.”

But a chance encounter with gardening proved a turning point in their driven urban lives. Janna Jo and Anton discovered SLUG, the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, and were captivated by the life-affirming beauty of growing foods, herbs and flowers.

“The SLUG people were smart, exciting and cool,” Janna Jo said. “They gave access to free seeds and garden books in the preInternet era. It was so different from our lifestyle in the warehouse and the underground rock and art scene.”

The lure of gardening led first to a sunny Bernal Heights sublet with garden space, then to family-owned acreage in the heart of Monterey’s agricultural heartland. Janna Jo and Anton dubbed themselves Two Farmers and grew organic produce to sell at their roadside stand.

The farm was conceived as an art project, with self-portrait scarecrows and crops laid out in elegant patterns like a medieval cloister garden. The service was quirky and personal. Farm stand customers could order custom-blended salad mix, which Anton would harvest with a bag and a pair of scissors. The salad spinner was a pillowcase filled with washed greens and whirled overhead.

“We would literally make custom salad mix; people would tell us what they wanted,” Janna Jo said. “We found out nobody likes mizuna. And the pillowcase salad spinner, you’d just swing it around,” she said, slinging her arm like a cowgirl spinning a lariat. “It was performance art, it was exciting, it was fun. It was all of that and we got to eat it, too.”

Of course, mistakes were made. Janna Jo sketched her garden plans by hand, in colored pencil, and one early design lined up multiple varieties of colored corn in eye-catching alternating rows. Belatedly, they learned that corn is a promiscuous pollinator and “that year we ended up with polka-dot corn,” she said.

They grew too much squash. Adorable herb bundles tied with rainbow-colored string sold well, but the price didn’t cover the cost of gas to deliver them, not to mention the hours of fingercramping labor. “We didn’t know about twist-ties,” Anton said wryly.

“I’ll ask them if they’ve ever seen a woman driving a tractor,” she said. “And they haven’t! So I get to say, OK, watch this…”

“We were art students, we never went to any sort of agricultural school,” Janna Jo said. “It was like, if we invent our own way of farming, nobody can tell us we’re doing it wrong.”

Harvests, sales and expertise blossomed. But much like art school, farming required outside work to pay the bills. The Two Farmers worked side jobs selling gourmet olive oil and fancy cowboy boots. Janna Jo ran a landscaping route and Anton worked as a chimneysweep, decked out in top hat and tailcoat.

The search for gig jobs led to Earthbound Farm, a famous local business that was growing by leaps and bounds. Founded in 1984 as a mom-and-pop organic raspberry farm, Earthbound Farm introduced the world to pre-washed bagged salad greens and is now one of the largest organic farms on the planet.

Janna Jo joined Earthbound in 1998 as farm stand manager, a job that evolved to indulge her true love—designing and managing the acreage surrounding the farm stand and café. Her first project was an elaborate mandala-shaped herb garden, lush with aromatic shrubs and sinuous curves. Adjoining plots offer a river-rock labyrinth, alphabet garden, raised beds, fruit trees, row crops and, of course, raspberry beds memorializing Earthbound Farm’s first cash crop.

Anton learned the retail side of the organic produce business working for Whole Foods, and in 2014 was hired as garden manager for the Post Ranch Inn. Anton’s garden, tucked into a remote and dreamy coastal landscape, features mixed plantings of fruit trees, herbs, vegetables and edible flowers billowing from rock-lined raised beds. There’s a vine-covered chicken coop filled with fluffy heritage chickens and bold hummingbirds zinging through the greenery.

For generations, this land was homesteaded by the Post family, whose Twenty Ounce

Pippin apple trees still stand in the Chef’s Garden. But the century-old apple trees have been joined by trendy newcomers such as Yuzu, Australian finger lime, Buddha’s hand and Kaffir lime. Enormous carved-granite tubs hold water plants, and a gnomic wooden greenhouse shelters tender microgreens and unearthly pink oyster mushrooms.

Anton, the quieter half of the Two Farmers, happily guides Post Ranch guests through the garden, offering tastes of sun-ripened fruit and edible flowers. And he expertly curates the picture-perfect produce destined for the plates at Sierra Mar.

Janna Jo enjoys the livelier atmosphere at Earthbound Farm’s Farm Stand, where the tennis and yoga set stop for smoothies and salad, the mommy crowd gathers after school, tourists wander the labyrinth and elementary school groups learn about pollinators and cover crops.

“I’ve had groups of kids from farm country, King City, and I’ll ask them if they’ve ever seen a woman driving a tractor,” she said. “And they haven’t! So I get to say, OK, watch this…”

The Two Farmers love what they do and are still in awe of the oddly inevitable path that led to this happy place.

“It’s like fate, in a way,” Anton said. “We joined SLUG and one thing led to another, and we ended up with an organic farm. It felt like a simple, steady direction. Maybe that’s not exactly fate. But maybe it was.”

If there’s another big dream in store for the future, Janna Jo hopes it comes in the form of an educational nonprofit dedicated to art and sustainable agriculture. “Our vision is to have a school and farm, an art school where students live and work to support the dream,” she said. “We would raise our own food, work the land. No more starving artists.”

The farm was conceived as an art project, with self-portrait scarecrows and crops laid out in elegant patterns like a medieval cloister garden.

AND

EDIBLE DIY CHANGES CHOICES

Eight steps towards reducing plastic use

BY JESSICA TUNIS ILLUSTRATION BY ZEPHYR PFOTENHAUER

Awareness of the problems created by plastic waste has been growing almost as fast as the great Pacific Garbage Patch itself. Like that vast tangle of trash and microplastics, our own contributions to it might be at once both impossibly small but yet significant. Plastics never decompose, really; they just break down into ever-smaller pieces, even beyond those that can be seen by the naked eye. These microscopic particles can now be found in everything from fish to seemingly pristine mountain streams, and their effect on human and animal health has only begun to be examined critically.

Plastics also are terribly convenient. They’re lightweight, cheap and cost a fraction of what a comparable container made of glass or metal might. In terms of manufacturing, plastics generate less environmental impact than alternative materials like cloth or paper. That’s one reason industries have maintained for years that the solution to the burgeoning “plastics problem” lies in increased recycling rather than decreased consumption.

However, countries like China have recently stopped importing our plastic waste, while the great churning wheels of global capitalism keep pumping out single-use plastics with no place but the landfill to dispose of them. This cost has yet to be reflected in the plastics themselves, though. And even before the recent changes, only 9% of plastics ever ended up recycled, no matter how many triangles were stamped on the bottom of those plastic food containers. It’s the kind of problem that can seem insurmountable on the individual level, and it is true that we need more local as well as national leadership to tackle the systemic barriers both to recycling, as well as regulating the sale, manufacturing and use of plastics.

But it’s also true that the public has more power than we realize. We just need to exercise it. Consumer choice is the engine that drives much of our economy. The first step in reducing plastic waste is to consume less plastic. Period. That can mean making changes both in the brands that we choose to support, as well as lifestyle changes, like bringing our own bags for buying bulk items, as well as grocery bags. Taken together, these small changes not only reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by each person, but they also lift the fog of helplessness that can settle at times on concerned citizens who feel that meaningful action is beyond them. In addition, these small changes and choices can send signals to companies both large and small. From grocery stores to dairies, beverage companies to farmers’ markets, consumer choice can be a powerful tool to influence policy and stocking decisions.

Don’t buy bottled water. Carry your own water bottle, and fill it up. Invest in a filter, whether it’s a whole-house reverse osmosis system or a Brita filter you keep in the fridge. Plastic water bottles are one of the largest and most damaging sources of plastic waste. Take it another step further and call out public officials and other leaders who are seen using single-use water bottles. Advocate for free water “filling stations” in public spaces and businesses.

Buy ingredients, rather than packaged products. Making your own condiments is easy and rewarding, and you can control levels of salt, fat, sugar and preservatives. Hummus, for instance, is simple and easy to make at home, either from whole dried beans or canned beans, whose packaging is more easily recycled. Homemade ketchup will blow your mind. Mustard is easy!

Bring your own containers. Most of us now use reusable shopping bags, but still take home a significant amount of plastic in the form of produce bags and packaging for bulk items or condiments. The next step is to have an assortment of smaller cloth or mesh bags for produce and bulk items; they can be found in most local health food stores. If you prefer to use Mason jars or Tupperware for bulk items, have the checker weigh your jar when empty before purchase.

Food to go! Bring a tiffin carrier or other container with you when going out to eat if you think you will want to take home leftovers. Let your local taco stand know that you have brought your own container for the salsa bar, and don’t need their small plastic containers with your order. When ordering sushi, let them know that no one really wants that little plastic square of fake grass, when they could have a fresh shiso leaf instead.

Support brands that sell products in glass rather than plastic. Several quality dairy producers now offer this option for raw and pasteurized dairy products. When I don’t have time to make my own yogurt, I choose brands that package in glass quart jars rather than plastic tubs. Bonus: You can use the yogurt jars to store bulk items in, and some of the dairy jars can be returned to the store to reclaim a deposit. This is a system that enables the glass bottle to be reused over and over.

Wash day! Choose detergents packaged in cardboard, instead of plastic. Refill dish soap, lotion, shampoo and conditioner bottles from bulk bottles. You can order your favorite brands online in gallon jugs if your local store can’t stock or order them for you.

Store leftovers in reusable containers, or use a waxed fabric square to wrap fruits or cover casseroles (see recipe and instructions at right).

Give feedback. This may be the most important tip of all. Let restaurants, grocery stores and producers know why you are making the choices that you are. Positive reinforcement is just as important as negative; let your favorite brands know that you appreciate their commitment to finding sustainable ways to package products. Remind other producers that the reason you are not choosing their product is the waste that it generates.

Jessica Tunis lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains and spends her time tending gardens, telling stories, and cultivating adventure and good food in wild places.

EDIBLE GUIDES

It’s back-to-school season, the perfect time to up your culinary game

BY AMBER TURPIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULES HOLDSWORTH

For some of us, cooking is an intuitive activity that channels seamlessly from our hearts and minds to our hands. For others, not so much. It can be a daily challenge to figure out how to make something edible from start to finish, let alone something that you (and your family) would want to eat again. These days, our country is cooking less and less and eating out more and more. We are strapped for time, and in the age of convenience food, cooking is one activity that often gets skipped for that takeout window. But that’s a pity. Cooking is so fun! And such a great outlet, especially after a stressful day. We are lucky to live in a place abundant with culinary opportunities, offering a wide variety of classes that can help people of any skill level learn a thing or two in the kitchen.

This Monterey gem is more than just a place to take a cooking class. It is a gourmet grocery store, a gift shop, a café, a bakery and even a wine store. Inside, you’ll also find a kitchen island area, set apart just enough to offer a separate experience to showcase diverse cooking skills, all taught demonstration style by co-owner Kristina Scrivani. Past classes run the gamut, from vegetarian Jerusalem cuisine to making your own spice blends to Argentine asado. This fall, the focus is on getting ready for the holidays, so for three nights a week through October there will be classes such as Thanksgiving in Paris, Travel to Morocco for the Holidays or Tamales! Tamales! Tamales!. Students get to eat the dishes prepared during class, usually with a glass or two of wine. Scrivani and business partner Linda Hanger are dedicated community members and supporters of local producers.

465 Canyon del Rey Blvd., Monterey • 831.393.1042

The recent renovation of Carmel Plaza has spruced up the historic shopping center, bringing more folks here to eat, drink and, of course, shop. For the foodie megastore Sur La Table, the renovation created an opportunity to expand its existing space, adding a bright, shiny new venue for cooking classes. Resident chef Bill Poolman, who launched a busy class schedule in June, says, “I’m really happy with all of the classes so far...I haven’t run across a recipe that hasn’t been great. The feedback from our students has been very positive and I’m seeing lots of return students…” Affordable, globally inspired classes take place two or three times a day and are all hands-on, offering everything from Tuscan Harvest Feast to Family Fun, and Desserts on a Stick to Cast Iron Comfort Food. Classes for children and teens are offered during vacation season, and couples Date Night offerings take place several times a week. Carmel Plaza, Suite 111, Carmel • 831.626.6433

Cooking classes (clockwise from top left), pasta sauce at Sur La Table, chef-instructor Bill Poolman, students in Andrea Nguyen’s Vietnamese cooking class, Asian custards and 1440’s chef Kenny Woods teaches pasta making.

For a restaurant with so much prestige, having recently won the area’s first Michelin star, it’s downright generous of executive chef-director Justin Cogley and executive pastry chef Yulanda Santos to allow the public into their kitchen to take notes. The Aubergine class schedule is thorough, highlighting classical French items, like petit fours, along with more contemporary subject matter, like plant-based, one-pot vegetarian dishes. Classes also offer super helpful instruction right around the time you might need it most, with a Thanksgiving class, dedicated to all the sides, not the turkey. You’ll take away recipes, tips and the food you make in class, and the intimate class size maximum of six participants ensures a focused experience.

Monte Verde Street and 7th Avenue, Carmel • 831.624.8578

Before Happy Girl Kitchen was actually a physical place in Pacific Grove, it was a small company that made preserves and pickles long ahead of the trendy DIY pickling and jamming curve. Owners Todd and Jordan Champagne (a regular EMB contributor) have been devout preservationists and community gatherers in our area for years. This fall, the Pacific Grove café classroom will be the place to absorb some Autumn Ferment Fever! or learn how to make fruit butters out of apples, pears and quince. In addition, Todd says, “An exciting development is that we are now also teaching at the Cabrillo College extension kitchen in Aptos. I’m teaching pickle making and tomato canning. Jordan is teaching food preservation with summer fruits. This is a good way for people north of Monterey to tap into our seasonal learning opportunities.” 173 Central Ave., Pacific Grove • 831.373.4475

In addition to learning how to make new dishes, cooking students usually get to eat what they make together at the end of the class.

The Aptos community college has its very own culinary department, complete with an actual restaurant where the students cook and serve as part of their coursework. But the extension is for all of us to partake in, with a huge selection of classes taught by an equally varied roster of instructors. Basic cooking is offered, like knife skills and stocks and sauces, as well as unique explorations like miso making with chickpeas, how to make vegan cheese, and Date Night couples cooking. 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos • cabrillo.edu/services/extension

Our area is rich with food professionals who like to share their knowledge. In Hollister, Becky Herbert, owner of the multi-farm Eating With The Seasons CSA program, puts on classes in her Farmhouse Café space. This fall she is collaborating with a company called Off the Hook, a women-owned small business that sells locally caught, sustainable fish in addition to a line of essential oil-infused salts. The class will focus on making salt blends and the various ways to use them in cooking. Call Farmhouse Café at 831.265.7247 for more information on how to sign up.

Many local food teachers take advantage of the kitchen classroom at New Leaf Community Market on the Westside of Santa Cruz. So check its website or EMB’s free weekly enewsletter for listings. Andrea Nguyen, the affable author of a variety of Vietnamese cookbooks, occasionally teaches classes in the New Leaf space. Nguyen admits, “This is ridiculous to say but all three of my fall classes have sold out. It happened in less than 48 hours. I’m going to open another class for December, but that will go fast, too.” Sign up for her mailing list for a better chance to enroll in her unique classes, like how to make dim sum from scratch, DIY tofu, Asian dumpling boot camp and Viet street food. “It’s a fun culinary workout, so to speak,” she says.

Down the street from New Leaf is Companion Bakeshop, another venue for very popular workshops. Its fall lineup includes Sourdough Basics, Brunch Pastries and Holiday PIE LAB, all taught on weekends capping at 12 students for an immersive hands-on baking session in the back of the bakery.

In Scotts Valley at the monumental 1440 Multiversity, the programming is vast and deep, covering personal growth and health and wellness topics that bring highly acclaimed leaders to our redwoods for experiential sessions. But for us locals who might not enroll in an entire retreat or for someone who just wants to check out its amazing open classroom kitchen facility, we can participate in the occasional event taught by chef Kenny Woods, for example, the upcoming Teaching Kitchen Weekends this fall. 1440 offers a foodie-based, hands-on experiential package that includes overnight accommodation, reception and dessert tasting, juice making, baking and nutrition cooking classes, wine tasting with a local winemaker and a family-style dinner.

In Ben Lomond, Mountain Feed & Farm, known far and wide as a go-to for any garden or kitchen need, has been a long-time source for educational workshops. Often led by the woman-of-many-talents (and EMB contributor) Jessica Tunis, classes range from making applesauce to fermented winter squash chutney. These two DIY workshops in partnership with Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets will happen this fall at the Felton market.

Stone Creek Kitchen offers cooking classes almost every day. AN EVENT BASED COMMERCIAL KITCHEN & DINING SPACE IN SANTA CRUZ BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY NOW! anepicuriouslifestyle.com 831.588.7772

THE PRESERVATIONIST

Apple Butter

BY JORDAN CHAMPAGNE PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARGAUX GIBBONS

Fruit butters are created by layers of sweet, sour, tart and caramel flavors. This usually means the addition of some kind of sweetener and/or vinegar. The nice thing about fruit butters is that you can use any type of sweetener, as they will turn shades of brown anyway unlike jams, which we try to keep bright. So maple syrup, rapadura, coconut sugar and date sugar all can be used. It is a fun place to experiment.

The flavor of apple butter is such a classic that it can bring one back to a different time and place. When I first started making it, I understood why small towns have apple butter festivals where the entire town gathers to make giant batches in a huge cauldron and stir them with large paddles from afar. It takes A LOT of stirring, and the thickness of the preserve makes for hours of splattering all over the kitchen. It can take a village to raise a child and feed them apple butter! But then I realized that you can pop it in

A no fuss way to make this old-timey treat and fill your home with the aroma of fall

the oven and make the process more gentle and easy for one person at home. Due to the even penetration of heat in the oven from all directions, there is no splattering at all. You can make butters in a slow cooker, too, but the lid needs to be removed to evaporate the liquid, and it will splatter on top, so I prefer the oven.

The smell of apple butter baking in the oven for hours is the best way to warm up a home on a chilly autumn day. There is nothing quite like the taste of apple butter either, that slowly cooked flavor of caramelized sugars with the tartness of apples and vinegar. Apple butter pairs itself nicely with savory flavors, much like chutney and applesauce do. My favorite way to eat apple butter is on a double-toasted piece of sourdough bread with a salty hard cheese such as Manchego.

For this recipe I prefer to choose a mixture of apples that have tart and sweet flavors. Since you are cooking them down into a butter, you can use apples that have blemishes or bruises. It is very forgiving!

Apple Butter

5 pounds apples, cored and chopped into chunks (no need to peel them)

1½ cups apple cider vinegar

1½ cups maple syrup

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cover and simmer over medium heat on the stovetop for 15 minutes or until apples are very soft. Blend the contents until very smooth, either with a high-powered immersion blender or in a Cuisinart.

Next, transfer the purée into two 15-by-10inch glass baking dishes, filling them halfway full. Place the baking dishes in the oven and bake until the purée cooks down to about

half the volume and the sugars become brown and caramelized. This can take anywhere from 3–5 hours, depending on how juicy the apples were to start, how sweet they are and how humid the air. Stir the purée occasionally by folding in the top layer and scraping down the sides. You can test the apple butter by placing 1 teaspoon of it on a plate and cooling it in the freezer. The butter should not have any liquid separate from it and should sit tall in a nice pile.

When finished, ladle the apple butter into 8-ounce jars and process in a hot water bath canner for 8 minutes. Fruit butter will keep for two years. Yields 7, 8-ounce jars.

Pear Butter

Pear butter differentiates itself from other fruit butters with its texture. Pears have a naturally gritty quality to them that gives this butter a pleasant chewiness. Pears also have a tendency to develop a glossy sheen when cooked down into a butter, which looks very appetizing. I add maple syrup to this butter instead of cane sugar as it adds depth to the pears, and we are not concerned about the dark color since fruit butters always turn brown due to the carmelized sugars.

Pear butter should be made the same way as apple butter and is perfect with a sharp aged Cheddar.

5 pounds pears

1½ cups maple syrup

2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

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 at the Cabrillo College Extension in Aptos.

STEWARTANDJASPER.COM

The smell of apple butter baking in the oven for hours is the best way to warm up a home on a chilly autumn day.

HOLIDAY PARTIES OCEAN VIEWS INSPIRED COASTAL CUISINE

OCEAN FRONT CELEBRATIONS – HOW REFRESHING

With a variety of elegant suites, luxury banquet space, ocean front plazas, and a high-energy restaurant, Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa provides a memorable venue, custom menus, and great themed parties for all of your holiday needs. Start planning now and contact our event specialist at 8 . 7. or sales@montereyplazahotel.com . –Refreshingly Classic –

APTOS

Persephone 7945 Soquel Drive 831.612.6511 • persephonerestaurant.com

With a namesake like the mythic Persephone, this restaurant in Aptos proclaims its deep reverence for seasonal cooking. Themes central to harvest, winter and spring are core to Persephone’s story, and are reflected in the changing menu at this fi ne dining destination, where chef Cori Goudge-Ayer presents inventive, ingredientdriven creations. The 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 • postranchinn.com

Executive chef Jonny Black uses exceptional ingredients, many grown on site, deliver a unique gastronomic take on the Big Sur experience. Lunch offers a 3-course prix fi xe menu, while dinner features a 4-course prix fi xe menu. Choose from almost 3,000 different wines from the Wine Spectator Grand Award-winning wine list. Arrive before sunset for breathtaking views from this iconic restaurant’s fl oor-to-ceiling windows and cliffside terrace. Open daily for lunch noon–2:30pm, dinner 5:30–9pm. Advance reservations required. Please note that dinner guests will not be admitted before 5pm.

CAPITOLA

East End Gastropub

1501 41st Avenue 831.475.8010 • eastendpub.com

East End Gastropub is the newer baby sister to the popular West End Tap & Kitchen, but aside from sharing owners and chefs, East End’s beautiful, recently renovated modern interior is entirely diff erent from West End and off ers its own robust, sophisticated, beer-friendly menu. Chef Geoff rey Hargrave has created dishes that are familiar yet innovative, such as crispy gigante beans with smoked creme fraiche and coq au vin. Share plates, pizzas and salads come in generous portions for a family-style meal. The restaurant also off ers its own brews, along with local rotating taps and a strong wine list.

Open Su 10:30am–9:30pm, Sa 10:30am–10pm, M–Th 4–9:30pm, F 11:30am–10pm. Brunch Sa–Su 10:30am–2:30pm. Happy hour M–F 4–6pm.

Mijo’s Taqueria

200 Monterey Avenue, Suite 2 831.465.0228 • mijostaqueria.com

Serving the local community and visitors alike in Capitola Village, Mijo’s Taqueria features bold and unique flavors in a new age taqueria setting. Chef Anthony Guajardo’s passion for cooking developed from being in his Mexican and Italian grandmothers’ kitchens growing up. Eager to combine his authentic family recipes with a modern culinary twist, he opened Mijo’s, conveniently located just a quick walk from the beach and available for dining in or ordering to go. Open M, F, Sa 11am–7:30pm, Tu–Th 11am–6pm, Su 11am–7pm.

Grilled quail is one of the many California-Italian dishes from chef Dante Cecchini at La Posta in Santa Cruz.

Photo by Coline LeConte

Ayoma

Lankan

The Penny Ice Creamery

820 41st Avenue

831.204.2523 • thepennyicecreamery.com

Open Su–Th noon–9pm, F–Sa noon–10pm

See The Penny description under Santa Cruz for more.

Shadowbrook

1750 Wharf Road

831.475.1511 • shadowbrook-capitola.com

A Santa Cruz County landmark since 1947, the worldfamous Shadowbrook continues to be an overwhelming favorite with locals and visitors alike. Its fi 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

Aabha Indian Cuisine

3690 The Barnyard 831.250.5940 • aabhaindian.com

736 Water Work Party Catering 58 edible MONTEREY BAY FALL 2019

Street Midtown Santa Cruz 831.457.2350

For authentic Indian food in Carmel, look no further than Aabha Indian Cuisine, which offers lunch and dinner daily at The Barnyard. Master chef Bhupender Singh has more than two decades of experience in creating tantalizing dishes, with expertise in balancing spices and complex flavors. Chef Singh began his career working at Bukhara restaurant in New Delhi, one of the 50 top restaurants in the world, later opening popular restaurants in the Bay Area and Sonoma. Open daily for lunch buffet 11:30am–2:30pm, dinner 5–9pm.

Allegro Pizzeria

South West corner of The Barnyard 831.626.5454

Carmel’s neighborhood pizzeria for over 30 years, Allegro features eclectic award-winning pizza, as well as traditional Italian fare. With private dining rooms and patios, Allegro is a great spot for any event with complete meals to match any budget. Featuring pizza, pasta, seafood & steak as well as an array of new pub fare inspired by the on-site craft brewery. Kids make their own pizza, puppies eat free and gluten free, vegan & keto choices are available. Yes, we deliver! Open M–Th 11:30am–8:30pm, F–Sa 11:30am–9:30pm, Su 11:30–9pm.

Aubergine

Monte Verde Street at Seventh Avenue 831.624.8578 • auberginecarmel.com

Recently awarded a one-star Michelin rating and located within the romantic L’Auberge Carmel hotel, Aubergine feels like a trip to Europe. Executive Chef-Director 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 coastal seasonal ingredients. Executive Pastry Chef Yulanda Santos delights with stunning and inventive desserts at this temple of fi ne dining. Open Tu–Su 6–9:30pm.

Basil Seasonal Dining

vegan and vegetarian entrées available. Heated, dogfriendly outdoor seating. Open daily for lunch and dinner from 11:30am, Sa–Su brunch 11am–2pm.

Billy Quon’s SUR

3601 The Barnyard, Suite A-21 831.250.7188 • surcarmel.com

SUR is the latest restaurant for Bill and Teresa Lee, who over the years have created local favorites like Bahama Billy’s and Bixby Bistro at The Barnyard. Executive chef Herman Hernandez gets rave reviews for an exciting and eclectic menu. Favorites include his famous Southern fried chicken and waffles, fisherman’s bouillabaisse, fi let mignon, burgers and a variety of vegetarian dishes. SUR has a full bar and holds two happy hours nightly, from 3–6pm and 8–9pm, plus happy hour all night every Tuesday. A wide selection of local wines is available. SUR has a special doggie menu for canine patrons! Open Tu–Su 11:30am–9pm, all-day menu served continuously.

Earthbound Farm’s Farm Stand Organic Kitchen

7250 Carmel Valley Road 831.625.6219 • earthboundfarm.com

At its newly renovated Carmel Valley Farm Stand, Earthbound Farm’s 100% certified organic kitchen delights with housemade soups, sandwiches, a newly expanded salad bar, baked goods and fresh juices and smoothies. Food is available to be enjoyed on our beautiful grounds or for takeaway. Experience picturesque Carmel Valley as you stroll through Earthbound’s organic gardens and learn about its pioneering local heritage and commitment to organic integrity. 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 • quaillodge.com

Taste the fresh ingredients harvested from local farms and fi sheries hand-selected by Edgar’s executive chef and exquisitely prepared by the culinary team. Edgar’s features casual elegance with its indoor and outdoor fi reside dining against the backdrop of the golf course and Santa Lucia Mountains. It off ers authentic California cuisine with hints of alternate influences, with modern takes on familiar classics using time-tested techniques. Voted “Best Restaurant on a Golf Course” by Monterey County Weekly. Visit quaillodge.com/edgars for most up-to-date hours.

Folktale Winery & Vineyards 8940 Carmel Valley Road 831.293.7500 • folktalewinery.com

Folktale Winery is renowned for its wines, but great food is also on the menu there. The winery off ers small bites that are perfectly paired to its vintages, from the artisan cheese and charcuterie boards to Folktale’s deviled eggs with Baker’s bacon or Imperial caviar, and Niman Ranch meatballs. Salads and vegetarian options are also available, as is a selection of savory fl atbreads. They’re just the thing to enjoy while taking in the idyllic beauty of the setting and enjoying a wine fl ight of Folktale’s fi nest. Tours and special wine and food pairings are also available by reservation. Winery open Th noon–8pm, F–Sa 11am–9pm, 11am–8pm, kitchen open noon–8pm.

From Scratch Restaurant 3626 The Barnyard 831.625.2448 • fromscratchrestaurant.com

When a restaurant is called From Scratch, customers expect a meal prepared with the freshest ingredients and cooked to perfection. Th at’s exactly what you get when you dine at this charming family-owned spot. Breakfast is served all day, featuring hometown favorites such as

eggs Benedict, made-to-order omelets, French toast made with homemade cinnamon bread and huevos rancheros. A variety of lunch specials is available, including soups, salads and sandwiches. A pet-friendly patio welcomes those who come in with furry friends. Open daily 8am–2:30pm. Lunch served starting at 11am.

Il Grillo

Mission Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues 831.238.9608 • 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 longtime local chef Brandon Miller. Homemade desserts are by Emily Garcia. Both Miller and Garcia share a wealth of local food knowledge and traditions shine 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 • 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. The 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 11:30am3:30pm, 5-10pm.

Lafayette Bakery & Café

3659 The Barnyard, Suite E-22 831.915.6286

Whether it’s a rustic loaf of bread or a delectable French pastry, you’ll find what you’re looking for at awardwinning Lafayette Bakery & Café, a favorite stop for both locals and visitors to The Barnyard. Master baker Jean-Bernard Vial and the rest of the Vial family bring their French heritage to their authentic artisan breads and handcrafted pastries such as custard brioche and almond croissants. Coffee, baguette sandwiches and salads are also served with a smile. Open M–Sa 7am–6pm, Su 7am–4pm.

Robata Grill & Sake Bar

3658 The Barnyard, Lower Level 831.624.2643 • robata-barnyard.com

Robata Grill & Sake Bar in The Barnyard has been a locals’ favorite for more than three decades, providing traditional Japanese cuisine and a sushi bar. The perfect place for any occasion, the restaurant features a full bar and wine list as well as a good selection of sake and Japanese beer. Robata welcomes private parties and off ers catering as well. Open M–Sa, lunch 11:30am–1:30pm, dinner at 5pm.

Seventh & Dolores Steakhouse (7D)

Seventh & Dolores 831.293.7600 • 7Dsteakhouse.com

The heart of this restaurant is a classic steakhouse, but with the energy and influences of coastal California and beyond. The restaurant, owned and run by the team behind Folktale Winery, is both a favorite neighborhood spot as well as a place to celebrate special occasions. Executive chef Thomas Snyder chooses all-natural meats from Niman Ranch that include 28-day, dry-aged beef, all humanely and sustainably raised, in addition to fresh local seafood and housemade desserts. Open for lunch 11:30am–3pm and dinner 5–10pm daily as well as brunch Sa–Su 11:30am–3pm.

TASTING ROOM-SAN CARLOS & 7TH, CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA FAMILY-OWNED & ESTATE GROWN SINCE 1972 • SCHEIDFAMILYWINES.COM

KURT GOLLNICK – COO, TYLER SCHEID – PROJECT MANAGER, SCOTT SCHEID – CEO, HEIDI SCHEID – SR. VICE PRESIDENT, AL SCHEID – CHAIRMAN, FOUNDER

Waypoint Breakfast

8205 Valley Greens Drive 831.620.8910 • quaillodge.com

A café-style breakfast restaurant offering a selection of craft coffee and teas, complemented by breakfast favorites that include fruit and yogurt, bakery items, eggs any style, breakfast sandwiches, buttermilk pancakes and an array of delectable sides such as applewood smoked bacon, chicken apple sausage, our famous potato pancakes and more. Order at the counter, pay and get a number, then take a seat or grab your order to go and enjoy the start to your morning.

Waypoint Bar & Kitchen

8205 Valley Greens Drive 831.620.8910 • quaillodge.com

Inspired by Th e Peninsula Hotels’ Signature Motoring Events hosted annually at the Quail Lodge & Golf Club, Waypoint provides an authentic yet casual atmosphere featuring real motorcycles provided by the Moto Talbott Collection, motorsports-themed artwork by renowned local artist Molly McCall, and billiards and darts. Waypoint offers casual, yet elevated fun fare complemented by a selection of craft beer, whiskey, wine and cocktails. Visit quaillodge.com/dining for the most up-to-date hours.

CARMEL VALLEY

Jerome’s Carmel Valley Market

2 Chambers Lane 831.659.2472 • jeromescarmelvalleymarket.com

Already known for its specialty groceries, meats and fresh local produce, this beloved market is now serving classically French-trained chef Jerome Viel’s delicious hot prepared foods, sandwiches and mostly organic salad bar for eating at comfortable outdoor seating or takeaway. The off erings start with breakfast burritos, croissants and other French pastries in the morning, followed by favorites such as coq au vin, spaghetti carbonara and chicken enchiladas for lunch. On Friday afternoon, the big paella pan appears just in time to take some home for dinner. Open M–Sa 7am–7pm, Su 7am–6pm.

Lucia Restaurant & Bar

Bernardus Lodge & Spa • 415 W. Carmel Valley Road 831.658.3400 • bernarduslodge.com Indulge in artisanal California country cuisine, awardwinning wines and an expansive heated outdoor terrace with the fi 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.

Sangria Wine and Tapas Bar 5 Del Fino Place 831.298.7281 • sangriawinetapasbar.com

Th is unique wine and tapas bar features a warm and inviting atmosphere where customers can relax. Th e emphasis on local wines and Spanish and Latin American tapas and small plates is the inspiration of owners Robert and Colleen Mann, assisted by Sommelier/Sangria Manager Pablo Antinao. All-day Sunday brunch available as well as happy hour W–F 4–6pm. Reserve the beautiful secret garden for parties and events. Open W–Th 3–9:30pm, F 3-–0pm, Sa 11am–10pm, Su 11am–8pm.

Trailside Café and Beer Garden

3 Del Fino Place

831.298.7453 • trailsidecafecv.com

Here, visitors will fi nd the best local beer selection on the Central Coast, with 15 draft beers and one cider in rotation in addition to more than 50 bottled brews. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the café has an extensive menu including burgers, sandwiches, salads and evening entrées such as grilled salmon, chicken satay and stuffed portabellos. Live music in the beer garden on weekends, locals’ specials and a pet-friendly patio make it an area favorite. Check the website for special events and menu additions. Open daily 8am–9pm.

DAVENPORT

Whale City Bakery

490 Highway 1 831.423.9009 • whalecitybakery.com Davenport’s artistic charm and oceanside location make it hard not to slow when you pass through on Highway 1. Those in the know always stop at the historic Whale City Bakery. The bakery tempts with housemade breads, pastries, muffi ns and pies—and that’s only the beginning! Whale City also offers a full restaurant that serves up comfort classics and other hearty dishes. The bar and live music every Thursday attract a loyal local following. Open daily 6:30am–8pm.

FELTON

The Cremer House

6256 Highway 9 831.335.3976 • cremerhouse.com Housed in the oldest building in Felton, Th e Cremer House showcases progressive, made-from-scratch food and drinks with a nod to its historic mountain surroundings. Th is alehouse has fi 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–Th, Su 11:30am–9pm, F–Sa 11:30am–9:30pm.

Wild Roots Market

6240 Highway 9 • 831.335.7322 (Felton) 13159 Highway 9 • 831.338.7211 (Boulder Creek) wildrootsmarket.com

Wild Roots’ 100% organic produce, natural groceries, organic meats and FishWise-certified seafood all go into the prepared foods offered by the store’s full-service deli, salad and soup bar and juice bar. Open daily 9am–9pm. Enjoy on the patio or take home.

KING CITY

Th e Cork & Plough

200 Broadway Street 831.386.9491 • thecorkandplough.com

It’s no wonder that The Cork & Plough is a favorite stop for travelers on the Hwy. 101 corridor and Salinas Valley locals alike. The downtown location is convenient; the hip, airy room and its massive tinted concrete bar are inviting; and the terrifi c food is prepared by chef/ proprietor Travis Childers and his team with superfresh ingredients directly from local farms. If you’re not the designated driver, don’t miss the cocktails crafted with housemade infusions by head bartender Rob Marshall or the wines and beers carefully curated by coproprietor Anna Childers. Open Su–Th 11am–9pm, F–Sa 11am–10pm.

The Club Room

2 Portola Plaza 831.649.2698 • portolahotel.com/dining/the-club-room

The Club Room inside the Portola Hotel & Spa off ers a fresh, seasonal, breakfast buffet featuring made-to-order omelets, assorted housemade pastries and muffi ns, sliced cold cuts, fi ne artisan cheeses, bottomless mimosas and much more all for $19.95. Dine in the cozy fi reside 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 The Clement Monterey 750 Cannery Row 831.375.4500 • 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 offers stunning ocean views from its floorto-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, as well as sparkling wine fl ights from around the world. Open daily 6:30am–10pm, Happy Hour 4–7pm Su–Th. Live Music F–Su noon–3pm, Th–Sa 6–9pm.

Jacks Monterey

2 Portola Plaza 831.649.7830 • jacksatportola.com

Jacks Monterey offers “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. Reflecting the palette of the Monterey Peninsula, the new space is decorated with ocean blues, driftwood browns and the greens of coastal flora. Chef Danny Abbruzzese’s new seasonal menu provides a melting pot of fl avor profi 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.

Pacific Rolls & Bowls

475 Alvarado Street 831.583.8433 • pacificbowlsandrolls.com

The eatery that led the revival of Alvarado Street is now getting its own makeover. The Poke Lab is now Pacific Bowls & Rolls, with a new look and new menus. PBR continues to offer signature poke bowls as well as salads, nori rolls and bahn mi sandwiches. Pick your protein from among Kalbi barbecued beef, shoyu chicken, pork belly, ginger tofu, ahi tuna and more, and then select toppings and extras. Online ordering available. Check the Facebook page for updates.

Peter B’s Brewpub

2 Portola Plaza 831.649.2699 • 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 fi re pits. Peter B’s is open daily with nightly Happy Hour from 4–6:30pm, as well as late night happy hour Su–Th 9:30–10:30pm. Open Su 11am–11pm, M–Th 4–11pm, F 4pm–12am, Sa 11am–12am. Sunday breakfast and football 9:30–11am (Sept.–Dec.).

Schooners Coastal Kitchen & Bar

Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa 400 Cannery Row 831.372.2628 • 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. Th e restaurant takes a creative Californian approach to soups, fresh salads, sandwiches and wood-fi red fl 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 • monterey.hyatt.com

Blending the beauty and bounty of Tuscany and California, TusCA executive chef Dan Elinan offers seasonally inspired menus made with fresh locally sourced produce. Try the Castroville artichoke fritters or entrées such as shiitake and fava risotto or cedar plank salmon with local bok choy rabe and Carmel Honey Co. miso. 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 • happygirlkitchen.com

The menu changes daily at Happy Girl’s airy and bright Pacific Grove café, but the food is always delicious, organic and reasonably priced. The sandwich of the day is $6.50, and a bowl of the soup of the day is $6. To drink, you’ll fi nd kombucha on tap and freshly roasted Verve coff 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, coffee and tea served until 5pm.

Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar 542 Lighthouse Avenue 831.920.2662 • 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, Th 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.

Passionfi sh 701 Lighthouse Avenue 831.655.3311 • passionfi sh.net

If you’re looking for a restaurant with playful, spectacular food and a scrupulous commitment to sustainability, this green-certified restaurant is hard to rival. The 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.

Wild Fish 545 Lighthouse Avenue 831.373.8523 • wild-fish.com

Owners Liz and Kelvin Jacobs welcome you to feast on the bounty of nearby waters and farms at their 100% local and organic seafood house, enjoying exquisite

dishes like crispy sablefi sh and swordfi sh au poivre, accompanied by succulent native seaweeds. Fresh oysters, innovative salads, house-baked bread and sides like fi ngerling potatoes with poppyseed crème fraîche or baby carrots with wild nettle pesto, make this a dining destination. . Did we mention English sticky toff ee pudding? Or the live jazz on Friday nights? Open for lunch F–Tu 11:30am–2:30pm, dinner Su–Th 5–9pm, F–Sa, 5–9:30pm.

PEBBLE BEACH

The Bench

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

Overlooking the 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Th e Bench at Th 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-fl ame cooking. You can also enjoy one-ofa-kind craft cocktails, as well as an array of draft beers and wines by the glass. Open daily 11am–10pm.

Gallery Cafe

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

Overlooking the fi rst tee of Pebble Beach Golf Links, Gallery Cafe off 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

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

At Pèppoli, the scents of Italian herbs and spices fi ll the air, and the décor transports you to a cozy Tuscan villa. The menu is big and bold, ripe with traditional pastas, seafood and meats. The 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

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

It’s all about big fl 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

The Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • 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 staff, including certified sommeliers are on-hand. Open Tu–Sa 2–10pm, Su–M 2–7pm.

Sticks

The Inn at Spanish Bay 2700 17-Mile Drive 866.543.9318 • 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 fl at-screen TVs. Outside on the patio, enjoy seating next to a fi re pit while soaking up gorgeous views of The Links at Spanish Bay and the Pacific Ocean along with nightly bagpiper music. Ask about specials and new menu additions. Open daily 6am–9pm.

Stillwater Bar & Grill

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

Stillwater Bar & Grill prides itself in off ering the freshest and most flavorful 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. Shellfi 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.

The Tap Room

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

The 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 fi let mignon. Renowned for its extensive collection of prized golf memorabilia, The 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 11am–12am.

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA

Vertigo Coff ee Roasters 81 Fourth Street 831.623.9533 • vertigocoffee.com

Artisanal coff ee roasted on site as well as fresh pastries baked in-house, brunch items, local craft beers plus wood-fi red pizzas have made Vertigo a locals’ favorite as well as a great fi nd for visitors en route to the San Juan Mission, Pinnacles or other area attractions. Open M–W 7am–3pm, Th –Su 7am–9pm.

SANTA CRUZ

Alderwood

155 Walnut Avenue 831.588.3238 • alderwoodsantacruz.com

Alderwood, a neighborhood oyster bar and restaurant for people looking for a fun and friendly night on the town, puts its emphasis on cocktails and beef, with a wide variety of steaks cooked over its wood-fi red grill. Partner and chef Jeff rey Wall—an Iowa native and previously opening chef at Atlanta’s top-rated Kimball House farm-to-table restaurant—believes in local sourcing and makes good use of the the downtown Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market, practically across the street. Open Tu–Su 4pm–close, Happy Hour 4–7pm.

an epicurious lifestyle

104 Bronson Street, Suite 13 831.588.7772 • anepicuriouslifestyle.com

An event-based commercial kitchen and dining space 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.

Bistro One Twelve

1060 River Street, Suite 112 831.854.7458 • bistro112sc.com

Driven by the farm-to-table philosophy of Frenchtrained chef Shannon Madison, Bistro One Twelve is the dining destination and gathering spot for the Santa Cruz Tannery Arts Center. Its “Decidedly Local, Aggressively Seasonal” menu is plant forward, with food layered to accommodate various dietary options. Breakfast, lunch and dinner with Taco Tuesday and Trivia Th ursday; local craft beers and carefully curated wines available. Open M–W 8am–6:30pm, Th –F 8am–9pm, Sa 10am–9pm, Su 10am–2pm

Breakfast at Burn

Westside and Live Oak farmers’ markets burnhotsauce.com

You’ve loved Burn as a hot sauce—now its creators have branched out into breakfast. Chef Amanda Heyse is serving up to-go fare every Saturday 9am–1pm at the Westside farmers’ market and Sundays 9am–1pm at the Live Oak market. She dishes up hot cakes, griddled banana bread, eggs over arugula and cherry tomatoes, fried eggs and crispy potatoes, breakfast burritos and other morning delights. Menus are ever changing and always organic.

Charlie Hong Kong 1141 Soquel Avenue 831.426.5664 • charliehongkong.com

Charlie Hong Kong has been providing the Santa Cruz community with healthy, sustainable, aff ordable and high-quality food since 1998. The colorful, casual eatery’s delicious fusion of Southeast Asian influences 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 fi sh. Gluten-free modifications available. Dog friendly. Open daily 11am–11pm.

The Crow’s Nest 2218 E. Cliff Drive 831.476.4560 • 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. There’s always something happening, from free seasonal Thursday night beach parties to comedy nights and happy hours. Famous for its salad bar and house-smoked salmon, The Crow’s Nest is a member of Seafood Watch and is a certified 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.

Laílí

101B Cooper Street

831.423.4545 • lailirestaurant.com

Exotic fl 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. There is a wide variety of deliciously spiced vegetable dishes and all meats are hormone free and free range. Open for lunch Tu–Su 11:30am–2:30pm, dinner 5pm–close.

La Posta

538 Seabright Avenue 831.457.2782 • lapostarestaurant.com

A cozy neighborhood bistro not far from the Santa Cruz yacht harbor, La Posta chef Dante Cecchini prepares traditional rustic Italian cuisine using local ingredients. The emphasis is on simple, seasonal selections, with the balance of the menu refl ecting whatever produce is freshest right now. A sister restaurant of Soif Restaurant and Wine Bar, La Posta also off ers a great selection of wines. Open Tu–Th 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 fl avor experience, there is a dizzying array of sides, like coconut leek sambal and kale mallam. The 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–Th 5–9pm and F–Sa 5–9:30pm.

The Penny Ice Creamery 913 Cedar Street 831.204.2523 • 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 fl avors rotate seasonally, but two favorites are chocolate caramel sea salt and strawberry pink peppercorn. Open daily noon–11pm.

See also The Penny under Capitola.

The Picnic Basket 125 Beach Street 831.427.9946 • thepicnicbasketsc.com

Across the street from the main beach, owners of The Penny Ice Creamery have opened an alternative to boardwalk fast food. Sandwiches, organic salads, coffee and beer, all from local food artisans, and of course Penny’s popular ice cream, are all on offer 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.

Snap Taco 1108 Pacific Avenue 831.824-6100 • eatsnaptaco.com

Th is festive taco spot draws its inspiration from food traditions around the world, with imaginative tacos created using the best fresh, local and sustainable ingredients. Great for a quick bite or gathering with friends and family. Choose from snacks, tacos, bowls and sandwiches on the menu, as well as draft beers, the Snap Rita, and specialty cocktails. Open Su–Th 11:30am–9:30pm, F–Sa 11:30am–10:30pm.

Soif Restaurant and Wine Bar 105 Walnut Avenue 831.423.2020 • soifwine.com

Inspired by the off erings from local farmers and provisioners, Soif’s cuisine shows California fl 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. The 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 M–Th 5–9pm, F–Sa 5–10pm. Retail Shop & wine bar opens at noon Tu–Sa, and at 5pm Mondays.

Vida Santa Cruz

1203 Mission Street 831.226.2328 • vidasantacruz.com

Th e owners recently changed the name and focus of this restaurant, formerly Primal Santa Cruz, toward a more varied menu with completely gluten-free dishes created by Chef Sebastian Manjon. Among the creative brunch plates are breakfast tacos, morning salad and sweet corn pancake. Dinner items have a Latin fl air and include fried plantains, empanadas, oxtail pozole and skirt steak casado. Brunch F–Su 9am–2pm, open for dinner at 5pm Tu–Su.

West End Tap & Kitchen

334D Ingalls Street • 831.471.8115 westendtap.com

At West End, perfect for any parent who is looking for a happy hour to satisfy the whole family, adults and kids alike can’t get enough of the duck fat popcorn, fried calamari and fl atbread pizzas. A diverse, season-driven menu with off erings like seared scallops with mascarpone and lemon risotto, trumpet mushrooms, Marcona almonds and tarragon-basil vinaigrette, and a long list of craft beers, ciders and wine options make West End a Westside staple. The outdoor patio is perfect for people watching amidst the bustling Swift Street Courtyard. Open Su–Th 11:30am–9:30pm, F–Sa 11:30pm–10pm.

SCOTTS VALLEY

Kitchen Table/1440 Multiversity 800 Bethany Drive 844.544.1440 • 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. Th 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 proj-

ect, 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 • 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. The bright red-tiled, wood-fi 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 flours from Italy. Our team strives to support local organic farmers, foragers and fi shermen bringing you fresh, tasty and sustainable ingredients. Open daily 11:30am–2:30pm, 4:30–9pm.

WATSONVILLE

Gizdich Ranch

55 Peckham Road 831.722.1056 • gizdich-ranch.com

Visitors from all over love this third-generation, familyrun 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. Th 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.

MISSED CONNECTION

Do you remember me? From Happy Girl Kitchen’s tasting room? I was drinking a lavender lemonade while sampling jam. The jam matched the color of your wavy luscious hair. A wild deep berry color! You are so beautiful. I cannot get you out of my mind. You were tasting shrubs for refreshing they were. I overheard you saying the pomegranate jalepeno was your favourite! I love the orange vanilla spritzer myself! I will be at the Workshop at Happy Girl. I hope you sign up and I get to see you again. We can cuddle in avocado toast and pickle plates. Sign up soon; those workshops sell out fast!

LAST CALL

COCKTAILS AND COMMITMENT

Gray Whale Gin mixes locally sourced botanicals with efforts to protect the oceans

BY MARK C. ANDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARGAUX GIBBONS

Gray whales are washing ashore in alarming numbers. In July, seven were found dead in Alaska. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tally for 2019 along the West Coast of the continent is nearing 200. NOAA describes it as an “unusual mortality event.”

This did not move Marsh and Jan Mokhtari to create Gray Whale Gin. But it does add urgency to their efforts, which is to celebrate and protect gray whales with every bottle sold.

Their inspiration was less ominous: The couple, who met in a Chicago bar 20 years ago, were camping with their kids above McWay Falls at Big Sur’s Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park when they spied a gray whale and her calf migrating north. In that moment, they say, an idea was hatched.

That migration ranges from warm and protected birthing bays in Baja California to the frigid feeding grounds of the Bering Sea, covering 10,000 miles round trip and ranking among the longest for any mammal on Earth. To prep for the 55-day voyage, gray whale calves power down some 50 gallons of milk daily. At 40 percent fat, it’s thick stuff: The National Park Service describes it as “the consistency of cottage cheese.”

Gray Whale Gin enjoys a lighter flavor profile and one that reflects the annual migration. Each batch of 86-proof Gray Whale Gin is distilled six times, then a collection of precisely curated botanicals, either foraged from the coast or sourced from organic farms, is added to the pot still or vapor baskets.

Each ingredient corresponds to a spot along the migration route and those appear on a coastal map integrated into the tail symbol

on the gin’s azure bottle. They include lime zest from Baja, almonds from Capay Valley, juniper berries from Big Sur, mint from Santa Cruz, kombu from Mendocino and fresh fir needles from Sonoma.

The recipe is worthy of the awards it has reeled in, including gold at the San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge, but its most appetizing quality lies elsewhere. One percent of annual sales (not profits) supports Oceana, the world’s largest organization dedicated solely to marine conservation. In GWG’s first year, it donated $30,000 to abate practices like fishing with massive and destructive drift gill nets.

That gives experts like Oceana Pacific Policy Manager Ashley Blacow-Draeger hope. “With all the threats to the ocean, it can get a little overwhelming,” she says. “But I’m optimistic.”

In the local flavor of organic food and farming. Experience organic in a truly extraordinary setting. Wander through our flourishing organic gardens abundant with fruits, veggies, and flowers under the bright blue Carmel Valley sky. Enjoy something satisfying from our unique certified organic café – like house-made sandwiches and salads, smoothies, ice-cream – right on our sunny patio or taken to-go. While you’re here, pick up some farm-fresh certified organic fruits and vegetables to take with you.

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