I love hearing from readers, the praise-laden to the sweet to the salty to the downright cantankerous. You fill up my inbox with a bounty of food for thought, most of it easily digestible — and some bound to stick in my craw like supermarket sushi. (Cue the woman from Pebble Beach: “I can’t believe you used the crass word ‘craw’ in a family newspaper.”)
This past few months you’ve asked me: to reveal my favorite restaurant (depends who’s paying, but currently it’s pitch-perfect La Balena in Carmel); why I believe the anti-foie gras movement is silly (low-hanging fruit plucked for political gain); to consider throwing my weight around to convince developers and city leaders to bring better fast-casual restaurants to the Peninsula (it turns out said girth is literal, not figurative).
Please continue the correspondence, even if you are cantankerous, because after 14 years of writing this column, my skin is now as thick and crackly as a suckling pig (yes, I used the word suckling in a family newspaper.)
Dear Grub >> We moved from Southern California to Monterey a year ago. We dine out for lunch most days, so we like lower-cost restaurants — Dickie’s BBQ, Gianni’s Pizza, Abalonetti’s (locals menu), Tommy’s Wok, Pacific Thai, etc. We’re surprised to find that there are so many Chipotles, Subways and Starbucks here, yet none of the following order-at-counter chain restaurants, all of which serve delicious food at very moderate prices, and are very popular elsewhere in California: Pei Wei (Asian); Tender Greens (chef-led, farm-to-table cafeteria); Cafe Rio (Mexican); and Wahoo’s Fish Taco (Mexican-Brazilian).
Maybe someone of your stature and importance in the community could mention the idea to developers like the new restaurant strip in Marina (we didn’t enjoy Teriyaki Madness, and unfortunately none of the other restaurants there appeal to us).
We’re just hoping for a nicer diversity of affordable dining options, and you’re probably the one person who could help make that happen.
— M. Tucker, via email
Dear MT >> Fast-casual restaurants have exploded over the past two decades, with an astonishing growth of more than 500 percent since 1999. Imaginative, diverse concepts have helped drive this sector. It seems we want more than burgers and fries, and while we want it fast, we also want a more thoughtful dining experience than what we can get under the golden arches.
I agree that the restaurants you mentioned would be a welcome addition to our dining scene. But you grossly over-estimate my influence. I had 18 years to turn my son into a foodie but he spent his entire youth eating cereal and dang quesadillas. And I can’t even get Trader Joe’s to stock my favorite crackers.
I perched on a soapbox a few years ago when Monterey allowed a Starbucks to take root on Alvarado Street — within a coffee bean toss of four other mom-and-pop coffeehouses. It does no good. Except for sacred Carmel, fast-casual food palaces will continue to sprout — and city leaders will give us exactly what they think we want.
So speak up. One fleshy food writer just isn’t enough.
Hello Mike >> Our local fave here in Marina, Frutti de Mar Grill, has moved to Monterey but they have a wonderful seafood linguine. I get it with the white wine sauce. Perfect pasta, seafood and flavor. Check it out.
— Terri D., Marina
Dear Terri >> I have checked it out, and it’s delicious. I thought in the interest of fun I would list five other worthy local seafood pasta dishes.
Italian restaurants specialize in this type of dish, and most chefs are fiercely proud. Note: Ask for grated cheese at your own risk.
• Sicilian Holiday Pasta, Monterey Fish House: Fresh seasonal fish with clams, mussels, calamari, prawns and octopus, over housemade linguini, $24.95.
• Seafood Cioppino, Cafe Fina, Fisherman’s Wharf: Clams, mussels, prawns, calamari and fresh fish in a tomato-saffron broth, served on linguini, $28.95.
• Seafood Puttanesca, Sandbar and Grill, Monterey: Fresh fish, prawns, steamed clams, garlic, anchovy, chili flakes, capers and olives over linguine. $28.95
• Spaghetti Neri, La Balena, Carmel: Mussels, clams, pancetta, Calabrian chili, acqua pazza (herbed poaching liquid) and breadcrumbs. $25. Note: Don’t rush down there to try it because the restaurant is closed for vacation until Dec. 14.
• Griglia Mista di Pesce, Cibo Ristorante (for those trying to cut down on carbs): Grilled prawns, sea scallops, seasonal fish, balsamic reduction and “spaghetti” made of squash, $31.
Dear Grub >> Are there any restaurants in this area that prepare fish in the style of Hayes Street Grill in San Francisco? HSG grills and sautes fish, but avoids the common local practice of stacking the fish on a bed of (fill in some heavy-tasting vegetable preparation or potatoes) and incorporating equally heavy sauce, or, worse, overcooking the fish. I’m always seeking good fresh fish with simple preparation, and not finding it.
— Bruce L., via email
Dear Bruce >> Consider me the choir, one that’s loving your sermon. I too despise macadamia-crusted, panko-coated, butter-soaked nonsense. Fresh fish is delicious and often delicate, so it shouldn’t have to compete with strong flavors (this is why you don’t add cheese to seafood pasta). To get you off the ledge, I invite you to try the whole-roasted branzino at La Balena, head and tail included. Or the oak-roasted steelhead trout at Cultura in Carmel.
In the meantime, start a support group, Bruce, and I will come drink coffee with you each week.
Dear Mike >> Did you celebrate National Corned Beef Hash Day (Sept. 27)? I hope so. I am relatively new to the area and can’t find any place that serves corned beef hash, something my father introduced to us as kids. It was popular during and after World War II (at least in the Midwest where we grew up) as rationing limited fresh meat. Please, please, where can we get proper corned beef hash?
— Becca, via email
Dear Becca >> Wave Street Cafe in Monterey. You’ll thank me later.
Mike >> How would you feel if someone shoved a tube down your throat and fed you that way?
— Frances W., via email
Ummmmm …
Grubby >> Idiotic topic. Chefs should help charitable causes like everyone else, and stop whining. Stick to writing about food.
— Walter, Seaside
Errrrr …
Dear Mike >> I look forward to your column each Wednesday. It always brightens my day.
— Deborah, via email
Dear Deb >> Thanks for the virtual hug. It really warms my craw.
Mike Hale can be reached at thegrubhunter@att.net. Listen to his weekly radio show “Food Fodder” at noon Wednesdays on KRML, 102.1 FM.
