Lalla Oceanside
654 Cannery Row, Monterey
324-0891, www.lallaoceansidegrill.com
Lalla does the impossible. It makes a manically diverse menu—we’re talking everything from lobster nachos to “bacon-bacon” sliders to pistachio chicken salad to broccoli rabe pizza to fettuccine Alfredo to fish and chips to jambalaya to steak-prawn platters—and doesn’t lose its way. Perhaps that’s because its identity can depend on execution, snazzy decor and spirited drinks. Restaurants aren’t supposed to be able to do that. And when a place does the impossible, that’s superheroic. Best of all, unlike its other three sister restaurants (all family-owned), this baby’s got an ocean view.