Cafe Rustica
10 Del Fino Place, Carmel Valley (831) 659-4444, caferusticavillage.com
Feel the burn… of Cafe Rustica’s stone pizza oven, that is. There’s stone in the wall, too, and with big wooden beams and tables, guests may feel like they’ve entered a cabin. Yet, they’ll be eating like it’s a five-star resort. With starters like housemade country soup and grilled eggplant Napoleón, and suppers like marinated lamb fillets in Cabernet shallot sauce and cattleman’s rib-eye with green peppercorn sauce, you’ll be eating for “not me, but us.”