Tarpy’s Roadhouse
2999 Highway 68, Monterey 647-1444, tarpys.com
It may seem strange that the perennial winner for Best Place For A Business Lunch in Monterey County is named after Matt Tarpy, who in 1873 was lynched in the jail in Monterey and hanged from a pine tree near where the restaurant is located, but business was handled differently back then. Located just off Highway 68 between Monterey and Salinas, the restaurant’s outdoor seating basks in the sun during times when the Peninsula is foggy and the Salinas Valley is windy. The food and drinks, of course, are top notch, and they taste even better if you can write off the expense.