Editors Picks - Best Of Monterey County 2023

Best Appetizer Made With Produce Not Widely Grown In Monterey County (2023)

Masa Tempura

Best Big Energy in a Small Space (2023)

Compact Disco

Best Casual Fine Dining Restaurant Open On Monday That’s Not In A Hotel or Shopping Center (2023)

Spotted Duck

Best Celebration of Squash (2023)

Borchard Farms

Best Cocktail Named After A Writer At The Weekly (Ignore Anything You Might Have Just Read) (2023)

May The Schmalz Be With You

Best Cocktail Named For A Writer At The Weekly (No Need To Read The listing That Follows This One) (2023)

No Elves Just Faries

Best Community Effort In Bloom (2023)

Friends of Seaside Parks Association

Best Double-Decker Dining Experience (2023)

Osteria Al Mare

Best Example Of User-Friendly Local Government Documents (2023)

City of Salinas

Best Example of Politically Motivated Map-Making (2023)

Soledad City Council transition to districts

Best Fried Chicken That Most Of Us Will Never Get To Try (2023)

Club at Pasadera

Best Fry Of A Quintessential Local Fish (2023)

Epsilon Restaurant

Best Opportunity To Wear Glitter To Breakfast (2023)

Diamond Drag Brunch

Best Person Who Quietly Helps Bring Big Events – And Massive Charitable Donations – To Monterey County While Having Fun (2023)

Heidi Ueberroth

Best Place Not To Order A Burger To Go (2023)

Bear + Flag Roadside

Best Place To Feel Like You’re Dining On A European Patio (2023)

Estéban Restaurant

Best Place To Go Along For The Ride (2023)

Marina Pump Track

Best Place To Park Your Dog (2023)

Rip Van Winkle Open Space

Best Place To Read A Book In A Swing (2023)

Henry Miller Memorial Library

Best Place To See America’s National Symbol In Flight (2023)

Salinas River, South County, County Line to San Lucas

Best Place To See Reggie Jackson Trying To Buy A Car Owned By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (2023)

Mecum Auctions During Car Week

Best Place To Travel With Charley – And Mario, Bobby, A.J., Hurley… (2023)

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

Best Place to Get High – Figuratively; None Of Our Business If You Take It Literally (2023)

Pinnacles National Park

Best Realization Of A Massive Donation Into Something Good (2023)

Ohana

Best Reason To Keep Waiting (2023)

El Rinconcito Restaurante Y Café

Best Trail That Never Closed In 14 Weeks of Rain (2023)

Andrew Molera State Park – East Molera Trail

Best Unexpected Roadside Wine Shop (2023)

The Power Plant

Best Use Of Ink In A Shop That Sells Comic Books (2023)

Sacred 8 Studios

Best Use Of Pop Culture Movie References In Lobbying For A Business Use Permit (2023)

Michaela Kuenster

Best Way For Entrepreneurs To Launch Themselves Through Glass Ceilings (2023)

El Pájaro Community Development Corporation

Best Way To Watch Forwards Try To Beat An Offside Trap (2023)

Monterey Bay F.C.

Best use of a Plain Grassy Field (2023)

Seaside Farmers Market

Best-Looking High School – Ever (2023)

Salinas High School