A Taste of Monterey (646-5446) has the best view from the men's room of any restaurant in the hemisphere.
Really. Stretches all the way over the water to Seaside and Santa Cruz.
But that's just one of a number of aspects about the wine supervenue that make it an underappreciated jewel tucked in the way back upper corner of the commerical Cannery Row complex that most famously houses Sly McFly's (649-8050).
The other aspects: The sheer depth of local wines—more than 180 from 90 wineries, all Monterey County ($8/flight waived with purchase)—unmatched anywhere in the area and, as a result, the world. The wine club values. The posh new booths by the tasting bar and the 180-degree view they afford. The ample breathing room. The quality gift-buying options. The private party possibilities.
Now ATOM adds the best possible element—and it's not the new lighting. It's tasty accessible fare by one of my favorite chefs.
Dory Ford, man behind Aquaterra Culinary, one-time Aquarium chef, sustainability pioneer and master of the Point Pinos Grill (648-5774) domain, has designed the menu with his relentless right hand Esteban Jimenez and site chef Adam Foster, who came over from quiet star Tim Wood's Carmel Valley Ranch kitchen.
"We just wanted to bring a little cheese and charcuterie and tastes, Spanish tapas-style because nobody's really doing it down here," Foster says.
One side of the menu rolls out sharable and small plates like applewood bacon-wrapped-and pine-nut-stuffed dates ($7) and glazed pork ribs ($8.50).
The Monterey crab dip ($12)—with molten cheese, Monterey Dungeness crab and Castroville artichokes served with local sourdough—sounds fantastic. Same goes for the sustainable seafood paella stuffed pequillo peppers ($11) with avocado, pickled red onion, watercress and lemon olive oil and the gambas al ajillo ($12), with sweet white shrimp, garlic new potatoes and sofrito vinaigrette).
Flatbreads include the Pig Wizard ($13) with fennel sausage, foraged mushrooms, roasted peppers and toma cheese and the Spaniard ($15) with sofrito, pequillo pepper, chorizo seco, marinated artichoke, cipollini onions, manchego and jack cheese.
"We wanted to make it a fun place," Foster continues. "Everything popping with flavors. A lot of bold tastes."
The other side of the menu presents what suddenly enough might be the top cheese lineup in the area code, with 14 all told ($6/one cheese; $15/three; $25/five), divided into soft (like Cypress Grove Humbodt Fog, Di Stefano burrata and house made ricotta), middle (Bell Weather Farms Candy, Schoch Family Junipero), firm (Vella Cheese Co. Bear Flag) and specialty (Fiscalini Purple Moon, Bee Hive Barely Buzzed).
"It gives our customers an opportunity to hang out longer," says ATOM director Ken Rauh. "Drinking the wine, soaking up the views was always nice. But without food people would have to take off before they wanted to.
"And the food makes the wine tastes better and the wine makes the food taste great."
They debut today and tomorrow, Friday-Saturday 2-8pm, and then pick back up on Friday, June 7. From there on it's 11am until close Wednesday through Sunday.