Quick Bites: GourmetFest cometh, ramen update, 1-year anniversary, new pizza place.

Four days, dozens of chefs and winemakers from the uppermost echelon...

Twenty often intimate parties that could individually qualify as one of the year's finest…

More world-class wineries than seem fair for such a tiny town...

So it shouldn't be a surprise Relais & Châteaux GourmetFest tickets to choice events have already started selling out (Feb. 25-28, gourmetfestcarmel.com).

More food news nibbles appear here:

• Two words: Nutella beignets. New and superb French-California small plates-wine bar Roux in Carmel Valley (659-5020) now does lemon curd, berry jam and plain beignets at 8am to go with coffee options. 

• Middle of March is the current (and still tentative) open date for Alvarado Ramen as it goes through the permit gauntlet. 

• Monterey County’s family-owned Albatross Ridge (402-8992) has appointed Quelene Slattery to director of sales, which bodes well for its ongoing growth.

• Our own local Willie Nelson, Larry Hosford, anchors the one-year anniversary of Bon Ton L’Roys Lighthouse Smokehouse (235-7662, $10) 7pm Saturday, Feb. 13, as part of a weekend stacked with shows.

• International Flavors of Marina ropes in restaurants, purveyors, winemakers and breweries for one of the better bang-for-buck tasting events of the year Tuesday, Feb. 16 ($35 in advance; $45 at the door, 272-4557).

• If it’s an ice cream float you seek, the spot you want is Big Sur Roadhouse (667-2370), with housemade ice creams like lemon custard and creme brulee with craft sodas ($7).

• Ana Ceballos has been on the difficult quest of finding a black-and-white cookie. Mary Duan found her a big one at Oldtown Salinas’ Cherry Bean ($2.50, 424-1989). According to Ceballos, "Seinfeld would be proud that two races of flavor can be found in one cookie in this county, even if it's hard to come about."

• Pacific Grove looks to make its sidewalk seating permanent this month as the successful pilot period ends Feb. 17.

• The Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association (375-9400) just established the Rich Smith Memorial Research Fund in celebration of the life and extraordinary accomplishments of Richard Smith of Paraiso. Contributions to the fund will directly support local viticulture research through the U.C. Cooperative Extension Program, Monterey. More at montereywines.org/foundation or 375-9400.

• Me & Ed’s recently closed in Seaside’s City Center. Mountain Mike's Pizza will take its place and do the same all-you-can-eat lunch buffet as other outposts 11am-2pm weekdays, with a revamped interior. Early April target date.

• The remade Marina Dunes food project, for an area with all that retail and foot traffic and no grub besides Target popcorn, REI energy bars and movie theater candy, passed a big hurdle last week. More on the blog.

• Feb. 12 Dan Morgan Lee hosts a wine tasting with Hog Island oysters with his Double L Riesling and releases his 2014 Double L Pinot Noir, 2014 Garys’ Pinot Noir and 2014 Rosella’s Pinot Noir. And it promptly (and understandably) sold out before I could publish this note.

• Thursday, Feb. 18, is National Drink Wine Day.

• Feb. 18 is also when Ted and Cindy Walter from Passionfish in Pacific Grove lead a talk/tasting ($25, 659-2640) at Holman Ranch Tasting Room on the sourcing and cooking of delicious, fresh sustainable seafood in association with Seafood Watch.