Quick Bites: update on new Salt Wood, plus wine and music everywhere.

With apologies to Bruce Delgado, Marina has a new spirit animal.

In related news, I suddenly I can’t wait for Salt Wood restaurant to open in the former Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse.

The reason for these two plot twists is the same: Chef David Baron.

Salt Wood's opening is still months off, but a fortunate group of eaters got a glimpse of what is coming as Baron joined two other chefs for a pop-up lunch in the pebbled gardens of Corkscrew Bistro/Georis Winery in Carmel Valley June 10.

Chef Klaus Georis, who happens to be godfather to Baron's son and shared the kitchen at Casanova, helped design the impressive lunch after two years at In De Wulf in Belgium. 

The highlights included a dish of avocado, peas, pea roux and pea shoots that shouted "Spring!" so freshly that another three servings would've been fine by me; a kimchi-butter clam barbecued over a wood-fired grill; Swank Farms asparagus done raw and roasted; and lamb four different ways (at least), including melt-on-the-togue raw.

Winemaker Damien Georis' sublime Madeleine and Georis wines and a Pinot from Joyce Vineyards completed the picture.

The Salt Wood restaurant reinvention coincides with the larger overhaul of Sanctuary Beach Resort.

A Bay Area native, Baron's career includes working alongside Chris Costentino at Incanto in San Francisco and Daniel Patterson at both Coi in San Francisco and Plum in Oakland. He also worked at the two Michelin star La Bouitte in France, and most recently led the kitchen at Casanova restaurant.

Now he wants to make unheralded Marina well-known, culinarily speaking. He and his family recently bought a house in East Garrison to further deepen his bond with the city.

"I want to push for Marina," he says. "There can be more out here. I want to help enrich my community."

The focus at Salt Wood will be raw, cured and wood-fired dishes with an emphasis on seasonal seafood and shared items. Baron has relationships with the likes of Swank, Monterey Abalone Company and Cream Co. Meats that will come in handy there. 

Architecturally, the wall that separated the bar and restaurant is gone—allowing for a 360-degree bar—as are the raised banquettes.

A new hood makes a wood grill possible at one new station visible from the entrance; another will host a raw seafood counter.

Part of the mission for Baron is providing the training that helped bring him here.

"I want this to be the culinary breeding ground for people interested in progressing their chef abilities," he says. 

Like many modern restaurants it's designed to allow for diverse experiences—snacks on the deck, a drink and the game at the bar, private parties in the AV-dialed-in private rooms.

The conservative time line to open is by September, which synchronizes with the start of spot prawn season, serendipitously enough.

More food news nibbles follow here:

• Wine educator and restauranteur Pablo Antinao introduces his wine-minded book Taste with a party 5pm Friday, June 23, at Andre’s Bouchee in Carmel (626-7880). He also does wine workshops there Fridays and Saturdays noon-5pm.

• Frutti del Mar (384-8525) aims to open in the former downtown Monterey Turtle Bay by the end of the month.

• Evenings by the Bay are back at Monterey Bay Aquarium (648-4800), with live music, special small bites, wine tasting and reduced admission for locals 6-9:30pm Fridays and Saturdays through Sept. 2. 

• Hahn Family Wines (678-4555) hosts a live Summer Sunday Music Series on their deck noon-4pm every Sunday through August.

• SLO Wine Country (239-0020) hosts a newly expanded Roll Out the Barrels Thursday, June 22, followed by a 4x2 Passport Weekend to visit up to eight different tasting rooms ($100/both; $60/Roll Out; $75/4x2, www.slowine.com/events/roll-out-the-barrels.php).

• Schooners Coastal Kitchen and Bar (372-2628) has live music 5-8pm Wednesdays for the summer.