The streets of Carmel come alive with local fare, just in time for summer.

Sloan Campi here, fresh off of walking around Dolores Street for Carmel Culinary Week’s Boho Bites and Beats event yesterday, June 11. 

Summer appears to be in full swing in Carmel and its restaurants turned out for Visit Carmel’s sixth annual Culinary Week. Not only were plenty of samples of delicious fare and wine on full display, but the buzz of the busy season is also palpable. 

While sipping a taste of a heavy and luxurious Cabernet Sauvignon from Galante Vineyards, I ran into Visit Carmel staff member Jeff Burghardt, who called the entire week a success. Tickets were sold out for each of the four main events that took place around the village, with Boho and Bites capping it off. 

Stellar ticket sales aside, a strong sense of community was also on full display during the event. A healthy mix of local restaurateurs and winemakers served their creations with smiles and laughter. It was a welcomed site, especially after Visit Carmel lost its Restaurant Management Committee member Ken Spilfogel to pancreatic cancer earlier this year. Yet Spilfogel’s legacy could be felt by the patrons and those smiling faces on the workers out and around his restaurant, Flaherty’s Seafood Grill and Oyster Bar. 

There are dozens of restaurants, bars and wine tasting rooms in the village, all of which play a key role in its economy. The events of Culinary Week celebrate that and the service workers that make it all happen. Though it can be stressful for a restaurant to transfer their operations to the street even for just a day, you wouldn’t know it from their attitudes. 

Summer is a busy time of the year for many service workers and restaurateurs, but they know it’s when people come to Carmel to play for a bit, which they get to curate. Whether that means dining al fresco in the summer weather—even if it's foggy—or flipping a coin for a chance to try some top shelf spirits or wine at a discount, there’s going to be something fun to experience among the village restaurants this year because of a strong community behind the economy.

Was there a dish at Culinary Week that really wowed you or an event that made a memory? Send me an email with your highlights.