You never know what this Guy’s gonna do. Mr. Fieri was already coming to town for Pebble Beach Food & Wine. There he’s doing unexpected things like actually cheffing at Sunday’s grand tasting – “He can do the rock star thing and just sign autographs,” co-founder David Bernahl says. “Instead he’s showing up and cooking for 2,500 people” – and appearing at a chef’s table dinner-demo with Restaurant Impossible’s Robert “Gun Show” Irvine.
But it seems Fieri showed a little early, to scout and shoot his most popular project, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Rumor placed him on Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf and in Carmel. The real deal: He’ll be shooting at Rosine’s in downtown Monterey (375-1400) this week.
In our readers’ pick for Best Desserts and Best Family Restaurant year after year, Fieri will successfully scratch his itch for family-spun spots heavy on personality and popularity. Namesake Rosine Culcasi and her husband Jim started the place in 1980 at Del Monte Center with a dozen employees and habit-forming homemade soups, thick sandwiches, earnest meatloafs, nice pies and huge cakes; now they’re 65 strong and her kids run the place. They’ll cook lasagna with Fieri.
“When I began I felt like my customers were guests in my home,” Rosine says. “That’s never changed. We’re blessed.”
I can identify. We are blessed with so many tasty food stories, I am compelled to wedge several in this spot. (Find deeper detail and photo slideshows for each on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.)
1. Dubber’s Sports Bar & Grill debuts in Salinas.
A historic thing happened last weekend when Dubber’s Sports Bar & Grill officially opened at 172 Main St. in the space formerly occupied by Salinas Fish House.
While point man and co-owner Justin Saunders has been managing bars in New York for the last decade or so, his family has owned the building for decades, plural. Dubber’s marks a homecoming of sorts for his do-it-all dad, John Saunders, who ran the legendary Brass Rail across the street for years, and whose family has owned Oldtown properties for two generations. If it feels a little like a reunion that started with the soft opening late last week, that’s not the popular fresh-squeezed screwdrivers talking.
“A lot of farmers and tradesmen are coming in,” Justin says, “saying they haven’t seen each other in a while.”
He blew through seven kegs of Firestone 805 in less than seven days. “We’ve been slammed just serving drinks,” Justin says.
That fits with the expectations his dad wants to set. “We’re a bar first, restaurant second,” John says.
The bar part stars a big range of beers, eight on tap. The wines include the family label, Boeté Winery, and other local grapes. A craft cocktail list is in the works. The food part is basic as promised – and delayed until this weekend – with the family’s after burner chili ($4), a wedge ($6), bacon cheeseburgers ($11), and dogs like the Chicago ($7), and bacon-wrapped Hog ($7). Hours to start are 11am-11pm Sunday through Wednesday, and until 1am Thursday through Saturday.
2. East Village Coffee Lounge busts back open.
East Village (373-5601) couldn’t wait any longer. “Customers really wanted us open,” co-owner Janet McAthie says, “and with a lot of regulars – a lot – we feel very ‘of the people,’ so we’re going for it. We thought about them the whole way.”
That means the new light-fare food program – from the rearranged kitchen and consulting chef Christophe Bony – isn’t quite finished, but the upgraded interior certainly is. (A 20-image slideshow tour appears on the blog.)
McAthie and her partner in life and coffee Dean – who run Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company – made the most of a mandated earthquake retrofit. New cabinetry went in, as did a fancy new Simonelli espresso machine, six-tap draft beer dispenser and upgraded wines. Beautiful lighting fixtures, a granite bar, fresh paint and other furniture appointments amplify the new feel, accented by a colorful series of Burning Man photographs from D. Michael Troutman.
The effect is industrial chic, and more subtle than dramatic because all the elements dovetail nicely with the historic stone building. In fact, the most rattling change will be the reversed flow of coffee pickup, which is a good sign.
3. Curly’s closes; Taqueria Zarape cometh.
When the phone company refused requests to remove a pay phone at Curly’s BBQ (394-7274) in Seaside, Hampar “Curly” Kocek and his son Haig backed up their truck, attached a chain and yanked it out.
Seems the phone attracted what was at the time – circa late 1990s – a Seaside situation: prostitutes and the ones they run with. The company promptly replaced the phone. The Koceks tore it out again.
The point is: These dudes don’t quit easy. Anyone who’s been in there long enough to chew a rib knows they are unafraid to work hard or mince words. So when they shuttered April 5, you knew pops’ knees truly needed a rest and Haig needed freedom from regular 5am starts.
Taqueria Zarape – from the brothers behind Santa Cruz’s popular Taqueria Agave – moves in and leases the space, allowing Curly a bit of cash and relaxation after three quarters of a century on his feet. Catering will go on (241-2388), as will Seaside. It just won’t feel – or smell – quite the same.
~Quickbites ~
• Cooking for Solutions is the next big, juicy, earthy stop in the foodie event season, with all the flavor, none of the guilt. May 16-18, www.cookingforsolutions.org.
• The next iteration of the Independent Marketplace in Sand City will be an “evening bazaar and DIY skill share type-thang.” May 1 is the debut.
• Fresh From D’Vine (754-3764) and its farm produce-plus place where Highway 68 meets Salinas is open for the season. 9am-6:30pm, until 5pm weekends.
• T&A Cafe (455-0677) has similarly swung back open in Spreckels.
• Effective January 2015, The Mucky Duck (655-3031) is changing its name to Bull & Bear. Now they need help with their new logo. Start designing, submission contest details soon.
• The debut Cima Collina “Trashion” Show ($25) happens Sunday, April 27.
• Gilroy Garlic Festival accepts recipes for the 2014 Great Garlic Cook-Off amateur cooking competition through May 1.
• Eli Severson is out as GM at Turn 12 (372-8876) and in as restaurant manager at Montrio Bistro (648-8880).
• Rumor is New Leaf Market (466-9060) – an independent natural foods retailer that is part Trader Joe’s, part Whole Foods with even more localized leanings) – is going in on Lighthouse where the Nob Hill was. New Leaf Co-President Rex Stewart assures me it is just a rumor, though he says, “We would love to be on the Peninsula.”
• Stone Creek Kitchen (393-1042) offers guests an opportunity to try a variety of one of their kitchen’s ingredients in Taste of the Month. Try the Balsamic Vinegar Tasting on Thursday, April 17 ($20/person).
• In honor of the 1040 tax form and the end of tax season, Tarpy’s Roadhouse (647-1444) and Rio Grill (625-5436) are celebrating with lunch specials on April 15 from 11:30-4pm for $10.40 and a business card drawing for $50. Favaloro’s (373-8523) too, with pasta specials like penne puttanesca and spaghetti Melanzane for $10.40 7-10pm. Wine and salads $5 a pop.
• ”Cooking is like skiing,” Guy Fieri once said. “If you don’t fall at least 10 times, you’re not skiing hard enough.