EDIBLE - Jason Franey arrives at 1833 from Seattle with James Beard nominations in tow.

The head-turning moment came deep into a Saturday night dinner in Seattle.

The setting itself was stunning: Canlis Restaurant perches on a hilly greenbelt above the city, looks out through floor-to-ceiling glass on Lake Union and winking highway lights, furnishing a floating feeling heightened by the food and wine.

We were there to see a stunning resume in play on the plate. Jason Franey had just announced he’d be leaving his place as a celebrated Relais and Chateaux grand chef at Canlis for ambitious but up-and-down Restaurant 1833 in Monterey, a coup that had publications from Seattle to San Francisco asking, in a word, Why?

At Canlis he claimed three consecutive James Beard Foundation nominations for Best Chef Northwest and the restaurant took Zagat’s top rating in the city four years in a row. Before Seattle he studied steadily as exec sous chef at the side of national gamechanger and Michelin three-star man Daniel Humm, first at Campton Place in San Francisco, then at Eleven Madison in New York. “Everything before Daniel, I forgot and relearned,” Franey says. (For a longer Q&A, visit the food blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.)

That’s a lot of cheffing by 37. Then again, he did start at 15, in The Breakers Hotel in his native Palm Beach, Florida.

The onrush of flavor hovering there above Seattle was immediate and lasting. A mushroom tartlet, a rice cracklin with wasabi tobiko and grafted egg yolk, and a magic little tater tot arrived playfully on acrylic towers he helped design. Shodoku oysters played royal chariot to an icy balsamic granita. Tender duck confit, carefully aged for 14 days before it was seared, nestled under a sheaf of fat. Fresh sea bass had our eyes disappearing into the back of their sockets both with its crispy skin crust and light-as-air flesh. Deep-fried reconstituted egg yolks surprised and impressed. Wagyu wrapped tightly in seaweed provided unctuous punctuation.

At one point he slipped a scallop between paper-thin persimmon – but only after curing it with bonito and seaweed to give it an umami that teased out the sweetness of the fruit and the seafood – all spiked by citrus and avocado, evoking a ceviche but providing its own discovery altogether.

“Everything’s been done,” he says. “The challenge is putting your own spin on things. Finding new flavors.”

Among all the eye- and mind-catching moments, it was a fancy dessert drink – and not even one we tried – that turned the most heads.

A “Cafe Diablo” concoction of cognac, Damiana liqueur and dry curaçao was ignited and poured from a fully extended arm into a blend of coffee, coriander, cinnamon, sugar and lemon oil.

The waterfall of flame burned blue, and everybody looked. It tastes great, I’m sure. But it’s also a clever and classy gimmick, designed to make the entire room pay attention.

~ ~ ~

A meal at Canlis starts at $85 per person and typically lasts three and a half hours. When we visited, the ladies next to us in the piano lounge wore furs, and the only guy without a jacket was me.

1833 – with its glowing onyx bar, occasional DJ, fried chicken and beloved biscuits – is a different place.

Which is perfect. At least the way Franey sees it.

“It’ll be quicker, not always these super-long dinners, and not as fussy,” he says. “More creative, with a more casual establishment.”

The kitchen is still minty new (and big), and armed with a plancha, wood-fired grill and sweet wood-fired oven – “lots of roasting vegetables,” he says – which all has Franey salivating, and about halfway there on designing his menu, even as its debut lingers a month away. (Restaurant 1833 will close for a couple weeks before then.)

Another note: Monterey is a different place than Seattle.

Again: perfect.

Franey talks excitedly about the catch of the day showing up in its entirety at the door and going out on plates till it’s done the same night. He counts how much longer growing season runs than Seattle’s and New York’s, and how the menu can change so much more than four times a year as it did at Canlis.

“You go to the market and you put it on the menu right there,” he says. “Using product at its peak gets you super motivated and creative, when you have the freedom to do that.”

Even if some in the industry don’t understand what he’s doing, wondering what exactly he’ll cook – “Pizzas?!” one critic asked – and how he’ll fare in a smaller community saucepan, others get it.

Like him they see the real chance to help a burgeoning food and wine region take a Napa-like leap culinarily. They observe the kinetic potential in 1833 and all of its history, size and style. And they sense the opportunity that comes with working with Coastal Luxury Management, by way of both its blockbuster tasting festivals and its broadening restaurant portfolio.

They also know that while Franey’s move worked like a Cafe Diablo of sorts, drawing attention from around the country’s dining room, this is no slick gimmick. This is a powerful mix of opportunity, experience, resources and hunger that just might catch fire.

QUICKBITES

➔Thursday, Dec. 18, Whole Foods (333-1600) donates 5 percent of sales to MC Gives! and its 100-plus local nonprofits. That’s a huge boost via simple groceries.

➔Mrs. Delish’s Cupcake Boutique (612-1884) has her new spot up on Del Monte Avenue in Monterey near Window on the Bay with all the from-scratch cupcake wonders of before plus… oh yes… pot pies. Get details on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible, in the next few days.

➔ Dowtown Monterey landmark – and lightning rod, see p. 12 – The Mucky Duck will become Bull and Bear Whiskey Bar and Taphouse. More on the blog.

➔ il vecchio (324-4282) does an inspired brunch Sunday, Dec. 21 – rustic omelets ($13), fried ciabatta toast ($10), prosecco ($5) among the treats – that provides a peek to something they’ll offer in 2015. New Year’s Eve six-course dinner too ($65, $85 with wine pairings).

➔ Pierce Ranch Vineyards (372-8900), hosts a holiday open house noon-8pm Saturday, Dec. 20, with tastings on the full line of current releases, light appetizers, bottle discounts and more (free/members; $5/public).

➔ Bistro Moulin (333-1200) throws down a nice Christmas Eve prix fixe dinner ($45) – spinach gnocchi, lobster bisque, leg of lamb.

➔ Local indy radio heroes (244-0102) steer the KRML Cares Food Drive. Bring non-perishable food or cash donations to Rio Grill noon-3pm Saturday, Dec. 20.

➔ The 2015 Big Sur Foragers Festival Jan. 16-18 stars the innovative chefs behind the 2013 James Beard Best New Restaurant in the U.S., State Bird Provisions of San Francisco.

➔ Stone Creek Kitchen (393-1042) classes make great gifts for gourmands. So do Carmel Valley Wine Experience passes ($50 at cvwineexperience.com), good for a flight at eight wineries likeBernardus, Holman Ranch and Cima Collina, and discounts on purchases.

➔ Monterey Cookhouse (642-9900) has a new early bird menu, with $9.95 dishes like BBQ ribs, pasta Bolognese and fish and chips, plus happy hour drink specials 4-5:30pm nightly.

➔ Mike Dooley: “It’s not knowing what the solution is, but simply knowing that there is one, which brings it forth.”