EDIBLE: Monterey County adds dim sum and salvadorean food.

Talk about a one-of-a-kind lunch. And not because of the superlative Dungeness crab Louie and crab melt two sisters had at Domenico’s on the Wharf (372-3655) – though those sibling dishes were superb.

It was singular because the sisters, despite being in their 60s, were meeting for the first time.

Here’s how it went down: Marty Durrett was managing Paso Robles Senior Center when a resident asked her about starting a genealogy group. How? Durrett asked. Practice was the essential reply. So Durrett dug up her adoption papers from 1946, when she was an infant, and the senior center resident went to work mining family history.

Turns out Durrett has three apparent half sisters (given the differing names), one still alive and six years her junior.

She cold called. (“I sounded like a really creepy stalker,” Durrett says.) They talked. They commissioned DNA tests revealing they were full sisters. They lunched at a midpoint between Paso and Los Gatos where sister Peggy Schoppe lives: Monterey. Soon Durrett was getting a quilt her mom made and emails from nephews.

“It was so extraordinary for me: All I wanted to see was a picture of someone I was related to,” she says. “And I get this incredible family and fabulous sister.” I learned of the lunch at a poetically appropriate time, as I was in the middle of visiting two new Salinas spots that drew me because we don’t have restaurants dedicated to dim sum or pupusas – in other words, two more one-of-a-kind Monterey County meals. Get more on each of the spots, and photos, on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.

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Two words: Dim. Sum.

Monterey County now has something it desperately needed, from a family it trusts. That something is dim sum, the Cantonese approach to tapas, with tons of treats served on small plates and in steamer baskets – from dumplings to wontons to melon sesame balls.

The same people behind Eagle Restaurant (751-2312) on West Alisal in Oldtown Salinas, itself a beloved institution for what one big fan calls “reverentially Americanized Chinese in a place devoid of decor,” have debuted a big, clean restaurant with a menu to match.Dim Sum Inn (998-8396) is now open 10:30am-10pm weekdays and 8am-10pm weekends at 1938 N. Main St.

On one side of the surprisingly cavernous space, big brand new red vinyl booths linger under a low resolution Chinese mural. With a center room and oversized lobby-like welcome area connecting to another dining space with tables and chairs, there is seating for 120.

The massive lunch menu includes 30 dim sum ($5.50 each) items, 17 fried rices ($10.99) and 11 “kitchen specials” like chow fun ($10.99) and steamed bok choy ($9.99). Then there’s a whole other dinner menu with 106 numbered items.

We were all over the dim sum list, which includes chicken feet, water chestnut cake, egg yolk buns, bean-paste mochi and sticky rice in lotus leaf.

The Shanghai-style pork dumplings were juicy and balanced. The shrimp dumplings arrived filling but bland, benefiting from the tableside Sriracha and soy. Dense fried shrimp balls enjoy a zesty combination of seasoning and aioli-like sauce. The pork-and-shrimp-stuffed eggplant provided a delicious discovery.

And the slightly sweet barbecue pork bun presented another reflection of the place itself: sizable, plain and satisfying.

Staff say weekends are already busy, with people digging the MSG-free fare. Beer and wine soon. House tea for now.

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Comfort takes many forms besides family.

For those familiar with this version, they know it’s one not seen much at all in this area. It’s the earthy, deep flavor of the cheesy, rich pupusa, a gordita-like corn-dough puck harboring bubbling cheese and other savory ingredients.

My favorite at the fresh new Pupusería Marleny’s (998-7629) at 337 Monterey St. in Salinas has to be the pupusa revuelta, a thoroughly authentic blend of soothing beans, Salvadoreño cheese and chicharrón (or fried pig skin) for $2.50, topped with mandatory curtido (pickled cabbage).

A close second: the loroco and cheese ($3), made with a seasonal Central American green flower.

But I also dug the potato-beef pasteles, empanada-like pies (3 for $5.95, 6 for $10.95) and the so-called “empanadas,” which were delicious treats that tasted and felt more like battered bananas.

They also do Salvadoreño breakfasts with fried plantains, eggs, beans and crema ($8.50), authentic chicken and egg sandwiches ($9.50) and starchy fried yucca with chicharrón ($6.95) but the pupusas are the star, as they should be.

Other choices include pork-bean-cheese combos, carne asada and cheese, zucchini and cheese, jalapeño and cheese, and shrimp and cheese.

The setup is simple but functional, the mom-and-pop team behind the big counter as welcoming as the food. Hours are 9:30am-8:30pm daily.

Two other notes: The traditional plate, or plato tipico, with two pupusas revueltas, two pasteles, two empanadas de platano, one tamal de elote, one tamal chicken yuca con chicharron runs $22.99 and the student special with two pupusas revultas and a soda, noon-1:30pm, is $5.

• Islas Marietas (757-4165) now slangs all sorts of Mexican flavor in a spacious spot on Main Street in Oldtown Salinas. More on the blog.

• Carmel Belle scored a legal victory over a landlord. More on the blog.

• As Jeffrey Weiss relocates to the Bay Area, jeninni kitchen + wine bar (920-2662) is in capable hands with his lieutenant Trevor Mathiak at the controls. The other day he impressed with two fine fall creations, a pumpkin soup with a nice orange zest edge and a robust house salumi-pepita salad. Yum.

• The only better deal than the $3 footlong hot dog at Knuckles Sports Bar (372-1234): free popcorn and peanuts.

• Center for Photographic Art’s “Apertures & Appellations,” 5 – 7pm Saturday, Oct. 24 in the Carmel gallery.

• Show me a better Italian value than the pepperoni-onion-garlic calzone at DeMarco’s Pizzeria on Broadway in Seaside – $11 for so much filling food – and I’ll show you a neglected dog at Cypress Inn. $3 drafts for 5-7pm happy hour at new DeMarco’s beer bar too.

• MPUSD nutrition chief Jennifer Gerard reeled in a state award for Bay2Tray program. More on the blog.

• The best milkshakes in the area might be from the Fountain Court Cafe at CHOMP. Try the chocolate peanut butter.

• New knockout item at one of the top 20 happy hours in Monterey County: lightly seared ahi ($6) garnished with sesame seeds and spicy seaweed salad at Hula’s Island Grill (655-4852).

• The Monterey Ski and Social Club does new member night 6pm Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Cibo ($10 includes appetizers; 224-2433 for more).

• The power outage provided cover for thieves who stole a Tarpy’s Roadhouse van.

• October is Pizza Month. TusCA (372-1234) pulled pork and fried chicken with roasted corn; popcorn shrimp with a caramelized onion and bacon jam spread; and onion ring meat lover with whole strips of bacon, pepperoni, sausage, rings and a Buffalo drizzle ($16 each).

• Mother Theresa: “If you can’t feed 100 people, just feed one.”