EDIBLE: Ten local flavors to be thankful for.

Sharon Randall, formerly of Pacific Grove, was one of my earlier writing influences. She wrote “Bay Window” for the then-Monterey Peninsula Herald. She remains nationally syndicated, and her musings – on everything from her habit of collecting stories like some do salt and pepper shakers to the lessons her blind brother teaches her – can be viewed at www.sharonrandall.com.

After the election you may have heard about, and the loss of one of my other favorite voices (Leonard Cohen), Randall sent out some of his words to her readers: “Ring the bells that still can ring./ Forget your perfect offering./ There is a crack in everything./ That’s how the light gets in.”

Which brings me to an imperfect offering: gratitude for sanctuaries both marine and musical, for loved ones both good crazy and bad crazy, for reservoirs of both tolerance and patience. Here’s hoping it works as an antidote for all the fear and anger in the air.

Plus these vital side dishes, 10 other things local appetites can be thankful for:

1. More superior Pinot

Carmel Valley was already a world-class wine destination, with 23 tasting rooms, and 20 packed within a kilometer. Make that 24 and 21. Now Testarossa Winery, opening Black Friday – a day before the Art & Wine Holiday walk (p. 42), brings one of the more prestigious Pinot reputations in the state to the former Jan de Luz complex. While a Youth Arts Committee art-Vinroc rager went off next door Nov. 19, they were in there painting, buffing floors and arranging racks and barrels. A large flat-screen will feature vignettes on the nine Santa Lucia Highlands vineyards they work with.

2. An actual crab season

In time for Thanksgiving, outposts like Wharf 2’s Monterey Fish Co. (375-3511) and Robbie’s Oceanfresh Seafood (212-0231) help you get cracking. There are two other great ways to go: At 10 restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf, there are tons of specials. At Schooners Coastal Kitchen (372-2628), here comes a crab feed with Coronado Brewing Co.Dec. 7 ($70): chowder, salad, beer-steamed Dungeness, crab-and-shrimp fettuccine and pumpkin spice whoopie pies with brew pairings.

3. More Chopstix, and poke

Chopstix’s five-spice chicken, bún bò hué and boba have earned it a big following, and our readers’ vote for Best Cheap Eats and Best Vietnamese. The wide fan base helped inspire a move from its OG location (one of two) to the former Taste of Vietnam, a cavernous spot just up Fremont in Seaside. Back at 1988 Fremont Blvd., they’re introducingPoke Stix, the latest in a wave of similar spots (Poke Lab, Poke House, Poke Time). Grand opening for the new and brightly repainted Chopstix arrives Sunday, Dec. 4, with a week of daily specials. Poke Stix is scheduled to open a month later.

4. More upgrades downtown

The top end of Alvarado is booming with Poke Lab, Alvarado Ramen, Revival Ice + Cream and Boardwalk Sub Shop. Monterey Marriott has a new restaurant and beautiful bar in Fin + Field. The 40,000-square-foot Conference Center re-opens this spring. And now Portola Hotel & Spa (888-222-5851) has announced plans for a $6 million renovation of its huge tree-lined atrium/lobby – with a new bar and lounge.

5. Pizza and seafood salad

il vecchio in Pacific Grove (324-4282) does pizza night Wednesdays and workers lunch weekdays with some pretty absurd bargains. Come dinner, they’re serving a sublime marinated seafood salad, silky burrata, a tender red wine-braised pork shoulder and new homemade pasta specials. More on the blog.

6. Bacon tasting flights

Mulligan Public House on Dolores in Carmel, the hamlet’s first real new bar in a decade (not counting Ody’s change to Barmel), happens by the end of the month. The menu looks mouthwatering, with things like said bacon flight, fried chicken Benedict, Irish clam pots, Mulligan stew, cheese steaks, lamb burgers and Alaskan king crab legs. The full menu’s up on the blog.

7. Community feeds

Mal’s Market in Seaside (394-1881) now hosts Taco Tuesday 4-8pm (or until the food runs out) in the new outside picnic area. “Lots of people come and we sit and visit,” Mal’s owner Dennis Volk says. “It’s a neighborhood thing.”

8. Nectar love

Ambrosia India Bistro (324-4852) has traded its grab-and-go operation on the north side of Cannery Row for a new landmark property across from C Restaurant. Happy hour 3-6pm means 12 drafts and house wine at $3.50. Get photos and menu details on the blog.

9. Spirited education

Sarah Kabat-Marcy and company at Cultura Comida y Bebida (250-7005) host regular industry education sessions with luminaries of the artisan mezcal world. William Scanlanof Heavy Métl led the last one. Vago’s Judah Kuper holds it down for the December installment. Stay tuned on dates. Bonus: The best-new-restaurant contender also has a late-night happy hour in notoriously sleepy Carmel-by-Sea: $2 tacos and $4 draft beers 9pm to midnight.

10. Post-turkey hikes

All 116 California State Parks have free admission on the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 25). Get passes at www.greenfriday.org. Hard to imagine a better amen after a good meal.

QUICKBITES

• Jeffrey Moser, the guy who bizarrely smashed his truck into Tractor Pete’s vehicle on Carmel Valley Road, sending passengers flying, went to court Nov. 22, as this went to press. Get the update on the blog
• Great locals-centric specials going down at Edgar’s at Quail Lodge (620-8910). Everyday 4-6pm brings the “early birdie” three-courser (with main dishes like roasted sand dabs and sirloin steak), with a drink, for $29.95. And $6 cocktails. Every Thursday 4-9pm it’s prime rib night with old-school marinated Black Angus rib with organic vegetables and gratin potatoes ($27-$38/8-14 ounces).
• Cibo Ristorante Italiano (649-8151) hosts a pre-Thanksgiving soiree (21+) on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Music for dancing is mixed by FAWK DJ and cocktails are available. Guests dressed like a turkey get their first cocktail free.
• Mundos Cafe (656-9244) in North Monterey is doing drive-through takeout in Monterey while they install an ADA ramp in front.
• Five Cowgirl Winery wines by winemaker Damien Georis pair with five courses by Chef Chris Watts at Corkscrew Cafe Sunday, Nov. 27 ($80, 659-8888).
• A Cheesecake Dreamations kiosk is coming to Northridge Mall.
• Carmel by the Glass, hosted by dynamic duo Rich Pepe and Jack Galante, takes place on Dec. 9 from 5-8pm with a bevy of local wines with tasting rooms in town, local chefs and holiday music. Tickets are limited ($75, 402-7373).
• Move fast: Percy’s Pies offers two Louisiana-style sweet potato pies ($25) or a sampler pack of tart-sized ($12) through Wednesday, Nov. 23. Orders can be made online (www.percyspies.com), or via email (percyspies@gmail.com).
• Follow @MontereyMCA.
• Dave Chappelle: “And I think I speak for all of black America when I say that we are all praying for Omarosa. I don’t even know what she’s doing in the news. But America’s done it. We’ve actually elected an Internet troll as our president.The whites were furious. I’ve never seen anything like it. I haven’t seen whites this mad since the O.J. verdict. White people screaming on both sides, “Aahhh!”