At first the mission was more mechanical than mouthwatering. But, eventually, the ultimate outcomes have me wanting to eat out every night of the week, even if I don’t stray from four very specific city blocks.
That original objective: Determine which single block in Monterey County contains the most restaurants.
Restaurant searches, crowdsourcing and Google mapping revealed that a handful enjoyed a half dozen or more restaurants each, and that they varied significantly in overall swankiness, energy, value and ethnic diversity.
That summoned a rumbling stomach and a subsequent question higher up the central nervous system: If you could go to just one block on a given night, which would it be?
Criteria emerged. Beyond the aforementioned factors, others were important: quality, fun, ambiance, local ownership, convenience and staying power.
That left four finalists. (Please log your input, new nominee or outright outrage on the Weekly Facebook page, via edible@mcweekly.com or the blog, where longer descriptions of each block are posted.) The best blocks appear here, with the winner at the end:
THE MIGHTIEST VALUE
Lighthouse Avenue in New Monterey • Between McClellan Avenue and Hoffman Avenue
It’s actually less than a block, with an impressive density of cute and small shops on one side of the street. A decidedly international, family-run and homespun feel reigns. The underrated underdog of the group, with the best sushi spot (Crystal Fish Sushi), pasta values (Loose Noodle Pasta House), drunk karaoke (Sakura Japanese), fish tacos (Taqueria Del Mar) and aisle-style Mediterranean eating (International Market & Deli) for my money. All in 100 steps, max.
THE MOST PRODIGOUS POTENTIAL
Main Street in Oldtown Salinas • Between East Gabilan Street and East Alisal Street
Suddenly a true contender against major favorites. Even though at least one local food critic I respect doesn’t go here to eat, which remains irresponsible and self-sabotaging, it enjoys the two most exciting new restaurants in the area sitting within a ravioli’s throw (Patria and Giorgio’s). There’s rock-solid old-school diner-style Dudley’s Oldtown, plus sturdy ethnic choices that have been there for decades (including Shogun Sushi,Golden Fish Seafood and Japanese-Mexican fusion spot La Fogata, circa before-fusion-was-a-thing). And the 201 Main complex has more venues on the way (a big wine bar with balcony and food, and a nuevo tapas place called Citricada).
THE BIGGEST BUZZ
Alvarado Street • between Franklin Street and Pearl Street
Unmatched in terms of quantity, but not necessarily quality. Still, everybody is good, even great – look to the Weekly’s perennial pick for best froyo (MYO Pure Frozen Yogurt), best family restaurant and desserts (Rosine’s) and best brewery (Alvarado Street Brewery). Sheer quantity of spots, 14, and – importantly – way more sidewalk patios than anywhere, makes it a great choice. The fact that many of the spots are bar-grill operations, including the Bull & Bear Whiskey Bar and Taphouse, Lallapalooza and Britannia Arms – two with patios and each with under-appreciated grub – adds social zing other blocks can’t match. Good cultural diversity (Papa Chano’s, Full Moon Mandarin, Petra Cafe) helps.
THE PRESTIGIOUS PLAY
Mission Street in Carmel • between Ocean and Seventh
Simply the strongest block for the quantity-quality synergy in the densest place for restaurants per capita in the county. It lacks a certain street-level buzz, but time-honored classics lurk, with places that rank as flat-out favorites among knowing locals and visitors alike. Think Flying Fish Grill for black-bean halibut, Andre’s Bouchee for inventive foie gras and Anton & Michel for Guinness-hoisin-braised short ribs served by the comely patio fountain. These are more than tasty spots; thanks to long-running stability, they’re community pillars and model original concepts. Patisserie Boissiere has been there for a half century for lamb shanks’ sake. Then there’s the Weekly readers’ frequent favorite vote for take out and Chinese (Tommy’s Wok) and something rarer than charcoal pink for Carmel: a burger joint (400 Degrees Gourmet Burgers and Fries). You don’t have to stay on one block when there are 45 restaurants in Carmel’s square mile, but if you do, this is the one.
THE ULTIMATE CHAMP
A compelling case can be made for each. Lighthouse Avenue knows no equal if you prioritize bang-for-flavor and undiscovered ethnic. Oldtown Salinas has the best value eating-out experience for my dollar in the county in Patria and institutions to rival Carmel, without the foof. Downtown Monterey could run away with it given the amount of patio action and all-around options. Mission Street Carmel ranks as the very best street in the town Conde Nast ranked number seven in its list of Best American Cities for Foodies.
So who wins? You do. Because more blocks exist beyond these – Dolores Street in Carmel, Fremont Boulevard in Seaside and Reservation Road in Marina among them – and because every restaurant named here is locally owned.
But who wins back on the block? Mission Street is impeccable but pricey. Lighthouse has so much, but no polish. Alvarado similarly features no upscale game. Which means Main Street, FTW.
QUICKBITES
• Ian Brand of Salinas-based Ian Brand & Family Wines got a call from a reality TV show producer in NYC. ”I don’t want to subject my family or myself to that,” he says. More on the blog.
• Speaking of reality TV, the Tudor drama (trauma?) takes another twist. After winemaker Dan Tudor helped touch off a feud with Carmel Chamber of Commerce over wine maps, and then the City Council over who gets to open a tasting room (he was blocked for processing his local grapes just over the county border), he has opened a “unique wine shop,” Tudor Wines, on Mission Street and Seventh inside the Court of the Fountains behind Anton & Michel. Daily 11:30am-8pm starting Aug. 7.
• Bay of Pines, quite possibly the most bizarre and unique restaurant downtown Monterey has seen – note the pirate ship bar and marine murals – appears lost at sea. It’s been dark for weeks and weeks.
• Along those lines, Element Wine Bar on River Road has shuttered too.
• A Taco Bell in Chicago is the first in the nation to sell booze. So there’s that.
• The world of wine and spirits got a romantic-charismatic thunderbolt when Kathryn Blandin (Bar Cart Cocktail Co. proprietress) and Matt Shea(Bernardus vineyard manager) married this weekend.
• Central Coast Juicery coming to downtown Pacific Grove’s Forest Avenue in the former Emi’s Biscoteria.
• Snappy Shelly Steinbeck the African leopard tortoise has been evicted, p. 19.
• Lilia Marie Glazer was born on the Fourth of July, under an oak tree, in Big Sur, to tastemakers Danielle and Matt.
• To honor her late mother Jarman Fearing, her daughter and Holman Ranch manager Hunter Lowder donates $1 from estate reserve Jarman Chardonnay and Jarman Pinot Noir to the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. The new Jarman tasting room is now open next to Wills Fargo.
• Rocky Point Restaurant (624-2933) survived a fire last week and is open.
• Schooners Coastal Kitchen (372-2628), with new chef de cuisine Nicole Heaney, has a superb sea bass BLT.
• John Madden: “Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something.”