Savoring sustainability

In case you missed it, here is my roundup from this year’s Cooking for Solutions event at the Monterey Bay Aquarium that appeared in Thursday’s Go! section of the Monterey Herald. I’ll be reposting my reviews and stories from my weekly column for the Herald here on my blog along with extra photos that didn’t appear in print.

This past weekend, the Monterey Bay Aquarium hosted its annual Cooking for Solutions event celebrating sustainable cuisine.

Foodies lined up for bites of food and sips of wine at Friday night’s Cooking for Solutions gala.

The highlight of the event, as always, was Friday night’s gala. The aquarium was transformed — gone were the crowds of tourists, replaced with foodies lined up for chefs serving up small bites and wineries pouring sips of wine.

This shooter with bay scallops in Thai curry with truffled popcorn was one of the best bites of the night.

One of my favorite bites was the bay scallop “shooter” with Thai curry and truffled popcorn, from Truckee’s Dragonfly Restaurant and Sushi Bar. The combination of Thai flavors with the savory truffle was unexpected — and delicious!

Kitchen, ahoy!

In case you missed it, here are my review of Schooners Coastal Kitchen and Bar that appeared in Thursday’s Go! section of the Monterey Herald. I’ll be reposting my reviews and stories from my weekly column for the Herald here on my blog along with extra photos that didn’t appear in print.

It’s been a couple months since the Duck Club closed, reopening as Schooners Coastal Kitchen and Bar.

A couple months ago, the food service at the Monterey Plaza Hotel got a major overhaul. The Duck Club closed, reopening as an expansion of the neighboring Schooners Bistro, the two now merged into Schooners Coastal Kitchen and Bar, with the same nautical motif.

I finally sailed into the renovated Schooners Coastal Kitchen and Bar a couple weeks ago. For my first visit, a friend and I opted for a sit-down dinner in the dining room.

The pesto was a nice touch on the burrata salad.

The burrata salad with tomatoes, balsamic syrup and shaved Fiscalini cheese ($10) wasn’t quite what I expected. From the description, it sounded like a classic caprese — what arrived wasn’t. The menu omitted the diced cucumbers, which didn’t quite jibe with the Italian flavors for me.

The seared scallops were great, especially paired with tart citrus.

But I loved the plank-seared sea scallops ($10), served with a citrus salad. The scallops were perfectly cooked, with a hint of heat from the pepper glaze. The accompanying salad of grapefruit and other citrus gave a hint of tart acid.

DIY Best Bite: Pepper-salted pork belly

Friday night’s Cooking for Solutions gala included a dynamic duo of pork lovers: Kevin Gillespie and Tony Baker.

This week’s best bite hails from Friday’s Cooking for Solutions gala at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Kevin Gillespie—from Atlanta’s Woodfire Grill, but probably better known from his stint on Bravo’s “Top Chef”—served up one of my favorite meats, pork belly. This bite of succulent pork belly was dusted with spicy peppers and served over a tangy bok choy salad.

Kevin Gillespie’s crispy pork belly was probably the best bite of the night!

If you missed out on the Cooking for Solutions gala, read below the fold for the recipe if you’d like to make this delicious dish for yourself at home.

Best Bite: May 17, 2012

For those of you who missed my column in last Thursday’s Go! section of the Monterey Herald, I’m reposting the stories here on my blog. Check out this week’s Best Bite–a recap of the week’s tastiest treat! As an added bonus, check out some extra tasty bites I found this week dining around town.

Best bite: Pan-roasted quail at Cacahagua General Store (Carmel Valley)

Monday night, my friends and I trekked out to Cachagua for an epic feast, devouring a number of delicious dishes.

The pan-roasted quail was the best bite of our epic feast at Cachagua.

But the tastiest bite was the quail ($16). The Vermont quail was pan-roasted, but so crispy it might as well have been fried. The chile linguine and porcini mushrooms were great accompaniments that added a hint of spice and earthy umami, respectively.

Sure it’s a long drive out to Cachagua, but the food makes the trek totally worth it.

The Cachagua General Store hosts dinner Monday nights and brunch on Sundays. 659-1857. www.yelp.com/biz/cachagua-general-store-carmel-valley.

Local street eats

In case you missed it, my column in last Thursday’s Go! section of the Monterey Herald included a round-up of some local street food vendors worth checking out. I’ll be reposting my reviews and stories from my weekly column for the Herald here on my blog along with extra photos that didn’t appear in print.

Slowly but surely, more street food is rolling onto the Monterey Peninsula. Farmers markets give a peek into our emerging local street food scene.

The farmers market is a great spot to grab a strolling dinner on these sunny summer afternoons, especially now that the Tuesday Old Monterey farmers market has moved to expanded summertime hours — the market stays open until 8 p.m. now.

The vibrant Babaloo truck always attracts a crowd of hungry foodies for its famous pressed Cuban sandwiches.

Monterey’s resident food truck, Babaloo, was absent from Saturday’s street food festival. (The truck was previously committed for another event.) But chef/owner Gladys Parada brings the colorful truck to the farmers market on Tuesdays.

The Lucy Lucy with chicken and avocado is my favorite on the Babaloo menu.

I’m a big fan of the Lucy Lucy ($7 correction: $8) — a pressed Cuban sandwich with juicy chicken and sweet mango and avocado salsa. It’s perfect when paired with an order of tender grilled sweet plantains ($3).

Last week, I also spotted a couple new vendors to the Tuesday farmers market.

Keep on truckin’

In case you missed it, here are my thoughts on the inaugural Monterey Street Food Festival that appeared in Thursday’s Go! section of the Monterey Herald. I’ll be reposting my reviews and stories from my weekly column for the Herald here on my blog along with extra photos that didn’t appear in print.

Saturday afternoon saw the debut of the Monterey Street Food Festival. When the clock struck noon, foodies of all sorts converged on food trucks at the fairgrounds.

Hungry foodies converged on the fairgrounds on Saturday for the Monterey Street Food Festival.

Most of the trucks offered Asian fare — Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese — but all-American favorites like tri-tip and Maine lobster were represented, too.

I had a mad craving for lumpia when I arrived, so I made a beeline for the Hapa SF truck (San Francisco, twitter.com/HapaSF). This colorful truck is a staple of Bay Area food truck gatherings, where foodies eagerly line up for chef William Pilz’s modern Filipino cuisine.

The chicken adobo from Hapa SF was so tender and flavorful!

The chicken adobo ($7) included a generous portion of tender chicken, a leg and thigh seasoned with a hint of spicy adobo and served over delicate jasmine rice.

The sisig tacos struck a good balance between meat and crisp veggies.

The sisig tacos (two for $6, three for $8) were great. Chunks of lime and soy-braised pork were topped with crisp vegetable toppings — avocado, cilantro and radish, this time.

Perfectly golden lumpia from Hapa SF!

But the lumpia “Shanghai” (seven pieces for $5) proved to be my favorite. The lumpia were perfectly golden, lightly fried with a little crunch outside and tender ground pork, water chestnuts and carrots inside.

Best Bite: May 10, 2012

For those of you who missed my column in Thursday’s Go! section of the Monterey Herald, I’m reposting the stories here on my blog. Check out this week’s Best Bite–a recap of the week’s tastiest treat!

Best bite: Corderos lamb T-bones at Mundaka (Carmel)

My friends and I gathered for a belated birthday dinner at Mundaka the other night. The tastiest of the tapas was the corderos—thin-cut lamb T-bones served with fries and mojo verde ($15.50).

These thin slices of lamb were packed with flavor!

I was impressed how thin the meat was sliced—through the bone, no less! And the lamb was so tender and rich with flavor. It was a clever Spanish twist on steak frites.

Mundaka is located on San Carlos Street, between Ocean and Seventh, in Carmel. 831-624-7400. www.mundakacarmel.com.