84 BEST OF MONTEREY COUNTY® 2024 montereycountynow.com/bestof Restaurants table at The Butter House are in on it, too. Everything from the classic diner design to the friendly service to the Filipino-inflected menu heavy on umami helps confer status as the Best Comfort Food in Monterey County. Not to mention this is a rare place where you can order Spam seared to perfection. Now if only they had hardtack to slap it on. Best Family Restaurant Rosine’s 434 Alvarado St., Monterey (831) 375-1400, rosinesmonterey.com It’s always good to find a good meal and good company. In the 1800s, both could be found on Alvarado Street in downtown Monterey. And that is still true today. First opened in 1980 and then relocated to its current location in 1986, Rosine’s has been a well-known and beloved staple for Monterey’s downtown for decades. In its third generation of Culcasi family management, Rosin’es offers staples like beef minestrone soup or homemade lasagna. Plus, it’s impossible to leave without dessert, with a plethora of specialty cream cakes, cheesecakes and specialty cream pies to choose from. Best Restaurant In A Shopping Center Kona Steak & Seafood 1200 Del Monte Center, Monterey (831) 920-2911, konamonterey.com To those arriving by rail in the 1880s, downtown Monterey would have resembled a shopping center. There would have been a dry goods shop, a cobbler, a store importing fine linens, a tobacconist (it’s still there), perhaps a blacksmith. And, of course, there would have been restaurants. Kona Steak & Seafood is a centerpiece of the modern shopping center, serving Pacific Island-inspired flavors, as well as steaks and a really good burger. Actually, everything is worthy here, right down to the shave ice and tiki drinks. And don’t worry if you’re a stranger bellied up to the bar. No one gets Shanghaied here. Best Restaurant for Vegetarians Julia’s Vegetarian Restaurant 1180 Forest Ave., Suite F, Pacific Grove (831) 656-9533, juliasveg.com Before contact with Europeans, the Native Americans of North America ate a mostly vegetarian diet, estimated at as much as 90 percent, according to historians, The “Three Sisters,” corn, beans and squash, were the basic ingredients of their cuisine, along with buffalo in some regions, abalone in others. That all changed as guns and hunting proliferated throughout the West, but today vegetarianism is on an upswing, with more and more people choosing a plant-based diet for health and for care of the planet. Julia’s consistently ranks as readers’ favorite restaurant for the best vegetarian food in the county. Julia’s chefs combine fresh local produce and local wild mushrooms into inventive dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s so good, even meat-loving diners will find something to love. Best Food Truck Big Sur Taco (831) 917-1244 Despite the hipness of food trucks, the mobile kitchen idea is nothing new. Cowboys and vaqueros herding cattle relied on early food trucks (they called ’em “chuck wagons”). But nowadays, for fresh, handmade tortillas, perfectly cooked and seasoned fillings and complex salsas, look no further than Big Sur Taco. Often found at farmers markets, locations in Carmel Valley and Ryan Ranch, this truck offers the best tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas and bowls this side of the Rio Grande. Check Facebook for locations and times. Watch the salsas, though. The spicy ones could knock even the heartiest cowpoke out of his boots. Best Dog-Friendly Dining Forge in the Forest Junipero Street and 5th Avenue, Carmel (831) 624-2233, forgeintheforest.com Even though Forge is not in its original location, it still has a rich history. Writers Henry Miller and John Steinbeck were frequent visitors who met with other locals inside Forge to drink, tell stories and talk. The Grapes of Wrath was reported to have been inspired inside The Forge as a result of one such meeting. But none of that matters. Forge is famous for its “canine cuisine.” Dogs are taken seriously here and often come for hot dogs, burgers, chicken and New York steak. Best Restaurant At A Golf Course Best Server The Grill at Point Pinos Ana Gonzales 79 Asilomar Ave., Pacific Grove (831) 375-1313, grillatpointpinos.com In the spoof Rustlers’ Rhapsody, Tom Best Restaurant at a Golf Course, Best Server | The Grill at Point Pinos, Ana Gonzales
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