Rules, it is often said, are made to be broken. Whether or not that’s true—it most certainly is not—it does reflect that some rules are more suggestions than edicts. This is particularly true in the culinary world, where some might swear by a rule that others don’t even know exists. If a Japanese sushi chef, for example, sees you dip your sushi rice in soy sauce rather than dipping the fish, a part of them might die inside, but they will not cut you. Increasingly, perhaps in part because of different cuisines mixing with each other and becoming something new, even long-held conventions are falling by the wayside. Conventions—and breaking them—are not just limited to food, but include the drinks that go with it, such as wine. And while not many people are likely to follow the lead of Steve Martin’s character in The Jerk, where he asks a waiter to bring some “fresh wine” rather than an older vintage of red, many diners today wouldn’t think twice about ordering a white wine with their steak. Dave Sidener, sommelier at The Sardine Factory, which boasts one of the most decorated wine lists in the county, says that “everything is changing,” and not just with pairing wines and food, but with the types of grapes to make the wines. “In my dad’s day, you wouldn’t be caught dead putting syrah in your cabernet,” Sidener says. “Nowadays people don’t even blink about it.” When it comes to making pairing recommendations for food, it’s not necessarily the color of the wine that matters, it’s how qualities of the wine and food complement each other. On a recent night when the kitchen served a pork belly special, Sidener paired it with a German Auslese Riesling, because the sweetness, he says, cuts through the fattiness really 32 THE BEST OF MONTEREY BAY ® EAT + DRINK 2025-2026 LAWS AND ORDERS While there are certain unwritten rules in the culinary world, traditions ultimately bend toward the will of the people. By David Schmalz Googie Grill DANIEL DREIFUSS
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