well. But more often, he sees people wanting to pair red wine with seafood. Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo go well with fattier fish like sea bass or salmon, he says, and cut through the sauces they’re served with. Sidener even has unconventional pairings for desserts—one recent hit was pairing a Sauvignon Blanc with a lemon bar. “Traditions still stay, but they branch out into new ideas,” he says, “and people are more open to trying new things than they used to be.” But if there’s ever a doubt for a diner at home or in a restaurant, Sidener offers a cheat code: “Champagne goes with everything.” Seafood, on the other hand, is not quite as versatile. Putting aside that it’s a sin to reheat it in a microwave—don’t be that person in the office—seafood has a complicated, troubled relationship with cheese, a beloved staple that goes with almost everything else. Putting anchovies on pizza, for example, became a thing in America by way of tradition—off the coast of Naples, Italy, anchovies were abundant and could be easily preserved. But today, you’ll struggle to find anchovies as a topping at any American pizzeria, because diners have spoken: They don’t want fish on their pizza. There are, however, a few notable exceptions to the seafood and cheese rule, and none more American than the tuna melt, long a staple at diners. Jennifer Kadosh, co-owner of Seaside’s Googie Grill, says she didn’t think twice about making it a menu item when she opened her restaurant over a decade ago. “People love it, and we do make a good one,” she says. Kadosh likewise didn’t think twice about adding a little cheese to Googie’s fish tacos. “Both of those dishes are pretty popular—if they weren’t then we’d take them off the menu,” Kadosh points out. As to why cheese and fish sometimes work together, but often don’t, she adds, “I wish I could give you a more philosophical answer. All I can say is people really like our fish tacos.” But of all the unofficial do’s and don’ts when it comes to the American culinary scene, there is one that stands apart, so much so that it even gets Dirty Harry’s blood boiling. In the 1984 film Sudden Impact, Dirty Harry is standing along San Francisco’s coastline with a fellow detective, who is eating a hot dog that has been slathered in ketchup, and Harry says to him with disgust, “Nobody, and I mean nobody, puts ketchup on a hot dog.” While that’s certainly a rule that exists in Chicago—the hot dog capital of the world—it has less purchase elsewhere, particularly among children. At Pacific Grove’s Lucy’s on Lighthouse, the hot dog capital of the Monterey Peninsula, you’ll only find ketchup offered on a single dog on the menu—the Breaker dog, which has just ketchup and mustard. And while Lucy’s does offer a proper Chicagostyle dog (“Freights,” with sport peppers, tomato, onions, pickle, relish and mustard), most of the other dogs on the menu come with “Lucy’s sauce,” which does contain ketchup. And, Lucy’s founder Joleen Green says, “we use a lot of Lucy’s sauce.” Add to that, Green says, “I personally love ketchup and onions on my hot dog, I’ve always done that. No mustard, but mounds of onions though.” The menu at Lucy’s follows no rules—what other hot dog joint has roasted Brussels sprouts on offer? Perhaps that’s because when Green was brainstorming the menu, she was drinking multiple glasses of Champagne, which goes with everything. 34 THE BEST OF MONTEREY BAY ® EAT + DRINK 2025-2026 DANIEL DREIFUSS Lucy’s on Lighthouse
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