110 BEST OF MONTEREY COUNTY® 2025 montereycountynow.com/bestof SPECIALTY FOODS BEST CIOPPINO Phil’s Fish Market 10700 Merritt St., Castroville (831) 633-2152, philsfishmarket.com We were never very organized with our Lego bricks. They all ended up in one bucket, all shapes, colors and sizes mixing together. Still, when you stuck your hand in there and grabbed a brick, you knew the piece was a winner, because you just can’t go wrong with Lego. Kind of like the cioppino at Phil’s Fish Market. The bowl of seafood stew goodness is packed with the freshest catches, such as clams, mussels, Dungeness crab, scallops and more. Each bite is different, but every one is delicious. BEST POKE Marina Poke House 266 Reservation Road, Marina (831) 384-7898, marinapokehouse.com In Assembly, a cooperative board game, the players have to cooperate to build a spaceship to escape to safety before they run out of oxygen. At Marina Poke House, customers won’t run out of oxygen, but they need to work with the staff to make sure they get the poke they are craving. The customer decides on the size, protein, veggies and sauces, while the attendant assembles all the ingredients to create this Hawaiian delicacy, great for summer days. Each step, and even the person behind the counter, matters to make their perfect poke bowl. BEST CALAMARI Abalonetti Bar & Grill 57 Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey (831) 373-1851, abalonetti.com Yes, those are squid boats lighting up Monterey Bay at certain times of year, chasing after these succulent mollusks. But most of that catch is exported—it can be strangely hard to find locally caught squid, but that’s what’s on the menu at Abalonetti. The calamari is fried to perfection, not too dry or too tough. That you can enjoy these meaty pieces of local calamari with a view of the harbor (from either indoors or out), accompanied by a full bar doesn’t hurt, either. This is no Squid Game— this is just simple deliciousness. BEST CHARCUTERIE PLATE Folktale Winery & Vineyard 8940 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel (831) 293-7500, folktalewinery.com Charcuterie boards are like the common puzzle. Organize the pieces on a flat surface to make a beautiful picture. Some puzzles are simple, some are works of art, worthy of a frame. The pieces on a charcuterie board are varied—they can be seasonal, they could be sprinkled with seasonings, paired with jams or decorated with flowers aside assortments of meat, cheese or fruit. If there is a restaurant that knows how to puzzle their food boards best, it is surely Folktale, sometimes with their stoneground mustard, pickled veggies to pair with thinly sliced meats and sharp, creamy cheeses. Choose your puzzle. BEST STEAK FRITES Fandango 223 17th St., Pacific Grove (831) 372-3456, fandangorestaurant.com In the game of limbo, participants need to bend over backward to successfully move under the ever-lowering bar. In the restaurant business, not everyone bends over backwards to make your meal special. The team at Fandango does, where you’re sure to have an elegant, impeccably crafted meal. That is true even of the simplest dish, steak frites. Those frites must be perfectly crispy, and the steak left to speak for itself after being seared precisely to your liking. That’s how to win readers’ votes in this classic bistro category. BEST FAST CASUAL BURGER In-N-Out Burger 151 Kern St., Salinas 1350 Del Monte Blvd., Seaside (800) 786-1000, in-n-out.com We remember when the Seaside location first opened years ago. The line of cars went around the building and then down the street for several blocks, and not for a couple of hours, but for a couple of days. Years later, it’s still as popular. So is the location in Salinas. Such loyalty is not easy Best Poke | Marina Poke House
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