38 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JULY 9-15, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Chef Ben Hillan has a problem, and it’s of his making. Like other fine dining chefs, he is committed to sourcing quality ingredients with an emphasis on local—which is hardly a challenge when Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette borders Monterey Bay and the Salinas Valley. But Hillan added pork chops to the menu, and the best meat comes from Spain’s Black Iberian hogs which feed on acorns, developing a nutty savor. The marbling is so delicate that it begins to render almost from the moment a chop is pulled from the cooler. “Our biggest issue is that it sells out,” the chef observes. Unlike other items, Hillan can’t simply call up a vendor and have more chops delivered that same day. Even when the source is local, he doesn’t always know what’s coming. The grilled whole fish, for example, depends on the catch at Moss Landing. The chef is versed in local, seasonal ingredients and wood-fired cooking technique. His New York strip is a reminder that steak wants to nuzzle up to flame, to shed its uptown airs and take on a rugged demeanor. There is a bittersweet haze to the beef that calls to mind cords hacked by axes and ash drifting from crude stone firepits. Yet this is still a rich steak. Under the hardy veneer, the meat is plush— juicy and velvety. It’s like greeting stark collars, black tails and white tablecloths inside a rough-hewn pioneer cabin. Some of the tallow is rendered to cook the side of potatoes, giving the humble spuds a similar character, coarse but also dignified. That Salt Wood has both a large open grill in the restaurant and a smoker out back allows the chef to play with fire. Hillan is developing a process—one that suits his demanding nature—for bringing smoke to chicken that is currently brined, steamed then fried to order. But his touch with wood is readily evident. Scallops cooked with flame develop a gruff sweetness. Served shell-on with kumquat and pistachio, the dish is one of the chef’s summer additions to the menu. “You can’t replicate it,” Hillan says of smoke and fire. “We treat it as an ingredient.” He took the helm at Salt Wood six months ago and almost immediately began featuring smoke. While the menu is decidedly ingredient-driven, it remains approachable. Alongside Wagyu beef and imported Ibérico pork are such familiarities as a burger, fish and chips, even mac and cheese. Smoke opens up different possibilities, even with common preparations. Still, Hillan does bring a lot upon himself. Take the artichoke crown, a new appetizer. The chef exalts the meek flavor of the thistle with laurels of aerated hollandaise and black garlic aioli. A patch of edible soil serves as a reminder of its earthbound nature. It’s a conspicuous starter, inspired by who knows what. “I wanted to take an artichoke and make it look like a sunflower,” he explains—sort of. “That was a random thought.” Hillan brings Mexican notes to risotto dressed with roasted corn, cotija, ancho chile and crema. The idea came during a Mexico City bachelor party for his brother, during which the chef paused for some late-night elote. “I thought, ‘How can we elevate this?’” he recalls. “It’s a fun dish.” Foraged mushrooms were given the kabayaki treatment, a Japanese method more typically used for grilling fish that involves repeated coatings of a sweet and sharp baste. Hillan chose to plate the fungi with a fried egg on top, and it’s a reminder that there is something pleasing yet unfathomable about a fried egg done right. It’s not the yolk, although in this case the warm mass eases into juices caused by kabayaki, taming the sweetness just enough. But it was that thin ring of egg white crisped to an inviting brown. It provides a delicate crackle, but also a faint earthy note that teases the mushrooms and the soy glaze. The past tense in reference to the mushroom plate is a reminder. An emphasis on seasonality means saying farewell to some favorite dishes, at least until the rainy season comes around again. But it’s an ethic as important to Hillan as the trinity of wood, fire and smoke. “It’s something as simple as a carrot,” he says about fresh, local, seasonal vegetables grown right. “It’s weird to say, but it tastes like a carrot.” Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette, 3295 Dunes Drive, Marina. (831) 883-5535, saltwoodkitchenandoysterette. com. FIRST COURSE Shrimp take in flavor from the wood-fired grill in the bar at the Marina destination Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette. Chef Ben Hillan says that “you can’t replicate” the style of cooking. COFFEE ROW…Beans of Eden is now open and serving coffee beverages, baked goods, sandwiches and more in Cannery Row. Fuel up for your shopping, strolling or fish-gazing adventures. The cafe fills the old Starbucks location. 711 Cannery Row, Monterey. instagram.com/ beansofeden. WELCOME BACK…Good news: Sweet Reba’s in Carmel is reopening. The team has more work to do in recovering from a February fire, but announced the bakery will welcome guests starting Tuesday, July 14. (The Salinas location remained open throughout). 206 Crossroads Blvd., Carmel. (831) 601-4818, sweetrebas.com. BOBA FEST…A new branch of the Mexico-based boba chain La Chime is now open in Salinas. They serve some of the most fun beverages you can imagine, many topped with cute little ice bears or decadently decorated with toppings like cotton candy, cookies and fresh fruit (if you really must be healthy about it). 1554 N. Sanborn Road, Salinas. (831) 208-6785, lachime.com. MARKET FORCE…Newspapers don’t usually devote space to reviews of individual farmers market vendors. So how do you know which ones to check out? Feedbacker is a new review platform allowing guests to rate vendors at farmers markets in Monterey County and beyond (the site is adding markets). Check it out at feedbacker.market. MAKE SOME BREAD…Maison Iris teamed with their predecessors, Pavel’s Backerei, to bake batches of farmers bread. The popular and healthy—three seeds, nine grains—loaves are available at Grove Market. Meanwhile work continues on Maison Iris, and opening day is getting close. Grove Market is at 242 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. (831) 3759581, grovemarketgrocery.com. BOWL GAME…Tickets are on sale for the Carmel Chamber of Commerce’s Chili Cook-Off, taking place on Sunday, July 26 at Folktale Winery from 1-4pm. $65; $50/chamber members. Carmel Chamber of Commerce, (831) 6243877, carmelchamber.org. BARKING BRUNCH…Tickets are on sale for brunch with a cause. Patria On Main is hosting a brunch to benefit Peace of Mind Dog Rescue on Sunday, July 26. There will be adoptable dogs. $80; $95 with bottomless mimosas. (831) 424-5555, patriaonmain.com. By Jacqueline Weixel MORSELS eatanddrink@montereycountynow.com “I wanted to take an artichoke and make it look like a sunflower.” EAT + DRINK THE SANCTUARY BEACH RESORT Fired Up Salt Wood’s new chef, Ben Hillan, uses smoke as deftly as other ingredients. By Dave Faries
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