December 21, 2021 – Those listed below are not merely restaurants. They are also taco shacks, distillery hybrids, grocery stores, ghost kitchens, resurrected legends, food trucks, super cafes with full-on hydroponic gardens and an adult playground with a tap house in a shipping container.
The shifting definition of where we eat feels in sync with the fast-changing world that is the one we live in today.
That said, many of the year’s best new restaurants tend toward the traditional definition, including the runaway top five.
But you could say those aren’t merely restaurants either, because great restaurants represent so much more than a place to eat, as we learned when they were taken away by a rampaging pandemic—they’re a comfort, a touchstone, a community heartbeat. And so much more.
The staff shirts at one of the very best new eateries of 2021 get at precisely that.
“Food is memories,” the shirts read.
Before the main course comes an appetizer of honorable mentions and various thought nibbles, including plenty of places that don’t fit neatly into the restaurant category.
Bad Animal in Santa Cruz got a new star chef, as did Grasing’s in Carmel, Big Sur Bakery in (you guessed it) Big Sur, and The Meatery in Seaside, so in a way each of those could be considered new, or at least newly reborn.
Valley Hills Deli (soon to be Bear and Flag Roadside) from Emily and Arlen Few and Ada and chef Todd Fisher—the latter couple being the new leadership at The Meatery—is already redefining what a chef-driven deli-market can do with sides, salads and sandwiches.
Elroy’s Fine Foods added a new executive chef, making the gourmet supermarket a real-deal destination for counter-service dining (and a++ natural wine bar).
Barnyard Fried Chicken and Waffles represented the most habit-forming ghost kitchen concept I encountered in 2021.
Meanwhile the hot chicken sandwich wildfire grew. Breakout hit Heatwaves 831 transformed a legally ambiguous pop-up home kitchen operation on a quiet street in Seaside into a brick-and-mortar on Lighthouse in Pacific Grove. Alderwood exec chef Jeffrey Wall and friends opened Flashbird in Abbott Square. Kickin Chicken transformed into Chubbs Chicken Sandwiches in the heart of Santa Cruz.
Sante Adarius added an ambitious food element to its award-winning beer program, which was welcome and tasty news for the ever-evolving Santa Cruz craft beer scene.
Hacienda Kitchen and Valley Taphouse dropped a food truck and an artisan beer/wine bar on a huge expanse of land dotted with picnic tables, lawn games and kids areas. And that’s all tucked behind a reborn Hacienda Hay & Feed Carmel Valley that’s stocked with local and curated prepared goods like Jam’in Carmel Valley preserves, Mylk Maid plant-based “milks” and Happy Girl pickled produce.
Toasted Food Truck proved to be masterful with gourmet grilled cheese and would easily be my favorite new mobile operation of the year—if The Wild Plum hadn’t debuted its own food truck just this week. (Come to think of it, they could be the two finalists in a Monterey Bay Grilled Cheese Super Bowl.)
But…enough with the hors d’oeuvres. Don’t want to spoil your appetite.
Here comes the main course, starting with two restaurants returning from the big banana split beyond.
We’d love to hear any of your thoughts on my rankings, whether profane or profound—and insight on what I overlooked.
10 (tie) • Mi Taqueria
For years Mi Taqueria was an East Salinas institution with several outposts, but they went dark two decades ago. Fortunately those shops where Emmanuel Campos spent a lot of his youth. Now he’s rekindling the family tradition with killer slow-cooked carnitas and fresh shrimp tacos. Community response has been brisk and enthusiastic, with good reason.
10 (tie) • Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn
OK, I know it’s not exactly new, but it was considered dead and done for. The fact that the Benedicts, pancakes and proprietary coffee roast are back and as good as ever, with lifelong chef/hospitality pro Matt Glazer steering the rebirth of the historic spot, is glorious news. Visit website here.
9 • The Power Plant
Moss Landing, population officially 54, might have more quality restaurants per capita than anywhere in the state. Now it has one of its coolest cafes, with top-shelf coffee, chef-driven gourmet toasts, incredible curated retail, a huge pizza oven, ample patios, food truck fest ambitions and an airy, leafy and gorgeous hydroponic plant pavilion/shopping space. A new must-stop between Santa Cruz and Monterey.
8 • The Crab Bucket
The strip-mall setting is a little sterile, but the flavors are anything but. The wife-and-husband-led team is enthusiastic, with some powerhouse pedigree to their resume (they also run the popular Rumble Fish in Scotts Valley). Plus, they dish fresh crab by the bag, which would be enough to make the top 10 on its own.
The fact that tourist-trafficked Cannery Row can suddenly lay claim to Vegan Taco Capital of Monterey County (thanks to The Shack, which debuted in March, and El Cantaro a few blocks up) is hard to believe. So is the cheese- and meat-free depth of flavors in the quesadillas, burritos and chilaquiles here, thanks to kitchen manager Maria Ramirez’s homespun recipes.
6 • Soul Salad
Welcome to salad nirvana. The long-awaited concept stars 13 different salads—100 percent organic, 100 percent assembled fresh to order—with their own matching from-scratch sauces. Think salads like the The Shanti with mango, coconut, chickpeas, chia seeds and turmeric ginger vinaigrette or The Surfer with sliced steak, Parmesan, avocado, pumpkin seeds and Sriracha ranch dressing—made with lettuce that’s never seen the inside of a bag.
5 • Edwin’s Carmel
A close-knit Filipino-American family took the loss of their beloved patriarch (Edwin) as inspiration to reimagine the former Affina as one of the most interesting restaurants in the area, and something Carmel simply hasn’t seen. Think California ingredients woven into contemporary Pacific Rim dishes like Balinese fried chicken, gado gado Indonesian salad and kare-kare, an oxtail-osso buco style dish with peanut sauce, bok choy and striking Filipino-style anchovies. Also in the running with number 4 below for most social restaurant in these here parts.
4 • Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen
The most social eat-and-drink scene by the bay—and a flat-out gorgeous one at that—does top-shelf drinks made with spirits distilled in the adjacent space and underrated food steered by executive chef James Manss. Liquids to savor include the Gin No. 1 with house tonic, lavender, grapefruit and juniper berries to go with the flagship Venus spirit. Grub to slobber over includes 48-hour fried chicken, smoked salmon with purple radishes, wasabi cream and black mustard seeds, mole baby back ribs with habanero-apricot jam, and mussels with fennel, leeks and chili pepper threads. It may have technically opened pre-2021, but the full opening happened this summer.
3 • Trestles
With COVID closures, acclaimed Napa chef Nick Sherman returned to his native Monterey Bay to hatch Trestles in Capitola Village, and local eaters are ecstatic he did. The two key compound words here are hyperlocal and super-seasonal. That approach delivers dishes like local catch paella, crisp pork belly with green apples and watermelon radish, and roasted trumpet mushrooms with gruyere fondue, all served in the attractively updated former Bella Roma space. In a word, yes.
2 • Stokes Adobe
It would be a win if Stokes recaptured a part of the glory past inhabitants have, but they may have achieved one of its best iterations yet, if limited early returns are any indication. Exec chef Bryce Hansen isn’t trying to overdo it, letting fantastic product and produce shine with minimalist treatment—note the seared diver scallops and kanpachi crudo—while still reserving the right to drop flavor bombs like the black truffle roast chicken. The clean revision of the historic building honors its elegant old bones beautifully. Detail-oriented GM/co-owner Sarah Orr took her time on extensive updates, recruiting and training, and it was time well-spent.
1 • Mangia
If I had the chance to draw up a dream restaurant blueprint, it could take many forms. But the fundamentals would go like this: long-held family recipes served by either family or colleagues so close they’re practically family too; fresh ingredient-driven dishes; welcoming and vibrant vibes in a homey and historic spot; reasonable price points; and server attitude priorities. Mangia checks all those boxes. Mom-and-pop mainstays Nuccio and Anna Altomare, who realized a lifelong dream in opening this place on Oldtown Salinas’ Main Street after decades with Gino’s Fine Italian Foods, are hands-on and all heart, and the spot exudes that. And once the truffle gnocchi hits your lips it’s hard to think about anything else.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
