Found Treasure: Katy’s Place

July 26, 2024 – Earlier this summer, in the heart of Carmel-by-the-Sea breakfast country, a contrast arose. 

On one side of Mission Street, molten-hot new spot Bistro by Sea—feverish with Instagram-igniting items like the Nutella lava cake French toast—swelled the crowd onto the sidewalk, and the wait for a table past a half hour.

Well, no problem. 

Because 1) Not only does Carmel vie for the most restaurants per resident in the country, that culinary cred climaxes amid the breakfast hour; 2) Among the many options, Katy’s Place sits right across the street, tucked behind redwoods, unconcerned with social media—or, for that matter, credit cards. 

The old-school flow extends beyond the cash-only approach, in all sorts of directions.

Antique tin Coca-Cola and Kayo Chocolate signs coat the walls. A vintage counter looks into the kitchen and makes for easy interaction with staff. Best of all, that staff comes stacked with experience, clearly comfortable in the space and well versed on how to keep a thick coffee mug full. 

That all happens beneath a hand-written chalkboard dripping identity with each special, written in crooked capital letters.

There’s the Jim Nantz “Augusta Green,” an omelette (French spelling, natch) with Monterey Jack cheese, sautéed green chilies, spinach, parsley and jalapeños. (Related note: Friday Found Treasures, radio edition, continues every Friday a little after 12pm noon on 94.7 KRML with myself and the area’s own Jim Nantz, station director Jeff White.)

There’s the Napoleon Benedict with Canadian bacon and cheddar on a potato pancake—show me a place that does that, or a calamari Benedict.

Then there’s the special we went with, the Omelette Ticino with truffle-infused onions, mushrooms, black pepper, garlic and cheddar, which more than surpassed its tagline, “Va bene” (“all right”).

The specials—which on our visit also included biscuits-and-gravy Benedict—complement the primary menu. 

There appears a palette of pancakes, like the banana cakes, pecan cakes, blueberry wheat germ, and the three piglets in blanket, flanked by Belgian waffles and French toast made with Paris Bakery brioche ($9-$21).

One delicious, and stunning, detail there: Those treats come with legendary Funks Grove Maple Sirup out of Bloomington, Illinois. Bernett’s wife Katherine—aka Katy, just like original owner/chef Katy Curry—says as climate change shortens the Funks Grove season, almost all of their “sirup” comes to this since-1982 Carmel favorite.

Other best-sellers are the Benedicts with three Glaum Ranch eggs and from-scratch Hollandaise made every morning, and the sturdy house country potatoes. 

The popular Benedicts are as immodest as they sound. 

Heavy hitters include Miss Audrey’s Lobster (with Maine crustacean, named after Katy Bernett’s mom), Truffle (Canadian bacon, truffle Hollandaise and truffle-buttered muffins), Nova Scotia (with smoked salmon) and New York (with Niman Ranch steak and spicy Serrano pepper Hollandaise)—and the best-selling Dungeness (with fresh crab) and Irish (with corned beef hash). Those start at $23.

Some of the staff, like Randall’s niece Hulda Aradottir, have worked there for 30 years. 

“It’s very busy, goes fast, and we have a lot of regulars,” she says. 

My visit came right around the time Jimmy Fallon and his assistant popped in for blueberry wheat germ pancakes and huevos rancheros, which I didn’t know until Katy told me as much. 

“It was a surprise visit,” she says, adding he shared selfies from out front on “The Tonight Show.” 

She goes on to say a strong team, from kitchen to floor, matches the eager vibe of customers. 

“It’s high energy when we’re full and there’s a line out the door,” she says. “It’s a lot of turn and burn, and a lot of love. We’re eager to please. We have a very strong reputation that we work very hard to maintain.”

Katy’s also does lunch—think loaded chef salads, Angus ground chuck burgers, BLTs on a choice of Kelly’s Bakery breads—but they put a trademark on “Carmel’s Breakfast Tradition” for a reason.

All the comforting elements—including the fact Randall’s there every day, and Katy most days herself—bring me back to two thoughts.

One, celebrating timeless spots like this are a reason we started Found Treasures in the first place, even if they’re far from undiscovered.

Two, shiny new stars like Bistro by the Sea are great for Carmel’s verve, but it’s the classics that hold its heart—and much like wineries in the same appellation, it’s when all the members show out that a place becomes, and remains, a destination. 

More at katysplacecarmel.com.