Recent Weekly E-Newsletters
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A Tasty Year in Review:
Best Food Blogs of 2012
 Over the last week, the Food Blog munched through the top 12 foodie stories of 2012, and there were some doosies - the debut of the Independent Marketplace in Sand City, new eras at Marinus and Sierra Mar and mad drama in Carmel.
The top story lines of 2012 were so tasty and filling, in fact, they came in four courses: Stories 1-2 Stories 3-4 Stories 5-8 Stories 9-12 The final list:
12. Chains charm Salinas.
11. Hyperlocal coverage goes global.
10. Controversy comes to Carmel.
9. The Bench supplants Club XIX.
8. Carmel Valley rises.
7. Monterey County helps pioneer CSFs.
6. Local stars from tiny towns go national.
5. The Weekly provides a local seafood fraud reality check.
4. Coastal Luxury Management builds its prodigious brand.
3. Independent Marketplace changes the farmers market game.
2. The best Monterey County restaurants - Aubergine, Marinus and Sierra Mar - get even better.
1. Star chefs show their ability to save us from ourselves.
Now it's your turn. What stories do you think will make the list in 2013? Visit the Weekly Facebook, weigh in and earn a chance to win a pound of coffee. Visit the Weekly's Facebook >> |
* Beer beauties: Point Pinos Grill partners with Uncommon Brewers for a four-courser of its own ($60) Friday, Jan. 18, and Cannery Row Brewing Company heads south all weekend long Jan. 17-20 with a San Diego Beer Invasion-kickoff Thursday, Jan. 17, with 35 Stone Brew drafts, 20 Green Flashs and 14 from Port Brewing and Lost Abbey. There's also a Stone Brewing seminar-tasting-dinner ($55) Jan. 18 with Head Brewmaster Mitch Steele, beer geek nirvana Saturday, Jan. 19, with Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur and a pig roast ($35) Jan. 20 with all sorts of Green Flash flavor. The next night CRBC sister 1833 hosts a wine dinner ($85) with Elisa Scavino, four single vineyard Barolos matched with four insane Levi Mezick courses and all magnum wines.
* I swear it's not a trick question: What's better than an agave-mezcal dinner with Southwest cuisine mastermind Cy Yontz? A second annual agave-mezcal dinner Jan. 24, because it means all the dishes (quail confit tamales, poblano-crusted sturgeon), drinks (crema de mezcal adult milkshakes) and guest stars (Del Maguey's Ron Cooper, El Diablo guest chefs Sean Yontz and Martin Garcia) at Rio Grill (625-5436) are that much more wired for wonder. $75.
* The 26th anniversary bargain deal at Fandango (372-3456) has been extended to six days a week, Monday through Saturday: lunch for two-soup or salad, entr�e choice and profiteroles - for $26.
* Last month Casa Munras hotel - and its Esteban restaurant (375-0176) - sold to Cannery Row Company (whose holdings include Sardine Factory and a ton of properties in New Monterey) for $14.5 million. I observed the moment the best way I know how: with one of the best happy hours (5-7pm daily and all day Sunday) in the area - $4 sangria, bargain bites like $5 mussels and $4 garbanzo bean-shrimp salad. Yum.
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 When it comes to discoveries, finding out that
one of the biggest wine producers in the world calls South Monterey County home ranks right up there. We reported as much just a few weeks ago as Gonzales' Constellation Wines helped the city install solar panels as part of a green initiative. Another Constellation discovery awaited: The Black Box Wine, a surprisingly good three-liter vessel of Chardonnay or Shiraz made with Monterey County grapes (the Shiraz is a mixture of Monterey and Paso Robles fruit). The box benefits include a reduced carbon footprint, surprising staying power - it seals in freshness for several weeks - and a bargain $20 tag for four bottles' worth of wine. But that isn't nearly as meaningful if the wine tastes like gasoline. Fortunately the qualities that have earned the Chard more than a dozen "best buy" designations from Wine Enthusiast are clear - it isn't cloying or overly sweet like many affordable whites, and doesn't need to be served insanely cold either. It has an easy, balanced but full flavor to it. Black Box can be found at Smart N Final, BevMo and Walmart. Speaking of Wine Enthusiast, the storied pub just named Monterey County one of its top 10 wine destinations in the world. Read more about Why Monterey County Owns Napa Valley on the blog.
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