Monterey restaurants seeking to survive the shelter-in-place
During the first shutdown this spring, streets, sidewalks and stores emptied and downtowns looked like the sets of apocalyptic blockbuster movies. In Monterey County, we barricaded ourselves at home unsure about a deadly virus sweeping the globe. We know Hollywood loves sequels and this week brought a frightening follow-up — SIP 2.0.
This time around, we’re all a bit wiser about coronavirus — though clearly not wise enough to have remained vigilant in protecting against the spread — but an eerie pall persists nonetheless. We’ve settled in for yet another “new normal” and hunkered down to preserve critical (and dwindling) ICU capacity.
For the local dining and hospitality industry, that means restaurants have suspended outdoor dining (takeout and delivery may continue) and bars, breweries and wineries have traded tastings for retail operations.
The continued lack of federal relief for the industry has made conditions dire this time around. Small, independent restaurants across the country have been barely clinging on these past nine months. Many industry insiders fear an apocalypse — a real one, not a Hollywood fiction. Already, we’ve seen two dozen businesses in the food and drink genre permanently shutter here in Monterey County. The next month will be makeor-break for many businesses teetering on the edge.
But many diners are turned off by horror stories of takeout. Restaurants are moving mountains to allay these concerns and ensure their patrons have a delicious dinner at home — these are businesses devoted to hospitality after all, and whether you’re enjoying a meal in your dining room or theirs, restaurants remain committed to cultivating comfort through food.
Take recent meals I enjoyed from Monterey’s Bistro Moulin.
French food has a reputation for being finicky. True, a soufflé will simply never work for takeout, but other dishes may still be quite enjoyable taken to go. From a savory roasted chicken and pillow-soft gnocchi to a hearty beef bourguignon and but
tery escargots, my takeout meals from Bistro Moulin have maintained the same thoughtful presentation and fine touch of chefowner Didier Dutertre that I’ve so enjoyed while dining in the cozy bistro over the years. (And I’m appreciative of Colleen Dutertre’s expert wine pairing recommendations. With wines now available at retail prices, it’s a no brainer to add a bottle to enjoy with your meal.)
Travel time is an important consideration for takeout. I absolutely adore Villa Azteca in Salinas, but the 30-minute drive home to Monterey doesn’t do chefowner Susana Alvarez’s enchanting enchiladas and marvelous marrow any fa
vors. It’s pained me that distance has kept me from dining at arguably last year’s best new restaurant.
I’ve found myself rediscovering more local spots in my own backyard that scratch the itch for distant favorites. While I may have taken Villa Azteca out of my rotation, I’ve enjoyed magnificent mole and craveable chipotle chicken at Marina’s Aki Fresh Mex. Chef-owner Isabel Escorcia pours her heart into every dish, recognizing her role in shepherding comfort however we enjoy her food. Aki is the feel-good movie of the winter.
When I was lamenting how Dim Sum Inn sat too far outside my bubble these days, I remembered Tommy’s Wok offers dim sum selections at lunch. Last week I happily ordered a takeaway feast of dim sum. Pork potstickers, shrimp dumplings, rolled rice crepes, stuffed sticky rice — I laughed to myself at the realization that despite a global pandemic, some things will never change, like ordering ridiculously too much dim sum.