Leslie Sbrocco: …seasonal Thai cuisine in Santa Cruz…
Ashley Houts: It’s like fall and spring together in one plate.
Leslie Sbrocco: …and seaside slurps and sips in Monterey…
Vicki Traylor: A ton of fresh crab.
Robert Fernandez: Yes.
Leslie Sbrocco: …on a special Monterey Bay area edition of Check, Please!
Like “buttah”!
Ashley Houts: Delicious. Yeah. It’s like “buttah.”
[music playing]
Leslie Sbrocco: Hi, I’m Leslie Sbrocco. Welcome to a very special edition of Check, Please! Bay Area. Today we’re venturing down the coast to explore the scenic Monterey Bay area. We have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots, and the other two go check them out to see what they think. Joining me at the Check, Please! table today are supervising naturalist Ashley Houts, retired school teacher Vicki Traylor, and real estate broker Robert Fernandez. Welcome, everyone. Are you ready for a good show?
Robert Fernandez: Yes, we are. We are great.
Ashley Houts: We’re so excited!
Leslie Sbrocco: Robert gets us started with his favorite lunchtime hangout. From melt-in-your-mouth brisket to house-smoked cold cuts, all sustainably sourced from local ranches, it’s a true meat lover’s paradise. Located in Seaside, it’s The Meatery Butchery and Eatery.
Todd Fisher: Okay, so calamari po’boy. Meatball? One burger, one fry, please. Goomba now. Mac-n-cheese right now too.
[music playing]
Todd Fisher: We are The Meatery in Seaside, California. Shaking and baking, bro. We are a destination deli…
Man #1: Oregon Hill.
Todd Fisher: All the way from Oregon Hill to come here.
Man #2: San Martin.
Man #1: Yes, sir. That’s right.
Todd Fisher: …offering not just good sandwiches, but great sandwiches.
Customer: Mmm! The best.
Todd Fisher: I took 30 years of being a chef and sandwiched it between two pieces of bread. I mean, our sandwiches are just unbelievable.
[music playing]
Todd Fisher: People walk in and they’re kind of like overwhelmed by all the things we have going on in here. We always kind of reassure them — “Take your time. There’s a lot to take in.” French inspiration in my culinary background. You can see it through the entire menu in all the offerings. We craft all of our own sausages in-house, probably 27 flavors on a given week. We offer about five different pâtés on a regular basis. We do amazing hand-cut steaks and roasts. We do all of our own dry aging in-house. We actually use a gravity technique where we hang all of our steaks. For our pastrami Reuben, we take American Wagyu brisket, and we cure that for 12 days before we pepper it and smoke it. Our signature item is actually our smoked brisket. We smoke it for 18 hours, so it just literally jiggles as we slice it. Just a spectacular piece of meat. Teaching is one of my core values. It has been ever since I’ve been in the business. As the consumer comes in and if I’m trying to talk to them about a new cut that they may not have experienced, being able to walk them through how to prepare it. Now when they come back in and they’re like, “My family loved this steak I made!” it’s a pretty cool experience at the end of the day. That’s a steak. My mantra is “Be great every day.”
Man #3: Just checking out the dogs.
Todd Fisher: We’re definitely a family-owned and operated business, and by “operated” I mean literally almost every person in here is family.
Woman: Any wedge fries or mac-n-cheese for you?
Todd Fisher: We all long for that personal connection.
Man #4: Thank you, Chef.
Todd Fisher: Cheers, guys. It’s why I became a chef — that experience of seeing somebody so satisfied.
Man #4: Mm! That was great.
All: Salud!
Leslie Sbrocco: Now, Robert, besides being fun to say — The Meatery Butchery and Eatery…
Robert Fernandez: Right.
Leslie Sbrocco: …it’s a really special place, isn’t it?
Robert Fernandez: It is. Their array in the meat case is just spectacular. But also what they offer as far as lunch items and specials is really fantastic. Top of the list for me would definitely be the brisket. It’s just the right combination of char from the smoke, and it literally just falls apart. Super savory. It’s delicious.
Leslie Sbrocco: I heard Ashley over there going, “Ohh…”
Ashley Houts: Mm, it just sounds so good! Because I didn’t have that one. I had the Reuben, which was…
Robert Fernandez: Yes.
Ashley Houts: I love a Reuben. If I see it on a menu and we’re getting sandwiches, that’s what I’m gonna get. But it’s different here at The Meatery because it’s not your traditional sauerkraut. It’s a Brussels sprout kraut…
Vicki Traylor: Oh, wow.
Ashley Houts: …which is also fun to say. Brussels sprout kraut. But it was delicious. Like, I could have just a side of that alone. But the meat was, like you said, with the brisket just like falling apart, melt in your mouth, so juicy. One of those sandwiches while you’re eating it, it’s dripping down your arms and you don’t care because it’s just so tasty.
Vicki Traylor: Wah. Well, I was disappointed because we were there at about 12:40 and they were out of it.
Ashley Houts: Oh, no!
Robert Fernandez: Ah. Okay.
Leslie Sbrocco: Out of the brisket and the Reuben?
Vicki Traylor: No, they were out of the Reuben.
Leslie Sbrocco: Okay.
Robert Fernandez: Right.
Vicki Traylor: But then I did ask to get a sample of the brisket. It was, as you said, it was just like melt in your mouth, like you could just cut it with your fork.
Robert Fernandez: Right.
Vicki Traylor: So we just had a sample of that. My husband got the Goomba, which is it’s basically an Italian sub. And it was really delicious. The bread was very soft and perfect with sesame seeds on the top. We also had delicious potato salad.
Ashley Houts: Mmm!
Vicki Traylor: I loved it.
Robert Fernandez: They also do a Caesar salad. It’s one of the Caesar salads to which others aspire to be.
Ashley Houts: Wow, ooh, I’ll have to try.
Robert Fernandez: Perfectly seasoned dressing. And it also features potato wedges, which you wouldn’t necessarily see in a Caesar salad, but it works so well. Crunchy on the outside. Really nice and soft on the inside. So flavorful. And it’s just — it’s a beautifully prepared salad. And don’t miss the pâté. It’s a French country-style pâté accompanied with a lovely mustard, cornichons, fried capers, and a beautiful baguette. It’s just spectacular. He has an amazing curated list of wines that he offers. That particular day I had the CdP. I will spare myself with trying to pronounce it correctly.
Leslie Sbrocco: The Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Robert Fernandez: That one. [Laughs] And it was amazing because it paired so well with everything that we had ordered that day on the menu.
Vicki Traylor: I had the bánh mì sandwich. So it did have pâté, and it was delicious. Not too fatty, and succulent. And the jalapeños and the pickled vegetables, and the bánh mì bread was beautiful.
Leslie Sbrocco: Have you had the bánh mì before?
Robert Fernandez: I have had the bánh mì, and it is also a very, very good sandwich. It’s really hard to pick because there’s so many great options there. Also the po’boy. A calamari steak po’boy, which was just great.
Ashley Houts: Oooh.
Robert Fernandez: Really nice crunch to the calamari that’s really perfectly breaded. Juicy, soft. It has this relish on it that pairs so nicely with the calamari. Super-soft bread. It’s amazing. The other item that I don’t know if you had a chance to try is the beef rib. It’s a monster of a beef rib. The char that it has on it. And just…
Vicki Traylor: Like the brisket.
Robert Fernandez: Yes, and just how juicy it is and flavorful and melts in your mouth. It’s an amazing rib.
Leslie Sbrocco: Is it for one person? Or five? [Laughter]
Robert Fernandez: I would say one of their ribs would be more than enough for two people to share.
Leslie Sbrocco: Okay.
Ashley Houts: I know it’s called The Meatery, but what was really delicious that I would go back there for was their mac-n-cheese.
Leslie Sbrocco: Oh!
Ashley Houts: Did you try that?
Robert Fernandez: Yes, mac-n-cheese.
Ashley Houts: Oh, my gosh, so it’s a blend of cheeses that’s just exquisite. We ordered one to share at the table and we’re all, like, just starting. Oh, it was gone in a flash.
Robert Fernandez: [Laughs] But the thing about their mac-n-cheese that’s different is it has a bit of, like, pimento flavor.
Robert Fernandez: Yes.
Ashley Houts: My family, we love pimento cheese dip. It’s, like, the fact that that was, like, in their mac-n-cheese was so good. And they sell a container of it that you can take and bake at home, and I had it again that night because we got that container.
Leslie Sbrocco: You got that container.
Ashley Houts: It was so good.
Vicki Traylor: They had a lot of beautiful things to take home, and I took home quite a few. [Laughter] They had these marinated mushrooms.
Ashley Houts: Mmm.
Vicki Traylor: All these, like, garlic butters and just all these things that would make a meal at home wonderful.
Robert Fernandez: Right.
Leslie Sbrocco: Meatery, butchery, eatery, shoppery.
Vicki Traylor: There you go.
Ashley Houts: Exactly.
Robert Fernandez: One-stop shop.
Leslie Sbrocco: [Laughs] Alright. If you would like to try The Meatery Butchery & Eatery, it’s located on Fremont Boulevard in Seaside. And the average tab per person without drinks is around $30. Vicki’s restaurant is the quintessential definition of a hidden gem. Tucked inside a rare and used book shop, it’s a cozy little spot for curries, roti, and other traditional Thai delights. Located in downtown Santa Cruz, it’s Hanloh Thai Food.
Lalita Kaewsawang: Hanloh Thai Food — well, we cook really good Thai food, and a lot of them come from my childhood. So this is nam prik lon, the crabmeat coconut relish. I always try to tell a story. Every dish that’s on the menu has a part of me in it somewhere.
So Hanloh started in 2018. We were doing pop-ups and catering everywhere. And in 2021, I got a call from Bad Animal, which is a bookstore and a wine bar in Santa Cruz, to be a chef residency. It’s pretty casual, very Santa Cruz. Never in my life I thought I would be opening a restaurant in a bookstore.
I started cooking because that’s how I stay connected to home. My mother is a street food vendor in Bangkok, and she’s really inspired me to cook. The street vendors have very focused menus and I love their movements. I love how meticulous their ingredients are. I’m very inspired by that.
When I established my career in Santa Cruz, I started to realize, to make this unique, you have to use local ingredients.
One of the dishes on our menu is roti martabak, which has a lot of Indian influence and Muslim influence. My mother is Muslim Thai. So this is a dish that is a homage to my mom and to her heritage. So I chose to make it all vegan. It’s like a blend of Thai culture and Santa Cruz.
The nice part about us being in a bookstore is sometimes when people have to wait, they can get a glass of wine and browse the book, and it doesn’t feel like they’re actually waiting that much longer. They wait for a while, but it doesn’t feel like it.
Our food is made for sharing, so order family style, a couple glasses of wine. It’s pretty chill. [Laughs]
Leslie Sbrocco: Okay, Vicki, so, hidden inside a used bookstore.
Vicki Traylor: It’s called Bad Animal.
Ashley Houts: And the Bad Animal is an American badger, which is one of my favorite animals! I sat —
Leslie Sbrocco: You can tell us about that.
Ashley Houts: Yeah! They’re ferocious, but so cool. But I sat right underneath a taxidermied badger. Just like all the stuff on the wall — not just the bookstore — the bookstore was wonderful.
Robert Fernandez: It’s just — it’s such a great feeling when you’re in there.
Leslie Sbrocco: Very Santa Cruz.
Robert Fernandez: Very Santa Cruz. That’s a great point.
Ashley Houts: I just kept saying, “This place is so hip.” You’re hanging out, you’re talking.
Leslie Sbrocco: They’re not turning tables.
Ashley Houts: They’re not. That’s not what they’re for.
Leslie Sbrocco: Alright, Vicki, so many dishes to try. But do you have a favorite?
Vicki Traylor: I do. My favorite is an appetizer. I think it’s called nam prik lon. And it is a beautiful crab custard with a lot of fresh crab. It has makrut leaves. The preparation of all the vegetables is like a feast for the eyes. And then the shrimp crackers that you dip in. And it’s absolutely delicious.
Ashley Houts: So we sat down and we saw this dish keep going out to all of these different tables, and we asked our server, “What is that?” And she said, “Oh, it’s my favorite salad. You have to get it.” It was the yum galumpii. It was with tofu. Just perfectly cooked. Crispy on the outside, warm and soft, like almost gooey tofu on the inside. It had all of the cabbage and cilantro and lime, was really, really fresh flavors. But then there was a crunch with the peanuts in there. We just devoured it, and I could have just had like three of those salads for my dinner. I crave it, and I want to go back for that.
Leslie Sbrocco: Did you start with anything?
Robert Fernandez: I did. I had the scallop salad, and that salad — I would go back just for that salad. It was so good. The scallops with a dried shrimp also. They just — they were paired beautifully together.
Leslie Sbrocco: Have you had this salad before?
Vicki Traylor: We did, we did. It just — the scallops are melt-in-your-mouth.
Robert Fernandez: Yes.
Vicki Traylor: And then, yeah, it comes with lettuce so you can wrap it. It was just dressed perfectly, because you could taste the makrut lime, you could taste the fish sauce. But nothing was overpowering. Just fresh and delicious.
Leslie Sbrocco: So a good way to start, with a salad, one of the salads.
Robert Fernandez: Good way to start is with the salad. The fried chicken.
Vicki Traylor: Oh, my gosh.
Robert Fernandez: Oh, gosh. The fried chicken is just perfectly prepared.
Leslie Sbrocco: All three of you are going…
Robert Fernandez: Yes. The fried chicken, super crispy on the outside, super juicy on the inside, paired with a sauce that was just really a nice complement.
Vicki Traylor: It was perfectly fried.
Robert Fernandez: It was great.
Vicki Traylor: And the presentation is so beautiful. They’ve made the cucumber look so pretty.
Leslie Sbrocco: Mm-hmm.
Man: It’s so good. It’s — always. Melt in your mouth.
Vicki Traylor: I love the cod.
Ashley Houts: Mm-hmm.
Vicki Traylor: You talked about “melt in your mouth” with the other dish, but the cod…
Ashley Houts: It’s fabulous. And it’s local and it’s sustainable, but it just flakes apart. And it was like we just kept saying, like, “Is this butter? Are we eating butter?” ’cause it was just so flavorful.
Vicki Traylor: And it’s steamed in a broth, a spicy kind of…
Ashley Houts: It’s spicy.
Vicki Traylor: …lemongrass broth with a little chili. I mean, it so perfect…
Ashley Houts: Lime and coconut in there.
Vicki Traylor: …to put the jasmine rice in to soak it all up. So it was perfect.
Ashley Houts: And then the wine, they have all these natural wines. We got this really nice German white wine that paired perfectly with everything we got.
Robert Fernandez: Yes.
Leslie Sbrocco: We haven’t talked about the roti.
Ashley Houts: It’s delicious. We had the roti.
Vicki Traylor: You did?
Ashley Houts: Yes, we did. And it’s stuffed with yams and caramelized onions. And I was like, “Oh, my gosh, it feels like I’m eating fall.” But it’s paired with a really light cucumber salad.
Robert Fernandez: Yes.
Ashley Houts: I was like, oh, my goodness. The combination, it’s like fall and spring together in one plate. It was so good.
Vicki Traylor: What did you get for dessert?
Ashley Houts: A coconut-pandan custard. And the waiter that brought it out, he, like, leaned over to us and said, “You’re gonna love this. I can’t get enough of it.” And so the custard itself was really thick, but also light, because it’s coconut, but it was green. And I was like, “Wait, why is it green?”
Leslie Sbrocco: Pandan.
Ashley Houts: Well, pandan is — yeah. It’s like a tropical plant…
Vicki Traylor: Oh!
Ashley Houts: …that’s mixed in with the coconut. And it was served with this brioche bread. The brioche was so buttery and you dip it in there, and, ohh, it was so good. But we also got the coconut ice cream with that beautiful cookie.
Vicki Traylor: With the little cookie.
Ashley Houts: Yeah!
Robert Fernandez: With the cookie. Yes.
Vicki Traylor: So delicious.
Ashley Houts: It’s so pretty too.
Robert Fernandez: Didn’t last. It was great.
Vicki Traylor: Ours didn’t either.
Ashley Houts: I feel like the dishes were like her work of art, the chef’s work of art.
Robert Fernandez: The quality and the preparation of everything that we received that day that we ordered was really great.
Vicki Traylor: Every person I know that has gone there has really loved it, so I’m happy that you liked it too.
Robert Fernandez: Well, you can count one more on that list. It was very tasty.
Ashley Houts: Two more.
Robert Fernandez: Enjoyed it very.
Leslie Sbrocco: Alright, if you would like to try Hanloh Thai Food, it’s located on Cedar Street in Santa Cruz. The average multi-course tab per person without drinks is around $75.
Leslie Sbrocco: Ashley’s nautically themed restaurant holds a special place in her heart. It’s where she got engaged. Step onto the terrace with a cocktail in hand and the ocean breeze in your hair, and it’s not hard to feel a romantic vibe settling in. Located inside Monterey Plaza Hotel, it’s Schooners Monterey.
[music playing]
Michael Rotondo: Schooners is really our quintessential Monterey restaurant. Our location is right on Cannery Row. Very historic. You can see one of the last canneries adjacent to our restaurant. I’m originally from Boston, Massachusetts. I gravitate towards water, so being here on the Pacific really makes me feel at home.
Our menu is based on the seasons. All our seafood is sustainable. We really listen to our fishermen. Whatever type of seafood is at the highest quality is what kind of is gonna get my attention.
Man: So good.
Michael Rotondo: I’m really super proud that we put on some local Monterey anchovies. We cure it, pickle it, and it goes on this amazing toasted focaccia bread. Just a couple one-biters, but it really is a great way to start your meal.
Woman #1: Tell me when.
Woman #2: That’s when. When.
Michael Rotondo: A lot of people ask me what is the secret to our clam chowder. Well, it is a secret, but we do use sherry wine that has this beautiful kind of undertone. It’s creamy. It’s delicious. It’s super yummy.
We hollow out this sourdough bread that is made to order. So have that with a beautiful IPA, and you’re good to go.
Our seafood pasta — the pasta is made daily. We do have some dry-aged steaks on the menu too, so it’s not all seafood.
This view is unbelievable. On any given day when you’re sitting out here at Schooners patio, you’re gonna see sea otters, you’re gonna see sea lions, you’re gonna see the fog kind of rolling in. You’re also potentially gonna get wet by some of these crashing waves that can hit the sides of these rocks. You get a splash. And that’s kind of part of the experience.
It’s really beautiful, very tranquil. But also there’s a jovial kind of ambiance to our dining room. It’s a pretty fun time here at Schooners.
Leslie Sbrocco: Now, Ashley, this might not be your typical hotel restaurant, right? How did you discover this?
Ashley Houts: It’s definitely not. So the first time we stayed there, we were celebrating my husband graduating fire academy, which is a big deal for firefighters. The next time we went there, he proposed.
Leslie Sbrocco: Ohh!
Vicki Traylor: Ohh!
Ashley Houts: And it was one of those places where even if you’re not celebrating an engagement, you know, or a birthday, it’s just such a beautiful place to go for a meal.
Robert Fernandez: When you walk into the doors of the restaurant, you’re actually walking out into that outdoor terrace area from where we entered.
Ashley Houts: It feels like you’re on a boat.
Robert Fernandez: Yes, it does!
Ashley Houts: You’re suspended over the bay. The wind’s blowing, but then they have the heaters so you’re not cold. And I always come equipped with my binoculars because I love wildlife, so I’m out there looking for otters and they’re always right there.
Vicki Traylor: We ate inside right by the window. Absolutely gorgeous views of everything. I loved it.
Robert Fernandez: Yes. Absolutely.
Leslie Sbrocco: And the food is an event in itself, right? You can get big towers, and you can get all sorts of things, sardines and…
Ashley Houts: Did anybody have the Supreme Plaza Mary? This Bloody Mary, it’s like a meal in a glass in itself. It’s a big, beautiful goblet. And it comes with two thick slices of bacon and these perfectly poached shrimp. There’s blue-cheese-stuffed olives. There’s pepperoncinis. It’s just like so many things. And then it’s a perfect spiciness. To be out there with the wind in your hair. Or inside.
Leslie Sbrocco: So that’s your appetizer.
Ashley Houts: That’s your appetizer.
Robert Fernandez: We started out with the burrata. Burrata was visually beautiful. First bite I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t more flavorful.
Vicki Traylor: Gooey.
Robert Fernandez: But beautifully prepared dish.
Vicki Traylor: Over arugula and sliced tomatoes and watermelon around the outside, with this delicious, delicious sourdough with balsamic glaze. It just — it was so delicious.
And then we got the most amazing salad, the Pacific seafood salad. And it had poached prawns that were fabulous, but a ton of fresh crab, very generous. And sliced ahi that was seared perfectly. The sesame dressing. It was so good. I will go back for that salad any time.
Robert Fernandez: Well, the one dish that I will definitely go back for were the brined anchovies.
Ashley Houts: Ohh!
Robert Fernandez: The anchovy dish…
Leslie Sbrocco: They’re known for that dish. Yeah, absolutely.
Robert Fernandez: The brined anchovies were just amazing. Perfectly brined. Really nice salt. And it also had olive tapenade. The dish was amazing.
Ashley Houts: Did anybody have the clam chowder?
Vicki Traylor: It’s delicious. Perfect creaminess. The potatoes were just the right size.
Ashley Houts: Right? It’s really creamy and rich, but it’s not so thick. It’s still light. The clams themselves, just like butter, melt in your mouth —
Leslie Sbrocco: Like “buttah”!
Ashley Houts: Yeah. It’s like buttah. So good.
Robert Fernandez: Let me tell you about the tuna poke. The tuna poke was really marvelous also. The way it was prepared with the sticky rice, avocado. There was one thing that I felt that it could have done without, and that was the mango. For me, the mango took a little bit away from the tuna, but the tuna poke itself was a really beautiful dish. Oh, gosh, I’d go back for all of them. It was great.
Leslie Sbrocco: You’re shaking your head, Ashley. You’ve had that.
Ashley Houts: Yes, I’ve had that before. They do a great job with all of their “raw bar,” they call it — their oysters, you can get a seafood tower, their ceviche. Mm!
Vicki Traylor: We also got the crab BLT.
Ashley Houts: Yes.
Robert Fernandez: Wow.
Ashley Houts: Yeah.
Vicki Traylor: It had so much crab. And it was served on this thick, soft, beautiful brioche, which I will say didn’t hold up that well because they had so much crab.
Ashley Houts: Just so much crab. Yeah.
Vicki Traylor: But it didn’t matter. I ate it with a knife and fork.
Leslie Sbrocco: Not a real complaint.
Robert Fernandez: That’s a terrible problem to have.
Vicki Traylor: And it had the bacon. And somebody was like, “I would think the bacon would take away from the crab.” No. It was so delicious.
Ashley Houts: Did anyone have the mussels?
Leslie Sbrocco: Mm.
Ashley Houts: Mmm.
Robert Fernandez: No, did not have the mussels.
Leslie Sbrocco: But I can see that look in your eye like…
Vicki Traylor: Like that they were good.
Ashley Houts: So good. I mean, and if you like the Thai flavors of coconut and lime, they’re so fresh. They’re just really plump, beautiful, big mussels, but so tender. And it comes with, again, that really nice sourdough crostini and can sop up everything and then use your spoon when the bread runs out ’cause it’s such a good sauce.
Robert Fernandez: The dish that I was really impressed with was the cioppino. It comes out in a pot. I’ve got to tell you, the amount of seafood in this cioppino was really impressive. Shrimp. Clams. Mussels. Seasonal fish. It’s a saffron-based sauce that’s just really so beautifully seasoned. And the waiter was really generous enough to see that I was done with the bread that came with the actual dish, so he brought additional bread for me because —
Leslie Sbrocco: That’s because it’s “sop-up-able.”
Robert Fernandez: Yes, yes, that is —
Vicki Traylor: Sop-up-able.
Robert Fernandez: That’s the technical term.
Leslie Sbrocco: What about desserts? Any room, anyone?
Vicki Traylor: Well, we didn’t, but my granddaughter, she got the ice cream sundae. And of course we took bites and —
Leslie Sbrocco: “My granddaughter got it, not me.”
Vicki Traylor: Not me. Of course not.
Leslie Sbrocco: [Laughs]
Vicki Traylor: But I had a couple bites, and just everything, they presented it so well and they did a really good job of making you feel special. It was really a nice experience.
Ashley Houts: They just go the extra mile there to make you feel so special.
Robert Fernandez: They did. They absolutely did.
Leslie Sbrocco: So you will be back?
Robert Fernandez: Absolutely.
Vicki Traylor: As will I.
Leslie Sbrocco: Alright. If you would like to try Schooners Monterey, it’s located on Cannery Row in the Monterey Plaza Hotel. The average multi-course tab per person without drinks is around $65.
Leslie Sbrocco: Looking for more Bay Area bites you’ve just got to try?
Cecilia Phillips: [Laughs]
Leslie Sbrocco: Check out Cecilia Tries It online at kqed.org/checkplease.
I want to thank my amazing guests on this week’s show — Ashley Houts, who says “I do” time and time again to the seafood delights at Schooners Monterey; Vicki Traylor, whose pick of Hanloh Thai in Santa Cruz will thrill bookworms and foodies alike; and Robert Fernandez, who pairs his pâté with a Châteauneuf-du-Pape at The Meatery Butchery & Eatery in Seaside.
Join us next time when three more guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on Check, Please! Bay Area.
I’m Leslie Sbrocco, and I’ll see you then.
Cheers, everyone.
All: Cheers!
Leslie Sbrocco: Cheers! Whoo-hoo!
[music playing]
Todd Fisher: Everybody’s hyped on brisket. The key to a good slice is across the grain. Like any piece of meat, you always want to cut across the grain. We’ll go through that bark, and we’ll just kind of cut straight down. It’s a difficult cut, but it’s an amazing cut, right? So well marbled, so rich, so unctuous. We have some guests that want the fattier point end and some that want the leaner end. We get a ton of Texans here who will never say that it’s the best brisket they’ve ever had, but they put it up there as a high watermark.
