{"id":2628,"date":"2017-04-20T13:28:09","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T17:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/santacruzfoodie.com\/?p=2628"},"modified":"2017-04-20T13:28:40","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T17:28:40","slug":"divine-dinner-options-at-hyatt-carmel-highlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/santacruzfoodie.com\/?p=2628","title":{"rendered":"Hyatt Carmel Highlands features divine dinner options"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Almond

Almond yogurt with root vegetables at California Market at Pacific’s Edge. Photo courtesy of Hyatt Carmel Highlands<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In early March, I visited the Hyatt Carmel Highlands<\/a> and ate dinner at California Market at Pacific\u2019s Edge<\/a> for the first time, and it was one of the best meals I\u2019ve ever had. From the service, to the food, to the views\u2014everything combined to make an incredible, enjoyable experience that I\u2019ll remember for a very long time.<\/p>\n

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Soon after my husband and I sat down, our server David greeted us. He was extremely attentive for the next two hours, and I appreciated his down to earth nature and his enthusiasm and knowledge about the menu offerings.<\/p>\n

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We began with an appetizer, which was almond yogurt mixed with roasted root vegetables and pistachio granola. This is offered a la carte or as course one of the four-course plant based tasting menu ($50, or $80 with wine pairings, the menu rotates every six weeks or so).<\/p>\n

I would not have ordered this dish without the waiter\u2019s recommendation, and wow would I have missed out! Delightful, surprising tastes and textures\u2026when I think of yogurt and granola, that sounds like a breakfast item. This worked beautifully as a light, unusual beginning to dinner.<\/p>\n

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We got the honor of meeting sous chef Pancho Castellon that night. He joined the Hyatt in April 2016, and he is vegan. \u201cIt was (executive chef) Chad Minton\u2019s idea to create a plant-based tasting menu in order to enforce sustainability and to show people that you can still enjoy a full diner without the need of animal proteins,\u201d says Castellon, who helped launch the menu last September.<\/p>\n

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As I talked to chef Pancho about watching some diners try vegan food for the first time, his eyes lit up with enthusiasm. He also became very animated when discussing the great ingredients the restaurant gets from various sources, including all the wonderful local produce. \u201cI find this very inspiring, and love building relationships with our farmers and producers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We followed the first appetizer with an octopus starter that was extremely tender and flavorful. The fish is first done as a confit at a very low heat with California extra virgin olive oil. After the confit process, the octopus is chilled and then finished in the plancha. \u201cThen we add some black garlic emulsion and new potatoes,\u201d shares Castellon. There was also a kalamata olive aioli on the plate and I could have eaten a whole cup of this sauce.<\/p>\n

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One of our favorite dishes that night was Tom Yum soup, which included coconut squash broth plus strong lemongrass and kaffir lime flavors. Chef Pancho shared his inspiration for creating this: \u201cI have always liked Thai coconut soup and was trying to find a way to make it less Thai and more \u2018California\/Pacific like\u2019. It was also perfect for our winter menu. That is why we made the soup using local squash as a base, seasonal vegetables and some of the local foraged mushrooms Far West Fungi brings us.\u201d The restaurant confits the mushrooms to give them a ham-like texture, which we noticed and enjoyed. Indeed, my husband\u2014a devout meat-eater eating vegan soup\u2014wanted to lick his bowl clean, but resisted.<\/p>\n

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California Market at Pacific\u2019s Edge regularly uses Far West Fungi in Moss Landing for mushrooms (both wild and harvested), and receives other ingredients like huckleberries on occasion if these have also been foraged. A majority of the other produce used in the menu comes from a 50-mile radius, including Coke Farm, Brian\u2019s Ranch, Mariquita Farms, Happy\u00a0Boy Farms, and Swank Farms.<\/p>\n

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All of California Market\u2019s menus, curated by executive chef Minton, feature a California map that points out local producers, such as Bellwether Farms Creamery in Sonoma and Monterey Abalone Company in Monterey. The restaurant also follows the guidelines of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and serves cage- and GMO-free eggs in its dishes.<\/p>\n

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Two entrees that stood out were scallops and tuna. The meaty, fresh scallops were served with gorgeous heirloom cauliflower and a to-die-for Romesco sauce. I noticed that the plant-based tasting menu\u2019s third course was a vegan version of the same dish. The main difference was utilizing king trumpet mushrooms instead of scallops. \u201cI really wanted something\u00a0on the tasting menu that represents our regular menu, so I asked our mushroom guys if they could grow some big king trumpet mushrooms for us so I could cut the stems in scallop shapes,\u201d said Castellon. \u201cThen I smoked them with hickory, compressed them with kombu, and seared them like a\u00a0regular scallop.\u201d Castellon says that some couples have ordered both the vegan ones and the regular ones and it\u2019s actually kind of hard to notice the difference\u00a0in the plated dish.<\/p>\n

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The tuna dish was served with beer-battered avocado (so fun and tasty!), jicama cucumber salad, pistachio vinaigrette and piquillo pepper emulsion. The flavors and textures worked together beautifully.<\/p>\n

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Finally, for dessert, we devoured a heavenly chocolate hazelnut tart (I emphasize \u201cdevoured\u201d because we thought we were quite full, but it was too good not to finish). Available on both the regular and tasting menus, it was served with burnt marshmallow, wild huckleberry granite (with berries from Far West Fungi) and whipped coconut cream. One day Castellon was at home reading some cookbooks, brainstorming ideas for a new menu. His wife Kika, who he describes as a \u201chardcore vegan,\u201d came out of the kitchen with S\u2019mores that she made using vegan “nutella” and\u00a0dandies (vegan marshmallows). \u201cI was up all night trying to figure out how to make it happen on the tasting menu. The next day I met with our pastry cook Kasala and started working on the recipe\u2014and it\u2019s vegan, gluten-free and almost sugar free.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I highly recommend you have a meal as soon as possible at California Market at Pacific\u2019s Edge. Since the hotel is celebrating its 100th<\/sup> anniversary this year, there are a few opportunities for trying the food at special events as well. One is the \u201cForks.Corks.Action!\u201d Winemaker series in the Wine Room, where attendees will meet the winemakers and enjoy a four-course dinner with wine paired with each course. During the series, winemakers will discuss the history, culture and qualities of the featured wines from Monterey and Santa Cruz County that will accompany chef Minton\u2019s seasonal, locally sourced and plant-based menus.<\/p>\n

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There will be three Winemakers Dinners in 2017:<\/p>\n

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