Mmmarvelous Monterey, California

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Amazing jellyfish gracefully moving at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Amazing jellyfish gracefully moving at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey is best known for its fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium, a world-class facility well worth the $35 entry fee for its giant tanks of in-your-face sea creatures of all kinds. But it’s also a surprisingly good place to eat… something that’s not sea food.

Thierry Crocquet starts cooking his authentic Brittany crepes

Thierry Crocquet starts cooking his authentic Brittany crepes

What happens when west-coast California meets something distinctly French? You get *Crepes of Brittany, a terrific hole-in-the-wall shop amongst the carnival that is Monterey’s Old Fisherman’s Wharf. When I visit, co-owner Thierry Croquet is manning three circular grills, pumping out sweet crepes with house-made caramel sauce and piles of fresh fruit. But where these guys really shine is their authentic Brittany savoury crepes, or galettes. They’re made from organic buckwheat flour and left to cook till the crepe is a little crispy and the inner ingredients—like my caramelized onion, spinach and cheese—are hot. “It takes time to make them, and the lines can get pretty long in summer,” says French-born but longtime Monterey resident Thierry. “But everybody leaves happy.” Me, too, especially after he hands me a wonderfully chewy but not too sweet sugar crepe, squeezing half a lemon over it as a finishing touch.

The finished product, an egg and salmon savoury crepe

The finished product, an egg and salmon savoury crepe

http://www.crepesofbrittany.com
6C Old Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey
Monday, Thursday, Friday 8 am-3 pm, Saturday-Sunday 8 am-4 pm
Crepes of Brittany on Urbanspoon

Eight dollars is a little stiff for half a sandwich, I’m thinking, as I line up at the counter of *Compagno’s Delicatessen, a little corner store up a steep residential street in Monterey. Then owner Bennett Compagno cuts a soft, fresh ciabatta loaf in half and starts loading it up… with multiple slices of mortadella (with pistachio), slabs of provolone, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and peppers. By the time he’s done, it must weigh nearly three pounds—maybe the thickest sandwich I’ve ever wrestled my jaw around. A big guy in front of me has ordered a whole chicken breast sandwich ($11), and he’s staggering under the load. Compagno’s supports its troops, with military t-shirts pinned to the ceiling and special subs with names like air force, navy seal and the like. After all, any of their fantastic sandwiches could feed a small army. Note: Compagno’s grocery section includes something I’ve never seen before—imported beer from Russia, Romania and Montenegro.

A honking big mortadella sandwich at Compagno's Deli in Monterey

A honking big mortadella sandwich at Compagno’s Deli in Monterey

Compagno’s Delicatessen
2000 Prescott Avenue, Monteray
Weekdays 9 am-6 pm, weekends 9 am-5 pm
Compagnos Market & Deli on Urbanspoon

Blissful Biscuits at Buttercloud Bakery in Medford, Oregon

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David Ouellette strums a flamenco guitar at Buttercloud Bakery & Cafe in Medford, Oregon

David Ouellette strums a flamenco guitar at Buttercloud Bakery & Cafe in Medford, Oregon

I walk into *Buttercloud Bakery & Cafe and am greeted by David Ouellette, sitting in a chair and quietly strumming a flamenco guitar. It’s a wonderful way to be eased into a Sunday morning on the road. And it keeps getting better. I could order a fresh-baked biscuit loaded with egg and bacon (just $5.75) or beef brisket. But I get one unadorned—other than melted butter and fragrant house-made plum citrus jam—so I can savour its delicate crumb. The service is leisurely, but everything’s made to order, and who’s in a hurry? Just then, co-owner Gibson Holub comes by with a mini sample of a goat-pear biscuit, hot from the oven. Bliss.

A fresh, wonderful biscuit and plum citrus jam at Buttercloud Bakery

A fresh, wonderful biscuit and plum citrus jam at Buttercloud Bakery

http://www.buttercloudbakery.com
310 Genessee Street, Medford, Oregon
Tuesday to Saturday 7 am-3 pm, Sunday 8 am-2 pm. Closed Monday

Portland’s Wild, Weird, Wonderful Food Carts

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Sarah serves up an amazing egg/French toast concoction at her Egg Carton outlet

Sarah serves up an amazing egg/French toast concoction at her Egg Carton outlet

There are a staggering 700 food carts in Portland. It may be the food truck capital of the known universe, though in this Oregon city they are stationary and organized in pods throughout the city. I’ll write about this unique food culture in more detail at a later date.

But for now, suffice to say there are some free-spirited, independent cart owners experimenting with some mad food combinations to come up with some amazingly creative, cheap, excellent cuisine. This may be the future of dining out, especially for frugal road fooders looking for something new and exciting. Needless to say, it’s worth the long drive alone. I may never leave this nourishing city.

Got time for only one food-cart breakfast and can’t decide between something eggy or sweet? At *The Egg Carton, enjoy the best of both worlds by ordering the Famous FoPo Christo, a combination of, get this, fried egg, bacon chunks, Tillamook cheddar, spicy mustard and strawberry jam, sandwiched between two slices of French toast. Believe me, it tastes a hell of a lot better than it sounds. The French toast alone, featuring thick slices of Texas toast, is more custardy tender than most conventional kinds I’ve eaten. And the jammy mixture in the middle somehow works. Trust me, just look at the picture and then order it. The Ronald is another popular egg-and-cheese choice along the same lines, this time with a cart-made sausage patty, an English muffin and maple syrup.

French toast/egg sandwich at Egg Carton. You know you want one

French toast/egg sandwich at Egg Carton. You know you want one

The Egg Carton
5205 SE Foster Road (Foster Food Cart Pod)
Thursday, Friday and Monday 8:30 am-2 pm, weekends 9 am-3 pm. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday

I’m waiting for my margherita to come out of the wood-fired oven at the Pyro Pizza food cart. And I must say, it’s a wonderful, 12-inch pie, with a thin, chewy crust, fresh mozza and big basil leaves, all for a ridiculously cheap $7; I’ve paid three times as much for a lot less elsewhere.

$7 for this magnificent margherita pie at Pyro Pizza

$7 for this magnificent margherita pie at Pyro Pizza

Anyway, while I’m waiting, I wander around the southeast Portland food-cart pod and pass PBJ’s Grilled sandwiches. Not bloody likely, I think. But then out pops owner Keena Tallman. “I’m cute and little,” she says, in reference to her name. With a big personality. She’s soon talking me into the merits of grilled sandwiches featuring house-made nut butters paired with jams. While I feebly protest about my impending pizza arrival, she makes me a sample of her award-winning Oregonian—a medley of challah bread, Oregon hazelnut butter, Rogue Creamery blue cheese and house-made marion berry jam (duck is an add on). As I’m wolfing down this “my God, how can this be so good?” grilled sandwich, Keena passes me a little piece of incredible crispy coconut shrimp (it goes with the Spicy Thai sandwich). “Deliciously addictive,” the cart sign says. I’ll say. I’m nut butter in her hands.

Keena assembling my Oregonian sandwich at PBJ's Grilled

Keena assembling my Oregonian sandwich at PBJ’s Grilled

http://www.pbjsgrilled.com
SE 12 Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard cart pod (also at 919 NW 23 Street)
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am-7 pm

Peachy-Keen Beer in Portland, Oregon

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Brewmaster Jason McAdam grills some peaches and Scotch bonnets for a spicy, citrusy beer at Burnside Brewing in Portland

Brewmaster Jason McAdam grills some peaches and Scotch bonnets for a spicy, citrusy beer at Burnside Brewing in Portland

I’m walking down a Portland street, kind of minding my own business, when I see a guy on the sidewalk outside Burnside Brewing grilling some peach halves and peppers on a little Weber charcoal grill. “Whatcha doing?” I ask. “I’m dry hopping our Sweet Heat Ale (an apricot wheat beer, reminiscent of a Jamaican chutney) with these peaches and Scotch bonnet peppers,” says brewmaster Jason McAdam. This special batch needs to sit for three days before being shipped to a beer event in Eugene. Too bad, I say. “Just a sec”, Jason replies, dashing into the brewery to grab me a big, gratis bottle of Sweet Heat, with beads of condensation clouding the glass on this stinking hot September’s day. As I sip the beer from a coffee mug back at the motel, there are definite citrus notes, with some heat kicking in at the back of my throat. Sweet, indeed.

I score a big bottle of Burnside's Sweet Heat Ale

I score a big bottle of Burnside’s Sweet Heat Ale

http://www.burnsidebrewco.com
701 East Burnside Street, Portland, Oregon
Monday to Thursday opens at 3 pm, Friday to Sunday at noon

The Best Toast Ever? In Revestoke, B.C., of All Places

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Mind-blowingly good "healthy bread" toast at La Baguette in Revelstoke, B.C.

Mind-blowingly good “healthy bread” toast at La Baguette in Revelstoke, B.C.

Passing through Revelstoke, I stop once again at La Baguette, my favourite bakery/cafe between Calgary and Vancouver. Heck, its breads may be better than anything I’ve found in those two cities. This time, I order the Healthy Bread, a sandwich of toasted, round bread with melted cream cheese or three-berry jam in the middle. No ordinary toast, this is a magical blend of kamut flour, flax, coconut and dates—wonderfully soft in the middle and slightly crunchy from the oat-flake topping. It’s mind-blowingly good, and at $3.50 a steal of a light breakfast deal. Who needs eggs and bacon?

Of course, I blow my savings on a $9 loaf of gluten-free bread, a gift for a g-f friend. The server attributes the premium to the high cost of the ingredients. But weighing in at three pounds, it’s still pretty good cost-per-weight value. And it’s no doorstop, but instead a surprisingly moist, chewy loaf, quite wonderful toasted, as my friend can attest after wolfing down three slices.

This gluten-free bread, from La Baguette in Revelstoke, is almost wonderfully dense enough to bend my wrist.

This gluten-free bread, from La Baguette in Revelstoke, is almost wonderfully dense enough to bend my wrist.

All this healthy baking is almost enough to get me on the g-f bandwagon. Nah. We just need more of the world’s bakers to follow La Baguette’s lead. My bar for lowly toast has just been substantially raised.

La Baguette
607 Victoria Road, Revelstoke, B.C.
Daily 6:30 am-7 pm

Healthy, scrumptious eating at Calgary’s Community Natural Foods

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Lots of healthy, tasty choices at Community Cafe in Community Natural Foods

Lots of healthy, tasty choices at Community Cafe in Community Natural Foods

Hey, I’m hitting the road for a trip down the U.S. west coast (you know, Washington, Oregon, California), and the beast must be fed. If you have any good eatery/drinkery suggestions of places I “must” hit, please let me know. In the meantime, one last healthy Calgary meal.

I don’t know why, but I hadn’t eaten at Community Natural Foods in a number of years. Maybe it was the oh-so-serious vibe I was getting, at Calgary’s flagship health food outlet, about what people were putting in their bodies. But when I glanced into the store’s busy Community Café the other day, there were lots of relaxed-looking, regular folks (okay, there was one guy with dreadlocks) filling their lunch plates from the cafeteria-style stations. Better yet, there was a diverse selection of fresh, healthy food at reasonable prices. It all passed my eye test, to the point where I couldn’t decide between a $3 small slice of pizza, an $8 meat sandwich (yes, MEAT), wild rice cabbage rolls or one of the best salad bars you’ll find in the city. Both the hot dishes and salads are $2.49 per 100 grams, so there’s some incentive to not overeat, which is kind of the point, I guess, at a health food emporium.

I settled on a hearty chicken burrito ($8), which server Evan loaded with brown rice, mozza, spring mix lettuce, avocado, salsa, hot sauce and anything else my heart desired. It was a fine medley of flavourful food rolled tightly enough inside a large whole-wheat tortilla to permit only minor seepage down my wrists. My only criticism was the single cashier, causing a slight delay that could cool one’s food off during lunch rush hour. The only other problem was all the other dishes I could have eaten, like the pumpkin lasagna. Guess I’ll have to start making up for lost time.

It's by no means all vegetarian at Community Cafe, witness this hearty chicken burrito

It’s by no means all vegetarian at Community Cafe, witness this hearty chicken burrito. The fact it’s not swimming in cheese and sauce may make it less photogenic, but my heart appreciates the restraint

The Community Cafe at Community Natural Foods
1304 10 Avenue SW, Calgary
Weekdays 9 am-7 pm, Saturday 9 am-5 pm, Sunday 10 am-4 pm