Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/856465
RESTAURANTS SHUFFLE STAFF AND DINERS WIN With circumstances similar to the frenetic Major League Baseball trade deadline, three high-profile local restaurants have shuffled their lineups in what appears to be an "everyone wins" scenario. It started in June with the opening of the much- hyped steakhouse Seventh & Dolores in down- town Carmel, with Executive Chef Todd Fisher plucking Chef de Cuisine Jeremiah Tydeman from Alvarado Street Brewery & Grill. A week later, Chef Brandon Miller left Carmel's Mundaka —following owner Gabe Georis' decision to turn the popular Spanish tapas joint into Baja-inspired Pescadero — to replace Tydeman as the culinary force at ASBG. As for Pescadero, Georis directs the menu himself, pulling recipes from languid days surfing and eating along Baja in between classes at University of San Diego. A MEXICAN CONQUEST OF SPAIN A favorite of locals and dog-eared in guide books, Carmel's Mundaka drew rave reviews for its Spanish tapas-centric menu, but owner Gabe Georis grew restless after nine years. So he veered south of the border. The restaurant is renamed Pescadero, and the menu focuses on Baja, but it borrows from regional food all over Mexico, even further south to El Salvador. Georis hired two Salvadoran women to whip up fresh tortillas and pupusas (thick tortillas stuffed with a savory filling) griddled on a traditional comal. "It proves fancy isn't a prerequisite to tasty," Georis writes on his menu. 258 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 7 Owner Gabe Georis recently turned his popular Carmel restaurant Mundaka into Pescadero, inspired by the cuisine of Baja. The menu is inspired by food from Mexico and El Salvador, and includes fresh tortillas and pupusas. Photo: Kelli Uldall food for thought Mundaka Tr ansfor ms into Pescadero; A Creative Steakhouse at 7th and Dolores; and a New Brewer y Menu on Alvar ado B Y L A R R Y H A R L A N D