The Sardine Factory : An Insider's Look at the Famed Restaurant and Its Cuisine

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Summary: The Cooking Club Review of This Book
Review: The Sardine Factory of Monterey, California began in the condemned cafeteria of an abandoned fish processing plant in an obscure neighborhood that had fallen on bad times. Although immortalized by John Steinbeck in his novel "Cannery Row", Moneterey's fishing business had, more or less, ended by 1968 when restaurateurs Bert Cutino and Ted Balestreri opened The Sardine Factory. Since then the restaurant has become one of the must-try restaurants. Service is key here, and the owners were quick to tell author Willian Keenan Jr. that if you felt at home in The Sardine Factory they had failed to achieve the level of luxury and service to which they aspire.

You can catch glimpses of the restaurant in the old Clint Eastwood movie, "Play Misty for Me" and may spy movie stars, statesmen and even former Presidents among its patrons. The golf at nearby Pebble Beach is superb and the views of this coastline anywhere along Highway 1 are breathtaking. This is certainly Ameircan fine dining at its finest. Congratulations to the businessmen and chefs who made this restaurant become a standard by which other fine restaurants are judged.

There are a few recipes from The Sardine Factory in the book, but like the others in the series, this book is about the restaurant, and not how to copy its dishes.