Winter 2024

I cheffed for others for years and kept thinking, ‘When am I going to get my chance?’ And I real- ized I am not going to get a chance, I have to go and make it happen,” he says. And his 30 years of leading Monterey’s Fish House have brought nothing but success. It helps that he has his feet in both worlds, as the holder of a commercial fishing license for many years in his own right. “We only serve fresh fish, and if it’s unavail - able, it’s unavailable,” he says. “We know when the local guys are fishing for halibut or when the swordfish fleet is coming in to Moss Landing. We do a better job at procuring at the top.” Procuring at the top also means he only buys hook-and-line caught fish. He could buy it cheaper if he bought dragnet-caught fish, but he won’t because “hook-and-line fish are pristine.” And he cooks exclusively over oak. Other things he won’t do? Carry items so out- landishly expensive (he references California spiny lobster as an example) because he “wouldn’t feel right” charging someone $150 for a plate. He won’t up charge anyone for splitting a meal and he refuses to have an inaccessible wine list that forces people to buy bottles rather than glasses. “We want this to be a family restaurant,” he adds. “I can see the mistakes other guys make and I try not to do it. And I try never to tell people what they can’t have.” Monterey’s Fish House is located at 2114 Del Monte Ave. in Monterey. For more information, visit www.montereyfishhouse.com or call 831/373-4647. PAPER WING THEATRE BRINGS VEGAN SUSHI TO MONTEREY With the bounty of Monterey Bay just steps away from Paper Wing Theatre’s Cannery Row location, people have wondered why the theater-cum-supper club pivoted to vegan sushi. In short, it was theater founder Koly McBride’s cholesterol levels, which she described as being “through the roof ” after a health scare sent her to urgent care earlier this year. “I went to a cardiologist after that and he suggested a vegan diet,” McBride says. Eating as a vegan can be pretty easy in larger cities, but in Monterey County, vegan can be hard to come by. “My partner and I began to investigate and there just weren’t a lot of options. Our part- time chef, Jose Bravo, had trained in Japanese cuisine and he started to explore vegan sushi, using vegetable-based protein instead of real fish,” she says. Five nights a week (Thursday to Monday), Bravo creates 14 rolls, plus a weekly special roll and some excellent sides, such as miso soup, garlic edamame and seaweed salad. Absolutely no animal products are used. In the California Crunch Roll, plant-based tempura shrimp melds with avocado, cucumber and rice before being topped with a crunchy tempura crumble. Jose’s Roll features jalapeño, tofu and cucumber, topped with more jalapeño and cilantro. The Carmel Beach Roll mixes plant-based tempura crab with roasted sweet potato and pickled beets. “What he comes up with is delicious, and even non-vegans are fans,” she says. Paper Wing Theatre & Supper Club is locat - ed at 711 Cannery Row in Monterey. For more information, search Paper Wing Vegan Sushi on DoorDash.com. 170 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 General Manager Taylor Young and Chef Jose Bravo of Paper Wing Theatre & Super Club have a new, healthy and delicious offering: Paper Wing Vegan Sushi, now available through Door Dash and at their Cannery Row location. Photo: Kelli Uldall