New York Meal at Pub’s (Growers Pub) in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
My daughter Florence Paget took me out for a New York dinner at Pub’s in downtown Salinas, California for a daughter-mom outing before the big weekend with the Java House Grand Prix Monterey at Laguna Seca and the Obon Festival (July 27) at the Buddhist Temple in Salinas.
We started our meal with Monterey Bay deep-fried calamari. The calamari were lightly coated in polenta corn meal with a piquant dipping sauce and lemon wedges for squeezing. I really enjoy eating this dish in cool-weather Salinas with a sweet Meyer lemon lemonade.
Salads came with our main dishes. I chose Thousand Island dressing for my New York-themed crispy and chilled romaine lettuce salad with a juicy tomato wedge on the side. Life is good in America’s salad bowl capital. (Blue cheese dressing is available for diners who would like calcium and protein to go with their salad.)
Florence ordered a medium-rare prime New York steak with a baked potato along with steamed carrots, zucchini, and broccoli. The steak was juicy and perfect Florence said.
I ordered chicken fettucine Alfredo. The fresh pasta was bathed in a rich creamy sauce that tasted as if it had been made with cream, butter, mascarpone cheese, and Parmesan cheese. That sauce was so good, it would make garlic ice cream taste good. (Gilroy about 20 minutes up 101 makes garlic ice cream in America’s garlic capital.)
The cubes of chicken breast and thigh meat in the fettucine Alfredo were moist, tender, and flavorful. This delicious dish can also be made with shrimp and salmon at Pub’s.
To complete our meal, we had some elegant New York desserts – cheesecake for Florence and tiramisu for me.
For tiramisu, you line the bottom of a casserole with sponge cake lady finger cookies, pour espresso coffee over the lady fingers, spread whipped mascarpone cheese (similar to whipped cream) over the lady fingers, and dust the top of the mascarpone with cocoa powder. You then chill the tiramisu and serve it with raspberry sauce. Pub’s makes their tiramisu like this and it is a fantastic finish for a New York-themed meal.
For New York steak and Italian-American meals, Pub’s in downtown Salinas, California offers great food and a full bar.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
