Our Favorite Tour Partner Collabs
Do you ever walk into a store or a restaurant and recognize a brand you weren’t sure anyone else had ever heard of? That’s how we feel when we find our tour partners showing up in different restaurants, or, even better, working together! The hospitality industry in Monterey Bay is one of the biggest around, and our community loves supporting local businesses. Keep reading to see some of our favorite collaborations!
Alvarado Street Brewery Beer at Melville Tavern
Whether for brunch, lunch, or dinner, we always find a good excuse to head on over to Melville Tavern. If you’ve joined us on our Old Monterey Food Tour, there’s a high chance this was one of the stops we covered. For those on the hunt for a good beer, we recommend stopping by Melville to try out the rotating taps from Alvarado Street Brewery. You can try it out on a beer flight with three other beers of your choice, but this is a great place to go if you’re trying to avoid the brewery crowds while still enjoying their beer. Alvarado Street Brewery is one of the best and most popular breweries in the area, after all.
Nepenthe and Bitter Ginger
If you’ve never experienced the wonders of Big Sur, you’re really missing out on one of the most jaw-dropping locations in all of California… if not the country… if not the world. We might be biased, we know, but regardless, the next time you’re in Big Sur, you should stop by Nepenthe. Not only does it have one of the most unbeatable views in the world, but you can also enjoy the Seasonal Shrub Cocktail they create with bitters from The Bitter Ginger. Soak in that Cali coastline while sipping on this refreshing spritzer and we think your vacation or day will definitely be kicked up a notch.
Epsilon Fine Greek Restaurant and Revival Ice Cream
Ah, dessert, how we love finding any excuse we can to get some sugar in that sweet tooth. Fortunately, for us, we get a double-whammy of awesome, house-made flavors when we head on over to Epsilon Fine Greek Restaurant and try out their baclava topped with cinnamon ice cream from Revival Ice Cream. While we do stop at both locations on our Old Monterey Food Tour, you’ll definitely have to come into Epsilon on your own to try out this delicate treat. We promise you won’t regret it.
Big Sur Salts and Carmel Berry Company, Comanche Cellars, and Alvarado Street Brewery
You are truly missing out if you’ve never tried one of the insanely unique offerings from Big Sur Salts. One of our favorites is the Morada blend, which makes good use of Carmel Berry Company’s Elderberry Syrup. The sweeter taste makes it great for combinations like ice cream or yogurt. Although we’re bummed they’ve sold out of Santa Lucia Highlands salt, we’re really excited to hear they’re working on another blend made with the 2017 Tondre Pinot Noir from Comanche Cellars’ with hints of blood orange. Anybody else as excited as we are about that? You can also head on over to the Joseph Boston Store and grab yourself one of their Alvarado blends with Alvarado Street Brewery’s Biggie’s Blueberry Brunch Bonanza. We can promise at least one taste on our Old Monterey Food Tour paired with the only Monterey Jack cheese made in Monterey County from Schoch Family Farmstead, so feel free to join us if you want to test them out first!
Nitro Cycle and Captain + Stoker
We can’t explain exactly why, but for some reason, coffee just tastes so much better when it’s on nitro and poured out of a draft spout. Why do sodas taste better out of the fountains than cans? There are some questions we just can’t answer, but what we know for sure is that when you combine one of the best coffees in the area from Captain and Stoker with the man who gets the most exercise in the world on his Nitro Cycle, you get a traveling caffeine cart that delivers to you. Mike, the man behind the cycle, also has Green Pedal Couriers, another delivery service that covers a five mile radius with a man on his bike. Regardless of whatever Mike delivers, we’re sure it’ll hit the spot.
Carmel Berry Company and Eddison and Melrose
Eddison and Melrose, like so many others, have discovered the wonders of the elderberry and made great use of elderberries from Carmel Berry Company. Fans of sweets will more than likely grow a small addiction to their elderberry scones, which folks tasted last week on our Local Seafood Tour. Those of you who love a good tea, which is what Eddison and Melrose is best known for, might also want to take a look at their Berry Beautiful blend, which contains black currant, wild flowers, and dried elderberries. This one’s full of caffeine, so if you’re more of a decaf kind of tea person, their Elderberry Passion is great for a similar flavor that’s actually made to help you sleep.
Pierce Ranch and Heritage Chocolates
Wine and chocolate — is there a better pairing? That’s a totally subjective opinion, we know, but we couldn’t be more excited about Pierce Ranch Vineyard selling Heritage Chocolates Corralitos. You can get a taste of each on our Local Seafood Tour to form your own opinion, but we’re confident you’ll agree with us. You can also get a sampling of the chocolate on our Old Monterey Food Tour, where they’re also paired with Comanche Cellars. You can purchase the chocolate at either storefront for the vineyards, but we always love being the ones to introduce people, so feel free to come along on either tour so we can see your eyes light up.
TOUR EXCLUSIVE: Melville Tavern and Carmel Berry Company
When you join us on a custom Old Monterey Food Tour, you might get some specialty-made drinks from Melville Tavern. For example, how does a champagne cocktail containing blueberries and strawberries that have been soaked in an elderflower syrup from Carmel Berry Company sound? We can nix the champagne for something non-alcoholic like a soda water instead, but the elderflower-soaked fruit is the real winner in this drink. We’re not so sure you’d be able to order this one from Melville without us, so let us give you the inside scoop!
