The Monterey Bay area could be called the heart of California’s food scene, and rightfully so. “We have the Salinas Valley, which brings us the best, freshest greens available anywhere in the world” says Chef Kerry Loutas, owner of L’Escargot. The fish we get from the Monterey Bay are exceptional. “It sure makes it fun to cook.”
L’Escargot is a cozy 75 seat restaurant in what Chef Loutas calls “Old Carmel,” located three blocks off Ocean Avenue. The venue originally opened in 1958, making it the oldest restaurant in Carmel. “We have customers who have eaten here for years. They brought in the children, and now they bring in their children’s children. It is an honor to be a part of the community for so many years.”
Shopping at Our Farmers Markets
Chef Loutas does his shopping at the Monterey and Carmel farmers market year-round. “I follow the seasons with our menu. The vendors at the markets like to show-off what they have grown. I get a real connection to the land and the food it has produced. It is not like buying something at a grocery store that was grown who knows where. When I choose the items I want to serve in my restaurant, I can literally feel life in them.”
Cooking what is currently in season is like another French restaurant in the wine country, the French Laundry. “(Chef) Thomas Keller ate here a couple of years ago. It was a lot of fun to serve him.”
An authentic French restaurant in the heart of Carmel, by definition, has grand expectations from its clientele. With an eye for quality and being authentic, Chef Loutas knows he can rely on the farmers market vendors to provide him with the best quality ingredients available anywhere.
Chef describes the dessert he recently prepared. “I was making peach cobbler. Every peach was fantastic. They lasted until I used them all up.”
His journey to Carmel was a little different, he says with a laugh. “I grew up in San Francisco. My family was in the wholesale produce business. After cooking school, I worked as a line cook in the city. I heard about this venue being available, so I threw my hat in the ring and was the winner in the bid to take it over.
“The restaurant was completely stripped of all equipment when I took over. I’d been saving to buy a house, but I used the money to buy used restaurant equipment instead.” twenty-five years later, the used equipment has been replaced by new equipment. However, his staff stayed with him. “I have a tremendous crew here” he said with pride. “These people do the heavy lifting, and that makes all the difference. I get to cook.”
His menu is classic French cuisine “the way Julia Childs did it on TV” he said laughing. “I use Larousse and Escoffier books at the restaurant today. (Those are classic French cookbooks for us non-cooks). I have had to replace them both because I wore them out.”
Chef Loutas is passionate about quality and freshness, and because of that he relies on the fruits and produce he finds at the Monterey Bay farmers markets. His wine list features locally produced wines as well as from France.
As a fellow shopper of farmers market, it’s nice to be shopping side by side with chefs. So, the next time at L’Escargot, it will add something to the experience knowing the lineage of the meal is from our local farmers. And it is a communal experience too. I was chatting with a friend at the market recently and the subject of L’Escargot came up and asked one another about going there. My friend smiled and said, “You won’t be disappointed.”
L’Escargot
6 Mission St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921
For Reservations
Call (831) 620-1942 or visit Open Table for reservations and photos
