Alta Bakery and Cafe is happy to announce our January drink of the month, a maple cardamom latte. Come and try it this month - we're located at 502 Munras Avenue in Downtown Old Monterey.
While the doors of Monterey County Youth Museum (MY Museum) are physically closed in Downtown Old Monterey, we continue to provide play in fun and engaging ways for families while working to keep our organization alive and able to reopen in 2021. Please consider making a donation today to support us. Due to some very generous donors, donations made through Monterey County Gives! will have access to matching funds! Increase the impact of your donation between November 12th and December 31st.
MY Museum has had to make some difficult financial decisions in order to be in a good position to re-open when it is safe to do so. That said, we still need to pay our mortgage and are in critical need for community support. We carefully reviewed our budget line-by-line on day one and cut all costs possible. We received the PPP loan, but that was only temporary. General operating support would mean the most to us right now and could have the biggest impact on keeping the museum in operation for the long haul. The Association of Children’s Museums is projecting that 30% of children’s museums will not make it through this time and we are confident with support we will be one of the lucky ones.
In brighter news, with our physical space unavailable to families, our mission to provide play to families is always open. During the past few months we have provided the power of play to those who need it through our awesome Shelter & Play Kits. To date we have distributed over 2750 kits and are planning another 5000 more in the Winter and Spring of 2021.
On December 16, 2020, Portola Hotel & Spa opened our doors for the first time since March, and we are thrilled! Due to current travel restrictions, hotel accommodations are available for essential travelers only. We are grateful for every first responder working hard and taking care of our community during this critical time.
We look forward to welcoming leisure travel in the New Year, and we hope everyone continues to travel responsibly. Thank you to all essential workers and businesses for your continued efforts in battling the pandemic.
Portola Hotel & Spa is located at 2 Portola Plaza in Downtown Old Monterey. All on-site dining including Jacks Monterey, The Club Room, Peet's Coffee, and Peter B's Brewpub remain closed at this time.
Are you planning to do some knitting or crocheting over the holidays? Slowfiber has gotten in a bunch of new supplies for you, including recycled cashmere, wool, and an organic cotton and yak blend (really!). These yarns are in colors we actually wear and made from fibers that give you bragging rights...and warmth. Make your own knit items, luxuriously and sustainably. Slowfiber is located at 517B Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey.
Now available in store and online:
Trendsetter, Lana Grossa
recycled cashmere / wool blend
50 grams, 66 yards
75% recycled cashmere, 25% Merino wool, and in an Aran weight...Whaa?
Trendsetter, Wish
organic wool / polyamide blend
50 grams, 165 yards
Awesome color choices...small fleck of tweed and just a little poly. Think socks...so nice and lightweight.
Trendsetter, Savona
recycled wool tweed
50 grams, 225 yards
This has a crazy good price point ($7.50). Best for lightweight scarves and shawls. Awesome color choices selected to help you match what you wear most already.
Trendsetter, Cotton & Yak
organic cotton / yak blend
50 grams, 95 yards
This 75% cotton, 25% yak blend is great - the yak adds a little drape to the cotton and the yarn does not pill.
We are happy to announce that East Village Cafe is open under new ownership! Serving up crazy good coffee, tea, authentic chai, and food to-go, this great little community spot at 498 Washington Street in Downtown Old Monterey is now operated by Ryan Lama, also the owner of local import shop Maybe on Monday (located nearby on Pearl Street). East Village Cafe is open daily for take-out, 7am-3pm.
Read about the positive changes taking place at East Village under Ryan's leadership in Marc C. Anderson's article in Edible Monterey Bay.
We encourage you to view the City of Monterey's 2020 Holiday Video Card, featuring lovely scenery and wildlife in Monterey and Monterey Bay plus a special performance by violinist Bailey McEachen in front of Colton Hall. Happy holidays, everyone. Anda!
You asked for it...the Nacho Bizness Party Pack is back for good! That's right - now you can get two regular nachos and two beers for only $30 whenever you want. We're open for take-out at 470 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.
On Christmas Eve, Monterey Marriott Hotel invites you to leave the cooking to Chef Josh Silva-Arias and order our Christmas Eve Dinner To-Go.
Our take-out Christmas Eve menu includes: Caesar salad; a choice of herb roasted prime rib with charred brussels sprouts, roasted root vegetables, and confit potatoes OR seafood bucatini with shrimp, scallops, calamari with spicy tomato-basil cream sauce and garlic bread; and chocolate ganache cake with strawberries and whipped cream. View full menu here.
Price is $37 per plate plus 10% service charge and 9.25% tax. No pre-ordering is necessary. Available for take-out on December 24, 4:30pm-9pm at Monterey Marriott, 350 Calle Principal in Downtown Old Monterey. For more information, please call 831-649-4234.
The City of Monterey presents the 2020 State of the City address on Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 8am-9am. Featuring Mayor Clyde Roberson and City Manager Hans Uslar, this event will be held via Zoom. Please register in advance at 831-655-3764 or via e-mail. Zoom meeting details will be provided to all confirmed guests 24-48 hours prior to the event. (Please note: no recording of the event is permitted.)
This event is co-sponsored by the Monterey Commercial Property Owners Association, Mangold Property Management, Old Monterey Business Association, New Monterey Business Association, Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, and Monterey County Hospitality Association.
Outdoor Pilates sessions are now being offered at Om Studios, located at 631 Cass Street, Suite B in Downtown Old Monterey. We are so excited to be offering duet and private reformer sessions outdoors. Duets are $35 per person and private sessions are $75. Interested or want more information? Please e-mail us.
Ring in the New Year with First Night Monterey 2021, the virtual edition! This special free program for New Year’s Eve will feature music, art, dance, and poetry from around the country for the whole family on Thursday, December 31, 6pm-12am. Kids' Night Out activities begin at 3pm. Visit our page on YouTube to view all the fun.
Because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we cannot bring our community together in the traditional way that brings joy to so many. But we can come together online to share the holiday, make our resolutions for the New Year, and ring in 2021 with the hope, unity, and optimism we are all ready to embrace.
First Night Monterey welcomes your donations to keep this important annual event going for years to come. Make a donation of $40 - $100 and receive buttons, NYE hats, and/or party horns to celebrate the beginning of 2021. Read donation details here.
Please join Monterey County Youth Museum as we welcome in 2021 with our annual NOON Year's Eve Extravaganza on Thursday, December 31. As usual, the festivities will be fun for the whole family...but this year we'll be celebrating outdoors at the drive-in theater at Monterey County Fair Grounds, 2004 Fairground Road in Monterey. Space is limited, so buy your ticket today.
Tickets are $50 per car and include a countdown to NOON, celebration swag (a few hats and noise makers), a bag of popcorn, and a candy bar to go with our drive-in-movie, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory!
Gates will open at 11am. The countdown and the movie start at 11:50am. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch and/or additional snacks.
Raise a toast to say good-bye to 2020 and welcome the new year full of new beginnings with a New Year's Eve Three Course Dinner To-Go from Esteban Restaurant.
As a starter, you may select either potato and leek soup or roasted beet salad. For the main dish, you may enjoy: a 12 oz. prime rib dinner special with jack potato gratin, asparagus, au jus; a hearty cioppino seafood stew with mussels, clams, prawns, calamari, and crab served with garlic bread; or Mary's roasted half chicken with crispy Yukon potatoes, oyster mushrooms, and spinach. To finish this festive meal, there will be a trio of holiday petit fours.
All you have to do is pre-order. Call for further details at 831-375-0176 to reserve your to-go meal for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or New Year's Eve. Pick-up will be at Esteban Restaurant, 700 Munras Avenue in Downtown Old Monterey.
Give the gift of music! Kurt Heisig, owner of Kurt Heisig Music at 512 Polk Street in Downtown Old Monterey, is now selling great quality saxophones, flutes, and trumpets at very low prices, finished here in his shop. Kurt Heisig Music is open daily, 1pm-8pm, for in-store shopping and welcomes orders over the phone for curbside pick-up or shipping.
During the pandemic, Kurt is also offering music lessons over Zoom for woodwind and brass instruments including saxophone, clarinet, oboe, flute, trumpet, and trombone. Former students of Kurt's include Tom Politzer, a soloist with Tower of Power, and Ron McNair. For more information, please call Kurt at 831-920-1883.
As a token of appreciation to locals, and in the effort to prevent fresh beer on draft from getting too old, Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill is offering 32 oz. recyclable growler fills from our taps: $7 for light beer, $8 for everything else. We will only fill the growlers we already have onsite to keep things sanitary - please do not bring your own growler to fill. There will be no charge for the container.
Visit us at 426 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. We're now open Wednesday-Sunday, 12pm-7pm, for curbside pick-up of food and beer, and Monday and Tuesday, 12pm-7pm, for curbside pick-up of beer only (no food).
Comanche Cellars is now offering 30% off our Holiday Two Packs with a gift box included! These make lovely gifts. Order online for curbside pick-up, free local delivery, or shipping (discount will be applied at checkout) or order at our wine room located at 412 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.
There are three options:
1) Sparkling Duo
(rosé and albariño, both pét-nat)
2) Quintessential Monterey
(chardonnay and SLH pinot noir)
3) You Choose Two
(two wines of your choice - excludes reserve wines)
Is there a Comanche Cellars fan in your life? We're also offering 30% off all merchandise, including t-shirt, hats, bottle openers, and more. All merchandise is available on our website.
Paris Bakery is now offering freshly baked Christmas cookies, which they're selling individually, in bags of 6, and in larger numbers on platters. These decorated cookies are a bright bit of delicious fun for the holiday season that's perfect for a gift or for a stay-at-home treat.
The bakery also has a full complement of special holiday baked goods including Stollen (German fruit bread), Pannetone (Italian sweet bread), candy cane shaped bread, and Buche de Noel (Yule log cake). Buche de Noel are available in four different flavors: chocolate, coffee, hazelnut, and Grand Marnier.
All of these items are available daily until Christmas Eve at Paris Bakery, a family-owned business located at 271 Bonifacio Place in Old Monterey, but ordering items in advance is always recommended so you don't miss out on your heart's desire. Just call the shop at 831-646-1620.
Rosine's Restaurant is happy to offer Family Style Holiday Meals To-Go. Order now for pick-up any time through Thursday, December 24 at 3pm. View our special menu, featuring minestrone soup, lasagna, chicken parmesan, Italian sausage caprese pasta, and prawn pesto pasta, plus a selection of our customers' favorite desserts, including our new line of liquor cakes. We also welcome special requests - we'll do our best to accommodate you. (Please order desserts at least 24 hours in advance so we can be sure to have your cake, cheesecake, cookies, or brownies ready for you.)
Please note: Rosine's will be open 11am-4pm on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day. The rest of the time, we're now open Monday-Friday, 11am-8pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 9am-8pm serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner and dessert for take-out.
Rosine's Restaurant is located at 434 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. To pre-order, please call us at 831-375-1400 or email us.
Christmas is a family affair in Spain and, like most Spanish festivals, food takes center stage. Estéban Restaurant shares this enthusiasm for gathering around the table this holiday season on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with a selection of three different three-course holiday meals to-go. Estéban’s seasonal to-go dinner menu will also be available. All holiday meals must be ordered in advance.
The Prime Rib Dinner is $70 per person plus tax and gratuity, the Cioppino Dinner is $50 per person plus tax and gratuity, and the Country Fried Chicken Dinner is $45 per person plus tax and gratuity. Each meal includes choice of soup or salad and dessert. Please reserve your meal in advance for December 24 (pick-up 2:30pm-7pm) and/or December 25 (pick-up 12:30pm-7pm). Call us at 831-375-1076. Esteban Restaurant is located at Casa Munras Garden Hotel and Spa, 700 Munras Avenue in Downtown Old Monterey.
Parker-Lusseau Pastries and Cafe, located at 539 Hartnell Street in Downtown Old Monterey, now has fresh stollen on our shelves from now until Christmas. This holiday favorite is so popular you should probably place your order in advance just to make sure it's there when you want it, 831-641-9188.
What is stollen? A traditional German fruit bread with candied orange rind, raisins, and sliced almonds macerated in rum...plus it features the amazing flavors of cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and a hint of tellicherry pepper.
Slice it, toast it, smother it with butter, eat it...Repeat! Bonus feature: it makes your house smell like Christmas.
