Fall 2026

170 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 6 “THE CAPITOL OF EGGS BENEDICT” Our 42nd Year! Katy’s Place A Carmel Tradition Mission Between 5th and 6th (831)624-0199 www.katysplacecarmel.c om Breakfast & Lunch 7:30AM to 1:00PM Tuesdays 7:30AM to 9:30AM Closed on Wednesdays one of the Largest Breakfast Menus on the West Coast ® ® ® S AY YOU S AW T H I S A D I N CA RM E L MAG A Z I N E ! How do you describe that in one sentence? Q: What’s it been like to be back where you grew up? A: I’d see products from Salinas in the mar- kets in Brooklyn, in the neighborhoods there. Boxes that said “Salinas” on them. It was pretty neat, 3,000 miles from home. Being back here, I have familiarity with a lot of what I see. I know people who are involved in it. I went to grade school and junior high with some of them, guys I hadn’t talked to in years. One friend is in the broccoli business now. I use those products all the time, and it’s right here, instead of a box on a truck. Q: After all those cities, what’s it like being back in Monterey County? A: I’ve traveled a lot in my culinary journey and worked in a lot of different places and a lot of different areas of the business. So it’s really nice for me to come back here, this close to where I grew up. It feels like all those different experiences were leading back to this. Q: When a guest finishes eating some- thing you’ve cooked, what do you want them to remember? A: How good it was, obviously. But I want them thinking, “I wonder when I’m going to come back and have something else.” That’s important. When we have a good time and really enjoy something, we always think about coming back. Q: Is there a dish, either something you’ve eaten or cooked, that changed how you think about food? A: A few things come to mind. There was a lamb dish, from Central California, and I couldn't believe how good it was. Everybody thinks of lamb as coming from New Zealand or some- where else, but this was incredible. And some- thing as simple as searing a steak in a cast iron pan, the classic method, it makes such a difference. I’ve always tried to stick with that. Q: A year from now, what do you want people saying about the food at Portola? A: How good the quality is. That when they think of Portola, they think about how good the food is, and how it’s always changing: seasonal, local, never the same menu twice in a row. Q: Do you know yet how you’ll differentiate the venues within Portola, like Jacks? A: Not yet. We’re still figuring out what our guests like. We’re going to make changes and see.With Jacks, we’re really just trying to upscale things and try something different. I love doing classic food with Asian influences, and making everything as upscale as I can.