Fall 2026

RICE FINDS ITS VIETNAMESE ROOTS AT RICE & ROOTS IN MONTEREY Ask Nikki Nguyen, half of the chef-owner team at Monterey’s Rice & Roots, if she has plans to change the menu this fall, and she’s eUual parts mystified and amused. Why change what’s working, when what’s working is traditional Vietnamese comfort food? It’s food she knows well, coming from genera- tions of street food vendors in :ietnam. Nguyen emigrated to the United States at age . 7he and husband Ty 2guyen ran the former Mon Chay in the Carmel Barnyard; when they sold it, they went looking for a space in 1onterey. 6ice & 6oots was born in %pril . Ty is the chef 2iOOi calls herself the creator, a role that goes bacO to mornings when she’d pull ingredients from the family refrigerator before Ty woOe at am to cooO. ±- would put out stuff and say, ³This is what we’re going to eat today,’ and he would put the dish together perfectly, and - would add the final touch,² she says. At Rice & Roots, diners eat like Nguyen’s family did, with hearty phos, pungent garlic noodles, and rice dishes, which Nguyen calls the foundation of :ietnamese cooOing. ±Pho has always been my favorite,² she adds. ±- eat what - sell, and - love to eat.² For more information, call 831/241-6789 or visit www.riceandrootsmonterey.com. 172 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 6 Nikki Nguyen and her husband Ty are the proud owners of a new Vietnamese restaurant on Tyler Street in Old Monterey. The restaurant features family favorites and staples of Vietnamese cuisine, including hearty phos, rice dishes and more. Photo: Kelli Uldall food for thought Fami ly i s )verything at 6ice & 6oots Peter B’ s 6eadies for th Bash Michel in-Cred Divine Wine Dinner at Monterey Plaza’ s Coastal Ki tchen B Y MAR Y DUAN