Chez Noir (and Sommelier Life) – Carmel, CA

One of these days I'll stop apologizing to both of my loyal readers for completely ignoring them for months on end. Life is wild, and since losing nearly all sense of purpose in early 2024, blogging has been low on the list of priorities––I'm sure this isn't news to either of you.

But suddenly, as seems to occur once every couple of years, I've found myself back in the saddle, as it were––I have an honest, enjoyable, immensely challenging, educational, and modestly lucrative job (again). And I am encouraged and hopeful this is the career that various shades of which will last me the balance of my life.

Despite the title of this entry, my first sommelier gig is at Aubergine, the only two-Michelin-starred eatery in the impossibly beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea, in the heart of California's Central Coast. I live just an eight minute walk to the restaurant, a fifteen minute walk to one of California's only white sand beaches, and within thirty minutes' drive from some of the most breathtaking natural beauty on the California coast.

The work is a mélange of physical labor (and the accompanying rapid weight loss), breakneck wine education, exceptionally rewarding relationships with guests and coworkers, and the ability to regularly experience wines previously beyond my imagination. And also, constant physical pain and industrial-strength orthotics.

The dining room at Aubergine

But my work, apart from the outside perks, is not the point of this entry; instead, I'd like to highlight the other Michelin-starred restaurant in town––and a favorite spot for a meal in my new home of Carmel––and some of the other various food and bev I've had the chance to experience there in the first few months here.

Chez Noir comes to Carmel from the storied résumés of Johnny and Monique Black, who worked their ways, respectively, through back of house and front of house gigs at some of the most celebrated restaurants on both coasts. Realizing a dream of creating a family-run, fine-dining-yet-casual bistro-style restaurant using precise ingredient sourcing from the bounties of the California coast, Johnny and Monique’s project earned them a Michelin star in 2024, only the second dining room granted the honor of a star in the Central Coast.

Being the only other restaurant with Michelin star cred in Carmel, the relationship between Chez Noir and my employer, Aubergine, is quite tight, and the teams from either restaurant frequent the other regularly. It’s especially easy to drop by Chez Noir since it’s mere blocks from my place, so I find myself there on my days off at least a couple of times per month.

I’m especially enamored of the bar program at Chez Noir, helmed by the inimitable Kelsey who has swiftly become one of my dearest friends in the area. Kelsey is fiercely inventive and creates seasonally inspired tipples that rival any of the best cocktails in the Monterey Bay area, often using upcycled ingredients from the kitchen. A classic is the canelé sazerac, soaking leftover Bordelaise canelé mignardises from the kitchen in rye whiskey for a nutty, decadent take on the classic. Another favorite of mine is a cheerful gimlet made with a tincture of wild fennel, a taste of springtime in each sip.

My girl Kelsey doing her thing!

Of course, a particular indulgence of yours truly is their play on a dirty martini using caviar for the saline punch usually provided by olives. Beluga (of course) vodka forms the base of the martini, over which is perched a healthy bump of roe on a mother of pearl spoon. I’ve enjoyed far too many of these.

Chez Noir’s menu is constantly evolving with offerings of the season’s best ingredients from local purveyors. The standard menu is a four-course prix fixe, though I usually find myself at the bar enjoying dishes a la carte. One thing to watch out for is their “Mes Amis” series, bringing a chef from somewhere afield a few times per year to collaborate on a menu for one night. I got to experience Chez Noir for the first time during their Mes Amis dinner with Chef Miles Thompson of Baby Bistro in Los Angeles.

I was thrilled to enjoy some bonus selections during the meal, including three of Chef Thompson’s southern-inspired creations––a ravishing lamb’s tongue salad with frisée, king oyster mushroom, and egg yolk dressing; gold beans with guajillo broth, dates, and cured salmon roe; and the best, BBQ pork belly with a pickled golden raisin escabeche and sourdough sauce.

The Chez Noir selections were also fantastic––winter spiny lobster risotto with citrus brown butter and Monterey Jack espuma; Monterey Bay skate “Milanese” with cauliflower and green garlic, and a fantastic “Mont Blanc” dessert with chestnuts, coffee semifreddo, and candied citrus.

Chez Noir routinely does filthy things with oysters, always offering a selection of raw and cooked bivalves. Some of my favorites have included raw oysters with kiwi, wasabi, and lime leaf, and grilled oysters with green chartreuse and breadcrumbs.

At the bar, I gravitate toward their seasonal small plates celebrating local produce and their wonderful pastas. Recent highlights have included local white asparagus with stracciatella, rhubarb, early strawberries, and walnuts; crudo with passionfruit, basil, and avocado; nettle gnocchi; and a single hen egg raviolo with wild mushrooms and peas.

Every meal at Chez Noir must be accompanied by their ridiculous brioche à tête, the floofiest bread imaginable.

Chez Noir has become a routine pilgrimage and is my first recommendation to anyone dining at Aubergine looking for another fantastic place in town. The service is warm and congenial and the food inventive and exciting.

Of course, I have also come to discover other local gems in my four months in Carmel that flesh out my own list of mainstays and recommendations for inquisitive guests at Aubergine.

Husband and wife–owned Akaoni is the best sushi restaurant for dozens of miles in any direction and features pristine fish from Japan and Monterey Bay. Their rotating selection of Japanese fish is not to be missed, and their agedashi tofu is about as honestly soulful a dish as any I’ve had. The local abalone sashimi is still a landmark bite from my first months in the area.

When it comes to nigiri, their torched sushi is among their best. Of particular note is the nodoguro, blackthroat sea perch, which I've had the pleasure to enjoy twice.

La Bicyclette is a wonderful Parisian/Belgian bistro in the heart of Carmel, and is one of the spots where I enjoyed dinner with my buddy Cole on my second visit to Carmel before I moved here. The spinach gnocchi cooked in parmesan is a sinful, glorious indulgence I crave every time I walk by, and the classic steak frites au poivre stuns every time.

Maligne, a neighborhood bistro in an otherwise unassuming neighborhood of Seaside, is a favorite of not just everyone on the Aubergine staff, but seemingly everyone I meet in the industry in the area. Creative and elevated takes on classics, like their Royale with Cheese, accompany more forward-looking and Japanese-inspired dishes, like various crudos. We were fortunate to have Chef Klaus cook for a private lunch for the Aubergine front-of-house team a couple of months into my tenure. Spectacular, elegant food.

Oystertown is a new addition to the restaurant scene in Monterey, and in a couple of brunches I’ve been able to experience some very thoughtful, delicious cooking from a husband-wife team. Oysters are, of course, always on offer, but the real gem of the menu is a crudo selection inspired by Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco, with scallops, salmon, and kanpachi making a regular appearance. The distinctly savory lobster French toast is also a particularly sexy way to enjoy your Sunday brunch.

For brunch, little beats Stationaery, a bougie and oh-so-Carmel spot tucked in a courtyard just off the epicenter of town. The prices and vibes are both high, but the food matches the hype, and their potato pancake topped with farmhouse cheese, asparagus, and smoked salmon completed with poached eggs and caviar is among the most ravishing brunch plates in town.

Casual joints also find their way into my routine in Carmel. Alvarado Street Brewing has an outpost in the Carmel Plaza, just two blocks from my apartment, and I regularly find myself enjoying an elderflower gin and tonic and either local calamari or their wagyu smash burger for lunch. Also in the Carmel Plaza? The incomparable cheese shop, where I have passed many hours tasting cheese with my homies Rena and Jeff, and which also happens to have my favorite wine selection in town.

Seaside is also home to the Meatery, a fantastic butcher shop that serves up some of the most decadent meat-based sandwiches imaginable. Their brisket sandwich is the stuff of dreams, and their pulled pork mac and cheese can only be conquered in multiple meals of many small bites (or a large group).

For happy hour, nothing beats Vesuvio’s rooftop, Star Bar, boisterous as it may be. Cocktails can be had for less than $10, a rarity in Carmel, let alone California, under the stars and cypress trees. The pizzas are killer, but the truffle gnocchi is obscene, and the happy hour runs every day.

Happy hour too expensive at Star Bar? Try your luck at Bud’s, the historic bar at La Playa Hotel, with their “dime hour.” Dimes are required (no change), as well as a little luck finding the correct time, but well drinks, beer, and wine are just ten cents for ten minutes at a random time decided by the bar staff. But even if you miss dime time, Bud’s has some fantastic cocktails and food, and one of the most iconic patio views in Carmel.

My coffee joint of choice has swiftly become Mad Dogs and Englishmen, a combo bike shop and coffee bar just off the Carmel Plaza. I’ll gladly partake in a flat white and coffee cake or brown butter banana bread and take it to enjoy in the city park just across the way. Bonus? Dogs welcome (humans tolerated), and there are plenty dropping by!

Finally, let’s not forget that Monterey County offers a competitive wine scene, with the Santa Lucia Highlands close by and Chalone and Santa Cruz Mountains appellations further afield. Most of the best tasting rooms are in Carmel Valley, but not to be missed in the city is Caraccioli, specializing in breathtaking estate-grown sparkling wines from the Escolle Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Looking across Carmel Valley at some of the vineyards on the opposite ridge

Yes my friends, life is good in Carmel, and I encourage everyone to come visit my newfound little slice of paradise, and of course to stay tuned as I attempt in earnest to restart my blogging project. In the meantime, here's one of my favorite pictures I've taken of my new environs so far!