Small Pacific flatfish, floured and pan-fried whole with lemon butter, an old Monterey coast grill order that Carmel's seafood houses still honour.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Pacific sanddabs school on the sandy bottom of Monterey Bay, and for over a century they were the workaday fish of the California coast grill: too small and delicate to travel well, so they stayed a regional treat. The classic treatment survives almost unchanged, lightly breaded, pan-fried and finished with a lemon butter. At Flaherty's in Carmel they arrive dusted in sourdough crumbs under a lemon tarragon beurre blanc, one of the village's most local plates.
Common allergens: Fish, Gluten, Dairy
Tip from the editors. If you can only find whole sand dabs, cook them on the bone and eat like a small sole; the fillets lift clean once cooked.
Flaherty's Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar anchors 6th Avenue in Carmel with freshly shucked oysters, its famous clam chowder and wild-caught sand dabs.
Signature: Sand dabs, Clam chowder, Monterey Bay calamari
Order: Wild-caught sand dabs with lemon tarragon beurre blanc.
Tip: Chowder and the raw bar carry the menu; lunch is the easier seat, and the crispy calamari makes the best table-opener.
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