The shellfish that fed Carmel's artists' colony, now farmed in Monterey Bay and served as tender pan-seared steaks in the village's seafood rooms.
Abalone is the founding dish of bohemian Carmel. In the early 1900s the artists' colony pried the shellfish off the rocks below the village, pounded it on driftwood and grilled it at beach bonfires, chanting verses of the Abalone Song as it cooked. Overharvesting closed the wild fishery, so today's abalone is farm-raised in Monterey Bay, and kitchens like Flying Fish Grill in Carmel Plaza treat it as the luxury it became.
1 editor pick for Monterey Bay abalone in Carmel-by-the-Sea, ranked by editorial score. All Carmel-by-the-Sea signature dishes · Monterey Bay abalone across every city.