Delicious Buffalo Chili By Fisherman’s Wharf
If we were to tell you that you could eat dinner in Monterey for $9, you would probably curl up your nose, give us one of those football stiff arms to establish your distance and protest by saying “no I don’t want to hear it,”‘ figuring we’re about to send you to some seedy place where a bartender named Moe pours out greasy chili from a small black kettle behind the bar.
After all, this is Monterey, CA, where you can get outstanding dinners of fresh fish – sand dabs are a local specialty, unique to the region – in restaurants along Cannery Row or on Fisherman’s Wharf at prices that, while mostly reasonable considering the quality and location, are still going to cost at least $20+ a plate. Put a few glasses of Monterey County wine with it and suddenly the tap starts to tip in the $50 range.
But PubClub.com has uncovered one place where you can get a full, fantastic, flavorful meal for just eight bucks.
It’s the American Buffalo Chili at Peter B’s Brewpub, a classy but casual craft brewery behind the Portola hotel.
This isn’t Moe’s chili, either, it’s a thick, delicious, spicy blend of roasted buffalo beef chuck, house spices, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions and chilies mixed together and served with a huge piece of cornbread that even a Southerner would appreciate (and a Southerner is writing this article).
It’s a bit spicy, so be sure and have plenty of beer (or another beverage) within close reach.
And here’s another tip: Wait about five minutes after it’s delivered to dive into it. The bowl is very hot and the chili is bubbling. We know it’s hard to resist – there’s juices just waiting to be sopped up by the cornbread – but hold off until it cools.
Otherwise you will sting you tongue and, in addition to being mad at yourself for not following this piece of advice, you will miss out on a lot of the chili’s flavor.
The portion is so big it could feed a San Francisco 49ers lineman. Certainly, it’s more than PubClub.com can consume in one sitting (and we’ve tried twice!). Heck, it would be a challenge for “Man vs. Food.”
You can wash it down with any one of its half-dozen craft beers – PubClub.com is especially keen on its Blonde, but all the beers are outstanding – a cocktail or even some of Monterey County wines poured from actual wine taps.
Don’t like chili? Then you can also get a bowl of its outstanding clam chowder, also for $8. It may surprise you that this is among Monterey Bay’s best clam chowder.
Or you can have a BBQ chicken and bacon pizza for 11 bucks. Or a sensational calzone (ask for the sausage!) for $12. And Thursdays Peter B’s has $1 tacos.
So see, you can eat well – and cheaply – in Monterey.
Peter B’s Brewpub
2 Portola Plaza, Monterey, CA
(Behind Portola Hotel & Spa)
Phone: (831) 649-2699
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