42 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} It’s a dark and stormy night in Pacific Grove. I’m sitting in my car as rain beats down on the windshield, my finger ready on my umbrella’s push button, my other hand on the door handle. Ready… and… GO! Flinging myself from the car and releasing my umbrella in one fluid motion, I make a mad dash for Seasons by-the-Sea, an art gallery around the corner. As I reach the safety of the awning and duck indoors, I’m enveloped in warmth and light. Paintings, small bites, wine and a smiling gallerist are here to greet me. ABOVE (clockwise from top): A view of the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail with Lovers Point in the distance; Ahi carpaccio from Wild Fish restaurant; Though not open late for First Fridays, Trotter Galleries is an inviting space featuring an extensive collection of pieces by early California artists. On this trip to the Monterey coast, I’d anticipated water from the sea, not the sky, along with a multitude of monarchs. Thousands of them migrate to the region every year, inspiring the nickname “Butterfly Town.” When I found that my trip coincided with the town’s popular First Friday event, I was eager to check out its art and music scene. As I spend the next hour ducking in and out of snug, brightly lit galleries, I find that rather than putting a damper on things, the wild weather adds to an atmospheric evening, making this series of hideouts exceptionally cozy. The rain drumming on windows and skylights makes me feel like I’ve gotten away with something. After visits to Pacific Grove Art Center, Studio 171, The Yellow Mustard Seed and Artisanna Gallery, I find my way to Wild Fish. It’s a low-lit restaurant where the menu includes the name of the sea captain and the stretch of coast where each special was caught. Though there’s usually a jazz quartet performing outside on Fridays and Saturdays, tonight Ella Fitzgerald serenades me from the speakers. As I dine on an inventive ceviche pairing white fish with tangerines, creamy avocado and spice that lingers on my lips, I chat with the sweet couple who own the place. They tell me how they came here from England on a whim, and of the B&B and record shop they owned back in the U.K. Tonight, they steer me toward a main course of sablefish and a bouillabaisse with piping hot broth to stave off the chill. My one regret is that I don’t get to see the rockin’ proprietor at Phill’s Barber Shop down the PHOTOGRAPHY: TERRY TROTTER / WILD FISH RESTAURANT
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