Restaurants worth the travel time

As you plan your summer excursions, don't forget about the food. Here are a few noteworty restaurants and eateries to include in your vacation itinerary:

Restaurant 1833 in Monterey

When chef Jason Franey took the helm of Monterey’s venerable Restaurant 1833 this past winter, it turned heads. The James Beard finalist gave up a high-profile position at the 63-year-old Seattle icon Canlis, where he crafted meticulous seven-course tasting menus.

His assignment: Dream up a new experience, close the place for a week to refresh interiors, then reopen March 23 with signatures like a hamburger.

But the move actually brought more opportunity, as Franey has been able to spread his wings and make the food his own. That burger? It boasts two thin 3-ounce patties, fat-seared crispy on the outside and juicy rare inside, laid on a homemade, brown butter-slicked and toasted milk-and-honey bun, capped with sharp white cheddar, grilled onion, tomato confit and fermented cucumber, then presented with steak fries baked, fried then seasoned with dehydrated sauerkraut powder for dunking in aioli ($15).

Still, the soul of the beloved eatery remains familiar. With comfort dishes like 48-hour beef short ribs over coal roasted carrots, Anson Hills polenta and bordelaise ($29), this isn’t the tweezers cuisine we expect at Canlis or Franey’s previous chef positions with Eleven Madison Park in New York and Campton Place in San Francisco.

We’re in for surprises, however. Those marbled, sea-salt-scattered ribs, for example, arrive topped with big, wispy curls of puffed beef tendon (think classy chicharróns). These are very special baby back rib egg rolls, too, braised with Serrano and nuoc cham, crusted in coriander and guajillo, roasted then glazed in braising juices, wrapped in French feuille de brick pastry and finished with a quick fry in butter ($14).

Pappardelle ($24), meanwhile, is hand-cut, and over opening week, the dish saluted spring with a toss of young garlic, fava beans, leafy pea tendrils, succulent concentrated cherry tomatoes and Nueske’s lardons. Soft poached eggs ooze over the wild mushroom and prosciutto pizza ($17) with hints of sage.

For a truly dramatic touch, Franey has rolled out a Gallatin’s Throwback collection that honors the neighborhood and celebrity-favorite restaurant that occupied the space in the 1950s and ’60s. That means whole beast feasts for six or more, such as an entire suckling pig, displayed with a dizzying array of boudin blanc, boudin noir, sauerkraut, fermented turnips, pickled carrots, grilled broccoli rabe, warm potato salad, beet salad, pork jus and Hawaiian buns ($410 for six guests).

Happily, the retro charm remains - old school dark in a warren of rooms through the two-story adobe home that we’re promised is haunted. The glowing onyx bar surface still glows, and the fireplace and votive candles flicker against tufted chairs and polished wood. Yet as evenings wear on, the mood turns to new indie music and sexy snacks such as grilled, custardy halloumi cheese decorated with sautéed trumpet mushrooms, freekeh grain, pickled rhubarb, arugula and walnut vinaigrette ($7).

Head turning, indeed.

Details: Restaurant 1833, 500 Hartnell St., Monterey, (831) 643-1833, restaurant1833.com. Hours: 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday

Eleven in Ashland, Ore.

If it seems unique to find Basque cuisine in Ashland, Ore., you’d be right. The distinctive food comes courtesy of a single eatery, Eleven, which opened last August, showcasing Spanish tapas like tortilla Espanola and chicken romesco.

Except that Oregon has a rich Basque history, with many immigrants coming to the state as sheepherders in the late 1880s and expanding through the 1940s until the livestock business declined.

Owners Kevin and Andi Broadie aren’t Basque but liked the theme. And while Eleven does an expected balancing act between authentic recipes and modern tastes , the cuisine’s core concept is honest.

That tortilla is a fluffy layering of eggs folded with potato, sweet onion, spinach and herbs, baked to a golden crust and moistened with hazelnut romesco and lemon aioli ($12), while the region’s love of grilled meats shows in lamb lollipops marinated in honey-mustard-garlic and rosemary ($15), or seared steak with bold basil chimichurri seasoning ($14).

Diners are encouraged to share plates, keeping in mind that portions aren’t tiny, and three dishes plus dessert makes a suitable meal for two people. Servers assist with wine pairings for more challenging combinations such as the salad of white beans, creamy avocado, crisp green apple, toasted pine nuts and basil. In a nice touch, all selections come from the surrounding Rogue Valley, with Spanish-style varietals like Upper Five Vineyard Tempranillo ($10/$36).

Real Basque diners may favor their regional wood pigeon, but here we savor quail caldoso-style, teamed with earthy artichoke hearts, olives and wild mushrooms in zesty tomato broth over savory Arborio rice ($16). For the ceviche, the whitefish hails from the Oregon coast, simply cured in lemon and lime with flurries of basil and shallots ($12). The olives, though, are imported from Spain for the pan roasted duck breast in orange sauce ($15), as is the manchego in the mixed spring greens tumbled with strawberries and hazelnuts ($10).

Details: Eleven, 11 N. First St., Ashland, Ore., (541) 905-1092, elevenon1st.com. Hours: 4:30 p.m. to closing Tuesday-Saturday.

Christy Hill Lakeside Bistro in Tahoe City

For several decades now, Christy Hill Lakeside Bistro has been the go-to fine dining spot in Tahoe City, serving French-accented California cuisine presented on white tablecloths.

Yet even the grandest dame can use a bit of freshening now and again. So five years ago, new owners Robyn Sills and Ed Coleman brought in chef Andrew Shimer, previously of Bay Area gems like Jardinière, Boulevard and the former Aqua.

The décor was brightened with new paint and upholstered banquettes and, most significantly, Shimer rolled out a revitalized menu of seasonally driven, Cal-Med dishes emphasizing many more local ingredients and hand crafted products such as house cured pancetta, duck prosciutto, sausages and breads.

So now there are still French classics like grilled bistro steak slathered in Point Reyes blue cheese and demi glace ($29), but chef Shimer procures an entire whole, organic grass-fed Trimmer Ranch cow at a time, to butcher his own beef. As one does.

Traditional pork terrine gets a boost from foie gras, house cured bacon and pistachios in the mix, alongside house made pickles and brioche toast ($15). Pasta isn’t overlooked either, for tortellini plump with mushrooms and fromage blanc, bathed in mushroom–miso broth and tossed with bok choy, shiitakes, tofu, radish and crisp English peas ($22, even better topped with a slow-cooked egg for $2).

This is certainly new Tahoe dining: eclectic recipes pop up here and there, such as hamachi tartare formed in a loose, round mold and dotted with bright, crunchy bits of celeriac, apple, chiles, cucumber, avocado, pinenuts, radish, mint and a golden centerpiece of raw quail egg, all scooped with a whisper thin puff cracker made from Korean juk grains, then dragged through a drizzle of truffled lime vinaigrette ($15).

The view has always been a highlight of this moss green clapboard place, for the largest alpine lake in North America - indeed, the deck and the dining room’s picture windows - sit just 100 feet above the shoreline. We can sip the last of our DuMol Estate Russian River Pinot Noir ($134), nibble our chocolate croissant bread pudding ($8) and take in the stunning sunset.

For that, some things should never change.

Details: Christy Hill Lakeside Bistro, 115 Grove St., Tahoe City, (530) 583-8551, christyhill.com. Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. nightly.