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Dunneville Market’s Sean Shelton is not content just to serve some of the best tri-tip in the county. He is on a new mission: to revive the joy of eating ice cream with a wooden spoon, just as it was always intended to be enjoyed.
The market’s children’s menu includes burgers, corndogs, grilled cheese and tri-tip sandwiches—along with dino-shaped chicken nuggets, of course—but each item comes with a Dunneville Market-branded wooden token redeemable for a small plastic tub of vanilla ice cream, along with that flat wooden spoon that holds a place in everyone’s distant past.
For Shelton, it evokes childhood memories of hanging out in the neighborhood with the other kids, waiting for Mom and Dad to come home with little cups of ice cream.
“When I was young,” he said, “they would always bring those little cups home. You got your little ice cream cup with chocolate swirls on the side, you got your stick, and life is good. I want kids to learn how to eat ice cream like we used to when we were small.”
Not that Dunneville Market lacks for terrific attractions for adults as well. Shelton has renovated and redesigned his large patio area to accommodate up to 80 people for a seated party and 120 for a standing group.
“We were doing a little bit of catering,” Shelton said, “but then my wife and I talked about really focusing on our patio and getting people out here. So that’s where we’re at, and we are going full speed.”
The patio can be rented as a whole or as one of three sections: the open-air seating area, the covered Redwoods, or the two-lane bocce ball court, which has recently been completely renovated with a re-spread surface.
“I had to buy a book on bocce ball,” Shelton said, “ because I never really knew how to play it. And sooner or later someone is going to ask you a question about the game, so you’ve got to have an answer.”
At one recent event, Shelton invited local ranchers to bring their brands to “help us decorate our tables and give a little piece of history to the restaurant.” On July 15, he also hosted one of the quarterly gatherings of the wine and food aficionados of Joe Postigo’s Thee Vaché Society, named after pioneer Cienega Valley winemaker Théophile Vaché.
For that July event, Shelton prepared a menu that included thick-cut tri-tip, cheesy potatoes, pork belly porchetta, lemon chili broccolini, Caesar salad, and garlic bread. There was also a magnificent cheese and charcuterie board, accompanied by fruit and an assortment of breads and crackers.
“You make sure you have a starting point,” he said, “I’ll do a hard cheese and I’ll add a triple cream, a blue, and I’ll get a goat cheese on there, and build off that. I make sure to pair with fruits, and then I look to see what else I can add.”
Shelton catered a previous Vaché event and first met Postigo a few years ago, when he cooked for him as a chef in Monterey. The two had planned the event for close to a year, waiting to hold it until there was a guarantee of nice weather.
“Chef Sean is amazing,” Postigo said. “And he always has been. He has elevated the classic Dunneville menu, and the outdoor patio is a perfect place to kick back and enjoy his menu, from fried chicken to tri-tip sandwiches and everything in between.”
Shelton has also been experimenting with breakfast, currently served from 7-11 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and plans to expand it to daily service soon.
The high point of the menu, and Shelton’s favorite, might be the Chicken Fried Steak, made with a 6-oz cube steak.
“We tested meat from five or six sources,” he said, “and we chose the best one. It comes with hash brown potatoes, toast, and a sausage and bacon gravy that’s almost a bread in itself.”
Shelton said that many of the things he is working on now were in his mind when he first acquired the market in 2021, but he has ensured that he still maintains the same quality of product and the same relaxed style he inherited from founder Bill Regentz.
“When you buy a legacy place like this,” he said, “it’s not all yours. It also belongs to the community. I’ve always liked making people happy with food and connecting with people as a chef is my favorite part.”
The Food of Dunneville Market
The Original Tri-Tip Sandwich – For the first “Eat, Drink, Savor” article I wrote on Dunneville Market, a little more than two years ago, Shelton suggested the excellent Tri-Tip and Cheddar sandwich, which was a break for me. I had invariably ordered the basic tri-tip sandwich, which is so perfect that I had no interest in straying from it. Dunneville offers a line of tri-tip sandwiches, including variations with horseradish, bacon, avocado, sautéed onions, mushrooms, pepperoncini, and more.
However, I recommend starting with the basic sandwich—the melt-in-your-mouth meat is served pink and tender, and it is full of flavor without being overwhelmed by smokiness. And certainly slather on the house-made BBQ sauce; it is so complex and rich you might be tempted to drink it up with your straw. It is prepared precisely the way Regentz made it, and Shelton is much too savvy to change it in any way. This is Dunneville’s absolute essential—the market goes through up to 120 lbs a day—and you might never be tempted to two-time it with any other menu item.
Chicharrón Crusted Pork Sandwich – A new addition to the menu, it is an original take on the classic breaded pork cutlet. “We take chicharrón,” Shelton said, “straight up pork rinds, and throw them in our food processor. We break them down with panko and parmesan, bread the pork up and fry it off.” Shelton tops this with red onion, tomatoes, chipotle mayo, and a generous pile of arugula, served with a lemony dressing, on a toasted garlic roll. The pork is pounded to thin and tender perfection, and the unique crust gives it crunch and a spicy warmth. The dressing is a perfect match, pulling all of the ingredients together. Shelton describes this as “one of our big ones,” and once you taste it, it is easy to see why customers love it.
Turkey Melt – This hearty sandwich is made with house-smoked turkey, bacon, Gruyère, spinach, and pepperoncini mayo on sourdough. “At its core,” Shelton said, “we’re a sandwich place. You put things together and say, Okay, well, those flavors work. Let’s try that out. Let’s play with it. And you try to make something that people are going to talk about afterwards and say, Wow, that was really nice.” What stuck out for me with this sandwich, besides the mountain of moist and tender sliced turkey, was the flaps of fried Gruyère sticking out from either end of the bread—a universally understood sign you are in for something tasty. I liked the way the spiciness of the mayo swirled around each bite, and there was a nice crunch of the sourdough. I hovered the BBQ sauce bottle over the sandwich, waiting for a nod of approval from Shelton, and when I got it, I added a bit, which gave the whole thing an extra punch. This is a must-try.
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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