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It has been just over a year since San Juan Oaks introduced two new restaurants, 36º North and McCann’s, to an enthusiastic public anxious for more local culinary options. In particular, Executive Chef Diane Sturla’s take on classic dishes at 36º North, with her focus on locally sourced ingredients, staged with the backdrop of the picture-perfect golf course, makes for one of the county’s finest formal dining experiences.
Well, maybe not quite so formal as before….
For example, the TVs above the bar that the food and beverage director, James Kellogg, in a BenitoLink interview about the opening, swore were “kind of ridiculous and we’re not turning them on,” are now lit up for Thursday game nights.
“I thought they would lower the quality of the experience for the other guests,” he said. “And so far, that hasn’t seemed to play out. They haven’t really alienated people in a way that I thought they would.”
It doesn’t hurt, of course, that Thursday is also the night that 36º North runs a prime rib special, a move that Kellogg said has doubled the evening’s business. With his experiences at restaurants in Monterey, where diners tend to have more food restrictions, beef is a clear winner in this area, he said.
“I don’t think I’ve had anybody ask me for a vegetarian dish since I’ve been here,” he said. “It’s definitely a rancher kind of community, and they like their beef in big portions.”
Another significant change, general manager Manny Freitas said, is that the dress code, instituted at the opening, is essentially gone. It was a glitch in the matrix, a policy that was easy to correct, he said.
“We weren’t allowing ball caps and things like that,” he said. “We’ve loosened it up some for the demographic, and that’s been well-received. People who may not have come in because of that are starting to show up.”
Sturla has had to make some adjustments as well. While keeping several very popular menu items, like short ribs, ribeye steak, apricot chicken, and the most popular dish, the classic Steak Diane (featured in that first BenitoLink article), she is becoming evangelical about pork after the lack of interest expressed with pork belly, which she introduced on the original menu.
“It’s one of my favorite things,” she said, “but I heard more than once, ‘Why don’t you do like a pork chop or a pork loin or something like that instead?’ So, I thought, ‘Okay, fine, I’ll lean into that.’”
She began with a pork chop, progressed to stuffed tenderloin, and now offers Pork Osso Bucco with creamy polenta as the latest step. “I want people to recognize pork,” she said, “and then I want them to enjoy it.”
You will. This slow-cooked pork shoulder with fall vegetables, including butternut squash, delivers the comforting warmth of grandma’s cooking. An onion string garnish provides crunch, while the buttery polenta rivals a perfectly loaded baked potato. It hits nostalgic taste buds and is ideal for the season.
Another abandoned dish was her Thai Watermelon Soup. Not an easy dish to make, Sturla said, it uses compressed watermelon and was served with crab salad.
“I didn’t know where our guests would land on this dish,” she said. “But I couldn’t get people to order it. It was heartbreaking because I know how good it is .”
Sturla said she didn’t quite understand that diners initially wanted more familiar dishes before she started pushing the boundaries, offerings they would more readily recognize and enjoy, like her outstanding tomato soup.
I am going out on a limb here because a favored aunt used to make a killer version, but I think this might be the best tomato soup I have ever had. Sturla said she roasts the tomatoes in olive oil and garlic until they are almost jammy, then uses those as the base ingredient. It’s rich, with the tomato acid offering bright highlights that play well off the concentrated fruit flavor.
Pro tip from my server, Dominic Fortino—grab one of the house-made bread rolls, slather it in Sturla’s signature herb-infused honey butter with black salt and dip. It’s an excellent combination of flavors, a worthy indulgence and a great way to get your taste buds tingling at the start of your meal.
One thing that has not changed is the restaurant’s reputation for destination dining, and Freitas proudly points to recent accolades, such as winning “Best Dining Experience” from The Best of San Benito and a “Diner’s Choice” nod from Yelp.
“I think we’ve exceeded our expectations,” he said. “We’ve been really well-received in the community. It’s just a short drive out of Hollister to a beautiful setting, so it feels like leaving town and going somewhere special.”
Another thing that has not changed, according to Kellogg, is the focus on the quality of the food and on the personal service from the staff, which verges on the indulgent.
“The ambiance is great,” he said. “We want it to be a place where you can be yourself while experiencing a high level of dining. Our hope is to have the same level of excellence in all the different tiers of what we do.”
Some dishes from 36º North
Stuffed Mushrooms – This dish was developed during a competition among the cooking staff to create items for a bar menu. The rules were simple: it had to be made with ingredients that were already available in the kitchen. The mushrooms won and have since become one of the most popular selections.
Sturla said the secret to the appeal lies in the ratio of Swiss and Parmesan cheeses to the pork sausage. A small amount of crème fraîche adds silkiness, and the herb gremolata topping adds texture and crunch. Order several for the table—it’s one of those “shareable” appetizers you’ll want to eat all on your own.
Prime Rib Flatbread – The restaurant offers two flatbreads: a Margherita with marinara sauce, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella, and this, in which Sturla repurposes any leftover rib-eye steaks from the night before. Served on garlic flatbread, the thinly sliced rib-eye is topped with arugula, caramelized onions, mozzarella and blue cheese.
The unexpected addition of dabs of house-made cherry chutney and a pomegranate drizzle gives it a sweet-and-sour layer. “We got the cherries over the summer,” Sturla said, “which we also use with our baked brie. And the pomegranate drizzle is just a little ode to the season.” The combination of the steak’s rich flavor, the arugula’s freshness, and the cherries’ fruitiness is bright, captivating, and well worth a try.
Chicken Parmesan – Chicken Parm is my go-to test for any new Italian restaurant that I try. On the surface, it is a simple dish: flatten the chicken, bread it, fry it, cover it in red sauce, add melted mozzarella and serve. And it is incredible to me how many places I have gone that have completely failed it. “It’s a great dish,” Sturla said, “for cross-cultural clientele and all age groups. It’s pretty easy because it hits all the bases. And we do a pretty good job with it.”
And Sturla nails it. The marinated chicken has great flavor, the breading stays firm and not soggy, the marinara pairs with the bucatini pasta, and the presentation of the cheese and a basil leaf is immaculate and appealing. The dish began as a special, but there were so many requests for it when it was not offered that Sturla had little choice but to add it to the menu.
Fall Pavlova – I tried the Pavlova when I first dined at 36º North a year ago, which featured a mix of passionfruit, mango, and apricot. While Sturla offers other desserts, such as the AJ’s Profiterole with bourbon-infused pastry cream and the Pumpkin Crème Brûlée, I was drawn to the Pavlova again just because it is so unusual to find. Named for Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova and with origins, oddly enough, in 1929 New Zealand following her appearance there, the dessert is appropriately light and angelic.
In this version, each arm of the snowflake-shaped meringue shell is layered with cinnamon Chantilly and rests on a bed of spiced green apple compote. A scoop of salted caramel gelato tops the dish, and the plate is dotted with a spiced apple ganache. It’s a sweet melange of your favorite apple-pie and caramel-apple flavors, rolled into one dish, with the crunchy, marshmallowy meringue as a bonus. It’s elegant in presentation and wonderful in complexity. It’s a must-try.
Thursday through Saturday: 4:30-9 p.m.
(Closed Sunday – Wednesday)
Reservations are encouraged.
Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Lunch begins at 11 a.m.
Friday-Sunday: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday Brunch Served 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
36º North and McCanns are located at San Juan Oaks, 1996 San Juan Oaks Rd., Hollister
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Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
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