Grilled Chicken Ciabatta – Monterey Coast Brewing Company – Main St, Salinas, CA

In the same way that you can find the measure of a chef in their omelette the measure of a restaurant can often be found in their grilled chicken. On many menus it is an afterthought, a slapped together kaiser roll, a few pieces of limp lettuce, a mushy tomato and a dry chicken breast. At the other end it can be spectacular with unique sauces, fresh or off-beat vegetable partners and moist chicken. The version presented by the Monterey Coast Brewing Company is a bit pedestrian but well executed. The real standout was the ciabatta roll, soft baked and with plenty of rosemary flavor. A hard crust on the bread would have brought the sandwich down, as the healthy helping of pesto rendered the chicken a bit unstable. The soft crust was a nice compliment then, perhaps showing a bit of thought behind a fine example of the grilled chicken sandwich.

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