Originally founded 30 years ago as a catering business, Carmona’s is now located at the Pajaro Valley Golf Course and is captained by chef and owner Johnny Carmona. He says he learned to cook as a child by attending “grandma university,” beginning his culinary career at age nine making food for not only his mom and sisters, but also for his grandpa and his buddies at their regular house domino games.
Carmona describes his namesake restaurant as a community-driven, family-friendly spot with a cozy sports bar feel, housed in a large open space with a view of the course’s first tee. The menu is classic American breakfast/lunch/dinner with pronounced multicultural influence from Mexican, Italian and Asian cuisines. Morning faves include a classic chicken fried steak, Hawaiian loco moco and breakfast fried rice on weekends. Lunch/dinner bests are Filipino lumpia, deep-fried mushrooms and a clam chowder that has won the Boardwalk’s cookoff eight times. The burgers are another hit, like the Happy Gilmore with bacon, onion rings and American cheese. Other standouts are chili verde with tender pork shoulder and an oft raved-about eggplant Parmesan. A full bar featuring local beers holds down the beverage side, and there’s live music or a DJ most weekends.
How did you learn to cook such diverse cuisines?
JOHNNY CARMONA: As a kid, my mom was a single mother working three jobs to support us, so I would often have sleepovers at friends’ houses. One of my friends was Filipino, so that’s where I learned how to cook pork adobo and lumpia. I also had several Hispanic friends whose parents taught me to make dishes like chicken mole, and I had an Italian buddy whose mom taught me how to make pesto and alfredo sauces and eggplant parmesan. I also read a lot of cookbooks. If something tasted good, I’ve always had passion to learn to cook it.
Tell me about the catering side of the business?
It’s kept us going for 30 years and counting with menu options like paella, whole roasted pig, goat and lamb, chile colorado, Thai shrimp pasta, shrimp scampi and chicken alfredo. We keep it very professional, but treat each customer like family. We do over 200 catering events per year, everything from small events to birthdays, weddings and large corporate gatherings.
967 Salinas Road, Royal Oaks, 831-840-2209; carmonasbbqdeli.com
