Pebble Beach Food & Wine is one of America’s pre-eminent culinary events, and to stay premiere after six years, switching up the events is probably a good idea. This year, they introduced Battle of the Coasts, featuring five chefs from each coast cooking on back-to-back nights. People who attended both dinners informally got to choose a winner. On Friday night, it was the East Coast’s turn to shine at Stillwater Bar & Grill inside The Lodge at Pebble Beach. Clark Frasier & Mark Gaier from Arrows and MC Perkins Cove in Maine led off the dinner, and Jose Garces delivered the second course, Roasted Black Bass.

The Philadelphia-based chef favors Latin flavors, and he not only prepared my favorite dish from either dinner, he delivered my favorite dish all week. The Spanish inspired dish featured a tender, crisp-skinned filet that arrived in a savory pool of ajo blanco, a garlicky almond broth that also touted crisp pancetta, crushed Marcona almonds, tart cape gooseberries, and micro-greens. Garces is a man who’s opened 14 restaurants in five states, so it’s no surprise he has confidence. He presented the dish and said, “This course will definitely put the East Coast over the top.” In my opinion, the West Coast was the collective winner, but the East Coast’s “loss” wasn’t due to Garces, who brought some serious culinary flair.