Eat, Drink, Savor: McCann’s is a more casual and relaxed 36º North

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There is a certain cachet to having a dish at a restaurant named after you. And nobody deserves it more than San Juan Oaks General Manager Manny Freitas for insisting that Chef Diane Sturla return his favorite chicken sandwich to McCann’s menu after it had been deleted because of slow sales. 

“I told her ‘burgers are great,’” he said. “’But many people don’t want burgers, and I usually judge places on their chicken sandwich.’ When I came in the following week, suddenly, there was The Freitas Club. I’ll get texts from people telling me they like my sandwich.”

It is a great sandwich: grilled chicken and bacon on sliced sourdough, topped with red onion, coleslaw, Swiss cheese and garlic mayo. I tried several things on the menu, and this is the one I returned to for its almost comfort-food quality and balance of flavors.

McCann’s was redesigned while the Oaks’ fine-dining restaurant, 36º North, was being built. During the construction, a dedicated small kitchen and “Golfers Grind,” a coffee and food-to-go counter, were added to the already-existing cafe. 

“We wanted to start small and do something we can execute,” Freitas said. “It’s been our philosophy from the beginning. We can always expand, but whatever we do, let’s do it well.”

Built simultaneously, McCann’s and 36º North present in different ways. While 36º North is a dress-up destination restaurant for a night of fine dining, McCann’s is designed to be more casual. As Freitas puts it, it is a place for golfers to sit down, grab a burger and a beer and settle up their bets.

It shares the same amazing view of the greens, lined with olive trees transplanted from the grove at the course’s entrance. It also shares many of the same ingredients Sturla uses to create her dishes, giving the cafe the same culinary air of sophistication as the more formal restaurant.

“Some of the things that we use in 36º,” she said, “we can repurpose for the rest of the week here. We use part of the same steaks here, so we can get a bulk-buy price and eliminate much of the waste.”

Sturla said that creating the menu was a lot of fun. She strove to create separate menu items from the same palette of ingredients, and the casual atmosphere allowed her to be more bold in her presentation and flavors. The small kitchen was also a factor, with the need to cook for a quick turnover lunch crowd.

“A cheeseburger is pretty safe,” Sturla said. “But to utilize the kitchen as best as possible, we use a smashed patty because it cooks fast. Speed is important for people who come in on their lunch hour and need to get in and get out as quickly as possible. 

Visit San Benito’s Irene Davis ordered the Poke Salad for lunch, saying it had become her go-to after trying the other salads on the menu. The variety of ingredients, including sushi-grade tuna, buckwheat noodles, red cabbage, carrots, edamame, avocado, macadamia nuts and pickled ginger, almost guarantees every bite will have its own distinct flavor.

“I love eating this salad,” she said, “The ahi is wonderful, and it’s topped with a combination of two dressings. It is just perfect.”   

Sturla’s favorite is the Green Papaya Chicken Salad with cucumbers, carrots, cabbage,  cucumber, candied peanuts, and a Thai sweet chili dressing. 

“We made a couple of variations before we came up with these,” she said. “We wanted them to be full meals, something a little more health-conscious, and leaning towards Asian flavors. They have been very well received.” 

Sturla said that while she constantly tries to push the boundaries of her menu, she also tries to stay aware of her customers’ responses. 

“You have to watch and see if people like things,” she said. “I’m constantly looking at the numbers and seeing what is selling or not selling, and asking, ‘What do we need to change up? What can we repurpose? What can we do something different with?’”

Sturla also said she appreciates the leeway that the owners have given her. She said they have invested their time and money, offering her regular feedback that is helping to make the restaurants successful. 

“It’s been empowering for me to know I’m going in the right direction,” she said. “I’m doing what I’ve been hired to do, and I can keep doing it. So now we can talk about growth and what we will do this next year.”

Lunch at McCann’s

Burnt Ends – Decadently tender cubes of pork belly are served topped with BBQ sauce and chipotle aioli, which gives the dish a nice kick. The side of flatbread offers a nice counterpoint to the soft meat, and dill pickle chips add a layer of tartness. The rich, fatty meat is definitely something to share.

K-Pop Chicken Bahn Mi – This sandwich—salt and pepper chicken served on a French baguette—is packed with color and flavor, derived from a wild umami sauce, Asian coleslaw, sesame ginger dressing, chipotle aioli and pickled jalapenos. It is a complex and delicious firecracker of a sandwich with different heat levels at every turn, balanced by the refreshing crispness of the coleslaw. While the Freitas Club lures you in with its comforting familiarity, the K-Pop is pure energy with every bite. I preferred the Club because of its downhome flavors, but the K-Pop is a close second.

Short Rib Grilled Cheese – Created by Chef Nico Navoa, this sandwich features five-hour braised short ribs topped with three melted cheeses, bourbon bacon jam and BBQ sauce, all served on buttery grilled sourdough. “It’s something I did before that I wanted on the menu,” Navoa said. “You don’t see it around often, and it has become one of our big sellers. You can’t go wrong with it.” It is a sumptuous ooey-gooey sandwich where the cheeses are as much of a star as the tender short ribs. The bacon jam and BBQ sauce add a sweet, smokey depth that pulls everything together. 

McCann’s at the San Juan Oaks Clubhouse
1996 San Juan Oaks Rd, Hollister
(831) 636-6113
Sunday – Thursday:
Kitchen Open: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Bar Open: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Friday & Saturday:
Kitchen Open: 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Bar Open: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Golfers Grind – Coffee & Breakfast
Open Daily: 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

San Juan Oaks is planning a New Year’s Eve event, which will be announced on Facebook and Instagram.

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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