Almost a community of competing centers in an area of some 10,000 permanent residents. Tourism is what makes trade possible, when the year-round swell of visitors multiplies the population. The willingness to risk real weather is almost ironic. Carmel is a region of fresh wind and occasional rain. Smog is one reason Los Angeles doesn't set many tables to the street.
Car exhaust is another.
And local codes at most require roofs above food service. But Southern California persists in going the wrong direction, building defenses instead of clearing the air. A complex like Barnyard offers the illusion of discovery. We bought a couple of wall-mounted candleholders thinking they were crafted by Carmel hands, only to discover they come in neat boxes all over Los Angeles. We bought a standing paper lamp at Dusty s figuring it was almost sculpture, only to see replicas of the same shape used as props in a Beverly Hills store window.