THE CENTRAL COAST RESTAURANTS LIST
FIGUEROA MOUNTAIN BREWING COMPANY is finally open in Arroyo Grande and while I am not a beer-drinker, this is probably the most exciting restaurant to come to town. Yes, the past couple years have brought us a plethora of quality dining options but a local hot, hip hi-vis chain like this really says a lot about Arroyo Grande as a viable dining destination. It is a major stamp of approval. This is not to detract from those who MADE IT HAPPEN, first and foremost ROOSTER CREEK TAVERN for breaking the decades-old ‘Gina’s Stranglehold’. EMBER and COMFORT MARKET were the next to make serious bets on AG and they both continue to deliver world-class cuisine and generate out-of-town plaudits. ROBERT’S and MASON BAR are the late-comers, but their proposed existence probably had a lot to do with Fig Mt’s decision to open a location here, and as you can see: Arroyo Grande is fast becoming THE dining destination. Opening soon will be THE SPOON TRADE and residents are suddenly beside themselves with options. But back to Figueroa Mt. Of course there’s lots of beer and I will let others more experienced blather on about such things. The wine list is extremely short–3 whites and 3 reds–2 crap and 1 decent on each side, but that is enough. The Melville Syrah is all I really need for as much as I am going to be dining here. The menu is your average beer-swilling, calorie-loaded fare: big salads, numerous burgers, several additional hot sandwiches. We tried to order around the fringes of the menu and were very happy with everything. The fish tacos had nice meat, well-cooked, with an interesting drizzle of dill/yogurt sauce on the not-overly-piled greens. The Carnitas Sandwich is no more ‘carnitas’ than Taco Bell but I see where they were going with it and it WORKS. Holy wow is it good. This is the most amazing pulled-pork sandwich I have ever tasted. Pulled pork in a spicy barbecue-ish sorta sauce. Not too spicy–I like to TASTE my food–just perfectly spicy. One of their burgers was ordered for reference-point and it was appropriately run-down-ya-arms-drip-off-ur-elbows good. Fries were about average but the chips! They make their own chips–thick deep-fried potato slices–and I was expecting a brittle ‘Kettle’ style, and was happily disappointed. Thick and almost clear, a large portion of them pillows, with sections crispy but the majority of the more of an al dente. Not soggy, not tough, just a perfect non-brittle ‘give’ in them. Service was a tad over-attentive. Numerous queries, individual plates whisked away while others were eating and continuous attempts at plates still being worked on. Leave. My. French-fries. Alone. Goddammit. But hey, I get it… I mean look at their demographic. These are beer drinkers. Get them their grub and hurry up with the bill. The service was great–you can’t fault them for being ‘present’. We even got an apology from the waitress because she *sensed* we felt a little heavily-waited-upon. So there’s an extra point. I wish they had some more wines. It is sad seeing a local establishment–born, bred, and named in and after the heart of SYV wine country and dedicated to artisan beverages–have such a lackluster wine selection. We all know wine-restaurants with HUGE craft-beer selections, but I get how it doesn’t work the other way around. The wines from Paso are what is shocking. Why would a SYV restaurant have cheap Paso wines on their list? Makes no sense. Oh well. I am very excited about Figueroa Mt opening in Arroyo Grande and it represents a LOT for this town. Added at ♦♦
eatdrink101 