Farmer’s Market staple Second Line Beignet has their brick & mortar fully up and running and it is classic beautiful inside, with darkened walls and rich textures and warm antiques. They also are not completely donuts and coffee: an andouille po’boy has appeared on the menu weekends+ and it is amazing. I assumed I would never visit this place because I do’t eat beignets, but they came to my rescue with the lunchtime sandwich deal. Down on the waterfront, Margherita Caffe Italiano seems to be filling a coffee-niche in the old Tayaki space below UMI Sushi. He also makes some modest sandwiches, which translate on paper better than in the mouth or pocketbook. Across the street in Marina Square, work continues on the cigar shop (I know it’s not food, but still interesting-ish) next door to Savory Palette. It will be interesting if the California allowance for owner-present-smoking will supercede both Morro Bay’s smoking ban and tight neighbors in a multi-story mall with vast common areas.

Down in the Salt Building, cringy Crab It While It’s Hot seems to have partially lost its luster, surely a combination of tourist season ending and withering reviews from legitimate sources. I walk by several times a week and still have never seen a white person eating inside. Just an observation. For those of you who follow my bread-searches, not only has La Parisienne ceased making wheat & white loaves, I feel they have also stopped making baugettes, as the last dozen-or-so visits show none in stock. This is particularly sad, considering the theme and history. Might as well go ahead and change the name to Morro Bay Bakery (as I have predicted) with a dog on the sign. SCOUT CAN YOU PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE START MAKING BREAD??? AT LEAST A BAUGETTE??? With your on-site bakery, dedication to the community and freshness and imported organic, non-GMO flour and three-ingredient mantra, PLEASE make a bauguette. And not stupid Umerican crusty sourdough trash. A real French sweet soft one. Did I say please?

Did I mention last edition Windows’ hours have greatly expanded? Pretty sure they’re open even on Sunday now! SOOOOO mixed on Windows. Sometimes everything is wonderful, sometimes you seriously regret wasting the money. Sometimes the service is fabulous, sometimes you want to punch people. Sometimes it is delicious, sometimes it is literally inedible. I wish terribly they could consistently live up to their “best resty in Morro Bay” classification. I vote Galley. Windows is cruising on laurels, with a ridiculously aging demo and tired over-the-top attempts at dishes. Galley does it effortlessly and without fanfare Every. Single. Day. Every. Single. Dish. No days off. Work *kinda* continues on Harbor Walk. The kitchens and bars haltingly take shape in various forms and questionable order of construction and the whole thing smacks of being broke. If it ever opens, though, it will be nice, and I am warming to a concept I once criticized. Think: a fat slice of Paso Market Walk. That’s what it’s going to look like. A food court, with various vendors with their respective kitchen set-up and a large, common, indoor & outdoor dining area. Oh and speaking of undue criticism, People keep telling me the food at Siren is good and I just…. ewwww…. cringe…. no way… so I stopped in the other day and had one of the most ridiculously gorgeous and delicious and well-prepared hamburgers I’ve ever had. Wow. As soon as I publish this, I will have to amend my MB Hamburger List.

Down in SLO, the windows are papered at Buffalo, but a huge for lease sign in window, so possibly just preparational gutting. Work continues on Sweetie Leaf. Not sure the status of McKlintock’s. Don’t really care. Big bittersweet news: Mee Heng Low closed. Kwan is done. But check this out: event & community powerhouse twins and Chinatown anchors Amber and Emily Butler of Ah Loius Store across the street are bring the latest gaming phenomenon to SLO: Mahjong parlor and club. OK so and even those in the back rows could not have predicted this: you can now reserve your holiday pies at SLObrew Rock from… wait for it… *drumroll*… MARIE CALLANDER’S. SLO Fish is open. Good Boy is open, and I had a Chicago dog there yesterday. Freezing dining room and a terrible bun. That’s my review. Oh, and there’s a smashburgers (with lettuce) so I might have to revisit. I still want to imagine the backlash if they had called it Good Girl. Margie’s Diner re-opened over next door to Lenny’s (DENNY’S!!) on Madonna. Never eaten there. Never plan to. Their former spots–or short-lived Taco Temple SLO–still sits empty. Speaking of smashburgers (which are OVER, by the way), The Switch is serving $5 smashes on Friday.

Grover Beach Sourdough is serving food, apparently. News-to-me: they expanded their real estate into a small dining room in a couple months back and are open 5 days a week until 2 for breakfast and lunch. Some familiar TST items on the list: tartare… bologna sandwich… roasted potatoes… plus wine and beer BTG & bottle. Also new sandwich shop in Pismo: SWELL. Tastes Wine Group is down finally down to just their flagship: WINESNEAK in SLO. Some time ago Jan’s Place in the railroad district relocated to Paso and the former Tastes in the Alley spot behind Artisan–errrrr–I mean Streetside Ale House. Now this week long-for-sale Tastes of the Valleys in Pismo went under new ownership. It’s still going to be a wine bar, just under surfinsomm and vinvivant leadership: Pas Faux Wine Bar.

Golden Goose Sports Bar is still so vague to me, I keep getting warmer and warmer on its actual location though. Allegedly an extension of Shop Little Cousins and wrapping around the back of Sylvester’s onto Sunken Garden mall??? Gonna hafta drive by. Across the mall, work has been VERY visible on Garden City Market. Still not sure what the theme and vibe will be there. Out on the highway towards the ocean, up-for-sale Halfway Station has decided to “take a break”, so THERE’S a void of always peculiar provenance waiting to be filled. The Tavern in Atascadero is open. Did you know about this? Looking at maps, it appears to be in that strip where Fuego was and maybe is on the corner where something vague/clubby has been advertised for a couple years. Quite a menu! Check it out. Let me know.

It’s going to rain so go outside and play.