Work continues on Petit Paris in Mission Mall at the back end off Higuera Street. Nourish SLO is open next door to Granada Hotel & Bistro where my favorite used clothing boutique Turn of A Dress used to be. La Esquina Taqueria is open in The Creamery. These are the Ciopinot Seafood Grille people and…
Tag: Central coast wine country
SLO Resty Gossip 11.26.17
Panolivo in Paso Robles closed. I guess everybody’s probably heard that by now. So sad. one of my favorite restaurants, although I always was concerned about their longevity. That demographic is… Well… but they were there what 17 years? Did I read that? Mint + Craft, restaurant number 5 and the most recent addition to…
5 Gift Ideas for your Cook
What to give a serious food & wine person for the holidays is always difficult. Set in their ways, craving simplicity while embracing creativity, the pricey flash-in-the-pan gadgets will probably be smiled upon–and then ignored. And the kitchen is already filled with well-used basics. Let’s put it this way: Unless you KNOW, any addition to…
locall resty gossip 11.8.17
Giuseppe’s Pismo will be opening after Thanksgiving. The bakery in the breezeway between Uptown Espresso and Buona Tavola? You know the only thing to actually hold down that spot longer than a year in the past decade? It has gotten too big and is moving out and in its place is going Restorative Cafe. Mattei’s…
Blue Moon, PICO and more 11.5.17
It has been an exciting month in dining around the Central Coast and a few additions and updates to THE RESTAURANT LIST have transpired. The most exciting thing, of course, is the opening of BLUE MOON OVER AVILA overlooking the beach on Front Street in Avila Beach. I live nearby and have been watching the…
Picky Eater
The term *Picky Eater* gets tossed around a bit. I hear it frequently–often directed at me, typically for being critical of a dish or establishment. Let’s do a little refresher-course: A person who doesn’t like stupid waiters, bad wine-lists, crying babies, TV’s everywhere, tourist food, wet tables, uninspired presentations, confused service, freezing dining rooms and…
How to Own a Stress-Free Restaurant
OK so here’s the deal. I have been a avid observer of the resty business for decades. I am in absolute AWE of the dedication required for cheflife, having seen all of its upsides and downsides, the super-super high notes and the absolute bottoms of this profession. I’ve seen the hours and the total impossibility…
Wine Secrets Revealed
“Where do you shop for wine?” Easily the most-asked question I get–sometimes several times per day. “Where do you find these wines I have never seen before in my life?!?” The beauty part is: most of them right here under your nose. At local shops. Owned by real people–not national corporations. When I turn the…
Resty Updates 9.10
Lots of things to add to THE RESTAURANT LIST: HAPY BISTRO in Pismo Beach whole-heartedly added at ♦♦ for their plate-licking renditions of Greek and Meditteranean food. Wine-list passable. Re-visited MARISOL in Shell Beach for dinner after a) a long absence and b) an embarrassingly bad lunch experience. The memory of the lunch has thankfully been…
SIX TEST KITCHEN
Six Test Kitchen is Arroyo Grande’s flash-in-the-pan new eating establishment heavy on preparation and light on substance. The basis of this resty is not new–single-seating per night, pricy prix fixe accomodations, an allegedly whiz-bang young gun with an alleged stellar resume who is–by reduction–basically a local kid cooking in his parent’s–BEAUTIFUL WALL-TO-WALL STAINLESS STEEL–garage. Everything is ridiculously…
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