We started our trip at Laetetia Winery for a little sparkling wine tasting. A great way to start my birthday morning!
Then lunch at Giuseppe's in Pismo Beach:
I had the Orecchiette with Braciole:
And John had the Porchetta Paninni Special:
When we arrived at our room at the Spyglass we had a surprise waiting for us - a gift basket (wine, salami, cheese, crackers and goodies) from Sarah, Jeff & Marco:
We walked next door to Lido @ Dolphin Bay (an upscale hotel and spa) for dinner:
Martinis at the bar to start the evening off. We were excited to see abalone on the menu and ordered an appetizer to share. Two tiny, over-seasoned, pieces of abalone were served with fried plantains, pickled ginger and hollandaise foam. A big disappointment! I ordered the Cast Iron Cassoulet (Duck Confit, Housemade Pancetta and Italian Sausage). It was served in a very small cast iron skillet that made it very difficult to eat. Plus the duck confit was soggy and I couldn't taste the sausage, mostly beans. It was okay, but I expected much better. John had the Pasta Carbonara with Mustard Greens, Housemade Pancetta, Calabria Chili and Farm Fresh Egg. He said it was good, but too spicy. We splurged on dessert - Purple Haze-Pavlova with lemon curd, blueberry compote and chantilly cream.
While we were a little let down by the food, we still had a wonderful evening. The atmosphere was beautiful and the service was great.
The next day we visited a few wineries in the San Luis Obispo area - Baileyana, Talley Vineyards and Edna Valley Vineyard. We picked up deli sandwiches from Giuseppe's Express and took them to Claiborne & Churchill - one of our favorite wineries!
A new sushi restaurant had just opened up across the street from our hotel so we walked over to give it a try - incredible!!
They had only been opened less than a week so the service was a bit chaotic. We lucked out and were seated at the sushi bar and served by the head chef. We had miso soup, a sashimi assortment of ahi, salmon and yellowtail - incredible!! An Alaskan Roll - Real crab with asparagus, avocado and cucumber on the inside, salmon, lemon and cilantro on the outside - incredible!! A Pismo Roll - spicy scallop, crab meat and avocado on the inside, ahi seared with a torch, jalapeno and daikon radish on the outside - incredible!! Best sushi I have ever had, can't wait to come back.
The next morning we took a drive out to Morro Bay and then visited a couple of wineries in Paso Robles - Robert Hall (not impressed) and Vina Robles (a very nice surprise) to try some Rhone wines. And of course if we're in Paso Robles that means lunch at one of our favorite restaurants - Bunoa Tavola. John had the Orecchiette con rapine e luganega (hat shaped pasta served with rapini broccoli, sun dried tomatoes, grilled homemade Piemontese style pork sausage, garlic and a splash of tomato sauce. I had the Agnolotti fra diavola (homemade piemontese ravioli stuffed with scampi, braised onions, prosciutto in a lightly spiced tomato sauce. And a bottle of my new favorite wine - Treana, a blend of Viognier and Marsanne - love it!!
For dinner we drove down to Pismo Beach to try the Ventana Grill, what a nice surprise.
John ordered a bowl of clam chowder and the Flat Iron Chimicuuri Cilantro Sauce and assorted squash. And I had the Arrachera Steak (skirt steak) with jumbo scallions, grilled nopalitos, guacamole, molcajete salsa, queso fresco, corn tortillas, pinquinto beans and poblano rice. Yum!!
We headed home the next day with a stop in Los Olivos. We went to the Qupe Tasting Room so I could continue my Rhone wine tasting adventure. We lunched at the Los Olivos Merchant Cafe:
I can't believe we're still eating!! John had the Soprasetta Pizza and I ordered the Chicken Leg Confit with roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted seasonal vegetables and chicken jus. And we finished our trip with another Rhone white blend - Beckmen 2011 Le Bec Blanc - 42% Marsanne, 33% Rousanne, 19% Grenache and 6% Viognier.
It was great mini-vacation. We're so lucky to have such a beautiful and relaxing getaway just a couple of hours away.
