Last year we stopped in Buellton, just a few miles south, and had dinner at one of the restaurants featured in the movie "Sideways", The Hitching Post II. It was a funny dinner, relish plate and all, but the steak and the duck were both great, and the french fries were possible the best I've ever had in a restaurant. Call and make reservations as early as possible, the lines are out the door otherwise. And go to Solvang for breakfast.

Sorry that I can't help with PR itself.

This post was edited by sushipup on Sat, Aug 16, 14 at 17:37

Solvang sounds good for breakfast - it will take us at least 2-1/2 hours to get there, but if we start early enough, that will be okay. We could go to the Solvang Restaurant and have Aebelskiver, but I don't know how much I would like those. If that is busy, we could go to The Belgian Cafe across the street. It's been a while since I've been to Solvang, but I do remember that parking was easy. I don't think we'll make it to The Hitching Post II, since they are dinner only, and we will not be in Buellton at that time. Also, we tend not to go to steakhouses, since Kevin does not eat beef or pork.

Thanks for the Solvang suggestion!

Lars

We had breakfast at Paula's Pancake House, and it was quite good. Fresh-squeezed OJ and wonderful pancakes.

Friends of ours go to Cambria all the time, which is just on the coast from Paso Robles. There are more wineries on the west side of 101, between PR and Cambria, and lots of restaurants in Cambria. I'll ask her and let you know.

This post was edited by sushipup on Sat, Aug 16, 14 at 17:22

Michael Bauer, food critic of our local San Francisco Chronicle, was just there. His review of Paso Robles/Carmel Valley restaurants is linked below.

A second link is to his quick summary, with a photo slideshow of the 8 dishes he liked best overall:
http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2014/06/27/best-dishes-from-my-visit-to-carmel-and-paso-robles/#24629-1

Personal note: I don't normally like over-oaked Chardonnays, but Scheid makes a very smooth luscious one that with certain dishes, is absolutely lovely. They're located between Monterey & Paso Robles, but you might find one of their bottles on a Central Coast restaurant wine list.

Here is a link that might be useful: July 2014: Paso Robles -- Outstanding food scene for a small town

Jennifer's recommendations for Cambria restaurants are:

"Robins....delicious and interesting food. Cambria Pines and Sow's Ear are also good"

jkom, it drives me crazy to have Carmel Valley and Paso Robles lumped together. I am north of Salinas and 100 miles to PR. Lived many years in CV, and that's at least as far (or more) because it's a twisty route to get back to 101 in Salinas or even longer to get over CV Road to Arroyo Seco. Bauer treats them as if they are neighboring communities.

We have wonderful wine country and tasting rooms in the area south of Salinas, far different from the winery scene in PR, which is quite excellent in its own right. Many wineries in each area buy grapes from the other area, too.

Here's what Jen has to say about wineries in the PR/Cambria area:

:There are a ton of them along Highway 46 from Paso Robles to Highway 1. Our favorites are Peachy Canyon and Castoro Vineyards. On Highway 1, Harmony Cellars. Within Cambria, go to Fermentations on East Main Street to sample good local wines."

Jen and her husband have very developed palates, so I'd trust her any day!

Thanks for those links, Jkom - I will take that information with me. It looks like we will have plenty of choices for restaurants and will be even more tempted to go back. It was definitely different the last time I went through there!

Lars

>>Bauer treats them (Carmel Valley and Paso Robles) as if they are neighboring communities.>>

He was on a driving trip down to Southern CA. He reported on all his stops by area in separate articles.

One could say the same about the Anderson Valley and Mendocino - but when I do my trip planning and subsequent (personal) restaurant reviews, I treat them as one general area, because it's the route I'm driving in one day's time.

True, but the article that I read online must have been a mish-mash of his trip. And still, Carmel Valley is a big detour from the route along 101. ;-)

I think Bauer wanted to cover Carmel Valley as he'd already covered Carmel/Monterey earlier in the year. He did Santa Barbara after the CV/PR, and then two LA locations.

Anyway, this is OT so my apologies to the OP.

We drove from West L.A. to Morro Bay a few years ago and enjoyed walking around Los Olivos. I cannot recall where we ate. Heard Gelfand Winery in Paso Robles was good but did not go. Maybe jkom can weigh in on this one? Have a great trip.

Thought this thread would be about olives! I'd love to go to that festival, but it's a little far from our Southern California Wine country, which we border. We grow olives too, and I'd love it if we had a festival here, but I don't think we do. I'd also love to come up there for that artichoke and garlic festival. We might have Avocado festivals here though. Guess I'm too busy with our own lives to get on the festival train.

We have two olive trees that I started by taking suckers off some bearing trees on a golf course. The olives were huge, and I wanted trees that bore such gorgeous olives. I kept those suckers in a soda cup with water, and two became trees.

We went back and golfed there for a while till the olives were gone. Gone because I quietly picked them before they got ripe. Brined those green olives in a dark closet for weeks, changing the brine often, then covered them with red wine vinegar in Ball jars. I put herbs, garlic, citrus and even jalapenos in various jars and 4 years later, they rock!

Anyway, enjoy your trip, drink responsibly, and come back with a report on OLIVES! Your favorites and what they put in them to make them so delish!

Suzi

I do plan a trip to Pasolivo, as I have ordered from them before, and I want to visit their tasting room. Their olive oil is a bit pricey, but if I can taste it first, it may be worth it. They sell salts that look interesting.

I've been having a hard time finding a printed map of San Luis Obispo County. We went to B&N yesterday, and they have almost no maps any more. There used to be a Rand-McNally store at Century City Mall, but it was not there the last time I visited. They do have a decent food court for a mall and a DKNY, Tiffany & Co, Aldo, BCBG, Bebe, Boss Hugo Boss, etc., and when I took my sister there, she refused to go into any of these stores. She prefers to go to dollar stores, and I like to go to Boutiques. We went there looking for Rand-McNally without any luck. I finally did order a used atlas for Southern & Central California from Amazon, but it appears that these are no longer being printed.

I bought olive relish at the farmers' market last Sunday in Mar Vista, but it was made with Greek olives - not local ones. I am hoping to find local olives (and maybe garlic) in Paso Robles. I did get good garlic at the FM, but it was a bit expensive at 75 cents a head. However, it is excellent garlic and very juicy! I think there should be other interesting markets in PR, and I hope there will be a farmers' market open there when we go. I would like to buy some local (or nearby) fruit.

Lars

Are you a AAA member? They have maps. Or get a friend who is a member to get you a map.

Chambers of Commerce often have printed maps of their areas. Maybe contact some of them in the county?

Not a AAA member, but I think the atlas I ordered should work, and it will be delivered Wednesday. If not, we will buy maps locally when we get there. I have a large collection of maps (They are one of the main things I collect), but I do not have Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo Counties.

I found this olive farm that I want to visit, and they have a tasting room also! If we get to PR soon enough on Saturday, thereis a market downtown open until 1:00 PM that we can go to. If we have breakfast in Solvang, that might slow us down too much. The next FM in PR is Tuesday, and it opens too late for us to be able to go there. I think there should be enough local roadside stands, however, which we will find once we get there.

Lars

UCLA has the AAA's guide to California's Central Coast wineries. If you don't have borrowing privileges there, you may be able to get them through a local public library's interlibrary loan system. Or, if you maintain alum privileges with your university, they may have a reciprocity agreement.

That Olive farm looks great! Hope you make it for their tasting.

I love to go to specialty markets. In Sedona, there is The Divine Olive Oil Company and you can taste dozens of various olive oils, but the best is their 18 year old balsamic in many flavors. Yummm!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sedona Olive Oil

I found this discussion of PR wineries, and will try to review it later. It is going to be difficult to decide which wineries to visit. I doubt I can visit more than four in one afternoon!

Winefolly reviews with amusing video.

Lars

This post was edited by publickman on Sun, Aug 17, 14 at 17:15

Lars,

Just for perspective for the planning, last week I was having a similar discussion with a friend who lives on the central coast because she had taken her guests to visit wineries in Los Olivos. Apparently there are quite a few good ones just there. She said doing three was pushing it. If it's just you and Kevin (i.e., no straggler wrangling), and you're not interested in wandering through the grounds and all that, I'm sure you can manage four, but my friend seemed to think that for getting the most out of it one should limit it to two. Of course, this may also be affected by the fact that she's probably only half an hour away and can come back on another day, but what she was saying was that to relax and really enjoy everything that's on offer requires a slower pace. Though maybe, since you plan to return, you were thinking of this more as a scouting mission?

The last wine tour I did was in Sonoma, and it seemed like we went to four wineries in one afternoon (including Sebastiani), but I cannot remember exactly. If the wineries are very small, it may not take a lot of time for the tasting, but Sebastiani is quite large, and we still managed several other small wineries the same day. There are only a couple that we have on our "must visit" list so far. I am probably more interested in the olives than I am in the wine anyway! I use olive oil all the time and drink wine only seldom. I am not particularly interested in wandering around a winery for the scenery - I am only interested in the tasting part. I've toured enough wineries in my day already, and my favorites are in Sonoma. I do not think that the scenery in PR will compare to Sonoma, and I have already learned that it was 100 degrees there today! Glad I didn't go to the olive festival! It's supposed to be only in the low 90s next weekend, but that's still a lot warmer than I like, although it was 86 in my back yard today, which is also much too hot. At least our hotel has a swimming pool!

Lars

We go to a couple of the local wineries every so often, and I think that the days of the free tours are over. Tastings cost about $15 per person, and include a choice of wines from a list. Tours are arranged separately, at an additional cost. Most of the wineries have lovely grounds and picnic areas, and encourage guests to bring along their lunches and enjoy the grounds.

All the wineries will have websites. And here's the one for the local area, with map. Link to the individual businesses there.

Check hours and days open because some of the smaller ones have limited hours, even on weekends.

Here is a link that might be useful: wine tasting map

I am a member at a local winery here in Temecula, and I always taste free, as does my guest. They have a private tasting room with table service for members only, so no standing at the bar waiting to get attention away from all the other tasters. If I just want a glass, they usually get me something very special that's not on the tasting list. I do pay for a quarterly shipment of Red wine at the member's price, for that privilege.

So if you live local, it's good to become a member at a winery you like. I know you don't live local, Lars, but you can still be a member, pay a cheaper price for the wine from your favorite winery with regular shipments.

This week the weather is supposed to be cooler AND muggy! Unusual weather patterns these days.

Desertdance--DH's family homesteaded in Murrietta in the 1800s. We attended a wedding at a winery in Temecula a couple of years ago. Couldn't believe how the area has grown since we left CA.

@ kitchendetective. Small world. Murrietta is close by, and I go there ofteh.

Temecula wineries are making a statement in the world of California wine. We live in County property closer to Hemet, and take back roads to Temecula. Takes about 25 minutes to the first winery, but the wineries are coming this direction.

Wine grapes seem to love hot days, windy afternoons and cool nights, and it's like that here, so wineries are popping up everywhere. There is a big one at the foot of our hill. It's not open yet. I'm curious what they are growing. We have a backyard vineyard consisting of red varieties, Touriga National, Tempranillo, Mourvedre, Syrah, Cab, etc. We mostly blend them.

Wine is big business in Temecula and surrounding areas for sure, but I doubt they will ever steal the thunder of Napa! I do like many of the wineries in PR too, and I look forward to Lars' Olive report!

Suzi

I they are going to charge $15 for wine tasting, I may skip that altogether, or go to only one at most. I'm not that much into wine, but if it were free (as it used to be), I would be tempted. I would rather do my tasting at a restaurant, even if I only get to taste one at a time. We have the option of paying $50 per person for a bus tour of several wineries, but I do not like going on group tours, as I would have to stay on their schedule and be in a group that I may not enjoy. We're not going to be there that long, and I think I may enjoy trips to the olive farms more than the wineries. I remember going to tastings in Sonoma and not finding anything at all that I liked. We have several bottles of wine that people brought to our last party that we still have not opened.

Temecula is definitely much closer, and we may have to make a trip there one week-end. We could do that on a day trip, I think.

Lars

If you check websites for wineries in the area, sometimes they have coupons for tastings. FREE or cheap, just to get you in there. Sometimes hotels and visitor's centers have coupons too. Work it! There's always a way.

Often, DH and I share a tasting. A sip of this, and a sip of that. Less expensive that way. Buy one tasting and share.

Suzi

Sharing sounds like a good idea. From what I remember, they give you more than one sip in a glass. I'll also look for coupons and see if the hotel knows of any discounts.

From my way of thinking, the wineries should want to entice me to go there (but maybe they have more business than they need) because if I do not get to taste it, I probably will not buy their wine, but if I taste something I like, I will definitely buy it. At this point, I am not sure what I like, and I am not keen on paying for a tasting where I will only be disappointed. At the restaurant supply store, I get to taste Balsamic vinegar before I buy it, and this is very helpful. I can also taste olive oils there as well.

Lars

I think the idea behind charging for tastings is to weed out the people who are in it just for free wine. Then the coupons are to give free tastings back to the people who are serious.

I asked my friend if she had any specifics to recommend. Since you're not interested in the picnics, ponds and apple orchards, I'd say the most useful is that Bridlewood in Santa Ynez sells verjus. :)

It's going to be way too hot (for me) for a picnic or an orchard - I think the best time to go there is probably October, at which time I would be interested in a picnic.

I did some checking, and there are some wineries that have free tastings, especially if you log on to Yelp. I don't have a smart phone, but Kevin has a Blackberry, and so that might suffice. I'll make sure that my Yelp account is up to date. I think that as first time visitors, they may give us a break. If not, I won't be disappointed and will go to the olive stores. Kevin has a friend who goes to Paso frequently and said that if we mention his name, we should get free samples. Personally, I think they charge for tastings just because they can. If it is going to be that impersonal and commercial, then I am not interested. That has not been my experience in the past, but I haven't been in a very long time.

Lars

Lars, darling. You don't need to be so sensitive to heat. I know you are, but, really, you could have a very nice time. Just bring a fan... like one of those Chinese things. You will be OK! Trust me! Ooops, never trust anyone who says, "trust me."

DH rolls his eyes, when my feminine self says "It's too hot." I always have a fan, even if it's battery operated!

I'm serious! I want the olive report!

Suzi

Suzi, I do have a collection of fans that I can take, including a battery operated one that I got from L.A. Metro at some festival I went to downtown years ago. I'll also take several hats. The one I have from the Ivory Coast keeps my head the coolest, and so I may have to wear that.

I am definitely going to the three olive producers, and the remote one is close to Cass Winery, which I thought we would visit on the way there, but I find the descriptions they have of their wines a bit off-putting. I'm not sure I would appreciate "Complex flavors ... with notes of pomegranate, dried cranberries, whole white peppercorns and crushed geranium flowers." I've never eaten geranium flowers, crushed or otherwise, but I generally crush the white peppercorns instead of leaving them whole.

I received a DeLorme southern California atlas today, and so I should be okay in the map department. I also received a brochure from the Paso Robles Wine Country Association, and it has a very good large map. The brochure has very good information as well and will be handy to have with us.

I will definitely give you an olive report, and I hope to be able to buy some interesting olive oil. I may or may not buy wine - that is less important to me. There should be some small, friendly wineries that we could visit, but they might not be open on the days we are there.

Lars