Any food recommendations for the Central Coast? We will be heading to Cayucos for five days and will be staying at the Cass House. Recommendations in Cayucos, Morro Bay and Cambria would be great, but wider environs would also be a possibility for something special. Restaurants, wine bars/stores, butcher shops, casual, fancy all are great! Mostly just looking for good!!! We are doing Paso for a day (Saxum, Booker, Villa Creek, Caliza) and will eat at either Artisan or Il Cortile. We will also probably hit Jocko’s on the way up from LA. Any other ideas or suggestions?
You have good picks in Paso; I alternate between the two. Il Cortile has a nice wine list and does flights of Italian wines that go well with the food. You could also look at Santa Maria if it isn’t out of the way; good Italian place is Trattoria Uliveto. I can no longer recommend Chef Rick’s; the old place was much better; the new one is just a steak house. Are you sure you want to subject yourself to Jocko’s? Have you been there and know the routine? Once was enough for me.
I have never been there, but understand most of the pain is at dinner. We were thinking about grabbing a sandwich for lunch on the way up north.
I agree that picking between Il Cortile and Artisan is a no lose decision, but am more concerned about what we are going to be able to scrounge up on the coast. It seems most of the “favorites” are going to be less than stellar. May be a burger and beer kinda trip (which I am totally okay with)!!
Gonna be in that area next month. Is “the routine” at Jocko’s the reported long wait, or is there more?
I’m probably being a little too glib on Jocko’s. Yes, the wait at dinner is the main problem. If you are with a group, you can use the time to visit. They also have a relatively nice bar area with some ok wines, mainly pinots as I recall, which is what you would expect from that area. The dining room itself isn’t the most plush and has a fairly small number of tables, creating the wait times if they don’t turn over. The obvious allure is the large portions of dead cow. The sides, etc. are nothing out of the ordinary. Lunch is probably a better idea. In all, it is very similar to Hitching Post, which I prefer.
Yeah, Hitching Post came to mind as I was reading. Thanks.
We had a great steak sandwich on garlic bread (open faced, huge!) for lunch. Steak was super tender and the garlic bread was perfect for its purpose. Be warned that the oak grill does not get lit until 4:30P so all steaks for lunch are cooked by some other method. Jocko’s decor makes Hitching Post look plush, but the steak (even if not oak grilled) was better at Jocko’s.
Just wanted to ping this thread - any new places near SLO or Paso? TIA.