Where wining & dining are easy tooWith two universities, including the main campus of California State Polytechnic University, the town of San Luis Obispo (44,100 population) probably has the youngest average population in California. So it’s on the cutting edge of youth and scientific culture.
There is also a rather distinctive surfing scene. SLO County’s 85 mile coastline has no point breaks. As fans of Keanu Reeves (star of the surfing movie "Point Break") know, that keeps dare devil surfers away and helps the coastline remain rather bucolic. So I reasoned that a long coast of gentler reef breaks would make an easy place for a young surfer to learn the sport. SLO County is also one of the last places on the West Coast where people can still legally drive dune buggies and ATV’s on the beach.
Sycamore Inn
In 1886, oil drillers in Avila Valley found sulfur-based mineral water instead. Those white sulfur hot springs quickly became a resort and a playground for Hollywood‘s elite. The Pacific Coast Railway stopped there on its Los Angeles to San Francisco route. W.C. Fields visited frequently, as did many guests of the nearby Hearst Castle. After World War II, the emergence of freeways, super jets and air conditioning took the buzz away as Palm Springs and Hawaii became more accessible resorts for southern California’s rich and famous.
The hot springs thus remained rather unchanged until recently. Today Sycamore Mineral Springs Treatment Center offers massage therapy, herbal therapy, Chinese medicine, ayurvedic medicine, aromatherapy, yoga and hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy tubs line the hillsides, Japanese style, but we checked into a private unit with our own tub.
Gardens of Avila
The resort’s executive chef is David McWilliam, a self-described "South Bay guy" who fled to the Central Coast for a more peaceful place to raise kids. David cut his culinary teeth at A.P. Stump’s Chop House, a traditional legend of San Jose. His biography is filled with circles of irony.
"I became a vegetarian in the Navy because the food was so bad that vegetables were the safest things to eat. When I graduated from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), the Navy was sending its chefs there were in order to improve the quality of the food," he told us laughing.
David’s kitchen turns out wonderful Pacific Rim fare matching fresh and local seasonal products with classical European and Asian inspirations. We watched him brine his own chickens and tend his own garden. I noticed a pattern of using different salts.
"One thing I learned working for Charlie Trotter - cook with kosher salt and season with sea salt," he explained.
His Gardens of Avila restaurant featured a fireside lounge, an elegant, picture-window dining room and a century-old stone hillside patio. We enjoyed a bottle of local wine, an exquisite Bordeaux-blend called Isoceles from Justin in Paso Robles, and began with some scallops on the shell plus an awesome ahi presentation. We tried a salad of fresh greens topped with roasted red and golden beets, goat cheese and toasted walnuts. Then we moved on to a special prime rib plus a confit of duck leg with duck breast on a bed of micro greens. We chose them over two tempting dishes: seared quail with polenta, pine nuts and pomegranates; and a pepper-crusted venison loin with spaetzles and black truffles. It was all so good we ate every morsel and could only split a dessert of pistachio crème brulee before crawling into the hot tub.
Old Edna
The next morning we had breakfast at the Gardens of Avila and drove inland, through annoying mountains, to Old Edna. This was originally a stagecoach road that linked SLO and Pismo Beach. Old Edna wasn’t on my map (maps never help me), but it appeared anyhow, at the corner of Highway 227 and Price Canyon Road. Thinking like a stage coach driver, I parked under a giant cypress tree next to a little brook where my horses could drink in the shade.
A sign claimed Edna had a population of 1,600, but most of them were good at hiding. Today, an early 20th century farmhouse is home to Fiala’s Gourmet Deli which serves scratch made sandwiches and home grown salads on its porch and in cute little outdoor playhouses. Old Edna is pretty much the doing of Pattea Torrence, a native of SLO who came to here in 1998. Edna had pretty much been abandoned for two decades before she bought the town, or the site of a former town.
"One thing led to another, I didn’t ever have a vision of this as this," she admitted laughing. "I was running a consignment clothing and antique store in San Luis. I had traffic hassles because of all the loading and unloading I needed to do. So I decided to sell it. Now I had kept a horse here when I was younger, so I asked the owners to sell and I kept asking until they finally did," she recalled.
Having gotten what she wished, Pattea suddenly had more than she knew what to do with - a wood-frame, tin-sided storefront near the highway, two homes, a storage room, a shed, and a large barn.
"Everything was in serious need of repairs, too."
The homestead had been built between 1906 and 1908 and included a family home, a store, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, a dance hall and a butcher shop. Pattea restored the main building for her antique store but realized that keeping an inventory took all her time. She really missed dealing with people.
"So decided to rent it out and restore the cottage. The second floor used to be a dance hall and I am told less savory things are suspected of going on there too. It’s a good space for artists. The deli worked out perfectly on the main floor," Pattea said.
Old Edna was thus reborn one project at a time. A 1200-square-foot cottage became a bed and breakfast, accommodating up to three couples. Pattea’s skill as a antique hunter clearly paid off in decorating. So did her patronage of local artists, one of whom rents the upper floor of the main building. Pattea told us she’s encouraging artists to come in hopes that tourists will follow.
Wine tasters have been flocking to nearby vineyards, especially after the movie "Sideways." A short walk from the cottage, Corral de Piedra River passes Blue Belly Barn and MacGregor Vineyards. There’s also a one-room schoolhouse and that’s about it for Old Edna.
Claiborne & Churchill
We had lunch in a delightful little garden playhouse with Claiborne (Clay) Thompson and Fredericka Churchill. Former language professors at the University of Michigan, the couple left the "groves of academe" for the vineyards of California in 1981. Since its first crush in 1983, Claiborne & Churchill has specialized in dry Gewurztraminer and dry Riesling. They produce 10,000 cases of wine a year now, purchasing grapes from vineyards in the cool maritime valleys of the central coast. They also make Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cuvee, Pinot Gris, dry Muscat, and Edelzwicker in small lots.We walked to their winery after lunch. (I told you Edna was a small place.) The place was constructed out of bales of hay and thus is probably the best insulated building in the area. It stays cool without air conditioning even in the hot summer months. We met their lovely daughter Elizabeth, for whom a C&C Cuvee is named.
Back down the big hill we checked into the Avila Lighthouse Suites located right on the main beach in Avila Beach. Avila and Pismo Beach get subjected to snobbery in Los Angeles, where they are labeled "the Bakersfield Hamptons" or "Malibu for Fresno." One of the local surfing guides warned southern Californians that "a lot of people live here (in SLO County) and surf here because they can’t stand Los Angeles. So, don’t remind locals that you come from Los Angeles, or you might be asked to leave."
The suites were wide open and ocean side. Neighbors said hello and gave us nice directions when we got lost. When he wasn’t taking surfing lessons, Wro sat on the life guard stand on the beach, which I could see from our room. A sign on our patio thoughtfully reminded him to not walk in the flower beds.
After hanging out on the beach, we went for a ride on the local free shuttle bus, getting off to shop at a farmers market store. Then we were off to Pismo for dinner.
Lido
Pismo Beach is home to one of the largest Monarch butterfly groves in the USA and Wro and I believe that butterflies have exquisite taste. We came for Lido Restaurant in the Dolphin Bay Hotel & Residence. Chef Evan Treadwell, one of the best chefs in California, moved here when the hotel opened. The hotel is a century away from the Sycamore. A member of "Small Luxury Hotels of the World," it’s located on Shell Beach in Pismo Beach. And yes, it’s on the beach. Seventy guest rooms ranged from 900 to 2,000 square feet with 21st century appointments - double-pane windows, honed travertine floors, wool carpet, solid wood doors, granite countertops, full kitchens and laundries.
La Bonne Vie Spa’s massages, facials, herbal and hydrotherapy treatments all utilize top line treatments from Paris, Carita and Decléor, plus local and seasonal ingredients. It’s lavender to Sycamore Spring’s sulfur. We only had time for a sundown dinner though. Early birds filled Lido’s window seats to watch the ocean absorb the light over a drink and a Lido shellfish platter. Our Vegas-style presentation of crab legs, mussels, clams, oysters, prawns and accompaniments disappeared at the pace of the setting sun. After sunset, we noticed the lovely dining room and its spectacular Murano glass ornaments.
With the sun out of the way, we got serious and so did Evan. We tried some flatbreads with wild mushrooms, Fontina, caramelized onions, duck confit, chorizo, peppers, Manchego, Serrano ham and some local chevre. And a little bisque of squash with black truffle foam, and some house baked oysters with prosciutto, leeks and Bearnaise sauce.
Then we moved into the deep water portion of dinner.
Evan served an ahi crudo that was as good as any we ever tasted - and we have tasted many. He matched the fatty raw tuna with a Tunisian entourage of harissa, almonds and medijool dates. Wro ordered a tiradito of halibut, which brought a filet of fish barely "cooked" in a divine hibiscus pomegranate vinaigrette with avocado, ginger and jalapeno. We split some black mission figs with Serrano, chevre and micro greens as well as an heirloom tomato salad with pesto, homemade mozzarella, pickled onions and caper berry vinaigrette.
I passed on the highly recommended Maine lobster tail pot pie (with Cajun tasso) for something more Pacific - fast seared ahi with lentils, aioli, eggplant and roasted tomato. I also swore his pancetta-wrapped rabbit was the best ever.
I can’t eat bunnies myself, but I was tempted by the wild mushroom sauce in this dish.I suffered a power outage from the overload of divine food accompanied by a bottle of Chardonnay from our new friends at Claiborne & Churchill. I vaguely recall that pastry chef Benji Puga finished us off with a mission fig creme brulee and a chocolate truffle torte. And a trio of home made gelatos. And a cheese plate with some local honeycomb.
When overloaded with good food, my brain attempts logical deductions. I reasoned that if Lido was in San Francisco, one would need to make reservations more than a month in advance. When I left Lido, there were still empty tables. Even if a 3 hour drive takes 8 hours, I had still saved a month of time. So, one can become younger by eating here often.
El Paso Robles
Somehow, I drove after dinner.Paso Robles has an interesting past. The rough side of the area’s reputation comes from Jesse James’ uncle Dury James, who ranched here, and Dr. Woodson James who operated a hotel at Sulfur Hot Springs. Jesse and brother Frank were frequent visitors and even recovered from gunshot wounds there.
El Paso has been a wine town since 1797 when Father Junipero Serra planted California’s first grapes at Mission San Miguel Arcangel. Commercial winemaking began here in 1882 and really took off in the Roaring 20’s after legendary pianist Ignace Paderewski purchased 2,000 acres and planted Petite Sirah and Zinfandel on his Rancho San Ignacio vineyard. (After Prohibition ended, Paderewski’s wine was made by York Mountain Winery.) Rancho San Ignacio wines won awards and Paso Robles’ reputation grew. Zinfandel has been a star wine here since the early days but Cabernet Sauvignon is now the leading variety for the appellation.
Larger vineyards and wineries were established here in the 1980’s when reasonably priced land encouraged new growers. Smaller vineyards have been coming on line the last two decades - "vineyards for mere millionaires instead of billionaires." Between 1994 and 2006, at least 10 wineries focusing on Rhône varieties were established here. Now the area has the largest acreage of Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne grapes in California.
In 1997 Justin Vineyards & Winery’s Bordeaux-style "Isosceles," which we loved at Gardens of Avila, was named one of the top 10 wines in the world by the Wine Spectator.
Chester’s Hotel
We checked into the remarkable Hotel Cheval, an intimate inn consisting of sixteen luxury guest rooms, a gorgeous courtyard with stone fireplaces, a library and the Pony Club bar and breakfast nook with its horsehoe-shaped zinc bar. We met Chester, the hotel’s Red Belgian draft horse, who moved here from Ohio’s Amish country to provide guests with carriage rides to the restaurants around the city park. Though we could hardly eat another meal, Chester pulled us around in a vintage vis a vis carriage. Chester’s driver Tommy Harris said the horse was 18 hands tall and over 2000 pounds. He eats 60 pounds of hay and two gallons of rolled oats per day. About the equivalence of what we had consumed at Lido.
The next morning we strolled around the village shops and hung around the wonderful hotel as late as we could. Then we headed into more confusing hills in search of two of the area’s great food and wine creators.
Justin
Justin estate winery was founded in 1981 when Justin and Deborah Baldwin planted 160 acres with the major Bordeaux varietals. This property looks like a great French vineyard, from the huge cave to the tasting room, from the private club room and the inn. It also looks like it belongs in Architectural Digest as much as Wine Spectator. We had come to the patio of Deborah’s Room where we met Justin Baldwin for lunch. Restaurants like this are rare finds on wine estates in California. Justin explained."When we started there were less than 10 wineries in this area and 200 in California. Now there are nearly 200 here and 2400 in California. Only ten have restaurants. We made it just before the legislature made it illegal to attach a new one to a winery," he said.
Deborah’s Room serves dinner and weekend lunches inside or outside. There is no nicer setting for lunch. Justin confessed that he grew up in San Francisco and "fell in love with good food before falling in love with good wine." He also fell in love with Deborah there, where both of them were investment bankers.
"She turned me down for a loan," he joked.
We asked him to differentiate Paso Robles from Napa.
"Paso Robles is different. Napa is about 18 feet above sea level and we’re at 1400 feet for starters. Our appellation has the most Syrahs in North America," he began.
"Our winery is the furthest west and the highest in this appellation. Three miles beyond here is a dead end road and limestone quarry where all the cement in the Central Valley originates. You can set your clocks by the limestone trucks, but guests at the inn don’t seem to mind. The limestone’s ph count binds the soil nutrients and slows down both the growth of the vine and the yield. We get low yields here, but concentrated flavors." Justin said.
Justin compared wine making to cooking,
"My favorite part of winemaking is putting the blend together. My objective was originally to make one wine and one wine only. The ISOCELES was a "left bank" Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which, like the triangle it’s named after, was to have three equal parts.
"That was rigid. The formula needs to be changed every year and, besides, we got bored just making one wine. It’s been 20 years of trial and error, but we use much less Merlot now. And we also make JUSTIFICATION, it’s a "right bank" Merlot and Cabernet Franc cousin. And we do varietal bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. We also produce limited amounts of Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, OBTUSE (Port wine), Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
Justin and Deborah were flying the Mexican flag.
"We have been flying a Mexican flag here for 20 years, in honor of our main group of workers. Those guys do the real work, we have two French experts in our harvest crew too, but we are most grateful to our Mexican workers," he explained.
After splitting a relatively light lunch of pan roasted foie gras with pickled huckleberries and arugula, followed by seared sea bass, a New York cut steak and a Meyer lemon pudding cake, we visited the the Just Inn. Four luxury suites (Tuscany, Provence, Sussex, and Bordeaux) had a definitive European look with tapestry-covered furnishings, big feather beds and frescoed ceilings. English gardens and a heated spa and pool sat in the middle of the wine making operations.
Next door to the inn we toured the ISOCELES Center, where wine barrels aged in caves and club members tasted the latest vintages. What a great place for fantasizing.
Pasolivo
We had another appointment to keep. Down more strange roads with strange names we found Pasolivo, a 140 acre ranch. Owner Karen Guth bought the place 20 years ago. It had been King Vidor’s ("War and Peace","Stella Dallas") estate back in the days when Central Coast was a Hollywood playground.
"We have over 45 acres of olive trees under cultivation, in varieties chosen specifically for their excellent oil. I wanted something different. We decided to make an olive oil more like Tuscan oils," she said, going on to explain that most oils in the American market are filtered to make them clear. Plus they are usually made from olives that have been stored awhile between harvesting and pressing and then rushed to market after pressing and bottling.
Karen does things backwards. Her oils are pressed within hours of harvesting and then aged for up to 18 months in casks. The common commercial method, which is what most American consumers expect, produces a mellow flavor. Karen says that she wanted something that didn’t "take the spine out of the oil."
" I wanted the natural flavor, bite and all," she said.
Even more exciting was her California Mission olive oil. She partnered with Mission San Miguel and UC Davis to revive the original olive tree that Father Serra planted. They have tested the DNA of Karen’s trees and they now match the original, so this is a pure heirloom oil like no other in America.
Karen said that customers are learning to accept cloudiness and bitterness in her oils. We were able to see her state of the art Pieralisi press and barrels that her oil is aged in, all just steps away from the olive orchards .After tasting her oils, we understood why everything Pasolivo produced the last five years sold out quickly. We bought some of each kind and got our names on her internet alert list for future pressings.
Wishing we had more time, I started the drive back home. Using directions from the concierge at Hotel Cheval, we made it in three hours. That made me think that everything about SLO is as easy as riding a reef break wave. You can choose to relax in sulfur springs that have been curing ailments for most of a century. Or in state of the art new spas on the beach. You can play "Sideways" without the traffic hassles or crowds that Napa wineries make you endure. And you can simply walk in and dine at places that would require you to make reservations months in advance if they were in San Francisco.
Recipes
Pasolivo’s Oven-dried Tomatoes
24 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise Sea salt (Debbi prefers gray salt) and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons Pasolivo, plus more for storing 2 tablespoons dried herbs, like Herbes de Provence 1 clove garlic, minced
Preheat oven to 250. Arrange the tomato halves cut side up and close together on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the 6 tablespoons olive oil, herbs, and garlic. Spoon a little of the mixture over each tomato half, stirring as you go. Bake until the tomatoes are soft and shriveled but still retaining some moisture, about 5 to 8 hours. Timing will depend on how large, meaty and juicy the tomatoes are. Let them cool completely, then arrange in a plastic container, making no more than 2 layers. Add olive oil to cover completely, then cover and refrigerate. Use these stuffed with goat cheese and sprinkled with basil for an appetizer.
Pasolivo’s Oranges
This is an easy, elegant way to highlight the taste of extra virgin olive oil. It was prepared for us by a friend in a tiny restaurant in Rome and we've never seen it anywhere else. With so few ingredients, it's perfect to bring to a party, and it looks lovely on the table. We serve it all the time at the ranch - enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 - 5 of oranges pinch of sugar
freshly ground black pepper
Pasolivo Extra Virgin Olive Oil
loaf of fresh bread
Instructions:
1. Cut the oranges into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange on a large plate or platter. 2. With a fork, press the orange slices to release some of the juice. 3.Sprinkle just a pinch of sugar over the oranges. 4.Generously drizzle with Pasolivo so that the oranges are covered in olive oil. 5.Pepper the oranges. 6.Cut the bread, and dip it onto the orange slices. You'll taste the oil, with a hint of fresh citrus. You can also try this with lemons or grapefruit. Tucking basil leaves under the oranges adds even more color.
If You Go…
San Luis Obispo County Visitors & Conference Bureau at 800-634-1414 , http://www.sanluisobispocounty.com/
Justin/Deborah’s Room
11680 Chimney Rock RoadPaso Robles, CA 93446805-238-6932, http://www.justinwine.com/
Dolphin Bay
Lido
2727 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
805 -773-8900, http://www.thedolphinbay.com/
Hotel Cheval
1021 Pine Street • Paso Robles, CA 93446
866-522-6999
Avila Lighthouse Suites
550 Front Street, Avila Beach, CA 93424866-853-3997 , 805-322-7010
Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort/ Gardens of Avila1215 Avila Beach Drive, San Luis Obispo, California, 93405800- 234-5831, 805 -595-7302
Pasolivo’s Oven-dried Tomatoes
24 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise Sea salt (Debbi prefers gray salt) and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons Pasolivo, plus more for storing 2 tablespoons dried herbs, like Herbes de Provence 1 clove garlic, minced
Preheat oven to 250. Arrange the tomato halves cut side up and close together on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the 6 tablespoons olive oil, herbs, and garlic. Spoon a little of the mixture over each tomato half, stirring as you go. Bake until the tomatoes are soft and shriveled but still retaining some moisture, about 5 to 8 hours. Timing will depend on how large, meaty and juicy the tomatoes are. Let them cool completely, then arrange in a plastic container, making no more than 2 layers. Add olive oil to cover completely, then cover and refrigerate. Use these stuffed with goat cheese and sprinkled with basil for an appetizer.
Pasolivo’s Oranges
This is an easy, elegant way to highlight the taste of extra virgin olive oil. It was prepared for us by a friend in a tiny restaurant in Rome and we've never seen it anywhere else. With so few ingredients, it's perfect to bring to a party, and it looks lovely on the table. We serve it all the time at the ranch - enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 - 5 of oranges pinch of sugar
freshly ground black pepper
Pasolivo Extra Virgin Olive Oil
loaf of fresh bread
Instructions:
1. Cut the oranges into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange on a large plate or platter. 2. With a fork, press the orange slices to release some of the juice. 3.Sprinkle just a pinch of sugar over the oranges. 4.Generously drizzle with Pasolivo so that the oranges are covered in olive oil. 5.Pepper the oranges. 6.Cut the bread, and dip it onto the orange slices. You'll taste the oil, with a hint of fresh citrus. You can also try this with lemons or grapefruit. Tucking basil leaves under the oranges adds even more color.
If You Go…
San Luis Obispo County Visitors & Conference Bureau at 800-634-1414 , http://www.sanluisobispocounty.com/
Justin/Deborah’s Room
11680 Chimney Rock RoadPaso Robles, CA 93446805-238-6932, http://www.justinwine.com/
Dolphin Bay
Lido
2727 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach, CA 93449
805 -773-8900, http://www.thedolphinbay.com/
Hotel Cheval
1021 Pine Street • Paso Robles, CA 93446
866-522-6999
Avila Lighthouse Suites
550 Front Street, Avila Beach, CA 93424866-853-3997 , 805-322-7010
Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort/ Gardens of Avila1215 Avila Beach Drive, San Luis Obispo, California, 93405800- 234-5831, 805 -595-7302
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