Last weekend we headed over to Santa Barbara for a "family business" trip. Nicole moved from Santa Barbara to Oakhurst when she was a kid and still has family there. Her aunt and uncle from the Seattle area were also going to be there, so while it wasn't our typical pleasure trip we were looking forward to seeing everyone and having an opportunity to catch up.
Friday we had so many things to do before we could leave that I wound up taking the day off from work. It was late afternoon before we finally had picked up her mom Allyson and headed out. Our first stop was in Fresno for gas and...a Spicy Jumbo Dog from AM/PM. OK, I know this isn't the kind of restaurant recommendation you might be expecting, but this is a pretty damn good dog (with "the works" and a few jalapenos tucked along the side) and we weren't planning a real meal stop for another several hours.
This is a pretty long boring drive down Highway 41 to 46 and then over to Paso Robles to catch the 101, and by the time we got to Paso we were getting pretty hungry. Sadly none of us has an iPhone, but with a laptop, aircard and Yelp.com I was quickly searching for restaurants in San Luis Obispo (no, I was not driving at the time). We decided to try a Mediterranean place called Jaffa but when we pulled up we discovered that the kitchen was closed. No fear! As fate would have it there is another Mediterranean cafe right next door, and it turned out to be really good. It's called Petra and as soon as we walked in and smelled the food we started to smile. We tried the lamb and chicken shawarma (great flavor although the lamb was a bit dry) which came with hummus and cucumber yogurt salad and fresh baked pitas. We also ordered some tabouleh which was quite good, although Nicole likes mine better. Combined with some great sauces and great service this was a real find and I would definitely eat there again. Reasonable prices and huge portions. We were still full when we rolled into Santa Barbara late that night.
Knowing that the family would have things to do and discuss I had decided to head down to Cardiff by the Sea near San Diego on Saturday to see my youngest son Sam (it also happened to be his 19th birthday, a welcome coincidence). I got a later start than I wanted so my breakfast consisted of some leftover jerky and a bag of Cheezits. Yum. I rarely travel alone anymore and it was a little weird yet a little cool to be rolling along by myself. I passed the time with a lot of NPR and BBC radio and got to Cardiff around noon. Lunchtime, perfect timing. After discussing where to go Sam decided on El Callejon in Encinitas. I lobbied for the Cuban place, but hey, it was his birthday. El Callejon turned out to be quite a surprise, not your average Mexican restaurant but more what I would think of as Southern or Yucatan style. Sopas, moles, pepper dishes and a whole variety of meats including spit roasted Pastor. I did some Cochintas Pibil and Pastor tacos and with some great salsa and freshly made chips (and a Dos Equis) I went away very happy. Mid priced and generous portions. Too generous...restaurants in this country serve too much food. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking and driving around the beach towns north of San Diego, a repeating cycle of pretentious yuppydom followed by welcome and comfortable beach town funk. I miss beach town funk.
Sam had tickets to see Slighty Stoopid, Steven Marley and Snoop Dogg so I said my goodbyes and headed back to SB. NPR, BBC, and from a bit South of LAX, traffic and lots of it. I wasn't going to make SB before 8:00 or 9:00 so I decided to hit Junior's Delicatessen in West LA on my way past. I have eaten at Junior's many times (my first wife is Jewish and I've never met a Jewish deli I didn't like) but I hadn't been there in maybe 20 years. Must be getting old. Like the beach town funk, there was something pretty comfortable and familiar about the brown vinyl booths and the old Jewish couples that seemed to fill most of them. As I sat down the busser brought a bowl of pickles and sauerkraut...I'm in heaven already. I ordered a bowl of borscht, cole slaw that Colonel Saunders could only dream of, and a half chopped liver and onions sandwich on rye. I wouldn't typically go with chopped liver but I can get pastrami or corned beef at home and the food did not disappoint. I watched more than one old couple stop and talk to other patrons as they left their tables and was reminded how friendly and familial these people are. Junior's was a good call. Time to hit the road and get back to my wife who I had been missing all day. The girls had moved from business to party mode by the time I got back so we all headed off to State St. to have a drink and do some dancing.
We stayed up a bit late on Saturday so Sunday was off to a slow start. We (or maybe it was me) had already decided where to go for breakfast...Sambo's! This is the original and only remaining of a once large chain, some of which still operate as Denny's. It's right on the beach on Cabrillo and there is always a wait, always a good sign. We managed to muster up a party of 9 and while we were on the sidewalk taking pictures there was a slight buzz as Dennis Miller went in for his table. I didn't see him but I loved his HBO show, liked to see him struggle on Monday Night Football but don't care much for his ranting right politics these days. We were soon seated and ordering, getting by on chocolate chip mini muffins and surprisingly good coffee while we waited for the meal to come out. They have a great selection of standard breakfast fare, pancakes, waffle, omelets and so on, and are somewhat famous for their mimosas, but we had a long drive ahead so no hair of the dog for us. Nicole had Eggs Benedict with homemade English muffin and hollandaise sauce and I had the same except the California version with spinach and avocado instead of Canadian bacon. So good and way too much food again. Great food, friendly and very energetic service and landmark status makes this a must if you are ever in SB looking for a good breakfast.
We said our goodbyes and crossed the street to hang out on the beach for a few minutes. It was such a beautiful day and the sand felt so good on our skin that we really really didn't want to leave and come home to the 100+ degree heat. Oh well. We made one last stop and did a little nostalgia driving tour past the grandparent's old house and then headed back up 101 towards home. Using the trusty aircard and laptop again we located a Thai place in Paso Robles that got great reviews, Basil Thai on 11th St. right by the little park. The service was good and the food was good, but we eat a lot of Thai and I wouldn't rate this as the best, especially at upper-mid prices. The curry was pretty but oddly bland, which is a not good thing for a curry dish, while the ginger duck was actually really tasty. But we enjoyed it and it filled the void. I took the last driving leg (the boring one) and we rolled home around 10:00 tired and ready for bed. Smudge, the abandoned cat, was alternately very happy to see us and mad for being left alone for the weekend, but she was curled up on the bed pretty soon with all forgiven. Yes, bed...travel is fun but there's nothing like laying down in your own bed again after a trip.
Details:
*** AM/PM, at an Arco near you, Spicy Jumbo Dogs. Really...try one :)
**** Petra Mediterranean Pizza and Grill, 1210 Higuera St, San Luis Obipso CA - Gyro, felafel, shawarma, pizza, medium priced, huge portions, great service. 5 stars if our lamb wasn't a bit dry.
**** El Callejon - 345 S Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 - "Southern" Mexican, sopas, moles, peppers, chilaquiles, pastor and other meats, great salsas, good service, mid priced.
***** Junior's Delicatessen, 2379 Westwood Blvd, LA, CA 90064 - Traditional Jewish deli food, soups, sandwiches, bakery, not cheap but huge portions. 5 stars for tradition, great service and great food. I just discovered that they will FedEx food to you...hmmm.
***** Sambo's, 216 W. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA - Traditional breakfast fare, pancakes, waffles, omelets, benedicts, mimosas, a bit pricey but great food, great service and a real landmark. Don't miss this if you are in SB looking for a good breakfast.
*** Basil Thai, 828 11th St., Paso Robles, CA 93446 - Traditional Thai menu, satay, tom yum soups, curries, noodles, nice atmosphere and good service but pricey and the food just didn't live up to the expectations going in. I didn't provide a link because I couldn't find a website for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment