chickendud's Profile
Good, family/budget friendly places in Beaverton
There is an excellent and low priced Hawaiian place called Roxy's Island Grill right up the street from you. They make about 5 Korean influenced Hawaiian dishes really well... generous servings for around $6.50 a plate. Ask for the grilled vegetables as a side. I wouldn't call this food special or chow worthy, but its a great option for a family dinner with kids.
I am from California, and I miss in-n-out. Five Guys is not as good in my opinion, but everyone has their own idea about what a hamburger should be.
I will second the recomendation for Mingo, my wife and I have enjoyed their small plates during happy hour a few times.
The lunch food at New Seasons is great. Lots of fresh cooked options such as stir fry, pizza, sandwiches, salad bar, etc.
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Mingo
807 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209
The Tortilla Factory in Santa Maria
The chili rellenos from Tonos in Nipomo are stuffed with a white gooey/stringy cheese. I would say its a Mexican version of mozzarella, but honestly, I am not versed in such things. They are such a wonderful composition of flavors and textures.
I think the tortilla shop you reference in the stowell center is the original tortilla factory. The one i recommended is "The Tortilla Facotry #2". i think they have the same menus. I visit the one by Pier One simply because its closer to my work.
I have not tried La Mia Market. I dont picture where it is... I will go hunting for it during lunch sometime this week.
It seems like there are endless quirky and authentic mexican places here in santa maria to try.
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Tono's Restaurant
671 W Tefft St Ste 10, Nipomo, CA 93444
The Tortilla Factory in Santa Maria
I don’t consider myself an expert in Mexican food, but after living and working in Santa Maria for the last year… I have tried many of the small authentic Mexican restaurants.
It seems to me that most of the small places have their specialty. For example: Taqueria La Coqueta makes the best chili verde in town. Lo Mejor De Jalisco makes some of the best seafood dishes. And the chili rellenos from Tonos in Nipomo are always perfect.
However, I recently have fallen in love with a new spot, The Tortilla Factory #2 on Betteravia next to Pier 1, which has not been mentioned here on chowhoud. They make their tortillas fresh throughout the day, and it appears that they supply most of the taco trucks in town with tortillas. (Usually there are a few 50-gallon ice chests being filled with fresh tortillas coming off the line.) You can go and buy a few dozen fresh tortillas, which is nice, but not why I love this place.
They have about 8 choices of meat that you can get in tacos or burritos. Everything is fresh and fantastic. On Mondays (I think) they have a special of 3 tacos for $4 with caramelized onions and roasted jalapenos on the side, for you to garnish your own tacos. I have tried all the different meats, and the only one I don’t recommend is the Al Pastor. The chicken is always fresh, moist and flavorful, the carnitis is excellent, and I enjoy the birria (stewed beef).
Another thing that sets this place apart from others in town, is they have a bilingual girl who takes your order. She is friendly and helpful and more than willing to answer my dumb questions about the different types of meat and their preparation methods.
Its not fancy… you walk up to the counter and order and then they call out your number. The prices are low. They have daily $4 specials and everything else is around $5-$7. Check it out if you are looking for a quick and authentic taco or burrito
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Lo Mejor De Jalisco
116 S Blosser Rd, Santa Maria, CA 93458
Tono's Restaurant
671 W Tefft St Ste 10, Nipomo, CA 93444
Great Dinner in Santa Barbara
I will affirm root246 as being a top contender in the area. Fanatic food every time.
I also have had some memorable meals at the wine cask in santa barbara. (http://www.winecask.com/)
I recently had a very disappointing meal at cold springs tavern. The duck breast I ordered was soggy and bland, one of the worst preparations of duck i have ever had at a restaurant. However, it is a very charming and beautiful setting. I have heard that the lunch menu, with sandwiches is worth the drive, though never been for lunch.
Paso Robles vs Santa Ynez for wine tasting
About a month ago, Tastes of the Valleys Wine Bar had Sea Smoke on their list. I think you could even taste it for $30...or something like that. There staff was very knowledgeable and friendly, and the owner is crazy about Pino Noir, which is reflected in the selections on their wine list.
http://www.tastesofthevalleys.com/
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Sea Smoke
San Clemente, CA, San Clemente, CA
Tastes of the Valleys
1672 Mission Dr, Solvang, CA
Great Taco Truck in the Pismo Beach or SLO area?
i saw this post a few days ago, and was wondering if anyone would have a suggestion, and am not surprised to see that nobody had anything to say.
Taco trucks around this area are not like the scene in Southern California. We are a primarily agriculture based community, and taco trucks almost solely exist to service the field working community for lunch in the fields. Not much gourmet about them, and not really "catering" oriented. I could be wrong, and there might be a taco truck that does more than this, but i am not aware of any.
There are some AMAZING mexican restaurants in the santa maria area that offer catering or party trays to go. I have bought food for a party of 80 people from El Toro Tortilleria on west main st.... party trays of rice, beans, different authentic meats and salsas, etc.
hope that helps.
Paso Robles vs Santa Ynez for wine tasting
1. I think you will find equally amazing wine in both locations. I live about a 45 minute drive from Santa Ynez and Paso Robles, so my wife and i will sometimes head north and sometimes head south... its always an enjoyable experience in either direction.
2. My wife and I will share a tasting and usually only go to one or 2 wineries in a day. If we want to hit up a bunch of places we find a DD.
3. The town of Los Olivos is overflowing with tasting rooms, with some of the best local wineries represented, all in 2 city blocks (along with great dining at los olivios cafe). I have tasted at Byron, Consilience Qupe, Carhartt, Epiphany and Blair Fox and find them all to have excellent wines. The town, obviously is becoming more and more wine tourism oriented, so its not as beautiful as driving through the vineyards in paso, but its a lots safer if you dont have a DD, and will let you taste a bunch of great wine in a day.
4. On the right day, many of the winires i listed, you will find the wine maker pouring, and get that intimate experience. I HIGHLY recommend Blair Fox Winery for this reason. Blair Fox is the wine maker for both Fess Parker and Epiphany, and Blair Fox is a "side project" of his. When my wife and I visited, he was the one pouring the wine with his wife and daughter hanging out in the tasting room. It was a very charming and intimate experience, like you are looking for.
Also Ampelos cellars in lompoc is by appointment only except for a few hours on saturday (with the wine being poured by the wine maker)... and i think they have some distant tie to sea smoke, which is a nice bonus.
Lemon meringue pie near SLO
In my opinion, anything from the Madonna Inn bakery is worth the price. When i lived closer to SLO, i would often stop in for a late night slice of pie or cake.
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Madonna Inn
100 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
Tri Tip In Santa Maria / San Luis Obispo
Are you looking for traditional "Santa Maria Style Barbecue", or just Tri-Tip?
As you probably well know, the best and most authentic way to find Tri-Tip is in the parking lots in santa maria on a weekend, served with salsa, pinquito beans, toasted french bread, and green salad. ( http://santamariavisitor.com/cm/santa_maria_barbecue/barbecue.html )
Farmers Market in Down Town San Luis Obispo on a Thursday night is your best bet for a traditional Santa Maria style presentation with the sides.
For a lunch i highly recommend the tri-tip sandwich from the Arroyo Grande Meat Company in old town arroyo grande. It is a traditional butcher shop that serves lunch sandwiches using their meats. They serve the tri-tip on a sandwich with bbq sauce and thus is not really traditional santa maria style.
Also, Jockos does not serve Tri-Tip but their steaks are amazing, prepared over oak in an open pit, and with the traditional sides. I recommend the spencer.
Maegan Loring opens "Neon Carrot" in SLO
I have not yet made it into SLO during lunch to check out the Neon Carrot, but i saw this complimentary review in the tribune yesterday.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/06/16/1180853/the-neon-carrot-in-san-luis-obispo.html
Hana Haole's Snak Shack/ Pismo
We love the yellow and green curry from Hang out Thai. But really, everything is good. Noi's in Los Osos, is still the best thai in our area, but Hang Out Thai is a close second especially considering the very fair price of $6ish a plate.
Fresh and Easy. UGH.
My wife and I gave it a try twice... Both times, they were missing very basic items. We wanted brussels sprouts for dinner, would have settled for cabbage. but they had neither. The meat selection was a turn off, everything pre-packaged... not entirely looking fresh. I think their specialty is semi-fresh pre-made things, like soups and sauces, which does not appeal much to me. If we are cooking at home, we generally want to make it ourselves.
We do our day-to-day shopping at Albertsons in Orcutt (best service meat counter in town). For unique gourmet items, like cheeses, we hit up trader joes.
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Hang Out Thai Restaurant
4869 S Bradley Rd Ste 122, Santa Maria, CA 93455
Hana Haole's Snak Shack/ Pismo
My wife and I love Hang Out Thai in Orcutt. It is in the same shopping complex as chef ricks.
100% family run, with $6-ish entrees for lunch or dinner. We go there more often than i should admit, and have tried and enjoyed every curry on their menu. On busy nights, they don't bother answering the phone for take out.
I have heard lackluster reports about Hana Haole's, but personally haven't been there.
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Hang Out Thai Restaurant
4869 S Bradley Rd Ste 122, Santa Maria, CA 93455
Adeline's in Nipomo?
My family loves it. We live about a 5 miles away, and eat there from time to time.
The food is always very good. Their salads are always enjoyable with refined presentations and complex flavors. My wife and I usually split one salad.
The house made gnocchi isnt always on the menu, but when it is, i order it. Its absolute perfection, fresh made, light and fluffy with perfect flavors; its the standard by which i judge other gnocchi. They menu has some "Nibbs" on it, which always has something different and interesting that i would recommend sharing as an appetizer.
For a more casual meal, their wood fired flatbread (pizzas) are very good with interesting toppings.
Service is hit-miss. For the caliber of food served, there often make some inexcusable mistakes. IE. picking up a water glass by the inside rim. or when ordering a bottle of wine, pouring mismatched servings around the table, with one wine glass more than half full, with others getting a more appropriate 1/4 full pour. The services has been improving, and i think they recently hired some more experienced wait staff.
It is worth the detour in my opinion.
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Adelina's Bistro
1645 Trilogy Parkway, Nipomo, CA 93444
Breakfast in Santa Maria?
I have been eating breakfast there for 5 years, but they likely have been around for much longer than that.
Breakfast in Santa Maria?
I cant believe that no one has suggested Kay's in Orcutt. The best breakfast anywhere in this area. Traditional southern style breakfast served all morning and afternoon. Orange Juice served out or mason jars. Home made jams, fresh buiscuts, good chicken fried steak and gravy. There is a line out the door most Saturdays and Sundays through lunch time.
http://www.menuclub.com/californiarestaurantguide/orcuttrestaurants/kaysorcuttcountrykitchen-6928.php
New Year Eve in Pismo Beach with 2.5 y.o. toddler
The first place that came to mind is Big Sky in San Luis Obispo. Fresh local food, great wine list, and totally kid friendly.
Paso Robles no fee tastings
Dubost Ranch was a wonderful experience... fantastic wine (especially their Tempranillo), and if i remember correctly it was $4 to taste. Not free... but better than the $10 fee i keep on finding in the santa maria valley.
DePalo & Sons, Pismo Beach - sandwiches with a side of hostility.
Thats a bummer. I always have enjoyed chatting about wine and getting recommendations from the people who work the evening shift. Nothing but pleasant experiences in the past.
Paso Robles Sparkling Wine?
The Laetitia XD (extra dry) is on of my favorite bottles of sparkling wine. They make something like 6 or 7 different sparkling varietals, and the offer a tasting flight of just sparkling wines. Well worth the drive.
SANTA MARIA BBQ-- We all know about Jocko's and The Far Western Tavern... but what about the trailers?
Sorry for the off topic post....
Is that tamale shop open again? About a year ago i went there and the place felt deserted and locked up. Do they have unusual hours?
Also, todiejane, have you ever been to a McKeon-Phillips wine down? One of my favorite food wine paring experiences without spending $100 on a winemakers dinner. Ardison, the owner is a great chef.
Back to the original post. The fundraiser trailers are just that, don't expect anything special. There are a few catering groups in santa maria who do wedding and such, who put together an excellent "traditional" Santa Maria bbq. (just had it a wedding 2 weekends ago and at my dad's company picnic last weekend) But for out-of-towners i think farmers market is the best bet.
One other random fact. You can go to Jokos and buy their pre-made beans and salsa by the gallon, and you can often find them served with someone else's bbq tritip.
Catering for a Paso Robles Wedding
My fiance and I are getting married this May in Nipomo. We too are on a tight budget, but consider food a high priority. We shopped around, but did not find anything that we liked quite at your price point. We ended up booking Upper Crust to cater the event. Their catering director, John, has been more than generous and pleasant to work with. Their prices are fair and inclusive... no hidden cake cutting or corkage or server fees (which we found with other caterers) etc. ...and the most important thing we already like their food!
for more info and prices see:
http://www.uppercrustslo.com/menuCatering.htm
Best of Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, Shell Beach, Arroyo Grande, or Oceano?
Kendra,
Realistically our area doesn't have that much to offer.
A few of my favorites.
Sandwiches from Arroyo Grande Meat Co. in the village of Arroyo Grande are amazing. He cures all his sandwich meat in house.... very good stuff. Make sure to also try his TriTip sandwich sometime. Whenever my family is having a nice dinner, we always get our steaks from him; its shocking the quality difference over supermarkets.
The Tacos and Mole from La Tapatia Market on 13th st in Grover Beach are the most authentic you will find, and are very good. I recommend the al pastor tacos.
To my knowledge the nearest pho is in north county (Paso Robles or something)
I dont know if you are going to find authentic NY style pizza around here. A recent surprise was the excellent pizza i had at "Adelina's Bistro", in the new Monarch Dunes golf development. http://www.adelinasbistro.com/
My favorite curry can be found at, Little Thai Cuisine, at 968 Grand Avenue in Grover.
Its a little hole in the wall, but the food is excellent.
Try the coffee at The Steaming Bean in Shell Beach; its the best i have found short of driving to SLO. I find the quality of Adreini's coffee and espresso drinks to be spotty.
Right around the corner from Jack's in Orcutt, is Kay’s Country Kitchen. They server the best southern style breakfast in the area. I love the fresh squeezed orange juice served in mason jars, their home made jams and jellies and biscuits. Be sure to try them.
Solvang/Los Olivos
I have enjoyed a few meals for Los Olivos Cafe, I second the recommendation.
They also have a high quality wine list, including wine by the glass.
Apple Picking? [moved from L.A. board]
There website says they attend the Wednesday Santa Monica and Saturday Santa Barbara farmers markets. Seems like a surprising distance for them to drive from Paso Robles.
see:
http://www.windrosefarm.org/Where%20to%20find%20us.htm
I would second the recommendation for Gopher Glen apples, however they do not offer any self picking. Its a quite beautiful drive from Avila through the canyon to San Luis Obispo on the other side.
San Luis Obispo - Girls Trip - Help!
I will second sgbslo's recommendation for breakfast at Madonna Inn.
You might be surprised by the relatively lower volume of college student around town, Calpoly doesn't start till September 17.
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Madonna Inn
100 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
The Pier Pounder in Pismo Beach?
There are no restaurants on the Pismo Beach Pier. The nearest pier based restaurant is the Olde Port Inn in Avila. I know that the pier was destroyed in winter storms in 1982, but thats before I was born, so I have no idea if there was a restaurant on it before.
San Luis Obispo...HELP!
You are likely referring to Firestone Grill. Really good tri-tip sandwiches, for a reasonable price. Its a favorite with many CalPoly students.
San Luis Obispo...HELP!
I will concur with the other posters, however will mention that Blue and Taste are approximately a half mile walk from the train station, and from there you are in the Down Town area where most of the shopping and nightlife is.
If you go to Taste, be sure try whatever red Kynsi wine being offered; I am a fan of Kynsi Syrah.
The Park is another restaurant worth mentioning. It literally is in the train station parking lot, and has received good reviews by others on the board. see www.theparkrestaurant.net
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Park Restaurant
1819 Osos St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
How is the breakfast at the Madonna Inn?
I grew up going there with my family for breakfast on satrudays. I my humble opinion, it is their best meal of the day. If nothing else, their breakfast pastries are really good. To this day, my friends and I stop by at night and eat a breakfast pastry for desert after a good dinner elsewhere in SLO.
Best butcher shop in Paso Robles?
I know this is not much to you, but in Old Town Arroyo Grande, there is the Arroyo Grande Meat Co. which is an awesome butcher shop. The majority of the time the very friendly owner, Mr. Gonzalez, is who helps you. He makes approximately 20 different variates of sausages... 3 of them available fresh in the case and all the others are available frozen on a rotating basis. He has awesome selections of aged beef and organic chicken and other meat, along with all standard butcher shop fare. (He also cures his own roast beef and pastrami and makes a mean $5 lunch sandwich)
