Cass House Food & Wine Blog: December 2010

Our Favorite Local Restaurants

Artisan
We had the perfect lunch at Artisan the other day after wine tasting on the 46: chicken pot pie, fried calamari, a slow roasted pork sandwich, and plenty of chimay. The dining room is always buzzing with happy customers and friendly floor staff, and the open kitchen adds to the lively atmosphere.
Luna Red
Novo's sister restaurant, delicious food in a cozy setting. Our favorite date night starts with snacks and cocktails here and ends with a movie at the Fremont next door.
Noi's Little Thai Takeout - Los Osos, CA
Noi's is the best thai restaurant in the county. Our entire staff eats lunch at Noi's at least 2 or 3 times a week. For Christmas, we gave everyone Noi's gift certificates. And the other night Doi (Noi's sister) brought us all takeout when she came in for dinner. We love Noi's!!
Novo
We regularly sit out on Novo's patio overlooking the San Luis creek with a beer (they have a great selection) or a bottle of wine and a couple of appetizers for the table to share. Try the samosas, spring rolls, green curry, short ribs and calamari.
The Range
We love the Range. Great music, honest food, and a friendly staff. The small dining room is simple but warm and inviting. Jensen's first apprenticeship was for the Range's Chef/Owner Jeff Jackson.
Villa Creek
Their bar always seems to be the hot spot in town, and for good reason, they have an impressive drink selection and you can't beat their bar menu. I love sitting in their dining room too, Tom Fundaro is a talented chef who never lets us down. Located in Paso Robles right off the park, an ideal spot to unwind after a long hard day of wine tasting.

Local Markets, Wine Shops & Specialty Products

Vivant Fine Cheese - Tasting Room
San Luis Obispo County Farmers Market
it is so important to support local farmers, and it is so rewarding to shop at farmer's markets over grocery stores for produce. our favorite local markets are in baywood on monday afternoons and in san luis (in the madonna shopping center) on saturday mornings.
Rinconada Dairy
Christine Maguire and her husband Jim own this beautiful ranch in Pozo. We get cheese, yogurt, and chickens from them for the restaurant, all of which are truly amazing (visiting their ranch will give you a much greater appreciation of their products, they have a farm stay if you want to get the full experience). You can buy their cheese at Vivant in Paso Robles or at the Saturday morning farmer's market in SLO, I highly recommend you do.
Pier 46 Seafood Market
this seafood market is in the same shopping center as joebella, trader joe's and 15 degrees in templeton. they carry the best fresh seafood locally, kumamoto oysters for $1.50 each, the best clams i have ever had, live lobster and crabs... forget about the out of season pre marinated seafood at trader joe's and stop at pier 46.
Meze Wine Cafe & Market
Our favorite place to go in SLO to unwind on our day off, the setting is beautiful and they have the best wine selection and food in town! The market is also a great source of hard to find specialty food items.
Joebella Coffee Roasters
joe and isabella personally deliver coffee to us once a week. we all buy their coffee for our homes too, it doesn't even compare to what is available in local stores. guests comment on how incredible the coffee is every night.
Hush-Harbor Artisan Bakery
Definitely worth the trip to Atascadero for lunch (they make the best sandwich in the county) or a baked treat (try a french baguette or croissant, they're locally famous!).
Giovanni's Fish Market
Jensen makes regular stops into Giovanni's to raid their live tank for local spot prawns, abalone and dungeness crab.
Dockside Too Fish Market
Jensen picks up fish for the restaurant from Dockside every day, if we had time we would sit over the water on the patio with a basket of fish and chips and a cold beer, something I would recommend anyone to do while in Morro Bay.
Central Coast Grown
Central Coast Grown is a program that supports sustainable agriculture on the central coast. Check out their website for a directory of restaurants and grocery stores that feature local produce, as well as some great articles and a calendar of local food events.

16 December 2010

Seaside Gingerbread House Contest

We had a great turnout for the gingerbread house contest, 150 people voted! The winner was Melody from the On the Beach hotel, our dinner for two raffle winner was Darlene Kelly from Cayucos. Next year we hope that you will all join in and enter your gingerbread houses, if you have any ideas for a creative theme let us know!

4th Place: A tug boat trailing a Christmas tree in a sea of blue fondant