Monday, July 27, 2009

The Range - Santa Margarita, Ca

The Mid State Fair brought us to town and I was showing, once again. Hungry after riding all day, we headed north to Santa Margarita (population 2,333) just off the 101 freeway only eight miles north of San Luis Obispo.


Great red wine! Au Bon Climat is my new favorite! ABC SB Pinot is simply delicious. There is nothing pretentious here, just well balanced, nicely textured, brightly fruity wine that seems to go with everything.





The crawfish cake -- make that cakes, two of them, plump and full of that crawdad flavor -- are served with vinegary crisp, pickled okra and a punchy, orange Tabasco sauce.


I ordered the San Dabs and they were awesome! Lightly fried, with a a nice creamy sauce that wasn't too heavy. Nothing revelatory, just plain good, especially with a big heap of those fine mashed potatoes.

Plan this one right into your Google map. The outside patio was beautiful and the weather was great! Prepare yourself before your visit, they are cash only and a tad pricey. 1.75 thumbs up for a wonderful experience.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Mama Cass's Kitchen - Tres Pinos, Ca

Tres Pinos is full of great places to eat! A new pizza joint has sprung up and was just waiting for me to come and try it! Mama Cass's Kitchen, located next to the Tres Pinos Store, has transformed the small space into a cute little pizzeria.




You walk in and have to order first before finding a seat. The wall has options of many things to order. Pizzas of all varieties of course - Hawaiian, Combination, Vegetarian, BBQ Chicken, Pinwheel, Taco, Cheese and Make Your Own. Besides Pizza, the Luncheon Menu includes Tri-Tip Sandwiches, Meatball Sandwiches, Hamburgers, Polish Sausages and BLT's. They include french fries on the side. A great meal deal is the Pizza Lunch Special - an individual sized one topping pizza, side salad and fountain drink for $5.99. Appetizers include: Deep Fried Ravioli's - Sausage or Spinach and Hot Wings - mild and hot.





I ordered a side salad with Ranch and a side of Spinach Ravioli. The salad was lovely. Fresh tomatoes, crisp lettuce, shredded carrots and roasted almonds really made this a lovely non-pizza option. Now for the deep fried goodness - the Ravioli. So good! The spinach is great, I want to try the sausage option next time. Amanda had the Lunch Special, the Pepperoni Pizza and a salad with Italian. She felt the same way I did about the salad, great. I tried a slice of Amanda's pizza and was very impressed. Tasty crust, savory sauce and the right amount of cheese.

Mama Cass really has transformed this little spot into a great destination for meeting up with friends and family. Grab a beer, order pizza and watch some sports on their large screen televisions located throughout. They are open Wednesday - Thursday from 11am to 9pm and Friday - Sunday 9am to 9pm. Be sure to get to Mama Cass's early on the weekends and try their breakfast. Chicken Fried Steak, Breakfast Burritos and Short Stack Pancakes with bananas and walnuts can be found here! Yummo. 2 thumbs up for another great place to eat in Tres Pinos.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Jack in the Box - Taco Nachos

James and I had a glamorous lunch out today... Jack in the Box Drive-Thru. Lovely. I have been to the Jack in the Box many times but have never heard of Taco Nachos. So by gosh I ordered them.


They couldn't look any more god awful if they tried! Ha ha. What a calorie bomb this was. So basically they are the regular tacos from Jack in the Box, sliced into triangles placed on a bed of lettuce, with a lava of nacho cheese sauce swimming on top - with a delicate placing of a few jalapenos. So gourmet. I feel a tad ill after eating this. Have a great afternoon.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Happy Birthday Blog!

happy birthday cake Pictures, Images and Photos

Today is Melissa Good Taste's first birthday! Yay.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Chile Verde!


I am currently obsessed with ordering Chile Verde at any Mexican food restaurant I can get my hands on! So Kathy Good Taste, aka my mom, went with me to a Mexican joint and sampled the Chile Verde I had ordered. We decided then and there we should try making our own! So, she took the matter into her own hands, found a recipe online, tweaked it and talked to an experienced source. Kathy Good Taste made her own Chile Verde and it was surprisingly great! The meat is so tender, it falls into pieces at the touch of a fork. The "gravy" had just the right amount of tang from roasted tomatillos. A recipe is being perfected and as soon as we get it just right, I will share it with you all! Yum...

Monday, July 13, 2009

Westside Grill - Gilroy, Ca

8080 Santa Teresa Boulevard, Suite 100 in Gilroy. You know where it is... Remember when this place was J.R. Brewskies? Remember? I do. Many o' times I have eaten there. But, I guess that must have been a long, long time ago because Westside Grill has been in it's place since 2006. Wow. Well, I went back and now it is Westside Grill.

The bar is really a magnificent one. Not because of all the glorious alcohol but because it looks old world. Beautiful wood work, a step down and really dark. I have always thought is was very sophisticated place. Not much has changed.





The bread was good stuff. The crust was that of rosemary and gave great texture. I liked. So much so, I had the majority. Yikes! Now on to some comedy... They had Lobster Bisque as a regular on their menu. I am spoiled because I have had Maine's best. I am now addicted to the stuff. So when I see it on the menu, anywhere, I order it in hopes it will be the same as my original experience. So as it was set before me I notice there were "chunks" through out the soup. Could it be actual lobster? Usually bisques here are thin, blended versions. Low and behold these "chunks" floating through my bisque are cooked pieces of flour! HA! I am such a sucker, I should have know for $6 it could not have been the real thing. Onward, the salad was fine. Fine, fine, fine.




The Drunken Clams brought me back to life and gave me back some faith in the Westside Grill. White wine, garlic, lemon butter, tomato and herbs made a terrific bath for the clams. I should have saved room for more bread to soak up the fantastic broth. A+. Next up in this rodeo is the Pasta Pomodoro with Chicken as the protein. Fresh tomato, basil, garlic and olive oil round out the dish. Was it tasty? Yes. A tad spicy? Yes, from what? Who knows. Would it be ordered again? No, order something else. So was it bad? No way. Just would explore the rest of the menu a bit.

Westside Grill, a beautiful place. A smidge hard to find. It looks like it would be a dentist's office from the outside, in fact it is next to a gym. It is awkward, but find it. Go for drinks and an appetizer. Maybe on a romantic date or just to watch the game. They have a couple TV’s in the bar and a friendly bartender - she talked to the lone couple in the bar the entire time of my visit. Yowza! Anyhow. I give it 1.33 thumbs up. It is pretty good, kind of pricey but worth it. Stay away from the Lobster Bisque and you will have a wonderful time.

-MGT

Thursday, July 9, 2009

San Benito Chamber of Commerce Mixer

The July Chamber of Commerce Mixer was a great one! The hosts, Serene Home and Dassel's Petroleum, welcomed the Chamber for drinks, appetizers, salads and bbq bites. Serene Home is located at 243 6th Street in downtown Hollister. There you can find great gifts, dishes, home decor, jewelry and much more! Dassel's is located at 31 Wright Road in Hollister as well. We offer propane, gasoline, diesel, lubricants and much more. Keep us in mind for your energy needs!


Grillin' it up!

Our beer selection.

Red, red wine.

The whites chillin' on ice.


The beautiful spread. Watermelon Salad with red onions and cilantro. So refreshing!
Pasta Salad with basil, garlic and tomatos. And of course, veggies and dip.

Yum, yum. My favorite of the evening...
Chicken salad served on a tortilla chip! Perfectly sized for the perfect bite!

Sausages - some spicy, some not.

Rolls for the Tri-Tip Sliders.

Perfectly cooked Tri-Tip. Yum!

Mixing.


Mingling.

Enjoying the beautiful day!

Jeri, the wonderful hostess, from Serene Home.

Jim, from Dassel's, co-host for the evening.


Frankie, calling out numbers for the raffle.

What a wonderful event!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Downtown Hollister Farmer's Market

So Melissa Good Taste finally made it to the Downtown Hollister Farmer's Market with her trusty camera. There are so many things to take pictures of - I just went snap happy! In all fairness to all the vendors, I took a lot of photos but missed many booths! This is just a taste of what is there every Wednesday from 4-7PM on a blocked off Fifth Street. I will be back and I will bring my camera! Enjoy...




















Please remember that these photos are owned by Melissa Good Taste. If you would like to use one of them please email me first! Thank you.