Chico's Cafe - Paso Robles, CA

There is nothing like a great breakfast! My Mom and I were waking up from a night out in Paso Robles and decided to treat ourselves to a sit down breakfast in the town square. I have walked passed Chico's Cafe a million times on my way to other restaurants so I figured today was the day to give it a try.

 My Mom ordered the Huevos Rancheros and said it was very tasty. The eggs cooked to perfection, salsa flavorful and beans a perfect consistency. The only suggestion was to crisp up the corn tortillas before layering them on the plate. A little bit of texture on the plate goes a long way!

I always order the same breakfast where ever I go! I like the dessert like qualites of the pancakes slathered with butter and syrup. The pancakes were very nice. I liked that there was a hint of sweetness from extra sugar in the batter. The eggs were over easy and perfect for dipping my sweet pancakes in for a savory blast. I like my bacon crispy and it came out just so.

A great breakfast place can be hard to find but look no further in Paso Robles. Their dinner menu sounded fantastic as well, with prices being totally affordable. A return visit will be in the works!

PCCHA Wrap Up - Paso Robles, CA

The Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association has come to a close but let me catch you up on what happened in the last few days of our event... The San Juan Ranch so kindly sponsored a Dinner and Draw Party for the Finalists of the major events left in competition. The view and building was absolutely stunning!

Thank you for everything! 

The party was held after I had just finished showing in one of my finals on my horse Scotty. My run was going really great until a naughty cow took me out of the class. I didn't let it faze me and continued to show my horse really well. I know I have a really good horse so I left the arena smiling and blessed to be given the opportunity to show him.

They had so much food at the party! My favorite was this appetizer section of crackers, cheese, salami, olives, nuts and fried shrimp. I love to eat a variety of bite sized snacks! It makes cocktail hour easy for communication with all our horse show friends! 

They were even hand passing the little morsels of goodness! We felt like royalty, the San Juan Ranch pulled out all the stops. 

 As if we didn't eat enough already, dinner was served! A whole array of tri-tip, chicken, beans, sauteed vegetables, french fries, salads, fruit and rolls were on display. I took a little of each and balanced my full plate outside to grab a seat.

My posse of Cowboy Ron, my mom and Scott all decided we would grab a seat next to the fountain. It was beautiful and it gave us room and the super packed house. This was the place to be!

 My plate was a unorganized mix of all the selection but I happily indulged! Everything was exceptionally good but my really favorite was the chicken! The skin was really crispy and perfectly seasoned!

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The next night was the night of the OPEN FUTURITY!

 Cowboy Ron and i grabbed our seats and watched Scott show his little horse, CD Skipper, in the field of 19 horses. She is such a cute little horse and she held all of her cows. Good work Skipper!

Scott ended up 11th and received a nice paycheck and buckle for his efforts!

 The next day, it was my turn.... I had to walk down to the herd and show my stuff. I knew I had to compete against a lot of great horses and riders so I was just happy to be there. My performance was not the most desirable but I got the job done, I didn't lose any cows and I showed like I wanted to win. I was rewarded for my efforts and ended up 4th place in the Non Pro Futurity and 2nd the 200,000 Limited Futurity. 

I had a tremendously successful show. I have never won so much money at an event like this in my life! My horses worked like they were supposed to, my parents great support and assistance from Scott and Russ made it all possible. On my drive home yesterday all I could think of was just how blessed I am.

 I will never forget this experience.

La Cosecha - Paso Robles, CA

Sorry bloggers! I have not been trying to ignore you but I have been busy doing the cowgirl thing at the PCCHA Futurity. It seems like my days go by fast, fast and then I go to sleep just to do it all again! I was lucky enough to have my three year old, Metallic Tears make the Open Intermediate Finals and Open Gelding Stakes with Russ Elrod so my mom and I had to go to lunch to celebrate!

 My mom is cute! She seriously is the #1 fan of cutting horses! Especially my horses! 

La Cosecha is located in the downtown square area of Paso Robles and hosts an outdoor and indoor dining area. Their food features mostly Latin cuisine and in tapas sized options.

 We  both were excited enough to want to cheers with an adult beverage so I ordered Tolosa Chardonnay and she went for one of La Cosecha's featured Bloody Mary's.

I went for the White Fish Special and asked to be served mashed potatoes served with it. The fish was cooked perfectly and the mashed potatoes were stunningly delicious. They should be able to be ordered by the bowl. The white wine, heirloom tomato and caper sauce that the fish was topped with was terrific as well.

The braised and grilled pork ribs caught my eye and I was glad to get in a bite off my mom's plate. They were totally fall off the bone tender, in fact it was a dish to be eaten delicately with a fork. It was featured saying it was to come with black beans but it was served with rice only much to my mom's delight!

My horse ended up doing great in the finals winning about $8000! I was so proud everytime he walked down to the herd for his performance! We have been having such a good show!

It is now my turn to deliver, I have made the finals on my horse, Hip Hip Roo Rey (Scotty) in the Non-Pro Classic Challenge and in the Non-Pro Futurity and Gelding Stakes on Metallic Tears (Elvis). I am so blessed and couldn't be more thankful to my family for being so supportive! my husband for coaching me through everything... and all my helpers! It takes a village!!

Odyssey World Cafe - Paso Robles, CA

I was so happy to have a little fan club last week during our stay at the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association's Futurity. My cousin, Shannon, brought her little baby for me to play with and I was so excited to meet Brooke. She is so pretty! She took a nap during the cutting and then we decided to stroll off the grounds to get some lunch.

We decided to go somewhere kind of casual and that has pretty quick service just in case Brooke decided it was time to go! I mentioned Odyssey and Shannon had never been so we decided that was the place to go.

 At the counter as we ordered I saw a Carrot Curry Soup as the special and I jumped all over that. It sounded exotic and it was. I liked that it had the Indian spices that I have been craving lately since my visit to the Himalayan restaurant in Ventura.  

I also ordered a Salmon Salad complete with feta, red peppers, eggplant and pine nuts. It was the perfect lunch for visiting! I like taking bites of food and then getting involved in conversation. Salads are perfect for that! But, to be totally honest, I ate most everything on the plate besides the lettuce!

I talked Shannon into the French Dip because I have had it before and knew she would like it. She bounced Brooke on her lap in between bites and commented on the delicious bread made in house. 

For an easy, quick and affordable meal go to Odyssey and enjoy a meal from around the world!

Fish Gaucho - Paso Robles, CA

Hello Baseball fans! While Scott, the horses and crew and I are at the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Futurity in Paso Robles we are also cheering on our favorites, the San Francisco Giants. My Mom and I wanted to go out and celebrate a good first round for our futurity horses but Scott wanted to stay in and watch the first round of the World Series. So we called a truce and the ladies went out and he stayed in to watch the game.

We decided to have dinner at a place we have never been before, Fish Gaucho. It is owned by a friend of our's son-in-law so we were anxious to give it a go after hearing many good reviews. To get our meal started night we decided to try their signature margaritas: Watermelon Mint and Blood Orange. They were both fabulous, totally worth giving a shot. the menu is described as California Mexican so I was muy muy excited to give it a try... 

 My mom went the surf and turf route and ordered the Filet, Shrimp and Scallop plate. The 6 oz filet was cooked to her desire of a perfect medium rare, two shrimp totally plump and scallop seared just like perfection. The proteins rested on a bed of jalapeno mashed potatoes and a warm ranchera salsa. She described it as "the best meal she has at a restaurant in a really long time..." 

When I saw Scallops on the menu you know I could not pass it up. The Crusted Diver Scallops complete with chorizo brussel sprouts, poblano crema and mashed potatoes made my day. I literally licked the plate until it was totally clean.

Our dinner was perfect. I rubbed it in to Scott so bad when I got home that he wanted to go for an early dinner today. This is how my second visit went...

I knew I immediately wanted to try the chips, salsa and Morro Bay guacamole when I came on this visit so we put in our order fairly quickly. The pineapple pico de gallo was Scott's favorite, while i favored the watermelon chipotle. The guacamole was totally fine too.

We were greeted with a gift from the chef (being a food blogger has its perks...) to kick off our meal. It was a pork belly taco, with crispy onion strings, spicy salsa and served with a slice of blood orange to squeeze over the corn tortilla blanket. I loved it. In fact, I was feeling quite full from all the chips and taco at this point. The taco will be featured on an upcoming menu and I felt pretty cool to get the inside bite.

Feeling already pretty full, I decided to solider on with the Oysters Oaxaca. Six Blue Point Oysters topped with what they have described on their menu as chorizo and cotija crumbles. It actually was topped with a thick layer of thick cheese that took over the delicate taste of a baked oyster. I literally took off the layer of cheese before eating so tasting an oyster could be detected. I think these need to be switched up a bit. 

Scott is a Lobster Enchilada fan so when he saw it on the menu I knew he was old on it. Let me start off my saying, the portion size is huge! You get a lot of food. He noted that the lobster meat was only claw meat and would have been excited to get a piece of tail meat. He could only finish two but did enjoy the zesty tomatillo sauce.  

As I explored the menu on my second visit it obviously was not quite as successful as the first but I do believe the third time will be a charm as we have to go again to let Cowboy Ron have a turn at bat!

Second Press - Paso Robles, CA

We spent the last few days cutting up at the Double R Cutting held at the Mid State Fairgrounds in Paso Robles. Scott did extremely well showing his futurity, derby and novice horse so I was very proud of him. Our customers showed in the pen as well and took a little bit of the pie with them as well! It was a great show for Team Weis that is for sure!

On Friday night we got to visit I had never been to before. Second Press is located on 12th Street just down from the movie thearter. Parking n this area is pretty sparse so be prepared to find a side street. Our reservation was for about 8:30 so I knew the waitresses were probably running out of steam on their shifts. I was right, we were greeted with not much enthusiasm. Scott and Ron grabbed draft beers and I the Lone madrone Cab.

Our food came out as described to us and I was really torn on ordering this dish. Ron had this Pork Belly served on a potato puree and he drizzle. He said it was nice and I believed him. I love a good braised pork belly! 

Scott went for the Cheeseburger and opted his fries out for salad. Unfortunately it was not the best burger he has ever had. He thought the meat tasted gamey and thought maybe the grass feed beef was the reason. I guess he likes his beef raised on corn in a feedlot! 

Deb went for something very boring... A Caesar with chicken added to it. The only cool thing about this dish was the parmesan lattice crisp. I have always loved when salads are served with these. 

Cara and I both ordered the Salmon served with gnocchi in a saffron white wine sauce, sunburst squash, baby zucchini and roasted tomatoes. First off the portion size and temperature of the salmon came out perfect! Wonderfully cooked. I was served five pieces of gnocchi which seemed a little skimpy, it was delicious though. Now here is the my issue, the tomatoes were cooked until mush but then the squash and zucchini were hard as bricks! It should be the other way around my friends, I couldn't even slice the squash with a knife because it was so hard and slipped around the plate, completely a waste.

 My table mates and I were talked into the Sticky Toffee Pudding and Chocolate Fondant served with whipped cream and ganache. They were fine, nice for sharing. The chocolate helped me finish up the rest of my red wine.

I am very conflicted on this review. I was disappointed in lack of enthusiasm from our server, I liked portions of dishes. I thought the prices were reasonable, but twas disappointed with portions of main entrees. I go back and forth and settle a probably a 'B' rating. It is not good enough to stand up to some greats located across the Paso Square but it is not bad enough to be completely reemed. You be the judge...

Bistro Laurent - Paso Robles, CA

The last day Cowboy Ron was in town we celebrated with his friends on his job well done. He was the Non-Pro 7&Up Reserve Champion and was the 200,000 Limited Champion on his horse Scamper. It was Friday night, during a wine weekend in Paso Robles so finding a table for 6 last minute was a challenge but nothing Melissa Good Taste could not handle. I had never been to the French restaurant, Bistro Laurent before so it was going to be an adventure! 

The host suggested we all participate in the Tasting Menu, we thought that was a great idea and sat back and waited in surprise as to what each course would be. A roasted onion and goat cheese toasted baguette came out first. It was a lovely start to our meal.  

A seared scallop salad came out next with shaved beets and spinach. It was delicately dressed and toped with fresh chives. You know I am a sucker for a tasty scallop so this course pleased me.  

This by far was the best dish of the evening, blowing all of the competition away. A moist, piece of halibut perfectly seared in a bed of braised lentils and bacon. I ate every single bite and licked the bowl clean. If this is on their regular menu, order it every chance you get. 

Short Ribs in a tasty gravy and roasted potatoes proved themselves decent but nothing to drool over. it was just food at this point when being compared to the fantastic halibut in the course before. 

Wines were served by the glass with every course, they left some on the table for me to blog about. I felt all were fantastic and well suited with each plate of food. It is an upgrade on the tasting menu but well worth it. It really felt like a complete dining experience. 

The cheese course was next and I was in heaven. I love interesting, funky cheeses and these were for sure those. Some of the table was turned off but I was all about it. Sipping a nice wine and sampling artisan cheese was a fantastic way to spend my evening.  

I am not going to lie, I was hoping for something custardy or maybe chocolate for dessert but we got something a bit more wholesome. It tasted like a soft granola bar, topped with a lemon sauce and fantastic whipped cream. It did not satisfy that sinfully delicious dessert craving that I had within.

All in all, Bistro Laurent was an excellent experience. The dinner was sustenance and entertainment all in one. I love the drama of being served course after course and wander what is going to come out next. it is a little on the pricier side but if reserved for special occasions it is very much worth it.