North American eateries

Ratings are on a scale of 0 to 24.  The scale used to be 0 to 10, so restaurants written about before 2012 may have only had their ratings adjusted by formula and not by hand (hence all the 2s, 5s, 8s, etc.)  The scale works as follows:

PRO
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16
pro
15 14 13 12 11 10
mixed
9 8 7 6 5 4
con
3 2 1
CON
0

An asymmetrical 0 to 24 scale may not be intuitive, I realize.  But as a rule of thumb: a double-digit score means I liked it, while a single-digit score… less so.  Also, as you might expect, scores from many years ago may not be very reliable, so do check the dates.

CA Central Coast

San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.  (The underlying theme of this section: Is there a reason to take the 101 instead of the 5?)

Click on the column titles to sort the entries!

Name Cuisine Address Last update Score
Birkholm's BakeryBakeryAlisal near Mission, Solvang2015-02-1212
I figured that if you're going to go to California's recreation of a Danish village, you should probably get a danish. Here I got a gigantic cherry/cheese danish. It was tasty. Good job, Danes.
ChineloMexicanBroad btw Marsh/Higuera, San Luis Obispo2021-08-0511
Here Ellie and I split a huge “California burrito” (i.e., one with french fries in it).  It tasted more like eating a plate of fries with sour cream and salsa than like a burrito, but that ain’t a bad lunch.
Coffee ExpressCafeGrand near Brisco, Arroyo Grande2015-02-128
Unnervingly nice service, but the breakfast wrap I got here was not the unparalleled triumph I had been led to expect. It was okay but it's in the middle of the pack as breakfast burritos go.
Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream LabDessert (ice cream)Branch btw Wesley/Nevada, Arroyo Grande2007-02-1914
Good ice cream and a charming establishment. Apparently they create new flavors on Wednesday night in performances open to the public.
Full of Life FlatbreadPizzaBell btw Den/St. Joseph, Los Alamos2021-08-0814
I stopped by this place, in a tiny hilltown ten miles from anywhere, many years ago, back when it was called American Flatbread—​apparently there was a schism between the west coast and east coast factions—​and wound up being seated almost directly in front of the blazing hot pizza oven.  By the end of the meal I felt pretty well done myself.  This time around, the covids made takeout seem like a better choice.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the pizza was better than it was back in the Bush years!
La Super-RicaMexicanMilpas & Alphonse, Santa Barbara2015-02-1215
This is basically a taco shack, and most dishes are very simple. Rajas: peppers, onions, cheese and herbs on a pair of corn tortillas. Queso de cazuela: melted cheese in a bowl of tomato sauce, served with three corn tortillas. Gordita frijol: corn tortilla stuffed with spiced pintos. Simple and yet very good. The exceptions have been the specials: chilaquiles were above average but not great, and the tamal de verduras was bland. Still, a must-visit.
Old West Cinnamon RollsCinnamon rollsDolliver & Pismo, Pismo Beach2021-08-0814
Very good cinnamon rolls with a variety of toppings; my favorite was probably the one with cream cheese (apparently a dairy supplies the shop with 300 pounds of cream cheese every week) and cherries.


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