San Luis Obispo

Went up to San Luis Obispo for a girls getaway. Checked into the Hampton Inn & Suites San Luis Obispo.  Since the intent was to relax and check out the scenery, spent day time hours exploring Pismo Beach and visiting wineries.

The main reason for my destination was that the city tourism department offers a winter promotion of $100 for a two night stay at a local hotel. What better incentive to come and visit SLO? The visitor center provided a wine tasting map of the local wineries in the area. In retrospect, it was probably better if we had arranged for a wine tasting tour to avoid having to stay sober enough to drive from one winery to the other. Unfortunately, too late so we opted to visit two wineries and visit Pismo in between for lunch.

For those interested in some retail therapy, there are some good local wines available at BevMo at SLO if you can’t hit all the wineries in the area. They do carry a lot of the local stuff. Also, the Pismo Beach Premium Outlet Mall drew my attention and I lucked out finding an outlet store selling Kool Kombis fire pits and coolers. 

Wineries

Baileyana - this is a shared tasting room with other winemakers. Overall, I enjoyed the vibe and was pleasantly surprised with a picnic leftovers from a group next to us (fruit and cheese).

Claiborne & Churchill - large tasting room that also sells port. I’m always a sucker for port and it was delicious.

Dining

Ada’s Fish House - seafood restaurant in Pismo Beach. It was nice to sit and enjoy the late afternoon. Chowder was tasty.

Old San Luis BBQ - fast casual chill bbq and draft beer eatery. I dig the “unlimited” drinking option. Ordering is done in the front of the restaurant for food and beer. You order by the weight for the drinking and the cashier will hand you a card. Once you walk in, the back wall is lined with beer and you can pour as much as you are willing to pay. Good tri tip and an easy way to start off the night as there are several bars nearby as well.

The Mark - went after having dinner to this bar & grill. By the time we arrived, it was bar only time. It seemed more of a local hangout than College scene and the crowd was friendly without being too obnoxious.

Old West Cinnamon Rolls - After having a late lunch at Ada’s, wandered around the actual beach in Pismo. Being windy, we didn’t stay long and on our way back to SLO made a pit stop at this popular bakery. Seeing as it only sold cinnamon rolls, I wanted to see if it was as good as the hype. I do like that they have various nut options. For those only allergic to some nuts, it is nice to still opt in an some nutty goodness. Overall, I enjoyed the hot and ready cinnamon rolls. The day old or frozen rolls also were pretty good and a good bargain.

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