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Changing courses

Foodies and wine snobs agree: Paso is the place to be

BY MEGHAN SAPP

First the good news. Last year, two of SLO Town’s great restaurants received the prestigious Award of Excellence from the guru of all food and wine pairings, Wine Spectator magazine.

Now the bad news. What someone forgot to mention is Paso Robles got three awards.

SLO folks take note: Paso’s culinary scene is growing up and is on the verge of heading off to prom night while her prettier big sister, San Luis, stays home without a date. That’s not entirely fair, of course, since sister SLO south of the Grade did manage to get a wink and a nod from Wine Spectator for Buona Tavola and Café Roma.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Paso Robles picks up four awards next year, especially since San Luis Obispo’s famed Buona Tavola opened a new restaurant in Paso last November. It’s called Buona Tavola-Paso, and it’s every bit as good as the one in San Luis. Actually, it would be surprising–downright appalling–to just about everyone in San Luis Obispo.

"We got in at the right time, where we’ve been able to capitalize so far on the need," says Buona Tavola’s general manager, Scott Swanson.

That "need" is the fruition of Paso’s up-and-coming wine region and the traditional pairing that fine wine has with fine food. The fine food is popping up all over the place. Even folks considerably farther south of the Grade than San Luis have begun to take notice. According to www.losangeles.com, "the experience opened my eyes to the romantic possibilities of Paso Robles and its wine region."

"Romantic possibilities"? In Paso?

"This fine, leggy sangiovese puts my yearling colt to shame," a Paso native might soon be saying. "Exquisite! Please pass the foie gras."

Perhaps the days of tri-tip barbecues out by the branding pen are gone.

Perhaps not, but even chefs from L.A. are heading north of the Grade to take advantage of this region while it’s still on the upswing, so they can sip a fine Chardonnay and say they were in Paso back when it all began.

"Typically when people come here, they’re coming for entertainment, both locals and those coming here for the wine," says Busi’s executive chef, Matthew Riley. Riley high-tailed it north from Rex El Restaurante in downtown Los Angeles about four years ago. "They come because they want a truly wonderful experience."

Even last fall’s terrorist attacks and the simultaneous economic recession couldn’t keep people from demanding excellence in Paso’s gourmet circle. While most people were taking off their shoes at the airport security stand next to big guys with automatic weapons, or deciding that the church would take them back after 20 years of sinning, Riley took some of his more expensive items off the menu, then lowered the prices on other dishes. But people just wouldn’t have it.

"That’s not what people wanted. When they came out, they wanted something wonderful. When I offered less expensive items, they still wanted the expensive dishes. [Gourmet cuisine] had a certain comfort level," says Riley.

That pairing of fine foods with fine wines is where it all starts. Search the Internet for Paso wines and near the top of the list is a German wine seller, marketing the best vino the North County has to offer (www.zigarren-bugge.de). Sprechen sie Deutsch? No? Well, the truth is that although the Germans can’t figure out how to pay former West Germans and former East Germans in the military the same wage, and although they wonder what they ever did before the Euro, they do know that wines like Eberle and Justin are giving the famous Rhine wines a run for their money.

The flair for European cuisine has reached the cherry-blossomed streets of Paso’s equally up-and-coming downtown, where restaurants line the square and overflow down side streets. Italian is a staple among gourmets, but how about a "tapas bar" serving Spanish hors d’oeuvres? Not even San Luis can boast that, although Pismo’s Sea Venture restaurant takes a tasty stab at it.

If Spanish isn’t to your taste, then Laurent Grangion’s culinary wizardry might please your pallet.

About five years ago, the French native opened Bistro Laurent when "there wasn’t much here," as he puts it. He says he looked throughout the county and decided Paso Robles had the best potential for something special. It wasn’t because the wines in San Luis weren’t haughty enough or because the rents were too high. Laurent’s decision was simple: He knew what a trend looked like and saw it coming.

"Good food and good wine go together so you need good restaurants," he says, and according to the reviews of his restaurant in Los Angeles Times, Appellation magazine, and Wine Enthusiast magazine, as well as others, "they were pretty impressed with what’s going on with the wine and food."

There’s plenty more table talk about Paso’s burgeoning restaurant scene.

Riley says Food Arts and Wine Spectator have also taken notice of Paso Robles, and that "it’s always positive." Riley adds that he always reads the trade magazines to stay on top of what’s hot.

Paso Robles is hot.

"The trade magazines are always looking for what’s new, and Paso Robles has hit their radar," said Danna Stroud, director for tourism marketing for the Paso Robles Visitor and Conference Bureau.

Over the past few years, the trickle of visitors seeking fine wining and dining has become a flood.

"The demographics of people have come along quicker than we expected," said Don Cherry of Villa Creek restaurant, which he opened four years ago. Cherry says the nod from Wine Spectator has been a great for business.

"When people are traveling around the country and get to this area, wondering where to eat, they look in Wine Spectator and find us."

For those already in the know about food and wine, just skip the next paragraph and go scarf some canapés. If you’re not, here’s lesson number one.

In America’s gourmet universe, there was once a man named James Beard. His foundation, the James Beard Foundation, bestows upon the blessed its annual awards for those who truly understand the intricate art of food and wine and know how to present them. Justin Winery, just down the road and around the bend, recently received the Foundation’s coveted "Great American Winemaker Award."

Great wines are putting Paso on the map.

Maybe that’s why it needs the food fare to go with the fanfare.

That pairing is what gets these restaurants in gear. Wine festivals bring tourists and wine snobs from near and far to swirl and spit with the finest. One of the biggest in the area, the Zinfandel Festival, overtook sleepy little Paso last weekend and every restaurant worth its dry cleaning bill was packed. Door to door, hand to foot, side by side.

"We could have sold more this weekend but we didn’t have enough room," said Riley, who held winemaker dinners for both Poalillo Vineyards and Donatoni. These seven-course dinners, paired with one and sometimes two wines per course, are becoming a staple of Paso’s gourmet world.

"The beauty of our local wine industry," says Stroud, "is that we have the big names and we also have the ones where you have to go out to the winery–where you can break bread with the owner, the winemaker, and the viticulturist all wrapped into one."

She says that many of the gourmet restaurants have tapped into catering at the wineries. If Laurent takes his kitchen staff to an event at Eberle, for example, the next time visitors at the tasting come to town, they’ll likely have dinner at the Bistro.

"People are wanting to see more of a higher level of the craft that we do, and that’s a good thing," says Riley. As of last Sunday, Busi’s closed until it reopens under new auspices and new ownership with a secretive new name around May 1.

"Change is not a bad thing; change is a good thing," says Riley. "We have great plans for food in Paso Robles."

Villa Creek held Turley’s winemaker dinner during the Zin Festival, which they saw as a great boon to their increasing popularity.

"It was quite a compliment to be able to do their dinner, since they’re such a popular winery," says Cherry.

This, of course, is just another way of saying that there’s lots of money here, folks.

"Most of all of the places are all here one way or another because of the money," says Buona Tavola’s Swanson. "A lot of these people are fairly well-heeled and they’re looking to go out to eat and get a great bottle of wine, both local and international."

Which isn’t to say that San Luis doesn’t have its share of fine restaurants. One look at the winners of the annual New Times "Best of SLO County" awards shows that San Luis has plenty of heavy hitters like Café Roma and the rest, but the big differences between it and Paso are the distinctive natures of each.

San Luis has always been SLO County’s "big city" and its image reflects reality. People come to San Luis for the culture, the university, the Mission, Farmer’s Market, and the cozy downtown. San Luis Obispo is the Central Coast for many, and chefs who want to live and work on the Central Coast come here. But San Luis is not about wine.

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce portrays Arroyo Grande’s Edna Valley wine region as part of SLO Town, but everyone knows it isn’t. Besides, Edna Valley doesn’t have its own enclave where dazzling gourmet entrées and flaming desserts delight the rich and famous who’ve come to dine.

So as little sister Paso heads off to the prom, SLO Town’s marketing mavens may soon be wondering why pretty San Luis is stuck at home. The answer is simple: advertising.

"Twenty to 25 years ago, SLO was the big city," says Stroud.

Paso’s Visitor and Conference Bureau has participated big time in the "Dine California" campaign, has advertised nationwide in all the cool look-see trade magazines and now "we get to celebrate in the course of success begun 15 years ago by the wineries," Stroud says. Æ

Managing editor Meghan Sapp can be reached for comments or story ideas at [email protected].




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