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I’ve always been the type of food lover who craves a certain dish at each of my favorite restaurants. And I am irresistibly drawn back to those places to have them several times. Among my latest faves: the succulent two-day pork at Izakaya RAKU, the addictive Kurobuta pork and noodles at Mee Heng Low, and I’ve always loved the halibut tiradito at Lido. Admittedly, some chefs tell me they wish I would try something new they’re offering. But when my craving sends me running back for another taste, those dishes are the only food that will appease my appetite.
Happily, I can report I’m finding new faves to add to my list in restaurants across SLO County. The latest dish is the delicious grilled lamb riblets with buttermilk onion rings and house-made ketchup chef David McWilliam prepares at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort. Though it’s mid-January, there’s still plenty of time to get to the great restaurants participating in SLO County Restaurant Month. McWilliams will be serving that lamb on his special menu (more details provided below). To view the list of restaurants and, in most cases, see the chef’s prix fixe menu of three courses for $30, go to sanluisobispocounty.com. However, there’s another very special event that takes place in conjunction with Restaurant Month: the Central Coast Americana Festival at the Central Coast Boutique Hotel Collection (CCBHC).
I attended several of these events last year and feasted on delicious treats from the chefs while enjoying the talented local musicians. All five hotels will feature prix fixe dinners ($35 per person), but most don’t charge a cover to enjoy the concert. The event begins Thursday evening at Sea Venture with an Artisan Market and the chefs from all five hotel restaurants serving special food samples that showcase locally grown and produced ingredients. Each of their dishes was created to honor American heritage.
Sea Venture is charging only $10, which includes the “vittles” and music, with wine, beer, and cocktails available for purchase at the bar. Sea Venture has an excellent local wine list with many good choices available by the glass. That night, the Cliffs and Inn at Morro Bay will also feature live music with no cover charge. For the next three nights, each of the five hotels will offer music and the prix fixe menus.
I recently attended a media luncheon (among writers from the other newspapers and magazines) at the Cliffs for a preview of Americana heritage dishes the Boutique Hotel Collection chefs are serving during the event. Several of them were so delicious, like the aforementioned lamb by McWilliam, I plan to visit all of the chefs’ restaurants. The chefs and management began collaborating last September to create three exceptional menus featured at each hotel restaurant.
I found some of the menu selections very appealing. For example, take Chef Treaver Lynch’s crab BLT salad with blue crab, herb mayo, tomato, crisp bacon, and micro lettuces; chef Gregg Wangard’s specialty of panko-fried Shelton Farms chicken with roasted butternut squash, sage brown butter, Bautista Farm arugula, and pickled red onion; the spicy crab cakes with fresh herbs and house-made garlic aioli by chef Stephen Walls of the Apple Farm Inn; chef Anthony Reeves of Inn at Morro Bay came up with a apple and golden raisin stuffed quail with whole grain mustard sauce and pancetta lentils; and chef David McWilliam’s provided one of the desserts, a Mississippi mud pie of chocolate and whipped cream with chocolate sauce. That’s just a small portion of the offerings.
Part of the proceeds from the Americana Festival will be donated to Hospice of San Luis Obispo County Supportive Music Program. You can get details and buy tickets in advance at sloamericanafestival.com or by calling Brooke Mattingley at 556-3306, who can also be reached at [email protected]. I recommend calling the hotel if you want dinner reservations.
This is a well-planned food, art, and music event that offers something for every taste at each of the CCBHC restaurants. You can support a great cause and walk away with memories of a dining experience we food lovers live for, and it’s all offered at value prices.