California Food and Wine Blog

Thank you Travelzoo for another great deal on the central coast; 3-course meal dinner for two with wine and coffee at a cute Italian restaurant in Morro Bay, Ca – Giancarlo’s

We entered the restaurant to a friendly crowd with a wrap-around bar integrated into the kitchen and the dining area adjacent on the left. We were greeted by confused waiters and waitresses not accustomed to the busy night due in large part to the travelzoo vouchers that were expiring that week. We were asked to wait while they found our reservation and table, and a short time later a waitress hollered at us from across the room and pointed to a small table by the far wall. We laughed and awkwardly made it to our table and seated ourselves.

The special menu was not written down but instead memorized by the waiter which made for an interesting recital of about 30 options for appetizers and entrees.

We chose the recommended Mussles and Mushroom Polenta – both were very good and quite filling. The mushrooms in truffle oil were mouth-watering and the mussles were quite hearty.

Cozze mediterraneo  
mediterranean style roasted 1 lb of mussels – lemon – garlic – olive oil – tomato – basil

Crostini di polenta ai funghi  
Crispy polenta topped with a mix of mushrooms drizzled with truffle oil

For our entrees I ordered the Crab Ciopinot and Nathan ordered the flank steak – both options from the travelzoo special not on the regular menu. There was some confusion with silverware and utensils for the crab which made for some messy eating, but the flavors of the ciopinot and the succulant scallops were worth the struggle. I ordered an oaky chardonnay which paired wonderfully with the rich fish and breads.

Crab Ciopinot

Nathan enjoyed his flank steak very on the rare side, but I found it a bit bland. His waiter recommended a Pinot Noir and exclaimed that ‘If you don’t like it I promise to drink it!’ It was a little young and not the best recommendation, but Nathan kept it and didn’t take him up on his offer.

Flank Steak

Just for kicks we ordered a couple shots of Grappa which was quite the experience

Grappa!

and saved room for dessert ordering a chocolate souffle a la mode. We sipped our coffee and waited for dessert but the check came first and 20 minutes later when they were wishing us a goodnight we realized they’d forgotten our dessert and then found out they were out of it anyway. Instead we got a rich 3-layer ice cream with cake and chocolate mixed into it. Silverware again came 5 minutes after the dessert, but the dessert was quite good and we did our best not to lick the plate.

As we left the restaurant we got friendly goodbyes and thank yous from everyone behind the bar and kitchen, and our waiter was very friendly and wished us a good night.

The service and flow of dinner was definitely shakey but it sounds like it was due in large part to the inexperience at handling such large guest traffic or preparation for specialty menus. The pricing was reasonable with about $15-$25/entree and with our travelzoo deal we saved over $50 in wine and great food.

Taste: 4.5/5

Value: 4/5

Service 2.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

Sweet hazelnut flavor is very nice on top of the already nutty brown ale flavors. However the sweetness is overpowering of the malt and hops. I’d say pass on this beer unless your a real fan of hazelnut.

For lunch in Paso stopped by Downtown Brew for the buy 2 get one 1/2 off entre. (with 2 beverages). We each ordered a wrap. I got the Club wrap and unfortunately my tortilla tasted a bit old and hard, but otherwise was good and came with a very refreshing salad.

I also got their blueberry ale that I’ve heard differing things about, but whatever they’ve done to their new recipe is awesome. It was pretty entertaining just to watch the blueberries float up and down, but the taste was also just the slightest bit fruity but overall very light and tasty.

Good lunch and very affordable.

For our date night we visited the restaurant that has won Best of SLO several years in a row.

We made a reservation and headed to the patio where we were seated at a lovely table right alongside the creek. It was moderately slow that night but it was also a weekday.

We spent a while discussing why they would offer both Tappas and Appetizers on the menu and what the difference was. And then finally we had our waiter clear it up by basically saying they think their customers are too dumb to realize they’re the same thing so they just have both and overprice the Tapas. We ordered potato samosas as an appetizer and it was pretty unique. The texture was a bit off but flavor was spot on.

Our cocktails were strong and full of spice, definitely a drink you sip slowly throughout the dinner which worked out well.

I had been advised to get the mole and Nathan had wanted the spicy chicken something, but the waitor informed us both those items had been discountinued possibly permanently despite being a local favorite. A bit odd but we’ll see if it comes back after the season.I ordered the thai red curry and Nathan got the Chow Novo. Both had great spice though I definitely think the Thai Red Curry was the better way to go.

We finished off the evening with a dual icecream platter of coffee and chocolate. It was very good and couldn’t snag a picture before it was all gone. Sorry. But good.