Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy 
i'll second the rec for big sky in slo. love that place. mr. atlas, is old port inn any good in avila beach? i used to go there a lot, but that was 10-15 years ago. the area has changed a lot since then. I agree generally about the quality of wines from edna valley v. central coast, but the santa rita hills area (just around buellton) is pretty cool (and a great, pretty reasonably priced local wine list). there's also hitching post II there. if you want a taste of REAL california, stop for a steak at the original hitching post in casmalia or Jocko's in Nipomo
i'll second the rec for big sky in slo. love that place. mr. atlas, is old port inn any good in avila beach? i used to go there a lot, but that was 10-15 years ago. the area has changed a lot since then. I agree generally about the quality of wines from edna valley v. central coast, but the santa rita hills area (just around buellton) is pretty cool (and a great, pretty reasonably priced local wine list). there's also hitching post II there. if you want a taste of REAL california, stop for a steak at the original hitching post in casmalia or Jocko's in Nipomo
Old Port Inn is fun but the food doesn't really rise to the occasion. Pete's Pierside (the fish shack next door to Old Port Inn) is every bit as good and costs about 25% less. That area certainly has changed a lot - the entire town of Avila was demolished and rebuilt!
Since we're coming down from San Francisco we rarely go any further south than Santa Maria, but I'll keep an eye out for those wines from Santa Rita Hills.
