Savoring the Best of San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo County, Calif., is more than just a stopover between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's also a haven for healthful living and eating. Its rich acres of farmland and scenic coastline stretch along such colorful towns as San Simeon, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Templeton, San Luis Obispo and beyond.
Visitors can sample a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and fresh seafood firsthand from the farms, at the weekly farmers market or at myriad  top-notch restaurants. For years "organic" and "sustainable" have been part of the community's nomenclature. 
    Some 35 vineyards in the county have received "Sustainable in Practice" certification. The requirements are extremely rigid, encompassing a wide range of environment and energy conservation issues as well as the welfare of employees.
    According to Kris O'Connor, executive director of Central Coast Vineyard Team, in 2008, there were only 3,700 acres certified, and now there are up to 11,000 acres with S.I.P certification. Healthy living and eating are an important part of the San Luis Obispo lifestyle.
    The boutique town of Paso Robles, similar to Sonoma or Healdsburg, is a gourmet enclave with a slew of quality restaurants and shops to experience. On my first day in SLO County, I stopped by Di Raimondo's, a popular cheese shop exhibiting approximately 100 kinds of local and international cheeses. The sign overhead contained a saying by Pierce Androuet: "Cheese is the soul of the soil, the purest and most romantic link between humans and earth."
    The Thomas Hill Organics Restaurant has established a name for itself with the creative young French chef, Julie Simon, who changes the menu daily. Owners Debbie and Joe Thomas also run a farm in the east hills of Paso Robles, so many of their organic vegetables and fruits are served from farm to table at their restaurant. The Thin Crust Pizza with Spring Onions, Housemade Ricotta and Grill Meyer Lemons lingered on my palate. I experienced other unusual herb blends in a Tamarind Glazed California Halibut with Coconut Baby Bok Choy, Smoked Shiitake Mushrooms and Garlic Chips.
    The nearby Odyssey World Cafe served up one of the best, most reasonably priced breakfasts anywhere. My Athena Scramble was loaded with roasted eggplant, zucchini and squash, and topped with feta cheese and Greek olives, surrounded by crunchy roasted potatoes.
    While in Paso Robles, I visited the 70-acre Windrose Farm, where Bill and Barbara Spencer diligently sow their 100 percent organic, sustainable heirloom fruits and vegetables. Celebrating its 20th year, the farm produces a wide variety of greens plus 14 varieties of garlic, 10 kinds of potatoes and 45 varieties of apples.
    Barbara, a professional cellist who also works the land, sees farming as an art form.
    "The earth is the canvas with the colors of Mother Nature creating the palette," she said.
     As I strolled through rows of vibrant greenhouses, I tasted the sweetest baby broccoli, crunchiest chard, kale and a delightfully fragrant lemon verbena herb straight from the earth. The average consumer is able to buy the produce here several times a year or more frequently at the local farmers market. 
    Fourth-generation local Melanie Blankenship, owner of Templeton's Nature's Touch, a nursery and gourmet grocery specializing in locally grown and certified-organic produce, plants, meat and herbs, is passionate about her community of farmers, who lean toward sustainable farming practices.
    "I'm not just a grocery store but more a venue where locals work together in providing their own food source," she said. "I try and bring the farmer and the consumer into one location."
    Close by sits the year-old Happy Acres, a goat and dairy farm run by one of the friendliest families in town. Daughter Stephanie Simonin, with her animal science background, oversees the farm of 56 certified-organic acres with lots of tender loving care. Her goats listen to salsa and Christian rock music for relaxation while being milked, and they even have their own nutritionist.
    Adults and children can experience milking one of the farm's 200 goats and afterward follow the hormone-free milk flowing down pipes into a sterilized room with vats where the scrumptious goat cheese is made. I had a quick culinary lesson in mixing my own herbs, olives and sun-dried tomatoes into the fresh cheese and then tasting my own creation. Before I left, I received a ribbon scripted with "I milked my first goat at Happy Acres Family Farm." Goat ice cream, soap and lotion are also available here.
    My next few days were spent exploring the lively college town of San Luis Obispo. A stay at the rustic European Petit Soleil B&B took me back to Provence, with its cobblestone courtyard lined with bicycles and a splash of red color radiating from flower boxes framing the windows. In the morning, I awoke to the sounds of "La Vie en Rose" and a gourmet breakfast prepared with farm-fresh fruit and vegetables.
    Dinner at Novo Restaurant was memorable. Encased in a picture-perfect creek-side setting, draped in vines and umbrellas, Novo has healthful and tasteful down to an art. Owner Robin Covey buys 50 percent of his produce locally at the weekly farmers market, a feast and celebration of nature that happens every Thursday evening all along the main thoroughfare of Higuera Street. The more than 120 vendors are situated just a few blocks from one of the country's first solar-powered movie theaters.
    Restaurateur Charles Meyer of the popular Big Sky Cafe is also an avid supporter of fresh-farm ingredients in the establishment's savory scrambles and hearty fruit bowls. Patty and Bill Carpenter, owners of Corner View Restaurant and Bar take pride in buying lots of local wines, fish, bread, some meats and produce.
    "We try to buy organic when we can," Patty said, "but it can get costly for restaurants and farmers to go totally organic."

    A perfect example of SLO's community of restaurateurs and farmers working in partnership will be demonstrated at Pallet to Palate, a culinary event slated for Sept. 19 and 20.  P2P's main purpose is to broaden awareness of the impact that the area's local food has on the community's well-being.
IF YOU GO
    For general information: San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau, www.sanluisobispocounty.com, 800-634-1414
    Where to eat:
    Thomas Hill Organics, 1305 Park St., Paso Robles, www.thomashillorganics.com, 805-226-5888
    Odyssey World Cafe, 1214 Pine St., Paso Robles, www.odysseyworldcafe.com, 805-237-7516
    McPhee's Grill, 416 S. Main St., Templeton, www.mcphees.com, 805-434-3204
    Big Sky Cafe, 1121 Broad St., San Luis Obispo, www.bigskycafe.com, 805-545-5401
    Corner View Restaurant, 1141 Chorro St., San Luis Obispo, www.cornerviewrestaurant.com, 805-546-8444
    Novo Restaurant, 726 Higuera, San Luis Obispo, www.novorestaurant.com, 805-543-3986
    Where to stay:
    Hotel Cheval, 1021 Pine St., Paso Robles, www.hotelcheval.com, 805-226-9995
    Petit Soleil, 1473 Montgomery St., San Luis Obispo, www.petitsoleilslo.com, 800-676-1588
    What to do:
    Happy Acres Family Farm, 1955 Templeton Road, Templeton, www.happyacresfamilyfarm.net, 805-434-7580
    For fresh produce:
    Nature's Touch, 222 S. Main St., Templeton, www.ntnah.com, 805-434-3062
    Windrose Farm, 5750 El Pharo Drive, Paso Robles, www.windrosefarm.org, 805-239-3757
    We Olive, 958 Higuera St., San Luis Obispo, www.weolive.com
    Farmers Market, every Thursday night in downtown San Luis Obispo, from 6 to 9 p.m.

    Beverly Mann is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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