Traveling with Dave Powell is fun on a lot of levels. In addition to the expected wining and dining, there’s always time for cultural excursions. In previous California visits, time has been set aside to experience Venice Beach…
…and commune with the Mastodons at the La Brea Tar Pits:
This visit to California’s central coast was no different. Sunday was the perfect day to engage in a little rest and relaxation. We met up with some of the local winemakers at a new restaurant in the Paso Robles wine country called Farmstand 46.
(caption: Dave, Bill Grant, me, Christian Tietje, Cris Cherry)
Feeling properly rested and relaxed, we headed south for dinner in San Luis Obispo. I think it was fate, rather than by accident that we happened to park close to the entrance to what’s known locally as “Gum Alley”. I’m not sure that it’s high on the list of must-visit cultural attractions on the local Chamber of Commerce’s promotions list, but it was certainly memorable.
No, those aren’t tiles making up the mosaic on both sides of the wall. It’s a little more organic than that, more in keeping with the alley’s name. Given that it had rained heavily a few days previously, let’s just say that it was an incomparable feast for the visual and aromatic senses that will long be remembered.
Dinner at Novo was splendid, made all the more so because we were joined by Torbreck’s central coast distributors John & Lorraine Alban (John also makes some killer Rhône-variety wines in the Edna Valley). After a meeting the next morning in Avila Beach with Vicki and Faith from Hospice du Rhône, we headed down the coast toward the airport, with stops to visit Matt Dees at Jonata Winery, Manfred Krankl at Sine Qua Non, and coffee roaster extraordinaire Gayla Moore. And oh, there was an extraordinary lunch in Santa Barbara at La Super Rica, where I’m pretty sure that we ordered one of every item on the menu.
I would have to say that it was a near-perfect weekend, one of friendship enjoyed between many people over many miles of vinous exploration and dining pleasure.
-Dan Fredman