Our annual Winter trip to Morro Bay was a near-nightmare for the first 18 hours or so (a disappointing dinner at a restaurant that I enjoyed last yr and then a blow out w/ an AirBnB host resulting in my cancelling our 3 night reservation after 1 night and moving in a few hrs later to a conventional hotel.
While waiting to check in to the new place, we tried Dockside Two. I had always avoided it previously b/c it is SO busy that I thought it’d be lousy, but I thought we might as well go this year…
It actually tasted pretty good. Not the crispiest batter on the calamari, but wonderfully tender pieces. Nice smoky char on the scallops. Shrimp cocktail was not terribly impressive (and had salsa; partner is fairly sure he didn’t order the ceviche).
Then walked across the street, only to discover that Le Parisienne Bakery didn’t have any of my beloved macaroons that day!!! Never one to give up easily, I called the following day (yesterday), and they had plenty available. 
Woo-hoo! Just as fantastic as always.
Decided to try another Mexican restaurant (which was very close to our new hotel), La Katrina. Decor is Day of the Dead meets a gift shop inside of a hair salon inside of a circus:
I assume that the menu offering an add of cow’s feet to the menudo is a sign of legitimacy? I’m sure someone will let us know
Great chips and salsa. Partner though the dishes needed more intense flavors. I do agree that the flavor were quite muted, but there was something very “clean” about the flavors that I thought was a bit refined. I enjoyed it and would go back.
Didn’t try the food at Three Stacks and a Rock (brewery), but there is something very tempting about the menu. Wish I had taken the pic of the menu b/c I hadn’t realized until now that they don’t have it obviously posted anywhere (but they did have esquites on the menu, although w/ an array of specialty hot dogs).
Friend had recommend Corazon Cafe in SLO. Smelled delicious upon entering. I asked the cashier if he preferred the sweet-corn tamale special or the corn dobladitas. Without hesitating, he responded that he preferred the dobladitas:
DELICIOUS!!! Chock full of well-seasoned ?sauteed veg. The cheese was marvelously flavorful, and I’m pretty sure the corn tortilla on its own was tasty, too (hard to try to get tortilla by itself in this in this dish). If this were nearby, I’d be eating is multiple times per month. I really liked the vibe of the place, too.
Tried The Flour House, since @butteredwaffles mentioned considering the place awhile ago. 20 min wait for a table shortly after opening, so we sat at the bar. They also seemed to have a large and very pleasant covered patio in the back. Didn’t take a pic of the pizza oven, which is gorgeous.
Just lovely. Tomato sauce was very light and nice blend of sweet and tart. Pesto was VERY intense. Great chew on the crust.
The cake is provided by the store of an apparently famed Italian baker (it’s on the menu). I’m generally not a dessert person, but this was FABULOUS. Like a drier and maybe slight less rich version of a Ferrero Rocher.
Well worth a visit.
I had hoped to hit Helena Bakery in Santa Barbara on the way up b/c it had received a good review here, but we hit heavy traffic and wouldn’t have made it prior to closing. So we stopped on the way back.
As we stood in line, I was like, "We’ve been here b/f… " Yup, I think we had been there 2 yrs ago and didn’t remember! My vague memory is that they had basically sold out of everything interesting by the time we had arrived (I don’t even have any pics from that meal on my phone).
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We also also little baby possum near the bakery’s door; he seemed like he had been separated from his family. He scurried away at some point; hope he found them.
We had a mini feast today. Great shatter on the croissant (although perhaps a bit too much chocolate inside for my taste). Mushroom toast incredible, great dressing on the veg wrap, FANTASTICALLY seasoned chips, and the biscuit (+ butter and what I think was apple puree?) was SO, SO good.
