An Afternoon of Epicurean Delights

The Chapman House

The Community Action Partnerships of San Luis Obispo or CAPSLO Health and prevention division provides health and medical services for underprivileged and low income, men, women, children and families in our community. Every year for the last 26 years they have put on an annual charity food and wine event called Afternoon of Epicurean Delights. It took place this year at the stunningly iconic and historic Chapman House – a Tudor style mansion in Shell Beach overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

Arts and Draughts, and a Kegger…

BEERFEST

The 27th annual California Festival of Beers is one of the largest and oldest beer festivals in California. Dozens of breweries from around the country and the world converge on San Luis Obispo to introduce and pay tribute to beers, ales, lagers and stouts. This event had humble beginnings starting in the back parking lot of a local pub and growing into an institution well-known to the locals as Beerfest, and which garners 3000+ attendees. The California Festival of Beers is put on annually to benefit Hospice SLO, a local, volunteer grief counseling and non-profit association that has been providing compassionate care and helping those dealing with grief since 1977.

Trolling for Dogfish Head

Dogfish Head

So as I mentioned in my blog post 99 taps of beer on the wall , since I wasn’t able to include with proper reverence the final day of American Craft Beer Week held at The Libertine Pub in Morro Bay for the Dogfish Head tap takeover, I am, as promised, following it up. With the tag line “Off-centered Ales for off-centered people” (a category I proudly fall into) Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales are in my opinion some of the most unique and interesting ale-based concoctions in the marketplace today – and they have definitely proven to be an unconventional brewery.

99 taps of beer on the wall

1 week, many beers!

As a blogger and very fortunate member of the ShareSLO2013 “street team” I was lucky enough to garner an invite to attend San Luis Obispo’s American Craft Beer Week.  Normally it is a week-long national celebration of craft beer, the definition of which is small, independently-owned commercial breweries, some you may have heard of like Sierra Nevada or Lagunitas, others you may have not like Lost Abbey and The Bruery. The San Luis Obispo event however kicked off on May 11th for 9 glorious beer-filled days and I was going to do my very best to go to as many events as possible! After all how could I report back if I didn’t dive head first into the brew? For you my friends I have made this sacrifice. I will say there was a lot of beer and a lot of tasting/drinking so to discuss every beer I ingested would put the encyclopedia Brittanica to shame. Though it’s still going to be a long post (the event was a week long after all), I’m focusing mainly on the beers I really liked. So grab a brewski and sit down for a good long read!

It Takes a Lot of Beer to Make a Bottle of Wine!

Find us wearing this shirt, and we may buy you a drink.

Calling all Beer Lovers!

Starting this weekend is San Luis Obispo’s own celebration of American Craft Beer Week. Come sample some of the rarest and best beers in the world here in our own back yard and compare tasting notes (yes we do that with beer too) with your #ShareSLO Street Team compatriots. You’re sure to see lots of our winemaker friends there as well – after all, as they say:

“It takes a lot of beer to make a bottle of wine.”

The complete schedule is below. Warning: it’s long! But that’s a good thing, right? Let us know where you’ll be and we’ll keep an eye out for you. We’ll even buy a beer for the first person to come up and introduce themselves for every event we’re at.

Farmers, Winemakers and Chocolatiers, Oh MY!!!

Every year the city of Pismo Beach has the Taste of Pismo, a food and wine event sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Wine Country Association. The kick off party this year was Farmfest, a meet and greet with our local Farmers, Winemakers, Chocolatiers, Chefs and more all overlooking the ocean at Dinosaur Caves Park. Getting a ticket included wine tasting and food samples prepared by the various producers and talented Chefs.

So, this elephant walks into a bar…

Amarula and the pachyderms 

The story goes, that the fruit of the Marula (Sclerocarya birrea) tree or sometimes called the “elephant tree” in South Africa is a favorite food of the elephants. And when the fruit drops from the tree onto the ground, as it ferments the elephants can’t resist eating them, which in turn naturally gets them drunk! Now of course this conjures up images of a drunken Dumbo and Pink Elephants on Parade.  There is a controversy over whether the rumors to the many historical and modern tales of these intoxicated pachyderms is actually true. People say they’ve personally witnessed it but biologists and zoologists say the claims aren’t biochemically possible. Whether you believe it or not, the visual is too hilarious.

Food Experiment #1: Curry Salmon, Chevre and Onion Toast

So since we don’t eat out ALL the time, I figured it was time to let you in on the little experiments I do around the house. It’s a well-known fact to my friends that I love to cook. It’s a creative outlet for me, and a stress reliever. When you’re cooking, you’re not thinking about work. You’re working on not burning yourself or cutting off a digit. You’re inventing and get to enjoy your invention immediately.

When you come to eat at my house, you’re not going to get something ordinary. Usually, as I do with my family, I whip up something from whatever is at the house. Sometimes I’ll have a vague idea of what we have and pick up an ingredient or two, but this is all part of the creativity and fun. Oftentimes, these experiences turn out super good. I have one cooking right now. So I figured I’d document what I came home to, what I came up with, shoot a quick pic, and let you know how it turned out. Deal?

Sake to ME!

Sake tasting at Raku

I have had this post in my queue for months now, waiting to be written. But I simply won’t write a blog on something I don’t know about or reasonably understand. So I felt even though I love it, writing a blog on Sake without true knowledge of the process or giving it its proper reverence and respect would be a disservice, not only to you and me but to the culture of Sake itself. After much research, talking on multiple occasions to experts in the field, and attending a BRILLIANTLY paired and presented Sake tasting event at Raku I think I am now finally somewhat qualified to wade into the shallow end of Sake-dom.

One Giant Plate with A Little Something for Everyone

The Magical Mystery Plate

One of the first places my wife and I discovered when we were seeking fine dining with a Central Coast flair was the SeaVenture Restaurant on the third floor of a hotel sitting on the sand of Pismo Beach. There are a few places like this up and down the coast, but the SeaVenture has a special charm of its own that sets it apart. It’s not trying to be a modern day metal and glass monstrosity. It’s intimate and decidedly loungy feeling with what look like hand-carved blocks of marble in the entryway exhibiting an old craftsmanship we don’t see in many newer restaurants. Some of our best times have been long leisurely meals watching stunning sunsets or migrating whales, but this is also a destination when we just want to class it up for an evening and grab some light bites and drinks. There is one dish that is our defacto for these missions.