At the beginning of last October, the Missus and I decided to do yet another roadtrip......this time to Yosemite. We decided to make stops in Paso Robles at both ends of the trip. We were excited to revisit a couple of our favorites, Les Petites Canailles and the Alchemist Garden. I'll keep verbiage to a minimum since I've posted on these places several times already.
We started the evening at Les Petites Canailles and this time were seated indoors. Things were spaced out quite nicely and we felt comfortable with the set-up.
Sadly, the Rabbit Terrine we had enjoyed so much on our previous visit was no longer on the menu.
And overall, this meal did not quite hit all of the "high notes" as the last time we had visited.
Still, LPC makes one of my favorite versions of Beef Tartare, served at the perfect temperature, great balance in flavors and textures.
Still a winnah!
The Spanish Octopus was not quite as good this time around as it was on the the tough side.
I was interested in the pasta dish since the conchiglie, basically shell pasta was made locally by Etto. The texture of the pasta was perfect and it was dressed well. Sadly, the pistachio pesto was way too mild and there just wasn't enough acidity brought on by the sun dried tomato.
We would however, drop by Etto's shop in Tin City on our way back and bought some of their pasta.
The Mushrooms en Persillade with confit egg yolk was fairly good....though it needed a bit more salt and seasoning in our mind.
The Leeks a la Plancha was quite good, as the leeks were nicely charred, bringing out the herbaceous sweetness, the Espelette Pepper added a nice smokiness and just the lightest touch of heat; we actually wished there was more. Loved the mild sweetness, nutty - butteriness, and distinct flavor the pine nuts brought to this dish.....which it surely would have added to the pasta dish.
Overall, I enjoyed this meal more than the Missus (I could have that beef tartare weekly).......I'm not sure we'll be returning here for a while.
Les Petites Canailles
1215 Spring St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Of course our next stop was the Alchemist Garden....it was our third visit and it did not disappoint.
While the Missus got one of the cocktails off the menu......I wanted something custom made....so, I asked for an Old Fashioned, mentioning I like smoky tones....and the Mixologist was off to the races.
He torched some sage and then covered it to get a more smoky flavor and made me an amazing Old Fashioned.
I guess the Missus really wasn't too satisfied with our meal LPC....She ordered some fries; which were pretty good.
Which meant that I could have another cocktail. This time the gentleman had something else up his sleeve. He asked me if I'd ever had a "Clear Old Fashioned"....I told him that I'd heard of it; but had never had one.......so....we were then off to the races!
He explained making the cocktail to me while putting it together. He took his time trying to finds the perfect ice cube; saying that "it had to be clear enough that after stirring a bit, it would be transparent when the cocktail was served"!
He told me that in his opinion Rosemary was the perfect match for this cocktail and set off to smoke some for the drink.
And yes, it's difficult to make out the ice cube when the drink was served.
Man, these folks are artists..........
The Alchemists' Garden
1144 Pine St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446
The next morning; while I went to refuel the car, the Missus went across the street to get us some coffee at Spearhead Coffee.
The Missus got Her pour over and I a cold brew and were we ready to hit the road.
Spearhead Coffee
619 12th St.
Paso Robles, CA 93446
There's something we really enjoy about Paso Robles...the vibe, the people....the sense of humor and artsiness.....
Thanks for stopping by!
glad you were able to get out for a bit
Posted by: kat | Saturday, 19 February 2022 at 06:15 PM
We really needed these roadtrips to stay sane Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 19 February 2022 at 06:18 PM
I was planning on heading to AZ next month for spring training but the whole lockout situation is not looking too good right now. Those leeks look wonderful.
Posted by: Junichi | Monday, 21 February 2022 at 02:48 PM
I hope things straighten out so you're able to make it Junichi!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 21 February 2022 at 03:13 PM