Eating in Pismo

You all knew this was coming. My obsession with overeating while on vacation never ceases. 

SUNDAY

First stop: Mo's Smokehouse BBQ

Nick and I ordered the same thing, so this one's easy. Behold the Virginia BBQ shredded pork sandwich topped with fresh coleslaw and served with a side of BBQ beans and a special order of Kruk's homemade potato chips. Everything was ridiculously fantastic. Nick is a BBQ connoisseur and very critical of BBQ. If he says it's good, it's good. Mo's also has four different BBQ sauces: original, hot, philthy phils (Georgia style), and sweet carolinas (sweet southern style). My favorite was philthy phils and hot was a close second.      

Next up: Giuseppe's Deli, Pizza and Gelato (part of Giuseppe's Cucina Italiana)

Because we had a late lunch at Mo's, we were too full for dinner. At some point that evening, though, we wanted dessert. Gelato at Giuseppe's seemed like a good bet since we can both testify to its deliciousness and since nothing else was open Sunday night. So off we went and once we got there we saw there was no way we could ignore their pizza. We both had a slice of cheese pizza, and it was delightful. It was perfectly cheesy with great sauce and a thinish crust. For dessert, Nick ordered mint and chip gelato and I had mascarpone cheesecake. I highly recommend both. Their cheesecake is very rich, so if you can't hang with that then stick to the gelato or one of their other desserts like carrot cake.  

MONDAY
First stop: Penny's All American Cafe

Breakfast, dear breakfast, how I love you so. I could eat breakfast three times a day. Yes, I am one of those people who could eat bacon and eggs for dinner. What? When I was at Penny's I had me some biscuits and gravy with eggs over medium and bacon. I didn't even ask for my bacon crispy, but that's the way they serve it and that's exactly the way I like it. Nick ordered french toast and a side of biscuits and gravy. Please don't judge him for ordering a weird combination. He was very embarrassed, but I told him to go for it. And the orange juice was freshly squeezed or at least that's what my taste buds told me. It tasted like it was freshly squeezed and it looked like it too. Do you see that orange color? That is not enhanced, people.

Lunch: Splash Cafe

You've heard me talk about Splash Cafe before. That was about the murals, though, and this here is about the food. It's good. I had their thick (but not too thick) and creamy clam chowder in a bread bowl.  This is a sourdough bread bowl and it was toasted to perfection. Note: Nick says it was not sourdough, but I can't find anything to support his wild-ass claim. If someone can take a side, please do! Nick had just a cup of clam chowder, we each had a fish taco, and split an order of fried clam strips. The fish taco was ginormous, so I only had room for, like, 1 fried clam strip. They were OK. The fried clam strips, that is. The fish taco was very tasty. As you can see it has tomatoes, a green leafy lettuce of some sort, cheese, sauce, and delicious fried cod (I think).

Dessert: The Custom House

We had another late lunch, so we primarily wanted dessert for dinner. My hairstylist recommended The Custom House in Avila Beach and their dessert menu looked scrumptious, so it was easy to decide where to go. We split two desserts: chocolate lava cake and hot apple wrap. The chocolate lava cake was warm, moist, and chocolately. It had gooey fudge in the center and paired nicely with their vanilla ice cream. And then there was the hot apple wrap. This photo does not do it justice. The description on the menu states, "Homemade wraps of granny apples and cheesecake in a flour tortilla. Lightly deep fried, rolled in cinnamon and sugar..." It was so good; the cinnamon, the sugar, the apple mixture was like no other. You know how some apple pie can have a gelatinous filling? This wasn't like that at all. It was more like a chunky, blended mush - which doesn't sound appetizing, but I lack the proper culinary vocabulary to describe it - of apples and cheesecake. My point: not gelatinous.

TUESDAY
Lunch: Zorro's Cafe & Cantina

Our kayaking trip was scheduled so early in the morning we didn't have time for breakfast. So after we went kayaking we went back to the hotel, got fancied up, and then biked to Zorro's for lunch. Zorro's is in Shell Beach near Central Coast Kayaks and that is how we learned about it. I had a chicken tostada and ate every last bite of it. It's really hard for me to dislike Mexican food, so take my recommendation for what you will. You definitely can't go wrong with a heaping scoop of sour cream, though. Nick ordered a combo plate with a cheese enchilada, tamale, and chicken taco. I sampled his enchilada (good) and his beans and rice (also good). I'd be more than happy to visit Zorro's again if we ever go back to Pismo (almost certain).  

Afternoon delight (yes, I know what that really means, but this should be the real definition): Old West Cinnamon Rolls

Before frosting. After frosting. Fresh out the oven. Need I say more? 

Anniversary dinner: Cracked Crab

On the night of our anniversary Nick and I did something very romantic. We shared a Big Bucket for Two. Our bucket of romance came with opilio crab, dungeness crab, shrimp, sausage, red potatoes, and corn on the cob. It was good. Behold the before and after shots below. Anything dipped in melted butter is good, though. I even dipped my red potatoes in the butter. My arteries are still thanking me.

Eating at Cracked Crab brings back some memories. We ate here the night after we got married. There's a bit of a secret that goes along with this, so congratulations to you for reading this far into the post. You're in for a treat. 

The day after we got married I came down with a raging bladder infection. Like a peeing blood, feeling like you're going to give birth to your bladder type of bladder infection. Being a professional bladder infection getter, I knew I needed some antibiotics stat. Clearly I was far from my regular doctor, so I went to the ER. I ended up with some antibiotics and a prescription that numbs your nether regions and turns your pee bright orange. Fun!

Later that evening, Nick and I went to Cracked Crab with Nick's parents and some good friends. From the time I left the ER through dinner I was chugging water like a mad woman. At some point during dinner I excused myself to use the restroom only to find that someone had beat me to it. As I waited for the restroom door to open I tried to do a discreet pee-pee dance. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, propped myself against a table, did an Irish jig... you know, the inconspicuous stuff. I did everything but contort my body into a pretzel to will my urge to pee all over the hallway in Cracked Crab away. You know if you've ever had a bladder infection that you MUST pee every two seconds and if you're pounding water then you're cutting that frequency in half. After eons had passed a lady exited the restroom. She was lucky because had she walked out a minute later she would have seen a 27-year old chick holding her inappropriates like a panic stricken kindergartner.

I sprinted into the bathroom and before I could pull down my jeans and unmentionables I started peeing! In my pants! At a restaurant! Damn that water and those numbing meds. I was able to get it together and empty the rest of my flourescent pee into the toilet, but I ended up with a nice, noticeable wet spot on the backside of my jeans. Luckily, LUCKILY, I was wearing a cardigan and you know it went right around my waist. I sat there for the rest of the dinner in my wet jeans with a sweater around my waist keeping a secret that I had just peed my pants.