Paso Robles Harvest Wine Tour This Weekend!

[syrah girl]

We are excited about attending this fun event in Paso Robles this weekend. Justin, Dover Creek, Zenaida, Tablas Creek, Hunt Cellars and Doce Robles are a few places we hope to get to.

We've been to Buena Tavola in Paso and enjoyed it, I was wondering if anyone has been to Villa Creek lately? McPhee's in Templeton is another consideration, but we want something a little formal.

We spent 2 hours at a local vineyard yesterday picking grapes for our Alicante Bouschet and did our "crush" last night. It put us in the mood for this great event in Paso!

[Carlsbad]

We had a very nice dinner at Villa Creek in July. The menu had some interesting things on it, the food was fresh and well-prepared, and the service was enthusiatic. The wine list had some good local choices. We ate on the pretty patio, but the inside was very pleasant as well.

Edited October 18, 2006 by Carlsbad (log)

[dockhl]

Yes, good.

Don't forget Four Vines. My daughter pours in their tasting room on weekends. Good stuff !

[Jojomek]

Villa Creek is a really nice spot. Very good wine list, solid food, good service. It's one of the better restaurants (maybe the best) I've been to on the Central Coast. I'd recommend it, although I don't know if I'd really call it "formal."

[syrah girl]

Thanks so much for the replies, sounds like good, solid choice. I have added 4 Vines to our list. We are mainly interested in tasting Zins and Merlots this trip. Paso is a prime region for these wines. Cheers and keep the comments on Villa Creek coming!

[Raoul Duke]

Bistro Laurent is a slightly more formal place than Villa Creek. They are on line as well. Interesting menu, good wine list, reasonable prices and warm ambience. If you go I'd be interested in your opinion as a reality check. Raoul

[syrah girl]

That was our first choice, but they will be closed on the day we will be there. I thought their menu online sounded really great, also.

[Narcissus]

A new restaurant opened up across the street from Panolivo. It is called Artisan, and we stumbled across it driving home from the Santa Barbara Harvest Festival (rained, btw).

Artisan is very new, less than a month old. The chef's name is Kobayashi, and he worked at Asia de Cuba in SF, and at Brix in napa, and if I remember correctly, he is pastry-centric. We had lunch at the bar sunday afternoon, and the other owner, the chef's brother Michael, took care of us.

I had the Local Cod fish and chips, my bride the burger. The chips on both plates were shoestrings, and came with housemade ketchup. The fish was wonderful, light, cooked correctly, and flavorful. I would have liked more traditional chips. The burger was fine, and after an early afternoon of wine tasting, hit the spot. It absorbed those 16.6% zins.

I have not tried anything else, so this recommendation is for those that want to experiment and report back.

We did love the 8 Layer chocolate cake with Guinness ice cream.

We hit 3 wineries before lunch: Garretson Wines, Orchid Hill, and Hug.

Artisan Restaurant

edited to stay on topic:

Our first choice was anything with Mole at Villa Creek, but they are closed sunday lunch. They open at 5pm. We've eaten there before, and loved it. Nothing like the Buffalo Ribeye with Villa Creek Garnacha.

Edited October 19, 2006 by Narcissus (log)

[dockhl]

A new restaurant opened up across the street from Panolivo. It is called Artisan, and we stumbled across it driving home from the Santa Barbara Harvest Festival (rained, btw).

Artisan is very new, less than a month old.  The chef's  name is Kobayashi, and he worked at Asia de Cuba in SF, and at Brix in napa, and if I remember correctly, he is pastry-centric. We had lunch at the bar sunday afternoon, and the other owner, the chef's brother Michael, took care of us.

I had the Local Cod fish and chips, my bride the burger. The chips on both plates were shoestrings, and came with housemade ketchup. The fish was wonderful, light, cooked correctly, and flavorful. I would have liked more traditional chips. The burger was fine, and after an early afternoon of wine tasting, hit the spot. It absorbed those 16.6% zins.

I have not tried anything else, so this recommendation is for those that want to experiment and report back.

We did love the 8 Layer chocolate cake with Guinness ice cream.

We hit 3 wineries before lunch: Garretson Wines, Orchid Hill, and Hug.

Artisan Restaurant

edited to stay on topic:

Our first choice was anything with Mole at Villa Creek, but they are closed sunday lunch. They open at 5pm. We've eaten there before, and loved it. Nothing like the Buffalo Ribeye with Villa Creek Garnacha.

←

Cool ! I live in Paso and didn't know. We'll need to try it this weekend; looks good.

[Raoul Duke]

Just in case you're adventureous, the Longbranch Saloon is serving breakfast Sat & Sun. in downtown Creston.

[syrah girl]

After a fantastic day of touring 10 Paso Robles wineries, we hit Villa Creek for a 5:30 dinner reservation. The majoirty of the wineries and tasting rooms we visited had really yummy snacks and munchies set out. Dover Canyon had some really great Grilled Lamb that we loved and Bianchi had some killer Spicy Meatballs in a really Smokey BBQ sauce that we devoured!

All started out well at Villa Creek. We were promptly seated, I had made ressies on OpenTable. We were first served some really good warm, housemade tortillas with a Salsa that was fresh and full of flavor.

We then shared a bowl of the Sweet Corn Chowder with Applewood Bacon that was very good. Next we shared the Baked Goat Cheese with Organic Greens Salad that was perfect. Then we kind of hit a slump in the service and quality of the food from there.

It took 30 minutes for our entrees to arrive, we decided on the Quail that our waitress recommended from the nightly specials. Big mistake, the entree arrived and did not look that great. Quail on a bed of rice, one fig on the side and cauliflower. No presentation whatsoever. The quail was tasteless and everything was just very uneventful. We did not care for our entree at all. When we complained to the waitress, she didn't really seem to care. The place was VERY busy and there was a large group in the adjacent room.

Dessert was the Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse. The cake tasted very stale, also but the Chocolate Mousse was perfectly prepared. Then we were over-charged by $10 for our entrees. My husband said he will not return here ever again. The Squash Enchiladas with Creme Fraiche looked very good coming out from the kitchen and the Tenderloin also looked good.

Our dinner here was a little over 2 hours long. Service was not that great, either. Next time we will try Bistro Laurent which is across the street from Villa Creek. Cheers!