One thing Pat and I both agree on, is we need to take more vacations. Even if just for a few days. We had talked about heading up to Paso for a Thur-Sunday then decided to tac on one more day and do Wed-Sun. I mean Sunday doesn't even count because we're just driving home right?! Now that Pat is more into wine and way into food, this trip was even better. We booked an airbnb that had a fully stocked kitchen in Templeton and it was just perfect. The only bad thing, was there was a dog next door that barked so much and kept trying to get to Poe, so we couldn't let Poe wander the yard like we would have liked and I never got to sleep past 5:30 am since a rooster and that dog started in. Le sigh. Other than that everything was fucking great!
We headed out around 9 or 10 on Wed morning, trying to navigate through the horrid LA traffic. We stopped at this great place in Calabasas called
The Six. It was awesome! We were the 1st ones there when it opened and had the patio to ourselves. Our waiter was fantastic and the food was amazing! Pat got Pork Belly Tacos and I got Short Rib Tacos. WOW!
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| Poe was very pleased |
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| Street Tacos to a new level! |
We arrived at the bnb and got settled in. Here's some pictures of where we stayed. Called "The Hideway" in Templeton.
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| View from the front door |
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| Loved these little garden boxes |
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| Obvi she's a cook |
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| This was a giant acorn tree. It dropped huge friggin acorns that were slightly terrifying at times. LOL |
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| I wanted to steal this |
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| A lot of artwork around. Some apparently by her brother! |
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| Just cute little things like this everywhere. My mom would love this place |
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| So curious what's in here. LOL |
We headed out to a local place called Pier 46 Seafood that was decent, picked up some groceries then just chilled in the backyard.
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So happy to be here finally!
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The next morning we were going to take a hike, but the trail Pat found didn't really end up being a trail but rather a street through a really pretty area. Lots of gorgeous houses and beautiful scenery but def not a trail.
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| This woman had the coolest dishwater |
Then off to our 1st winery. We wanted to go to
Austin Hope. We had tried their wine and really wanted to check it out. One of our favorite tastings! It was a sit down, they greeted us with a splash of Rose as we walked up and accommodated us with Poe even though we didn't have a reservation. Travis was our fellow, and he was super knowledgeable about the wines and the history of Austin Hope. I found it all really interesting. We were seated in little make shift cabanas and it was so private and lovely. They even gave Poe a cookie!
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| Really cool tasting bar inside |
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| Waiting for our table with our splash of Rose |
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| Chilling in our cute little "cabana" |
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| Poe got a cookie! |
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| Our view |
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| Poe was tuckered |
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| Also contemplating life sometimes |
We were planning on doing dinner out, so we just wanted to grab a snack somewhere and maybe do another tasting or have a glass. We landed back at Tooth and Nail, where we've been before, and shared a board. Sadly we won't be coming back though. We felt a little dismissed and I feel like I didn't love it last time either. Plus the board was not worth the money.
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| Where's the meat!? |
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| Poe on a moat |
Then we were off to downtown to have dinner at
Fish Gaucho. We've been hearing about this place, and the reviews are great, and it did not disappoint! The food was delicious! Our waitress was very cool, and they even sat us when we got there 30 min before our reservation. We had planned on wandering downtown a bit but most the stores and things were closed. So we were thrilled when they were like come on in! Pat got a halibut that was cooked perfectly and a deconstructed elote. I got the mango fish tacos. They were messy as hell but so worth it. Everything was so good!!!
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| Pat's been watching the show BBQ Brawl so I got the whole story of what this type of BBQ this was. |
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| Not us Sir |
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| We also started with this Ahi Crudo. This doesn't look like a Crudo to me but holy crap was it delicious!! So citrusy and flavorful |
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| My Mango Tacos |
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| Halibut with Deconstructed Elote |
Then home to just chill. I did grab a quick cache that was around the corner from the house.
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| Poe had his 1st experience with a squirrel. I didn't realized he'd actually never really encountered them. LOL |
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| The view of the bnb from our chairs |
Day 3 we took a walk at this trail we spotted off the road near our place. You could walk there from our place and it looked really pretty. It certainly was, but it was super short. So we had a nice quick pretty walk before we headed out.
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| I'd walk this every damn day. I'd also hide a cache here.... |
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| Ooooo a tire swing! |
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| Poe just loves his sticks |
Then was our epic lunch at
Justin Winery. I'd read the food there is amazing. They have a really fancy 3 hour dinner experience, which we couldn't do this time, but I wanted to try the lunch. I knew it would be good and it was! They do have a Michelin Star, and I'm not sure if the chef for lunch is the same for dinner, but it was damn good! I had the special they had for the day which was probably the most perfectly cooked salmon I've ever had. It had a zucchini relish and a puree. My GAWD. Pat had an English Ravioli that was so light and yummy. Then we did a chocolate dessert with a bunch of little truffles. Oh. My. God. They were 1st of all so damn pretty! But oh so good!!!!
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| Poe was cool with it |
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| Pat's light English Ravioli |
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| The Salmon Special |
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| This. THIS WAS EPIC. 1st was a passionfruit, 2nd was a strawberry/basil (you tasted the basil!), 3rd - both our favorite - dark chocolate with sea salt carmel, 4th a dark chocolate truffle and last was a dark chocolate hazelnut. Seriously I almost died |
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| I mean...HEAVEN |
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| Family Portrait in the Pretty! |
We then headed off to
Sculpterra which is always a fave and had a glass and played some bocce ball.
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| I had to snap a shot driving - this was all over. The drives around here can be so beautiful!!!! |
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| Poe liked Sculpterra |
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I really wanted to get wine here for the label cuz it's that rad cat, but we didn't.
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We wanted to hit one more winery before heading back, but were getting close to when most closed. We tried one, but they only had a shitty patio in like a parking lot (So FYI don't bother with Broken Earth unless you want to sit inside), so we didn't stay and finally said - well
Tobin James is nearby. It's more of like a bar scene but they allowed dogs and we knew it was fun. They let us inside at the bar, which was so lovely. We did a tasting and they even took a picture of Poe and posted him on their "Dogs of Tobin James" page!
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| Poe's famous! |
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| He was also done |
After this we swung by the store and Pat grabbed what he needed to make us one of our now favorites - Steak Sandwiches with Jalapeño Aoli
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| Waiting for dad in the parking lot |
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| One of Pat's best dishes! |
Next morning we had leftover steak for breakfast, were just relaxing when I thought "The farmers market!" We both forgot we wanted to check that out, so we quickly grabbed the pup and headed over. What a great market! It so reminded me of a little tiny town you see in the movies. So many people seemed to know each other, the vendors were so chill and the selection was awesome. One of the biggest markets I've ever seen. I teased Pat that this was basically a "Mystery Box Challenge"...(those of you who know Master Chef will know what I'm talking about) and he wandered around and grabbed some stuff for dinner. He was winging it, but the main component was a pork belly he got. I'm so in.
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| Yummy brekkie |
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| Pat figuring out our dinner |
We were supposed to go to Daou but there is construction on the road up to the winery and they won't let anyone drive or walk up. You have to shuttle. Well that puts me out. So we reached out to Nancy for another great view and she recommended
Calcareous Winery. Holy shit you guys! That was a find! The wines were good but the view was better! This is officially Poe's favorite winery because we sat outside in grass! It was just beautiful! Our waitress was so sweet and loved Poe. All these wines you can only buy at the winery since they don't produce as much, so I know we'll be coming back here every time we visit and maybe pick up a bottle or two. I got myself a bottle of Rose. It was just so peaceful. We got there not long after it opened so it was really quiet until it started picking up, but even with more people it was just stunning. Great experience!
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| Yeah, we're good here |
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| Poe was like yup - this is the best one |
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| Taking in the view after our tasting |
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| Pano attempt |
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| You guys... the sky! |
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I just can't
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We then decided to hit downtown again for lunch. I had read a bunch about
Taste - Craft Eatery. I'm a little torn about this place. We didn't make reservations, but they seemed fine seating us, but we were sat in the back patio (the front patio faces the downtown and the park and is really nice). The back patio was basically in a fucking parking lot. They tried to make it cute, but kind of a major fail on atmosphere. But the food was friggin bomb. And once they figured out the service situation (We were locked out for a minute there.. WTF) our waiter was fine and the rest of the experience was good. They have like a zillion sliders, and we both ordered 3...too much. These were like sandwiches, not sliders - which were damn good but way bigger. I missed a photo op here with the food but trust me - it was fucking delicious!
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They were trying to be cute...but um there was a dumpster nearby and you could smell it. Thank god the wind shifted and the food was ridiculous!
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We then decided, let's hit one more winery before going back. So we really wanted to finally check out
Penman Springs which our friends keep telling us to check out. It's a small mom and pop type of place. They got their wines for their wedding here. I can see why - the prices are way more reasonable than a lot of the surrounding wineries. The wine was ok in my opinion, not bad - I didn't love it. But we did pick up a couple bottles because the prices were great. The gal was nice and we had good convo with her. But she did get a little snooty about Temecula and we had to defend it. LOL!
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| Poe was like...Seriously guys....are we done yet? |
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| The sky here is insane |
Then of course my husbands ridiculously delicious dinner he just whipped up. Burnt ends pork belly which I then made into a sandwich with all his yummy add ons.
Our last day we decided to head out and have a nice breakfast then hit the road. I found a great little local spot called
Touch of Paso. Nothing super fancy, but the food was good and the service was better. It also had a great little story!
We took one final family portrait out in the front of this bnb we'll probably actually return too because my god the fully stocked kitchen, and off we were. I so didn't want to leave. I'm not going to lie - I wanted to stay. I'm loving Central California. Every friggin time I go up there I fall in love with it a little more. It's beautiful. It's slow. It's just lovely. I seriously hope we land here in the future. I feel so at peace here and it fills my soul with joy.
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| We wish we could stay but we will be back! |
This vacation was seriously one of the best we've taken. Pat and I are in a great place. He's found a love for cooking and wine. My pallet keeps growing and I'm loving trying new food places. And I'll always love wine - it's history, pairings, taste, everything. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to go on these sorts of getaways! Take the vacation friends. Eat the food. Drink the wine.
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