this is the personal blog of brandon quintana.

I spent last weekend in Pismo Beach.  I drove down there Friday night with a buddy and didn’t get in until after midnight.  We were both pretty tired and ended up just calling it a night.  The hotel room at the Sandcastle Inn was pretty basic, but it had a nice view.  They are also pet friendly so I was able to bring my puppies on the trip with me.  The price was very reasonable even with it being a winter month.  The weather was a little wet and overcast most of the time, but you can’t really expect more than that even if someone makes guarantees or promises otherwise.  There weren’t a lot of people laying on the beach obviously, but a good amount walking their dogs or taking a walk themselves.

We had the continental breakfast the hotel serves which was pretty basic – bagels, toast, muffins, waffles, juice, etc.  I wasn’t expecting much more, but I definitely needed to eat somewhere else the following morning.

After that I took the dogs for a walk along the beach.  We had hot chocolates at Mon Ami a small coffee and crepe shop in downtown Pismo.  The people there were very friendly and let me take the dogs in which was nice.  The hot chocolate was pretty good as well.  There weren’t a lot of people out in Pismo Beach nor San Luis Obispo for that matter.  I’m pretty sure it was probably bad weather, but it seemed like a ghost town in lots of parts.

I hung out for a little bit and then it was lunchtime.  My brother goes to Cal Poly so I figured I should be a good brother and take him out to lunch.  We went to a place called Corner View on Chorro Street in San Luis Obispo.  I was looking to eat an Ahi Tuna salad so I thought I would try the place.  For $15.95 it seems a little pricey, but not terrible.  To get a sense of their items and prices, it was one of the more pricier items on the menu.  The service was good and their Corner View Pale Ale tasted just fine.  I had asked the waitress how much the tuna was cooked and she said it was pretty raw, but the tuna was a little too seared for my tastes.    I like it raw, seared on each side for a short period of time.  It also had a ranch or thousand island like dressing which seemed pretty unusual to me for that kind of salad.  Overall, it wasn’t bad, but I’d probably order something different if I eat there again.

I dropped my brother off and played with the dogs for a little while.  Then it was time for lunch number two.  Some friends were having their kids birthday party at Klondike Pizza in Arroyo Grande.  It reminded me of the days back at Chucky Cheese.  There were lots of kids and families there.  It was fun though and their pizza was pretty good, but I don’t think I’m ready to have kids for a quite a while.

My buddy and I headed back to the hotel to rest for a while and get ready for the night.  About an hour passed and I figured it was time to eat again.  I got a recommendation to eat at Tsurugi Japanese Restaurant in San Luis Obispo.  It’s a small sushi restaurant on Higuera.  The wait was about 25 minutes so we stopped in at McCarthy’s Irish Pub for a quick drink.  We had a Jameson 12 which was pretty good.  I don’t think I’m at the level where I appreciate it enough, but I’m learning.  After the drink it was back to the restaurant.  I wanted more tuna so I ordered the seared tuna with black pepper.  It was seared slightly and much better than the tuna at lunch, but still slightly overcooked for me.  The dish was good though and I’d recommend it for people that like raw tuna.  I followed that up with the spicy scallop roll, the albacore garlic chip roll, and the calamari tempura roll.  It was too much to eat for me and I ended up giving the last roll to the couple sitting next to us.  Most of the reviews I had read on Yelp said that Tsurugi was a pretty good restaurant for SLO and I would have to agree with that.

After dinner we wanted to keep it low key.  We’re getting older so it’s better sometimes to not be in the college crowd mix.  A couple at the sushi restaurant recommended Korberl at Blue.  It seemed like it was an older crowd and a little upscale.  The bartender said they get a pretty mixed crowd there.  I ordered a Macallan 18 and like I said earlier I wasn’t sure if I was ready to appreciate the Jameson 12 so I definitely think I could appreciate this drink.  It was very good though compared to the Macallan 12 which I drink more often.  I think I need to experience it more before I make any real judgements.

In the morning, I passed on the continental breakfast.  We were leaving in the morning so I needed to get the dogs ready and pack everything up.  On the way out we stopped at Broadway Bagel Cafe.  Since I didn’t think I ate enough fish I ordered their New Yorker – lox and bagels.  That was pretty good.  I usually order that in the morning if the restaurant offers it.  I try to keep breakfast pretty light and a lot of the time I end up skipping that meal.  The fish could have been slightly fresher, but it wasn’t bad.  After that we took the drive back up to the Bay Area.  It was pretty funny because it was actually sunny as we were leaving.

I think it was a pretty good trip.  I had a good time and I was able to get away from the house for a couple of days.  I think it was a good change of pace for me.  Once everything starts getting too routine I have to break out and do something different.  I like routine and getting into a rhythm, but if I can change it up slightly every once in a while.  I always enjoy that.