Lunch in Cayucos

Cayucos

is

the

quintessential

California

beach

town

small...

charming,

but funky

...

one main street through town

a pier

surfers

a biker bar

and

Schooner's Wharf

Schooner's

is

on the

one main street through town

on the ocean side

so you

get

spectacular views

of the pier

and

the surfers

So,

after

a

crazy

busy

Cal Poly

move-in weekend

John

and

I

decided

to

go

get

Bloody Mary's

and

drum roll

...............................

FISH TACOS!

I

can

easily

count

Schooner's

among my

top

favorite

fish tacos

especially

when

the happy waiter asks

"salmon, ahi, snapper, albacore or shrimp tacos?"

"grilled or fried?"

come on!

what

awesome

choices?

After

B. Marys

and

fish tacos

we

cruised

the pier

Isn't

Cayucos

so cute?

It

is just

a

really

perfect

place

to spend a

couple

of

relaxing

hours

salt air

cool breezes

sea gulls

Fun beach town!

good

fish

tacos!

California Beach Town!

Oh,

Yeah!

The Wild Donkey Cafe

Years

ago,

way before

Petit Soleil

John and I

thought

to

move to

Oregon,

buy some land

with a

barn

and

turn it into

a

Bed and Breakfast

The loft

of the barn

would

be

our

home

( floor of the barn would house a large kitchen and dining tables)

and

surrounding the barn

would

be

little

barn-like cottages

...

we would

have

goats

and

chickens

and

a donkey

(and dogs and a cat)

...the goats for cheese,

the chickens for eggs

and

the donkey

because they are so darn cute

(can't live without dogs and a cat to keep all the critters at bay)

we woke up from

that

dream

(and

along

came

Petit Soleil)..

anyway,

Donkeys

are

not only so cute,

but

they

are strong,

hard working

long living

and have

quite a history

with

that

said,

I met

my

homie

Barbara

(as in SF Marathon Barbara)

for

lunch

at

THE WILD DONKEY CAFE

the delightful

restaurant

is NEW

...

c o L o r F u L

friendly

and

it has

beautiful

donkey

art

everywhere

fabulous

brick walls

and an

inviting

back patio

the

restaurant's

flavors

are

Greek

and

Mexican

...

yeah, interesting, I know!

and

the

menu

is

fun,

fresh

and

adventurous,

with

a great

beer and wine list

(and a little history of the donkey)

You know by now,

I am always on

the hunt

for the best

fish taco...

but

at

THE WILD DONKEY

no fish tacos

(sad but true)

but

the

waitress

offered us

Salmon Fajitas

with

rice, black beans

and corn tortillas!

ok, fish tacos!!

I went

with

a

Mythos

(Greek beer)

and

SO

enjoyed the "tacos"

the

house salsa

was

spicy hot

and

delish

Really yummy!

They have

summer-fresh

Greek Salad

and

gyros

souvlaki

fajitas with lamb or beef

"fish tacos"

dolmades

and

all sorts of

Mexican-Greek specialties!

After lunch in the Patio

and

back

inside,

we met the owner

and the artist

behind

all the

donkey

art

and

she

is

the collector

of

great old LPS

(which make such great decor)

I

can't wait

to

go back!

visit the website, too

The Wild Donkey

Broad Street

between

Higuera and Marsh!

If you're going to San Francisco.....

San Francisco.

love it!

need it!

crossing off

another

"to do"

from

my

bucket list

run or walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

evidently

a few of

my

besties

had

the

same

"to do"

so

we

all

signed up

for the

San Francisco Half Marathon

and

the weekend

of

July 30

WE

WERE

THERE!

John and I

got to

our

hotel

and

marveled

at

the view

Bay Bridge & Treasure Island

and

the

regal

Ferry Building

in all its glory

Saturday

Farmer's Market

(see the umbrellas to the left)

glorious produce

from all

around the Bay Area

herbs

fragrant basil, carrots and leeks

onions, garlic, tomatoes

and chiles

ripe for

salsa

Summer sunflowers

and summer squashes

Eatwell Farm

Food for the Body and Soul

and

hundreds

of

piquillo peppers

LOVE THEM!

We hooked up

with our

first

Homies

and

said

"YES, Fish Tacos, please!!!"

Taylor's Refreshers

had

fresh

Mahi-Mahi tacos

OH, so so so good!!!!!!

perfect

for

pre-run dinner!!!

4:45am

wake up call

and we're ready

the

theme for

the

run

was

WORTH

THE

HURT

yup,

worth it!

Post run

celebration

at

Market Bar

with

my

besties

and

that

night

more

FABULOUS

fish

tacos

at

Tres

Perfect..

really

PERFECT

fish tacos!

TRES

one

of

my

all time

favorite

(authentic)

Mexican Restaurants

ever

complete

with

giggles

and laughs
with more besties!!!!

I

have

been

so

lucky

to be

crossing

so many

"to do's"

off

my bucket list

...

but

there are

always

M O R E

to

come

Paris Half Marathon

2015

and you thought I was done with Fish Tacos........

One

can

NEVER

have enough

fish tacos,

I decided!

Tuesday night

John and I

snagged

some

fresh

salmon at

Trader Joe's

made some guac

and salsa..

a bit of cabbage

...sauteed the salmon with peppers and onions

threw it all inside soft corn torts

FISH TACOS!

mmmhmm.....

delish!

AND THEN

Barbara

says

"Hey, let's get

lunch

at

Bayside

on

Wednesday"

O.K.!!!

So,

Barbara

Natellie, Hillary,

Stephanie, Ruby

and I

went to

Bayside Cafe

and

WE

ALL

HAD

FISH TACOS

(with fresh off- the- boat mahi mahi)

tons of guacamole

and shredded lettuce

salsa with a kick

soft corn tortillas

and

super yummy mahi mahi

Natellie loves fish tacos about as much as I do

she thought that she won the

eating contest

but,

actually

I ate

ALL

my lettuce!

Perfectly

delicious

tacos,

perfectly

wonderful friends

pee in your pants laughs

the

best!!!

p.s.

Right next to Bayside Cafe you can rent Kayaks

and cruise through

the Morro bay estuary -

otters

heron

sometimes seals

incomparable natural beauty

and

did you know that

MORRO ROCK

is the

9th sister

of the

9 sisters?

Fish Tacos number uh, eighteen?

I have two favorite numbers:

three

and

eighteen

...

I like things to come in

threes

and

when I

exaggerate

I always use

eighteen

who cares?

you ask...

it may,

or may not be

fish tacos # 18,

but....

SLO

is

NOT

know for it's

Mexican food

..

but

I

must say

Chili Peppers

is

the

BEST

traditional

Mexican

restaurant

in town

Years ago

way before John

I used

take

the kids

from my Spanish classes

to

Chili

Peppers

so that they could order their

dinner in

Spanish..

quite fun

craving,

once again,

fish tacos

we

said

"Hey!!! What about Chili Peppers!"

I ordered

salmon tacos

and

John got shrimp tacos

who knew?

they have

a

fish tacos special

every

Thursday

(sadly, today in Saturday)

Seriously funky

a patio

(well, kinda)

in back

my salmon tacos

were

delicious!!

guacamole, grilled zucchini, peppers and carrots,

perfectly piquant salsa

a bit of lettuce

and

perfectly grilled salmon

John's

shrimp tacos

were grilled like fajitas

(same condiments)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

If you are craving

real

Mexican

and

like

f U N k Y

C h i l i P e p p e r s