Category Archives: California

Jocko’s Steak House, Nipomo, California

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Continuing our tour of Santa Maria County (California) barbecue restaurants brings us to the tiny town of Nipomo, just off of U.S. Highway 101. In 1957 brothers Fred and George Knotts opened Jocko’s restaurant, naming it after their father, Ralph ‘Jocko’ Knotts, expanding it into the current building in 1962. The decor is simple mid-century design, with open beamed ceilings and cement-block walls, decorated with a few western touches and taxidermy animal heads in the bar.

According to Jocko’s web site ‘Jocko’ means monkey. Perhaps they should have proofread the sign!

This place is extremely popular and is reserved well in advance (which isn’t a guarantee that you won’t wait), but I dined without a reservation in the bar, which I preferred over the dining room because it’s darker and has taxidermy.

While they are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, what you really go there for are the steaks cooked over the oak barbecue pit, which gets going at 4:30pm every day except Sunday, when it’s fired up at 1:00. The menu has four steaks offered: a filet mignon, a New York strip, a spencer (rib-eye), offered in large and small sizes, and a top sirloin, also offered in large and small. The prices are very reasonable, considering the size of the steaks and that meals include relish tray, salad, potato or rice, garlic bread, beans, dessert, and coffee. Other items from the oak pit include lamb and pork chops, sweetbreads, spare ribs, chicken, ham steak, ground beef, beef ribs, and linguisa! Plus, you can get extra-large steaks for $10 more (the steaks are big already).

I love a restaurant with good placemats!

I ordered the “small” Spencer since it was lunchtime, which was big and thick (the large is incredibly huge). It was cooked perfectly medium-rare on the rare side with a great crust, and the meat was pretty tender, though the steak was definitely USDA Choice, not Prime, so it wasn’t as good as an aged Spencer from a Prime steakhouse. It had a lot of fat to trim off the edge too, but it was still worth the cost. All of the side dishes were good. The lettuce on the salad was very fresh and the beans and salsa were house made.

Jocko’s is worth a detour off 101 for a huge decent steak, perfectly cooked, with all the sides at low prices. The service was friendly, but I strongly recommend making a reservation and going early or on weekdays to avoid long waits even with a reservation (or just eat in the bar).

Jocko’s Steak House
125 N Thompson Ave  Nipomo, California 93444
(805) 929-3565
Open Fri-Sat 8am-11pm,
Sun-Th 8am-10pm

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RELOCATED – Far Western Tavern, Orcutt, California

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UPDATE: The Far Western Tavern that I wrote about in the original post below moved in October, 2012 to Orcutt, California. I have not been to the new location, but from the pictures it looks like they did a pretty good job, especially on the bar. They actually moved the historic mahogany bar, cowhide upholstery, and many of the mounted heads, artworks, photos, and artifacts to the new location.

Along the central California coast just south of San Luis Obispo lies the Santa Maria valley, famous for its style of barbecue that originated in the 19th century with cattle ranchers in the valley. Santa Maria Style BBQ (as it’s often called) is usually well-seasoned beef (traditionally boneless top-block sirloin and more recently tri-tip, though many other cuts are also popular such as rib eye and tenderloin) slowly grilled on long skewers over a barbecue pit fired with local red oak. One of the best and oldest restaurants serving that style of BBQ is in the sleepy farming community of Guadalupe (pronounced Gwad-a-loop by locals) along California highway 1.

If you’re wondering where you are when you’re in town just look up at this building!

The Far Western Tavern has been in the same family in the same location since 1958, when the Minetti family opened the restaurant in the vacant Palace Hotel, which was built in 1912. Many of the Palace Hotel fixtures remain, including the beautiful mahogany bar. The Minettis added western touches like steer horns, mounted animal heads, and cowhide upholstery in the bar, which are still intact to this day. In fact not much has changed since 1958, which makes it even tougher for me to accept the news that the restaurant will be moving into a new building in Orcutt, CA in the spring of 2012. The Far Western Tavern has been my favorite place to stop on the drive down the coast along US highway 101 for many years, so it will be sad to see it go. Which is why I high-tailed it down there on the long Thanksgiving weekend. I plan to return as much as possible before it closes (date not announced, but the web site states that it will close a few weeks before the new one opens, so its days are numbered).

The bar, where I like to eat, with cowhide upholstery.

Back bar area on the way to the…

Dining room entrance. The dining room is large and old fashioned, like it may have looked in 1912 at the old hotel, but I prefer dining in the bar. Notice the family photos on the walls.

The Far Western Tavern’s most famous steak is the Bulls Eye Steak, which is a rib eye (the “eye” of fat is the bulls eye). It’s a great steak but for lunch in the bar I like to order the Ranchers Steak Sandwich, a top sirloin steak on a grilled slice of French bread, served with pinquito beans and homemade salsa (all three are de rigueur in the Santa Maria Valley). Top sirloin isn’t usually my cut of choice anywhere else, but in this area I often order it because it is the original preferred Santa Maria steak and it is always tender and beefy, with a great chew, because they know how to cut the steaks for flavor and tenderness. The pinquito beans here are not my favorite in the valley; they are pretty bland. Recently the Santa Maria Valley has developed a reputation for their excellent wines, so I had a good local red wine with my steak. When dining in this area I recommend ordering any of the wines from the valley or Santa Barbara County.

Take a look at the salad plates!

Top sirloin rancher’s steak sandwich with fries, pinquito beans, and salsa.

When I was there recently I was taking pictures so the bartender invited me to check out the second floor, which has this great looking bar for private functions plus a large dining room.

Here are some details of the main bar.

Go there soon while you still can! It’s a great scenic detour for lunch or dinner off highway 101.

Far Western Tavern
NEW LOCATION: 300 East Clark Avenue, Orcutt, CA
(805) 937-2211
Open: lunch Mon-Fri 11am-2 pm; dinner Fri-Sat 4pm-10pm; Sun-Thurs 4pm-9pm; brunch Sat-Sun 9am-2pm; bar open Fri-Sat until midnight, Sun-Thurs until 10pm
info@farwesterntavern.com

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Langer’s Delicatessen, Los Angeles

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Langer’s #1 – Pastrami, cole slaw, and Russian dressing on rye, and an egg cream

Here it is! Easily my favorite sandwich in the world. Warm pastrami, trimmed and sliced thick to order. Piled on house-baked rye bread that is sliced for each sandwich from still warm loaves using a meat slicer – crispy crust but super-soft center. Condiments: house made cole slaw and tangy Russian dressing (like Thousand Island but more mustard and less ketchup perhaps). I’ll pass on the Swiss cheese (with is their #19). Their corned beef is excellent too, but pastrami is the way to go in my opinion. I crave these all the time!

My Mom, who was born in Queens and is still a reader of New Yorker magazine despite living in California since the 1950s, told me about Langer’s in Los Angeles years ago when Nora Ephron raved about it in the pages of said magazine. And they were right!

I’m going back to New York City next week so I challenge the great Gotham city to beat this sandwich! I have Katz’s on the top of my list but in 2007 I went there too late at night and they had just closed the doors. From online photos Katz’s pastrami sandwich looks great, but Carnegie’s looks more like quantity over quality.

Langer’s Restaurant & Deli
704 South Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90057
(213) 483-8050
Open Monday – Saturday, 8am – 4pm
Closed Sundays
Langer’s website
Tips: they validate parking in the lot just east & across the street from the restaurant, they offer curb-side pickup, and they sell their pickles by the jar.

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La Casa Rosa, San Juan Bautista, CA – CLOSED

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In the small historic town of San Juan Bautista, California, there is a charming, unique restaurant called La Casa Rosa (or The Pink House). Opened in 1935, it is famous for its luncheons featuring the Old California Casserole, from a Mexican recipe passed down from General Vallejo’s daughter and still offered on the menu, which only consists of two casseroles (the “old” and the “new”) plus one or two souffles (chicken and seafood when available). Another specialty is the house apéritif called “Ash Blonde”, made from a local winery. They also offer a condiment “bar” with a variety of jams and chutneys, all made in-house. It really takes you back to an older, simpler time to sit in the dining room filled with antiques and linger over a meal that is truly California cuisine, but one that existed before anyone used that term.

Delicious apéritif called Ash Blonde, which is a blend of local sweet and dry vermouth.

Piano bar of homemade jams and chutneys to enjoy with your meal.

Fresh crisp salad made with local lettuces with the house French vinaigrette dressing and locally made rolls.

Old California Casserole, baked in single-serving dishes and turned out table-side it’s a savory blend of cornbread with red meat sauce and cheddar cheese. The “new” version consists of cornbread, red meat sauce, jack cheese, and green chilis.

La Casa Rosa dining room

From the AAA Southwestern Tour Book 1959-60:

An inviting dining room serving luncheons only. Well-prepared dishes with own condiments a specialty.

 

La Casa Rosa
107 3rd St, San Juan Bautista, CA 95045
(831) 623-4563
Luncheon Wed-Mon 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM – closed Tuesdays
Gift shop open daily 10 AM – 5 PM.
La Casa Rosa website

 

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