Artisan - Paso Robles, CA

Aaaah, the bread is good and butter is soft. Those of you from Seattle, you can relate, we have the best bread and it's always served with the rock hard butter.
I have to laugh every time we're in California..."What Up with the lemon in the water still?!" Circa 1983. Come on, the water still sucks. OK, OK, we'll buy the bottled.

Brioche, prosciutto, super salty Parmesan and a poached egg...Are you kidding me? This is the best starter I've had in a long time. So simple and so PERFECT.

Wine Flight: wines from Paso Robles wineries.

There was a little problem getting the entrees out, no one would have noticed, except, I work in the food industry and noticed a lot of time had gone by since our first course. My husband and I didn't really care, we were having a really great time and thought the service was pretty top notch for this little town. To our surprise, a very lovely Crab Cake appetizer arrived...delicious. Way to go Artisan!

Finally, Strip Steak and Frites! Awesome.

I must say, I haven't met a Steak & Frites I didn't like.

This is the part of every meal that I wish would miraculously turn into a all-you-can-eat buffet! What to get for dessert? I always want all of it, even when I swear I can't have another bite. I only ate half of my entree to save room for dessert.

We decided to share the Basque Cake, brandied cherries and Pistachio Ice Cream...mmm! The texture of the cake was course, velvety, and moist, all in the same bite. I was a little scared of the cherries, but with the cake and the pistachio ice cream. WOW!!!

We battled over every bite...YUMMY!

I don't get down to Central California much, but with the great wineries I visited and the wonderful meal at Artisan...I'll be back.