April 18, 2007
Dinner in Paso Robles
Had a fantastic dinner in Paso Robles with my fellow officers at a little Italian restaurant called Ristorante da Gaetano, which I'm guessing is named after the gregarious owner, who stopped by our table constantly to chat and make sure we were happy.
We started off with the calamari, which was perfect; tender, not overcooked and just lightly breaded, accompanied by a tasty tomato broth with a little zing.
For the entree, I decided on the chicken breast, stuffed with goat cheese, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes, in a pesto sauce. It may have been the single best chicken dish I've ever had, moist and tender, each mouthful an explosion of complementary flavors.
It came with potatoes that elicited Frank Barone's most famous exclamation: "Holy crap!" I don't know what the chef did, but these lowly spuds were to die for.
We washed down our dinners with a couple bottles of Felsina Chianti Classico 2002, which proved a popular pick with the other JAGs, who quaffed it happily with the gnocchi, the veal special, as well as the pollo.
The tiramisu was probably the second best that I've had; not too sweet, not too dry, not too soggy, perfect with a cup of coffee. Some of my companions tried the chocolate tart; it too earned rave reviews, although I didn't try the proffered sample. I did sample some of the sorbet, which was unlike any I'd ever had, with fruit mixed into the ice, creating a kind of sweet slurry, cast into the shape of a cheesecake with larger bits of berries to be found. As with everything else I tried, it was simply delicious.
By the time we took our leave, it was quite frankly a perfect meal, for about $50 per person -- including wine and dessert.
Ristorante da Gaetano, 1646 Spring Street (at 17th) · Paso Robles, CA 93446 · 805.239.1070
Posted by Mike Lief at April 18, 2007 05:45 PM
| TrackBack
Comments
I left the army 10 years ago. I served in the Persian Gulf. Why the hell would you write about feeding your face when men are seeing action over seas? This is why I hated officers when I was in the military.
Posted by: Tom Murillo at April 19, 2007 06:58 AM
First, let me say thank you for your military service.
Now, on to your criticism.
Well, Tom, there are a couple of reasons why I wrote about a nice restaurant in Paso:
I enjoy food, especially good food, an appreciation developed in part from some of the awful chow I had while an enlisted man in the early '80s.
Whenever I visited a new port of call, or was stationed in a new area, I'd go off base and try as many restaurants as I could.
I did that when I was a non-com, and I do it as an officer. What's the difference?
Furthermore, the troops aren't confined to post at Camp Roberts; I've made sure to pass on my dining tips to anyone interested in leaving the confines of the chow hall for a night off base.
I didn't realize that because our GIs are serving -- and making us all proud, may I add -- that the only proper response would be for me to dig a slit trench and eat MREs.
You hated officers because they ate in restaurants? Seems like you have a low threshold for getting a good hate on.
The officers I've seen on post have been squared away, taking care of the troops before taking care of themselves. I spent some time with a perfect example, a Special Forces major who was here with his teams.
Morning, noon and night, he was working the phones, glad-handing the support staff, all to make sure his men were getting everything they needed to be ready to deploy.
And at the end of the day, we went off post to get dinner and walk around the weekly street fair in SLO.
Is that also the kind of officer you hated?
But the single most important reason for my post about this little restaurant is ... it's my blog, and I'll write about any damn thing I want.
Posted by: Mike Lief at April 19, 2007 08:04 AM
I've been there--great place. I think you have the first edition of a new food and wine review here. Nice photos, inviting descriptions of your meal and clear directions on how to get there. How about a new page called Mess review?
Posted by: JB at April 19, 2007 08:24 AM
Great review. The pictures really added to the posting. I have saved the information on my PDA so the next time we are in Paso Robles for a weekend, we can stop by the restaurant for dinner.
Posted by: macman at April 19, 2007 11:23 AM
Excuse me, "each mouthful an explosion of complementary flavors." Next, you will be saying "it was a party in my mouth." I guess that means you liked it.
Posted by: Thin Ice, Sr- at April 21, 2007 09:27 AM