Good Lord, it’s about time I post this. The food of San Luis Obispo deserves it’s own post. Seriously, it’s so good. Then again, maybe I’m a little biased, but even if I am, I still have good taste.
So let’s take it all the way back to July, when my parents and I came out here for Orientation.
Here’s the dinner my mom and I had on our first night from this little Mediterranean place down the street from school. I had a chicken shawarma wrap (a whole wheat pita with marinated grilled chicken thighs and a few vegetables I think) and my mom had skewers with some sort of meat on them. Oh, and she had the wine – not me. We split that little salad, which was tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta tossed in spices and olive oil.
Needless to say, it was a yummy way to start out my life of food in SLO.
Day 2, the first day of Orientation, was quite a day. My dad used an app on his phone to track exactly how far we had walked, and I think it totaled to about 7 miles. And we only walked around campus. It added a whole ‘nother dimension when I asked myself if I was ready for classes.
Thennnnnn we toured the downtown life and had some lunch! Let me tell you – I was a little overwhelmed by all the options we had, and I was also starving so my parents and I chose the first café we saw, Urbane Café. And I’m glad we did. Three sandwiches on focaccia bread with some salad and fruit and we were pretty satisfied – and ready to do some more walking…
Oh and by the way, after we ate lunch I had my first encounter with Bliss Wholesome Café. Y’all better know about Bliss. We didn’t order anything; we just explored the menu. And I fell in love. And then we kept walking.
So now, we have to fast-forward to when I fluttered my little independent birdy wings and left the nest. Also known as move-in time. Either one.
‘twas a warm September night in Paso Robles – the last night I’d spend with my parents for a while. tear tear. We ordered some (or like a thousand pounds of) Chinese food and pigged out.
Then we get to WOW – Week of Welcome, probably one of the most tiring, hilarious, spontaneous weeks ever. Our group leaders took us downtown one night to a famous grill that pretty much everyone talks about – Firestone Grill. Apparently, you’re supposed to get the tri-tip sandwich, but I was feelin’ the chicken sandwich with avocado ‘cause, duhh. (Does the side of mandarin oranges make me look like a four year-old?)
And here’s to the birth of the best Thursday nights ever – Farmer’s Market Thursdays. Seriously, I had to switch a few classes around my schedule this quarter specifically for this. I guess you can call that prioritizing, right? Whatever, you would rearrange your schedule, too. Don’t deny it.
My very first farmer’s market consisted of, um, debt. I bought sweet potatoes, avocados, apples, and this Korean BBQ bowl. But hey, it was all good.
Farmer’s Market number dos consisted of these shrimp spring rolls. And a little bit less debt. The temptation of all this fresh produce, homemade nut-butters and jams, and a wide variety of such. good. food. is deadly to a hungry college student like myself.
Now, I’m pretty much a professional eater whenever I go. I never let myself starve just so I can eat something really good, but I do save a little extra room on Thursday afternoon ‘cause, duhh (again). This chicken bowl is different. It’s called a teriyaki bowl, but it tastes like a combination of barbecue and teriyaki. I don’t know how these people do it, but I’m glad they do. And yes, I finish the whole thing. And sometimes, I finish my friend’s bowl, too.
And then – possibly the best part – comes cookies. Let’s take a moment of silence for Bliss Wholesome Café’s cookies.
Thank you.
Like I said, professional eater. Me? Yeah. Sometimes I even amaze myself.
How about breakfast? Just ask Sally Loo’s Café about that one. Two scones – one gluten-free banana bread chocolate chip and one vegan pumpkin spice – from this place sparked a slight obsession with scones.
And just in case there aren’t enough super healthy, super scrumptious cafes around SLO, here’s a ginormous organic chicken and veggie salad from The Natural Café, a joint my roommates and I chose on one of our downtown visits. We made a good choice.
Parental-visits are always the best opportunity for off-campus (aka real) food. Why? Because they pay for it, and you get to spend time with beloved family. That being said, here’s the Thai food my mom and I devoured when she came to visit me. The only plate that wasn’t completely clean was the dish with the curry sauce – that one came home with me and made some awesome leftovers.
Last but not least, we can’t forget sushi. Yanagi Sushi ended the long month I endured without such delicious, nutritious raw fishy-fishes. Busta Rhymes up in here. Yo.
So that pretty much sums up my belly’s life for the past few months, minus the campus food. Yes, San Luis Obispo is, for lack of better words, delicious.
But this isn’t the end! Stay tuned for many, many more posts about what I eat. Because that’s the most fun topic to talk about. So peace out.
Busta Rhymes – Hungry Haley edition. Word.