Illustrations by Ben Engle
I am always looking for great places to have a meal. Many times, they are all by chance; other times, they’re a calculated risk. When Kirsten and I are off on a fishing trip someplace or traveling in our travel trailer, we’re always searching for great food.
This edition of the Foraging Angler is food from all over Northern and Southern California. They’re a collection of places that I haven’t been able to group into a geographical location for one reason or another. My rule still applies. They must be “Mom and Pop” owned, have great food, and be near or on the way to a great place to fish. All the eateries below fit my rules. They’re also great places to eat that I have enjoyed for some years now. Others are new places, and some are making great food and need to have the word spread about them. I am always collecting eateries.
CARLA’S COUNTRY KITCHEN – $$
213 BEACH STREET
MORRO BAY
805-772-9051
Open Monday – Sunday from 6:30 am to 2:00 pm
Carla’s is a place that Kirsten and I found on a trip to Morro Bay to go surf fishing. We stayed at a nice hotel called Fireside Inn. I planned our first day of surf fishing around the low tide in the morning. We fished for several hours until I started to get hungry and, to tell you the truth, the surf perch weren’t cooperating. We headed back to the car and into town. On the way, I googled breakfast places in Morro Bay, found Carla’s, and that is where we went. We have been going back to it since. We love it.
Carla’s is a small family-owned operation that has super good food at a fair price. We usually sit inside at the window where there are two tables for two people right on the glass. We get to people-watch, and we are always getting staff to ask us if we need anything. I love to order two dishes. The first one I love is the seafood omelet, which has chunks of shrimp and crab, fresh spinach, chopped red onions, and pepper jack cheese. It is a seafood delight. The other dish is their crab cake eggs benedict. Sometimes, this dish doesn’t appear on the menu. I have asked for it, though, and the staff always say, “We can do that!” All these breakfasts are served with either hash browns or country potatoes and your choice of toast.
I don’t order toast—I order their homemade muffins. Yes, you get two. They have different muffins available, and I usually get blueberry. They’re hot and steaming, and they come with a rich, creamy sweet butter. I love them!
Kirsten’s favorite dish is usually the Chicken Fried Steak and eggs. She likes its country ham gravy. She always says it reminds her of her mom’s. She orders it with country potatoes and sourdough toast with extra gravy on the side. Usually, Kirsten orders items that are healthier to eat than country-fried steak. I love it when she looks at me when they serve it. Her eyes are big and happy!
RICHVALE CAFÉ – $$
5285 MIDWAY
RICHVALE
530-882-4421
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Open Monday – Friday from 6:30 am to 2:00 pm
This café is a favorite of mine. It is out in the middle of nowhere but close to everything, if that makes sense. Decades ago, this was a place I stopped at early in the morning when I was getting off shift from the Sheriff’s Office. Now, it’s a place that I hit when I come back from a morning fishing either the Thermalito Afterbay or chasing steelhead on the Feather River. Plenty of parking for boats also, which gives it a plus. Also, you don’t have to worry about anything in your boat while you are eating. Just a bunch of hard-working folks work and live in Richvale.
For breakfast, I order the Farmer’s Special. It comes with three eggs, three strips of thick-cut bacon, and two huge pancakes. I know Lance is ordering pancakes. Their pancakes are to die for Fluffy, rich, huge, and cooked to a golden brown. They fill me up, big time. For lunch, I like to get their bacon cheeseburger. Again, this burger hits my standards of what a good burger should be: Big, juicy beef patty cooked to medium rare, hot melted cheese, bacon, and all the veggies nice and cold on top. They serve the burger with hot crispy fries that are hot right out of the fryer.
Kirsten has never eaten at the Richvale Café. Every time I tell her I am going to go fishing in that area she always asks me when she gets to try the café. Hopefully, soon. It’s a great place to eat.
RED TAVERN – $$$
1250 ESPLANADE
CHICO
530-894-3463
www.redtavern.com
Open Monday – Saturday from 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Saturdays until 9:00 pm
As many of you folks know, I was born and raised most of my early years in Chico. Chico is a great fly-fishing town. Thirty to forty-five minutes in either direction are great places to fish. Chico also holds diverse culinary eateries. The Red Tavern, which fuses American and Mediterranean-style food, is one of them.
Kristen and I have really enjoyed The Red Tavern with our friends in the last couple of years. Located on the iconic Esplanade in Chico, nestled in a residential and professional area, it combines elegant food with downhome service.
I still remember our first time at the tavern two or three years ago. We went there for dinner with our friends John and Claire Hamiter. We sat in the window seat, looking out at the side street with folks coming and going from the restaurant. Our table was dressed in a starched super-white tablecloth with all the silverware and linen napkins placed nicely on the table. I remember saying to Kirsten that I thought I was underdressed. When a farmer walked in wearing his wranglers and dirty cowboy boots, I felt right at home. I don’t even remember what we had. All I remember was the boots and having a great time.
On other occasions, we have eaten at the Tavern and met owners Rich and Chris Garcia as they are out working the floor, assisting their great staff, or helping out patrons on a Friday. The food is great.
Kirsten and I ordered our favorite starter dish, the Grilled Octopus. This dish is awesome. It’s served with Yukon gold potatoes sauteed with olive oil, garlic, paprika, Castelvetrano olives and capers and drizzled with Citrus Aioli. There is usually bread sopping up the plate afterward. I know — bad manners. Kirsten’s standby is the petite grilled filet mignon topped with a Bordelaise and bone marrow compound butter served with crème fraiche mashed potatoes and asparagus. Kirsten usually asks for fresh garden veggies. She doesn’t like asparagus.
I have two entrées I love. One is the pan-seared striped sea bass, and the other is the mushroom pasta. The sea bass is seared to perfection. I have had it more than a half dozen times, and this entrée never fails. The bass is served with a creamy risotto topped with an olive and caper tapenade sauce. The mushroom pasta entrée sounds simple and dull, but it isn’t. It’s a mixture of wild mushrooms, garlic, shallots, and lemon zest all tossed with their homemade fettuccine pasta and sauce. This dish is topped with your choice of scallops, chicken, or my favorite, black truffle peelings. Super rich and super good!
LOLA’S FAMILY RESTAURANT – $$
336 MAIN STREET
CHESTER
530-927-5355 Open Tuesday – Sunday from 7:00 am – 3:00 pm
Lola’s is one of the newer restaurants in Chester, CA. As many of you folks know, I spend much of the year around Chester. Kirsten and I have been enjoying Lola’s for the last year and a half. It is a family-owned business, and many days you will see Lola working in the kitchen. Kirsten loves the sunflower décor on many of their booths and tables. I like great food. In fact, I am writing this column today after I just went to town and had breakfast at Lola’s with Kirsten’s sister and brother-in-law. As always, it was fantastic.
I have two dishes that I order at Lola’s. T he first dish is the eggs Benedict. Their hollandaise sauce is creamy, tart, and a little sweet. It is handmade every morning. Sometimes they run out of sauce. The muff in is toasted, and the ham is thinly sliced ham steak with two cooked-to-perfection poached eggs covered with sauce with a splash of paprika.
Kirsten’s favorite dish is their blueberry pancakes. They’re huge, the size of a dinner plate, and are about three-quarters of an inch thick. She usually gets one of them, with a side of bacon. (This morning, they ran out of blueberries, so Kirsten ordered her standby chicken fried steak and eggs.) I have to admit, their country gravy is awesome. Kirsten loves the crispy chicken fried steak. She never finishes it, so I get to have the rest.
For lunch, I usually order their beef enchiladas. I know: boring. Not at Lola’s. Their enchiladas are like how your mom made them. All in the same pan, baked in the oven until the tortillas are hot and their corners golden-brown and crispy. They serve two of them at a time with their homemade Mexican rice and beans. (Both the black beans and the refried beans are delicious.) Kirsten’s lunch order is their Mexican salad. Kirsten loves this salad: Fresh mixed greens with their hand-seasoned ground beef with tortilla strips, avocado, homemade salsa, and your choice of salad dressing. Super simple, super good.