Paso Robles

Red Scooter Deli, Paso Robles, CA., 3/14/26

~ hsnixon ~ Leave a comment
patio –1102 Pine St, Paso Robles, CA 93446-2521
Red Scooter Deli is on the main square in Paso Robles and open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch.  Stephanie Johnston opened the deli in December 2010 and is actively involved in the Paso community.   The place has no indoor dining options but does have a number of outdoor tables where you can eat your selections.  It’s a tiny place to go inside where you order and pick up any chips, drinks or cookies, etc that you want to go with your food.   They have tons of sandwich combinations or you can design your own.  We tried 2 of their plain sandwiches as opposed to the box where they come with sides.  They also have options for gluten free, vegan and vegetarian eaters.  I love the idea of a female owned and operated business and the people working there were very nice, but the food we tried was mixed and smaller in portion than the sandwich we had at High Street Deli.

Continue reading →

JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery, Paso Robles, CA., 3/13/26

~ hsnixon ~ 2 Comments
building – 11680 Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446

The restaurant at JUSTIN Winery was led by Executive Chef Rachel Haddstrom (who we never saw) and offered  seasonal menus with ingredients sourced from the onsite 26 acre farm for dinner Thursday through Sunday.  They have one Michelin star and a Michelin Green Star.  It’s a large place with lots of buildings and at first Google maps sent us to the wrong spot, but after some searching with another lost diner we found the right spot.  As you entered what looked like a large house you walk through the first room of wines, foods and souvenirs for sale and then into a huge bar room.  There were no seats but tons of glasses because, I assume, that’s where they do wine tastings.  Keep going and we got to the indoor dining room which had a glass wall to some of the vineyards and the outside patio tables, which were all covered with white cloths.  Windows in the bar area looked out on more vineyards and unclothed patio tables.  Quite an operation and more staff than diners.  They offered one tasting menu with some optional supplemental courses and an option for the main course with an additional charge.  Wine pairings were offered with extra charges for wines to go with added courses.  The basic tasting was $225 per person with pairings adding $110 and with supplements you could easily add over $200.  We chose the basic tasting with pairings and added the cheese course supplement.  It was a beautiful setting and pretty food but for the drive and money I way preferred Six Test Kitchen. Continue reading →

Six Test Kitchen, Paso Robles, CA., 3/12/26

~ hsnixon ~ 4 Comments
exterior – 3075 Blue Rock Rd, Unit B, Paso Robles, CA 93446

Six Test Kitchen is in a place called Tin City and run by a very talented chef Ricky Odbert.   Named because Chef started the venture in his dad’s garage as a six seat pop-up.  Now it’s in a commercial/retail development of tin buildings, what else?  Inside it’s anything but tin though.  Twelve very lucky people are seated at a beautiful counter and receive a tasting menu that’s beautifully presented and prepared.  Chef Odbert is tremendously helped by the talented sommelier John Seals who designs pairings for the meal but also can suggest some wonderful interesting bottles to use instead.  The guests are staggered in their seating times so you may not be eating what the person beside you is.  One of the four chefs working in the open kitchen present and describe your courses and I was lucky to get a printed menu following the meal to help me with my scribbled notes.  It was a really fabulous evening and one I’d suggest to anyone traveling in the area, but reservations are popular so book early.  They’ve had one Michelin Star since 2021 and were the first restaurant in the area to receive one. Continue reading →