I ventured down to Los Olivos today to shop for some specialty foods at the Los Olivos Market which, for a small rural market, has an amazing selection. The market is lovely and has a nice selection of organic vegetables, freshly baked artisan bread, wine and cheese. I was in heaven! The cheese section has well over a hundred, very interesting cheese selections, some of which I was familiar and some not. The market has tasting boards of a couple of varieties which they are featuring unlike a cheese shop which offers taste of all available cheeses. Still, for a small market the offerings were very impressive and I quickly dropped fifty-bucks on cheese. I was also impressed with the wine shop which had hundreds of varietals. The breads were tantalizing and in the end were delicious with a wonderful crumb, chewy crust and suble sour flavor. Excellent! I was very interested to find a pasta in their dried pasta section that I have only found on the internet, a disk shaped, stamped pasta named Croxetti. I will definately be shopping at the Los Olivos Market.

After shopping at the market Mia and I decided to have lunch in Los Olivos. We usually dine at the Los Olivos Cafe, which is featured in the movie Sideways, but today decided to give Patrick's Side Street Cafe another visit. My wife anjoyed the open face prime rib sandwich of which I had a taste and I enjoyed the Potato and Garlic Soup. Mia's sandwich was a delicious, tradional, open faced sandwich served with a slightly piquant horseradish sauce. It was perfectly complimented by a mixed salad of baby greens with a creamy dressing. I enjoyed my bowl of soup which was creamed with a hint of garlic. My glass of pinot noir along with my soup insured a perfect, light lunch. I only longed for a piece of bread to accompany my meal which was never presented by our server. There is little ambiance at the Side Street Cafe and the owner treats the guest rudely but the food is good. Patrick's Side Street Cafe has good food, a bit pricey but consistent with this tourist spot, the decor is lovely, the service was not the best and the owner-chef is consistently rude to guest. I would recommend the food but cannot recommed this restaurant. For me a meal is about the company I keep, the music I hear, the flowers on the table and the presentation of the plate.

I recommend, however, if you have the time to drive to Los Olivos that you enjoy a lunch or dinner at the Los Olivos Cafe which has an inviting atmosphere, wonderful menu and great selection of coastal wines.