We decided to take a trip to Northern California together. Both of us being ambitious and determined people, we decided on several main stops in a span of four short days: San Jose, Napa, San Francisco, Berkeley, and back to San Jose. ...And we decided to drive.
The good news is, with each other's company, the drive went by like a breeze. It felt like a drive, but it felt like a much shorter drive than 5-6 hours. And the further good news is (since with DD I hardly ever have bad news), there was heinously good food on this trip!
Side Stop #1:
Pismo Beach: Mo's SmokeHouse BBQ
Pismo Beach: Mo's SmokeHouse BBQ
Only after looking at the website to research the address and phone number of this place did I discover that this is a chain restaurant with SoCal locations! Woot! I had one of the best Louisiana hot links I have had in my entire life. Well cooked, well seasoned, tender and moist.... I'm salivating just thinking about it! This hot link was a rich shade of red, looking just as appetizing as it tasted. I shared some with DD who also admitted that it was one of the best sausages he'd ever had. I didn't care too much for the ton of onions and peppers they had on top, but I swept it to one side and enjoyed my sausage. The side of coleslaw was pretty good too, though I confess that may at least be in part due to the delirium of happiness upon eating the sausage. 
DD had the tri-tip, which was remarkably tender. I confess I don't remember much of it since our trip was at least a month ago and I wasn't eating it as my own main course, but I do recall that in addition to the meat's tenderness, the BBQ sauce made it that much more heavenly. We ate our food with some beers in one of the outside patio seats, and even though the table was lopsided and annoyed the hell out of us, it was such a beautiful day, sunny with slight winds, that you couldn't help but to just enjoy it and take it all in. So we did, when we walked to the pier on the beach, just a couple storefronts away. Pismo Beach was an amazingly relaxing choice for a pit shop, exactly halfway along the coast, and it fed us well!
Mo's SmokeHouse BBQ
221 Pomeroy Street, Pismo Beach, California 93449 - (805) 773-6193
Side Stop #2:
Napa: Taylor's Automatic Refresher
It's like the resident In-N-Out, with more options! This is the oddest, and yet cutest 50's diner cafe, in a prime location--directly in the middle of the Napa strip. High traffic passes by the location, and there's always a line. But with good reason! The line goes fast, and once you get to the front, you can order anything from garlic fries to a salmon burger. DD and I had already eaten lunch, but we were determined to have some food here in between Reverie and Hartwell. So stop we did, and we only got a light snack--which in our world is two orders of fries and a drink. Sweet potato fries, garlic fries, and a root beer float! Oh, I'm salivating just thinking about it again! The sweet potato fries were freshly cooked and extra crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the garlic fries were SMOTHERED in garlic. I can't vouch for whether it's better than Dodger fries, since it's been awhile since I've been to Dodger's Stadium, but I can say it comes pretty damn close. And the root beer float? What better way to finish off a wildly unhealthy meal at a 50's diner joint while sitting out in the open on a sunny, beautiful day? The root beer may as well have been wine for how good it was to us.
Taylor's Automatic Refresher
644 First Street, Napa, CA 94559 - 707-224-6900
Side Stop #3:
San Jose: Arcadia
I hardly even need to actually describe them. I just need to say their names.
Foie gras sliders.
Duck fat fries.
Lobster corndogs.
Ahi tuna tartare.
Steak Rossini.
Okay, maybe that last one deserves a fuller description: filet mignon topped with Hudson Valley foie gras and glazed in a pinot noir wine reduction. Toss it on a tower of seared potato and sauteed spinach and you have a recipe for LEGEND. This was not only one of the richest items you will ever eat, but it was also a dish that simply melted in your mouth for as long as you would let it before taking it all in. Yes, it was that good. The filet mignon was tender, the foie gras left nothing to be desired, and the wine reduction was such a flavorful and yet delicate complement to the meal that it brought out all the subtle richness of the filet and foie gras, without making it overbearingly rich. In short, the dish sang perfect harmony at a perfect tempo and a perfect volume. It was magnificent.
Book a reservation next time you're ever in the San Jose area. You will not regret it. The decor could use a little work, but if you ignore the fact that it's a hotel's continental breakfast bar by day, you can eat a meal that will knock your socks off. Needless to say, I recommend the steak rossini.
Arcadia
Marriott, 100 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, CA 95113 - 408-278-4555
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