Edna Valley Market San Luis Obispo

Some of the best food in SLO from a gas station?

I have to admit until about 5 months ago I did not know about the Edna Valley Market in San Luis Obispo. I had heard of it but had never been and had no idea it was located inside the Shell gas station. Located at Tank Farm and Broad you will recognize the car wash with the grass growing on the roof. It’s diagonally right across from the Marigold Center in SLO. This place is has a hidden surprise as not only is it a gas station, car wash, and mini mart inside it also has some of the best food for lunch in San Luis Obispo and I am not kidding.

The Digs:
Edna Valley Market
4021 Broad Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

The Scoop:
Edna Valley Market serves everything from salad to sandwiches to mexican food and they even have a great breakfast menu. What I love best about this place is they are always changing it up. If you subscribe to their email list you will get a weekly update of their specials for the week and it can be anything from a Chile Verde Breakfast Burrito or Cinnamon Roll French Toast for breakfast to an Asian Chicken Wrap or Albondigas soup or Coconut Shrimp for lunch. Wow! At a gas station?

What Rocks:
I don’t know where to start but to say every single thing I have had here has been fantastic. I am especially fond of the Cobb Salad as it huge and always so fresh. I have also had the sandwiches as well as a burger and fries and its all done very well. This is a place I can safely say you can order anything on the menu and you will not be disappointed. They do a great job and the staff is pretty friendly and there is a great outdoor patio area in the back to eat. You will be shocked how busy it gets as the word is out how good it is.

What Sucks:
Well, it’s in a gas station but other than that nothing. The prices are reasonable and there is a great selection. It does get a bit windy out on the patio sometimes but I really have no complaints here.  Would be very cool if they had a couple beers on tap and you could hang out after work with a pitcher and food.

The Moolah:
Salads are $5.75-7.75. Sandwiches and burgers are $6.50-7.50.

The Neon Carrot San Luis Obispo

An off the beaten path gem in SLO

Last week I was taken to lunch by a friend who said “Let’s go to The Neon Carrot.” “The what?” I had never heard of the place until now but will be going back often.  Located on South Higuera just past Prado Road and across from what I call “Tire Center Row” where all the tire stores are, The Neon Carrot offers up a delicious menu and I promise you won’t know which thing to pick as it all sounds so good.

The Digs:
The Neon Carrot
3536 S Higuera St # 206
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

The Scoop:
The Neon Carrot San Luis Obispo offers up a tasty variety of sandwiches, salads, soups and their own baked goods but what makes this place shine is they use as much local organically grown produce as they can in their food.  On top of that their menu changes frequently so you’ll want to keep coming back. They also do catering as they are formerly Maegen Loring Catering and based on the food I had at lunch I can bet the catering options are equally delicious.

What Rocks:
The food and the people. When you walk in it’s not overly fancy but you walk to the back counter to order and you can see everyone working in the back, catering style, to make the food. Everyone was very friendly, service was good, and it was fun to watch them all running around. I had the Grilled Romaine Salad and my friend had the veggie burger and both were great. My salad came with a crème fraiche blue cheese dressing that was fantastic! You really won’t know what order as it all sounds so good. I have also heard on Fridays they do Happy Hour (great unique beer selection!) and each week they mix it up and do something new and fun to eat.

What Sucks:
Paper plates. For food this good the fact that it comes on paper plates is a bit weird. I get why they are doing it but seems like they could present it a bit better. The atmosphere there can get a little cramped at lunch time as the word has gotten out about them. While it wasn’t bad at all when I was there, it was getting very busy when we left and I heard it can be noisy, but what SLO restaurant isn’t at lunch time? This is nit-picky but it wasn’t clear where to get my ice tea when I ordered as there is a place to get your own water and coffee but they didn’t say they would be bringing the drink to me so I was confused.  (Overall not a big deal) Also their web site needs some serious love as it doesn’t accurately reflect how great everything is. (Again, not a big deal)

The Moolah:
Prices are what you would expect for this kind of restaurant in SLO. Sandwiches are $7-9. Salads are $4-9. They are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 3-pm.

Bridgeview Asian Grill

Big Sky Cafe

An icon restaurant in SLO with a fabulous menu but some things are VERY expensive

Big Sky Cafe is well, awesome. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner is sure to find you trying to decide on which “Fresh Market Cuisine” you want to dive into. It’s a healthy/savory menu with something that should please just about anyone, but I think some of its success has gone to its head with some of the prices of the menu items.

The Digs:
Big Sky Cafe
1121Broad Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

The Scoop:
Big Sky is located on Broad Street in downtown SLO. It’s neighbors have all changed out in the past years and there are three new establishments coming in around them but Big Sky has been serving it up well for since the mid 1990s.  It has been reviewed by some famous food lovers from Rachel Ray to Sunset Magazine and even The Wall Street Journal. It really is a “must eat” stop for folks who are new to San Luis Obispo.

What Rocks:
So much. The outdoor patio, the open feeling of the interior, the dishware (I know, it sounds strange), and let’s not forget the food! Their daily specials will not disappoint and if you get there for breakfast, try the Roasted Mushroom Benedict. I was there this time for lunch. My friend got their daily special which was a pasta dish with some spicy sausage and I had the grilled soft tacos with sirloin. His dish was better than mine as the spicy sausage made the meal. It was fantastic.

What Sucks:

Would you pay $13 for this?

The food is amazing, hands down, but some of the items are just too expensive. My soft tacos were $12.95 for two corn tortillas stuffed with meat and lettuce. Really? $13 for that? In my mind that was overpriced even for Big Sky by about $4.  In a time where people are being more cautious with money I would say several items need their prices reduced by about 20-30%.  Even my friend’s dish, that was 3 times as much food, was under $10.  Also, both of us noticed that bottoms of our plates had huge chips in them. Sorta tacky for such upscale pricing.

The Moolah:
For breakfast, most of the mainstream entrées  are around $9-11. Lunch is around $9-$17.