Los Olivos Cafe, Los Olivos CA

If you ever decide recreate the “Sideways” wine tasting experience you should include Los Olivos Cafe in your plans as it was host to one of the dining scenes in the movie.  While Kathy and I weren’t trying to recreate the pathway of that movie (which I actually found to be irritating when I watched it a few years ago) we were staying right next door at Fess Parker’s inn and decided to walk over and check it out.  The food was great and they have a little area to sit outside which, frankly, was better than the somewhat noisy interior.  The wine list is huge as you’d expect and the menu has several selections using local - and it appears sustainably farmed - selections on their menu.  Definitely worth a visit.

Some of the fussy reviews I saw on Yelp and Tripadvisor (and some of the conversations I overheard while at the cafe) make me wonder if an unfortunate second legacy of the Sideways movie has people coming up to California’s coastal wine country with a rod so far up their…um, “palate”… that they make the experience a whole lot more pretentious than it needs to be.  I think these folks are a relatively small percentage but its humorous to watch them as they go.  It’s food and wine guys: eat, drink and be happy.