Okay, it has been 2 weeks since we arrived at our hotel in San Luis Obispo. We have a suite which consists of a bedroom, bath and a small living/dining area. NO KITCHEN!
When I began looking at the availability of booking a place which would include a kitchenette of some sort I suddenly discovered much to my horror that in SLO that is pretty non-existent unless you are renting a house or cottage in the area.
This is truly a vacation area so there are none of the extended stay residences we are familiar with at home which are geared to business travelers. Hence, no kitchenettes! Oops!
Even if I wanted to make a change now I’m finding that most places are already partially or fully booked for the time period we need.
So it looks like we will have to make the best of it without a kitchen.
And making the best of it for me means I will need to prepare some meals, kitchen or not. (We do have a tiny fridge and a small microwave).
So this morning I walked over to a market nearby, and came back to the room with an overloaded bag which would hopefully satiate my desire to cook (kinda).
I knew I was going to miss preparing meals. I just didn’t know I would miss it so soon!
So with the help of a can opener from the dollar store, and a paring knife I had secretly hidden away in my bag, along with a peeler, and some dishes I am temporarily borrowing from the restaurant downstairs I was able to serve up a tuna salad.
I added some chopped up celery and apple to the tuna, mixed it with a bit of mayo, salt and pepper, and garnished it with some olives and veggies. With the whole grain bread and tomato I picked up this morning lunch was served.
And somehow it tasted way better than it probably was!
We spent the afternoon in Morro Bay, a waterfront city about 12 miles north of SLO. At the entrance to the Morro Bay Harbor stands the 581-foot Morro Rock, a volcanic plug located just offshore.
For dinner we stopped at Tognazzini’s Dockside Too, a fish market and restaurant offering patio dining, owned and run by a commercial fishing family, longtime residents of Morro Bay.
We ordered fish (cod) and chips, scallops and chips, and shared a cup of clam chowder. The fish, scallops and chips were all fried to perfection, the slaw was fresh and crisp and tossed in a light dressing, a perfect balance between sweet and tangy.
We will definitely be making a return visit to this delightful beachfront eatery.