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By Root 1042 0

Avenue is a colorful part of the city. It is occupied by surf shops, alternative hair salons, juice bars, and high-proof bars, and this rockin’ joint fits right in. Its walls are festooned with vanity license plates from around the nation; surfboards are strung above the dining room. Seating includes hardwood booths and a counter along the wall with stools, plus a special booth made from the front end of a VW minibus. Each booth is outfitted with a cardboard container that once held a six-pack of beer bottles. The half-dozen compartments are now used to store sugar and sweeteners for coffee.

Jocko’s Steak House

125 N. Thompson Ave.

805–929–3686

Nipomo, CA

BLD | $$

We found Jocko’s many years ago while we were students at Gary Leffew’s bull-riding school north of Santa Barbara. (That’s another story….) When the week of riding rank bulls was over, cowboys who hadn’t broken too many bones and had some jingle in their jeans headed for Nipomo to eat beef at Jocko’s on Saturday night.

Nipomo isn’t much of a town, but cars from afar crowd around Jocko’s on weekends, and even if you’ve made a reservation (highly recommended), you will likely wait for a table. Waiting allows time to belly up to the bar and imbibe a colorful tavern atmosphere of taxidermized animal heads on the wall and the good-time shenanigans of California country folk (a whole ’nother breed from those who live in the big cities). Although the steaks are first-class, the experience of dining at Jocko’s is absolutely nothing like a meal in one of the high-priced, dress-up steak house chains. Wear your jeans and boots and Stetson or John Deere cap and you’ll feel right at home.

Meat is the only thing to eat. (One Roadfooder wrote to us suggesting that this must be the place where bad vegetarians go when they die, for it truly is a kind of beef-frowners’ hell, where smells of roasting meat permeate the air.) Shockingly thick steaks and hefty lamb chops and pork chops are cooked on an open pit over oak wood and served Santa Maria–style, meaning accompanied by tiny pinquita beans and salsa. It’s a great, filling meal, and even if you get a relatively modest-size filet mignon, chances are you’ll be taking meat home in a doggie bag for lunch the next day.

Julian Pie Company

21976 Hwy. 79

760–765–2400

Santa Ysabel, CA

$

Apple pie is the specialty of the Julian Pie Company, a sweet oasis at the western edge of the desert. Merely walking into the big modern building is an olfactory joy—the air is thick with the aroma of cooked apples, cinnamon, and hot crust. You can watch the pies being made behind the counter; you can buy whole pies to take home; or you can get a single slice and a cup of coffee and find a seat at the counter and indulge.

Varieties of apple pie in the Julian repertoire include Dutch apple with a crumb top, boysenberry apple crumb, natural strawberry apple, and apple rhubarb. Also on the regular menu are peach, peach melba, blackberry, and pecan. Basic apple pie with a pastry top is the classic, and we can’t think of a better pie anywhere. Its crust is flaky, and the insides powerfully fruity/sweet. If you dine here, you have the à la mode option, which is nice, but unnecessary.

While not a full-service restaurant by any means, this bakery does have a few other excellent food items worth knowing about. One unusual snack is pie crust—two-bite-size, heart-shaped pieces of crust that are baked with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar; these irresistibly delicious cookies fall into flakes as you bite. The other handsome things in the glass display cases are plump cider donuts enrobed in either cinnamon sugar, chocolate, or supersweet (and super-good!) maple frosting.

La Super-Rica

622 N. Milpas St.

805–963–4940

Santa Barbara, CA

LD | $

La Super-Rica is barely a restaurant. It is a taco stand where service is do-it-yourself and customers are expected to clean their own tables when they’re finished eating. All plates and utensils are disposable; and seating is at wobbly tables on a semi–al fresco patio. Since Isidoro Gonzalez