Heading up the coast The Monster makes a pit stop at Hearst Castle. It’s quite splendid and now The Monster wishes he had friends with places like it. He doesn’t. Perhaps his friends should work harder so The Monster has cooler venues in which to play. Then a detour is taken to look at the sea lions. They have nothing to do with food but watching them fight is really entertaining. The Monster does learn while they are at the cove to mate they do not eat at all. So there’s that.

Then it’s off to Paso. The drive in is a gorgeous look at wine country. Beautiful mountains and stunning valleys. It’s a warm afternoon, the top is down, the music blasting. After two lunches and with dinner looming Mr. & Mrs. Monster decide a really swell idea is to hit up Bistro Laurent for a snack and a glass of wine.

Without a reservation the only table available is on the patio. Luckily there is a nice cool breeze this evening. This is a French restaurant (not to be confused with the same named restaurant in LA) with a menu of tarts, soups and salads and entrees like crispy crab risotto with sauteed herbs beurre blanc or roasted pork chop with mustard sauce and pureed potatoes. There is also an adjacent wine store.

They brought us an amuse bouche as we pondered the menu. Duck confit on toasted bread. A little too gamey for The Monster’s taste but appreciated it being served.

We decided on the mussels gratin in curry. Delicious sauce we mopped up with crusty French bread. This dish was a winner. With a lovely Pinot Noir this proved a perfect start to the evening.

While sea lions have nothing to do with Bistro Laurent, they are super cool so…