SLO LIFE Magazine Aug/Sep 2019

SWEET AS CANDY
The word “salad” originates from the Vulgar Latin term for
salted vegetables. But at Old San Luis BBQ downtown, one
of the salads on their menu happens to be sweet, not salty.
“It’s the first thing I ever got here,” says Alyssa Howarter,
the restaurant’s marketing manager, of the Strawberry
Field Salad. She serves me a plate of crisp greens bejeweled
with strawberries, dried cherries, Gorgonzola crumbles,
blush wine vinaigrette, and pecans encrusted with sugar.
“Sometimes we eat those warm from the oven,” she says of
the pecans, which are roasted with a meringue candy coating.
“Those pecans are where it’s at.”
Though Old San Luis BBQ is probably best known for their
Santa Maria-Style tri-tip, the Strawberry Field Salad has
its fans. “It’s definitely our most popular salad,” Howarter
says. She adds that it’s also popular for weddings and other
catered events that Old San Luis BBQ does. As many
ingredients as owners Matt and Danae Pearce can source
from local farms, they do, she says; for my salad, the greens
and strawberries came from Arroyo Grande.
I take many big forkfuls of the salad, enjoying the tang
of Gorgonzola and vinaigrette against sweet cherries,
strawberries, and pecans. And to drink? Howarter
recommends a wheat beer from 21st Amendment Brewery
called Hell or High Watermelon for a fruit-forward, modern
salad experience. >>
80 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | AUG/SEP 2019